ईस्राएल आणि भारत

ईस्राएल आणि भारत
काल महाराष्ट्र टाइम्सवर हा लेख वाचनात आला. ईस्राएलच्या अधिक्रुत व्यक्तीनी लिहिलेला हा लेख. लेख छानच लिहिला आहे. लेख वाचुन विचार आला की ही स्त्री लष्कराचे प्रशिक्षण घेउन तिच्या देशासाठी लढून आली आहे. लष्करामधे किती तरी गोष्टिन्ना, कसोट्यान्ना तोन्ड देत ती इथे पर्यन्त पोचली आहे. त्या मुळेच असेल कदाचित पण परक्यादेशा मधे सुद्धा ती आरामात फ़िरली.

पण तिला त्या पलीकडे या देशाची ओढ वाटली. तिने जितके काही फ़िरुन पहिल त्यातल आपल्या इथल्या कितीतरी जणान्नी आजपर्यन्त पाहिल नसेल आणि कदाचित बघु कधी तरी अस म्हणत कधीच बघणार नाहित. पुष्कर, वाराणसी, किंवा ह्रुषिकेश या सारखी शहरे ज्यांना आपल्याकडे पवित्र मानले आहे त्याला मला वाटत आपण भेत देण्यापेक्शा बाहेरचीच लोक जास्त जात असावीत.

गंगा, तिचा घाट, नर्मदा, बद्रिनाथ, केदारनाथ किती तरी पवित्र स्थळे आहेत ज्यांच्या दर्शनानीही आपली उन्नत्ति हो उ शकते. जिथे समाधि लावली तर खरोखर पर-ब्रह्माची भेट होइल. "तुझे आहे तुज पाशी, परि तू जागा चुकलासी॥" हेच खर. आपली संपत्ति ही आर्थिक नसुन आध्यत्मिक आहे आणि ती मिळवायचा यत्न केल्यास बाकी काही न मिळण्यासारखे नाहीये हे आपल्याला जेव्हा समजुन घेता येइल तेव्हा आपली प्रगती होइल.

Shivaji Raje Bhosale...

आजच हा video बघण्याचा योग आला :-) शिवाजी महाराजांचा हा video बघावाच.

YouTube - पोवाडा - मी शिवाजीराजे भोसले बोलतोय

पोवाडा ऐकून जे काही होत ते शब्द मधे व्यक्त करण शक्य नाही. पोवाड्या मध्ये असलेला वेग, स्फूर्ती किंवा संचार बाकी कुठल्याही प्रकारच्या गाण्यामध्ये असतच नाही। महाराष्ट्र आणि मराठीच हे एक लेणं आहे.

Yogasanas - A way of life

I had learned "Yogasanas" when I was very young. I use to do these asanas often but irregularly. But as I grew I became more irregular. I was thinking about all asanas few days back and I was not even able to remember all of those. Today I found it, the text along with asanas is in english (I was searching something in Marathi) but might help more people. Do go thru this and practise it. If you have not done it anytime before then it is better to learn from some expert and then do it.

माती सांगे

एक छान मराठी कविता मिसळपाव या संकेत स्थळावर मिळाली. ती इथे छापत आहे. मूळ लिखाण इथे आहे.

माती सांगे कुंभाराला पायी मज तुडविशी
तुझाच आहे शेवट वेड्या माझ्या पायाशी....

मला फिरविसी तू चाकावर,घट मातीचे बनवी सुंदर
लग्न मंडपी कधी असे मी कधी शवापाशी

वीर धुरंधर आले गेले,पायी माझ्या इथे झोपले
कुब्जा अथवा मोहक युवती अंती मजपाशी

गर्वाने का ताठ राहसी,भाग्य कशाला उगा नाशसी
तुझ्या ललाटी अखेर लिहिले मीलन माझ्याशी

Long time come back with good sites...

After a vacation of almost a month, marriage, honeymoon and some work ;-) I am back to actual work. I had found a website long time back and wanted to share with every marathi reader.
Visit Misalpaav site. Lot of discussion and information. Just now read and saw this delicious Sabudaana Khichadi. Now I have to arrange it on this weekend :-).

Apart from this I found another interesting, funny or whatever you may call a blog post dedicated to India TV. You can find it here. Read and have fun. :-)

Writing marathi/ hindi?

I think everyone who access internet sometime or other feels like if there was chance to write in mothertounge... I use to feel same. Few days back I came across this utility by none other that google.... http://www.google.com/transliterate/indic/Marathi.

This is the best and easiest way of writing in Marathi I could find ever. One drawback is you have to have internet access. But I think that should not be a problem... (atleast for me :-)).

Pravin Davane Lekh...

I received this "lekh" couple of days back in a forward. Posting it

Crime against India... Do read...

I normally don't like to refer to western material which praises Bharat... as I think we dont have to be shown by someone else, how good we are. But this article should be read by everyone... it makes a point.

Crimes Against India, Book Review by David Frawley

Review by David Frawley (Vamadeva Shastri)
www.vedanet.com

Hinduism remains the most attacked and under siege of all the major world religions. This is in spite of the fact that Hinduism is the most tolerant, pluralistic and synthetic of the world's major religions. Hindu gurus have more than any other religious teachers in the world tried to find an underlying unity of religion to create peace in humanity. Yet though Hindu gurus have called for respect for all religions, leaders of other religions have not responded in kind by offering any respect for Hinduism. Instead they have continued to promote their missionary agendas and plan the conversion of India to their beliefs.

Why is Hinduism still so much a target of missionaries and the media? It is really very simple. Hinduism is the largest of the non-conversion, non-proselytizing religions and so offers the greatest possibilities for conversion. It is the vulnerability of Hinduism that makes it a target, not the fact that Hindus are trying to convert or conquer the world for some hostile belief.

After Christianity and Islam, Hinduism is the world's largest religion and the largest of the non-Biblical traditions. India, where most Hindus reside, has the most open laws allowing in foreign religious groups. While missionaries are virtually banned in China and in Islamic countries, in India they are often tolerated, respected and given a wide scope of activity. Since Christianity is in decline, particularly in Europe, it has a need to find new converts for which India is one of main potential locations, particularly as a comparatively high percentage of Hindu converts are willing to become priests and nuns. Pope John Paul II in a trip to India some ten years ago spoke directly of looking for a "rich harvest of souls in the third millennium in Asia", specifically India.

Yet most Hindus and groups sympathetic to them are not aware of this "siege on Hinduism" that continues unrelenting as part of the multi-national missionary business. In this context, the book of Stephen Knapp, Crimes Against India: and the Need to Protect its Ancient Vedic Tradition, is very timely, well written and well documented. The siege on Hinduism has been going on since the first Islamic armies and Christian missionaries entered India as he clearly delineates and has continued in various forms, violent, subversive or even charitably based.

While people know the history of the genocide of the Jews by the Nazis, the greater and longer genocide of Hindus by Islamic invaders is hardly noticed. Even the genocide in the Bangladesh War of 1971, in which most of the several million killed were Hindus, is not acknowledged as a religious genocide. While people know the history of the Inquisition and the burning of witches in Europe and the genocide of Native Americans by Christian invaders, they don't realize that India has a similar history in parts of the country like Goa. Knapp fills in these gaps and makes these connections.

More importantly, people don't realize that questionable conversion tactics are still being used in India today, where in the South, the rate offered for conversion is around twenty thousand rupies, going up and down with the economy! They also don't realize that it is now American Evangelicals of the Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson line -- the religious right that brought George Bush to power -- that is spearheading conversion activity and church building in South India, pouring billions into the country.

Yet Knapp's book is not just written to make us aware of this assault on Hinduism and its many dangers. He also provides a way forward, showing how Hindu Dharma can be revived, better taught, better communicated and more widely shared with the global audience, which is becoming progressively more receptive to Hindu teachings of Yoga, Vedanta and respect for nature. He documents the Hindu renaissance and the modern Hindu movement, which though small is growing rapidly as a Hindu response to this denigration of its venerable traditions. He shows that Hindus are not responding in terms of becoming another intolerant, exclusivist missionary cult. They are organizing themselves in terms of teaching, service and spiritual practices.

The book is well worth reading and will show any open minded person the Hindu side of a millennial debate on religion that has so far largely excluded the Hindu point of view. That Knapp is a western born Hindu adds to his credibility and conviction. He is not simply defending a tradition handed down by his family or his culture, but one that he has embraced from deep spiritual conviction and profound inner experience.

One hopes that readers in India will listen to his voice and that those outside of the country will recognize the Hindu plight along with the other forms of oppression going on in the world. Religious minorities at a global level are still under the assault of religious majorities, which have long been armed with petrodollars, high technology and control of the media. Yet as the book demonstrates, the tide is beginning to turn.

Crimes Against India: and The Need to Protect its Ancient Vedic Traditions

Available from iUniverse.com: http://www.iuniverse.com/Bookstore/BookDetail.aspx?BookId=SKU-000115147.

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General - Random

After long time I am writing... but at least I came back. I lost touch in between and I thought I am not going to come back but my eager of writing came back.

When I was not writing I was reading, not much but I was.... I had lost interest in both but its back. I found one blog. I went thru few posts and I liked it.

I also started reading a book Fooled by Randomness by Nassim Taleb. This was his best selling book. This is a no-non sense book. Purely for those who are interested in maths. Book gets boring at times :-) as it is maths in words... and logic and as name suggest about randomness in life. Give a try to read this book. I even have a copy of Black Swan from same author. Its kinda sequel of Fooled by...

Finally an advice for those who are in late twenties and early thirtees. During current recession I saw many people around me getting fired left and right. I saw people insecure (I too feel at times). On complete other topic, I see people having habits of eating crisps, chips, chocolates, buscuits and some snacks. I was never for, for such food. I call this junk though I am tempted to eat those sometimes.

But I feel to tell everyone, even if you may not like it do it salad every day. Eat fruits. Try to have minimum travelling time from home to office and back, this gives you more personal time. Utilise it. Do walk for 45 mins at a stretch in a day. You are not getting any younger anymore. Keep your self fit. This will keep you enthusiastic thru out day. Try to love your job if you cant find the job you love :-) and if not then at least respect and be loyal to it because at the end of month it is paying your salary. Have nice day, evening and night :-).

Migration and Recession : Part 2

Globalisation!!! The definition means growth to global level. Who needs this? Companies like Pepsi, Coke, Mac D, Pizza hut, Wallmart. Why is this required? People are starving they need food... that is what Pizza hut is for. You are eating pizza aren't you thirsty? Coke/ pepsi is the answer. Not much hungry? Mac D..... Well today is special day let us cook.... then you need Wallmart.

These are just examples.... but thinking back on above examples what we really need among all these? Actually... nothing. We donot require coke or pepsi or pizza hut or Mac D. Then who requires? It is for those who had that"big" vision to go global, who desired to earn lot of money. Come to any business, no one does it for charity. Business is money. Everyone is in the race to create wealth. That is why companies go public... shares are traded, money is exchanged. Few people get wealthy and more get poor. But hunger for money never stops. To feed that hunger, expand. Go out of the box. Increase profit. Find new markets.... create need which is not there... tap the untapped.

Really isn't this what businessman, big organisations and product companies do? Someone thinks about the prouct, someone thinks about the market, if there is no market then people are made aware that they need that product. Well that is what is required. If you are successful in creating market people will buy your stuff and you start earning... if not you fail measurably and loose everything. How exactly this is realted to migration?

You started company... you are making profit. How will you increase the profit? You have to find cheap labour... cheap raw material. How??? Here is the answer then... always some part of world is richer than rest. People who have wealth are concentrated in some parts. To increase profit readuce manufacturing costs... get cheap labour. When you are looking for cheap labour you are looking for people from outside where you reside. This is just an example... there are more reasons for migration. But most obvious reason the money. People migrate to a place where they think can live comfortably. Where they can earn good and live in good condition. Only factories, companies can make this happen. Fast money and fast life style, people are running around for money and for peace. But I am sure answer doesn't lie with pile of money.

Migration and Recession : Part 1

Migration or even recession is not a new concept to world. We Bharatiya have seen since long so called brain drain. People argued about it whether it is really brain drain or not. After dotcom and Y2K bubble busted thousands or may be lacs came back, then every started talking about reverse brain drain. But is there anything called reverse brain drain? I don't think so.

Recent recession affected area like USA, Europe and worstly affected UK are seeing people fleeing back to their home countries. Recent news might have capture eyes of people if not I am giving here few. Australia is chaning their migration policy and reducing migrants by 30%. Malysia is going to reduce foreign workers to 1.8 million from 2 million (Here actually figure seems very less but it is 10% of current foreign migrants.) and who have already reduced 60,000 migrants in last year. UK is changing work permit, skilled migrants and residence permit rules. So what will happen to those people who are not able to keep their jobs in such outsider countries? They have to return back to their own country, in most cases.

Recent news which is flashing here in UK is about Polish people. There are around 1.2 million Poles here in UK. Already many have started migrating back to Poland. It is warned by economic adviser in their country that about 400,000 Poles are likely to go back to their home country. What these people were working here? From how long? Why are they going back? Will you call this reverse brain drain?

I want to write more about this, in the next part.

Something to share...

I have thought of such kind of situation, I have seen few of my friends going thru similar situations and reacting totally different than what I could have done. This is one very good write up with nice ending. Article is in Marathi and should be read by everyone who can read it.

Link for the article is here. I am also pasting it here....

रक्ताची नाती

Sunday, March 15th, 2009 AT 4:03 PM

Tags: relationship, pailteer

Close...

बीप. बीप... बीप. बीप... बीप. बीप... "हा पेजर फेकून द्यायला पाहिजे", असे त्रासिक सूर लावत मी तो आदळत बंद केला. आदल्या दिवशी रात्रीच एक रिलीज संपवून पहाटेच्या साखरझोपेत, नुकत्याच झालेल्या साखरपुड्याच्या आठवणीत पहुडलो होतो. परत डोळा लागतो न लागतो तोच फोनची घंटा खणाणली. आधी पेजर आता फोन. नक्कीच आमचा रिलीज मॅनेजर असणार या खात्रीने वैतागून डोळे चोळत मी फोन उचलला. "Who is it? " मी खेकसलो.

"अरे सुदू, हं ऐकू येतंय का? मी दादा बोलतोय"... आतापर्यंत माझी झोप उजाडलेल्या सूर्याएवढी उडाली होती. भारतातून फोन येण्याचं प्रमाण स्काईपआधीच्या दिवसांत अगदीच नगण्य होतं. पूर्वी एकदा आईने कोणासोबत तरी बाकरवडी पाठवू का म्हणून फोन केला होता तर मी खरडावून सांगितलं होतं, "तुझ्या फोनच्या खर्चात बाकरवडीची पाच पाकिटं आली असती. यापुढे मीच फोन करत जाईन. " भारतातून दादाचा फोन यायचं काहीच कारण नव्हतं. माझ्या हृदयाचा एक ठोका चुकला. सगळं ठीक तर असेल ना? "बोल दादा", मी थोड धैर्य गोळा केलं.

"आधी खाली बैस आणि नीट ऐक. मी अहमदाबादहून बोलतो आहे. बाबांना एक जबरदस्त ऍक्सिडेंट झालाय. डोक्याला खूप मार बसलाय. ते सध्या कोमात आहेत. आई-मी पुण्याहून आणि वैभवी-दादा (माझी होणारी बायको आणि मेहुणा) मुंबईहून अहमदाबादला पोहोचलो आहोत. पण तू काळजी करू नकोस. आय. सी. यू. मध्ये डॉक्टर नीट काळजी घेत आहेत. पिल्लू (बहीण) परीक्षेच्या तयारीत पुण्यात आहे. तिच्या सोबतीला तनुजा (दादाची होणारी बायको) घरी आहे. " एका दमात त्याने मन हलकं केलं. तोवर माझं धैर्य पूर्णपणे कोलमडलं होतं. कसाबसा हुंदका आवरत मी विचारलं "आणि आईऽ कशी आहे? " ती जरा मनाने हळवी आणि तिचा बाबांवर प्रचंड जीव. "घे तिच्याशीच बोल." त्या दिवशी आईला प्रथमच एवढं हिमतीने बोलताना ऐकलं. तिच्या आत्मविश्वासातला फरक लक्षात येण्याजोगा होता.
वैभवीशी एका गंभीर विषयावर बोलायचा हा माझा पहिलाच प्रसंग. या पूर्वी 'गुजगोष्टी' करणं किंवा नवीन फियान्से या नात्याने इंप्रेशन मारण्याचाच अनुभव होता. तिने तिच्या निपुण डॉक्टरी आवाजात "बाबा नक्की बरे होतील" असा दिलासा दिला आणि मी कसाबसा सावरलो.
आईवडिलांपासून दूर राहणार्‍या प्रत्येकाचं "Worst Nightmare" माझ्यासमोर खर्‍या आयुष्यात उभं राहिलं होतं. तो पहाटेचा फोन वाजला आणि सगळं काही बदललं होतं.

आठवणींचा पूर
डोळ्यांसमोर सतत हाय-डेफिनिशन मध्ये आठवणींचा सिनेमा चालू झाला होता. मन अचानक वीस वर्षं मागे गेलं. लँब्रेटावर सगळा कुटुंब-कबिला घेऊन निघालेले बाबा माझ्या डोळ्यासमोर आले. समोर हॅंडल धरून दादा, मागे पदर-साडी सावरत, लहान बहिणीला आवरत बसलेली आई, आणि सगळ्यात मागे स्टेपनीवर मागल्या सीटला कवटाळून, कसरती करत मी! हे सगळं अवडंबर आणि (स्टेपनीवर मला नको त्या ठिकाणी दणका देणारे) खड्डे सांभाळत, बाबा मिष्किलपणे विचारायचे "आहेस का रे सुदू... का पडलास मागच्या मागे? ". आज तेच बाबा अहमदाबाद सारख्या अनोळखी गावी, आयसीयूमध्ये आयुष्याशी झगडत पडले होते, आणि मी ५००० मैल दूर राहून काळजीशिवाय दुसरं काहीच करू शकत नव्हतो. स्टेटबॅंकेतल्या नोकरीच्या कामाने अहमदाबादला गेलेले असताना त्यांच्या कारने रस्त्याच्या कडेला उभ्या असलेल्या ट्रकला धडक दिली होती. डोक्याला बसलेल्या मारामुळे 'स्कल फ्रॅक्चर' होऊन खूप रक्तस्राव झाला होता. मेंदूला सूज येऊन एक बाजू पॅरलाइझ झाली होती तर दुसरी बाजू अनियंत्रितपणे सारखी हलत होती. नशिबाने सारख्या परदेशवार्‍या करणारा दादा तेव्हा मदतीला भारतातच होता.
विचारांच्या कल्लोळाने आता माझा मेंदू बधिर होऊ लागला होता. Helplessness was killing me. बर्‍या-वाईट विचारांचं डोक्यात थैमान चालू होतं. पिंजर्‍यातल्या वाघासारख्या येरझारा घालण्याशिवाय काहीच करता येत नव्हतं.
महिन्यापूर्वीच बॅंकेतल्या कामाकरता बाहेरगावी असलेले बाबा, आमच्या साखरपुड्याकरता मोठ्ठी सुट्टी काढून आले होते. त्यांच्या आनंदाच्या भरात ते पोस्टिंगला असलेल्या कोणत्याशा गावाहून तीन लग्नांना पुरेल एवढं सामान घरी घेऊन आले होते. साखरपुडा उरकल्यावर ते पोस्टिंगच्या ठिकाणी निघाले तेव्हा मी ऐटीत वैभवीला रेल्वेस्टेशनवर त्यांना सी-ऑफ करायला घेऊन गेलो होतो. सामान चढवून माझी वैभवीला सिनेमाला घेऊन जायची घाई चालली होती. माझा उतावीळपणा त्यांनी नेमका हेरला. "तुम्ही निघा आता. गाडी सुटायला अजून वेळ आहे. मी बसतो काही वाचत. " वैभवीने मला चिमटा काढत शांत केलं. बहुदा तिला म्हणायचं होतं "अरे मुला, तू वडिलांना हमाल म्हणून सामान लोड करून द्यायला आलाहेस का सी-ऑफ करायला? " पण शेवटी माझ्या पोरकटपणाला प्रोत्साहन देत त्यांनी आम्हाला बोगी बाहेर काढलं. शेवटी गाडी सुटली... एकदाची... आणि मी उड्या मारत सिनेमाला जायला काढता पाय घेतला.
आपल्या माणसाचं मोल ते दिसेनासे होईपर्यंत का कळू नये हे मला अजून कळलं नाहीये. मला वाटतं आपला सर्वसामान्य व्यवहारीपणा 'आपल्या' लोकांनाही लावायला हरकत नाही. जसं आपण नाही का, दुकानातल्या सुपर-सेल वर तुटून पडतो... "एंजॉय व्हाईल सप्लाईज लास्ट!"... तेच लॉजिक. फरक फक्त एवढाच की हे सप्लाईज संपले तर हजारपट जास्त मोल देऊनही परत मिळत नाहीत.

यू. एस. ए. ते आय. सी. यू.
मी रोज अपडेट घेत होतो. दिवसाची रात्र आणि रात्रीचा दिवस होत होता. मी स्वतःला कामात गुंतवून घेण्याचा विफल प्रयत्न करत होतो. अहमदाबादला आता बाबांच्या मदतीला दोन्ही 'होणार्‍या डॉक्टर सुना' 'लोक काय म्हणतील?' ह्याची पर्वा न करता धावून गेल्या होत्या. माझ्या आणि दादाच्या सासुरवाड्यांनी लग्नाअगोदरच सासरेबुवांची काळजी घ्यायला त्यांची 'पाठवण' केली होती... ते पण एका नवीन गावी, केवळ जाणिवेने... विश्वासावर. माणुसकीने पारंपरिकतेवर विजय मिळवला होता.
मी आतुरतेने वाट पाहत असलेली गुड न्यूज काही येत नव्हती. शेवटी मी मनिषाताईला फोन केला. ती
पुण्यातली आमची शेजारीण. एक नामांकित डॉक्टर, नुकतीच बदलून अमेरिकेत आलेली. तिला तपशील देत अखेरीस मी विचारलं... "ताई... मी जाऊ? ". "किती दिवस झाले म्हणालास तू कोमात जाऊन? ".. "चार".. "लग्गेच निघ". मग माझी चक्रं हलली. दोन दिवसा आधीच घेतलेली कामाची जबाबदारी 'हॅंडोव्हर' करत मी निघालो. It was a leave without pay, but worth every penny lost.
माझ्या सासूबाई, मुंबई एअरपोर्टला होणार्‍या जावयाला धीर आणि अहमदाबादचं तिकीट द्यायला स्वतः आवर्जून आल्या होत्या. एका आईच्या मायेने सांत्वन करत त्यांनी मला आधार दिला. अहमदाबाद एअरपोर्टला घ्यायला दादा आला होता. मला सावरून घेताना तो चेहर्‍यावरची काळजी लपवायचा असफल प्रयत्न करत होता. शिक्षणाच्या निमित्ताने आम्ही समजायला लागल्यापासून एकमेकांपासून दूर राहिलेलो असल्याने आम्हां भावांतली भावनिक संभाषणाची ही पहिलीच वेळ, केवळ फॅक्चुअल तपशिलांवरच संपली.
आय. सी. यू. च्या बाहेरच आमची पलटण भेटली... आई आणि सोबत तिच्या होणार्‍या सुना. माझं बाहेरच इतकं ब्रेन-वॉशिंग झालं की मी आत नेमकं काय पाहणार आहे याचीच मला धडकी भरली. वैभवीच्या पाठोपाठ मी एक-एक बेड आणि पडदा ओलांडून जात होतो आणि अनेक कुटुंबांची अगतिक स्थिती पाहत होतो. कोणी ८० टक्के भाजलेलं, कोणी हार्टअटॅकमधून सावरणारं, कोणी ऍक्सिडंट होऊन लोळागोळा झालेलं, एका पडद्याआड ताटातुटीमुळे एका पत्नीने फोडलेला हंबरडा... मन पिळवटून टाकणारं ते भयाण वातावरण होतं. एव्हाना मला भोवळ आली. कसाबसा तोल सावरत मी बाबांपर्यंत पोहोचलो तर धक्काच बसला... तो औषधांचा उग्र वास, सलाईन, रक्ताच्या पिशव्या, जीव असल्याची ग्वाही देणारं ईसीजीचं ते निर्जीव यंत्र, अनेक ट्युबांचं जाळ, टेबलावर बाटल्यांचा खच, तोंडावर सुतकी भाव ठेवून कामात मग्न नर्स आणि बाबांचा अनियंत्रित हलणारा एकच हात... फोनवर मला धीर देताना हे सगळं बरचं सौम्य करून सांगण्यात आलं होतं. मला सावरायला दोन दिवस लागले.

"पप्पाजी"
बाबांच्या अपघाताचा सविस्तर तपशील लवकरच मिळाला. त्यांना जीवनदान देणार्‍या देवमाणसांच्या भाषेत सांगायचं झालं तर.... "मै (मेहुलकुमारजी), अंबालालजी, विमलजी, राजेशकुमारजी और बिरजूभाई, अमावसके दिन मंदिर जा रहे थे, मारुती वॅन मे। रास्तेमें भीड देखी तो समझा ऍक्सिडंट हो गया है। पप्पा का बहोत खून बह रहा था। बेहोश थे। कोई हाथ लगाने को तैयार नहीं था। हमने सोचा भगवान ने हमें मंदिर के बजाय यहां उन्हे बचाने के लिये भेजा है। खून को हाथ से रोक कर हमने पप्पा को उठा के वॅन मे डाला और ले गये गव्हर्न्मेंट हॉस्पिटल। कंपाउंडर बोला एफ.आय.आर के सिवा हात नहीं लगा सकते तो बिरजूभाईने उसके कान के नीचे एक थप्पड लगाई। डॉक्टरसे, नेता का नाम लेके ऍडमिट करवाया। सर पे दबाया हुआ हाथ निकाला तो खून की पिचकारीसे बगलवाली वॉल रंग गई। बाद में पप्पाजी के पॉकेटसे बँक का कार्ड मिला और किसीने मम्मीजी को फोन लगाया।"...

या चाळीशी-पन्नाशीच्या सर्वसामान्य दिसणार्‍या गुजराथी बांधवांनी असामान्य काम केलं होतं. त्या गडबडीत त्यांचा हरवलेला मोबाईल, रक्ताने माखलेली गाडी... ह्याची त्यांना पर्वा नव्हती. आम्ही त्यांना हरवलेल्या मोबाईलचे पैसे, येनकेनप्रकारेण देण्याचा प्रयत्न केला. पण हे असामान्य लोक आम्हां सामान्यांची पैशाची भाषा बोलायला तयारच नव्हते.

त्यांना हवी असलेली गोष्ट पैशाने विकत घेण्याजोगी नव्हती.... "हमे तो बस्स, पप्पाजी को उन के पैरों पे हम निकले थे वो मंदिर ले जाना है... तो हम को सब कुछ मिल जायेगा।"

त्यांनी आमच्या आईला "मम्मीजी" तर बाबांना "पप्पाजी" ही पदवी प्रेमाने बहाल केली होती!

मदतीचे हात
आमचं नवीन कुटुंब आता हॉस्पिटलच्या एका खोलीत वसलं होतं. ६x६ ची खोली, एक खिडकी, एक दार, एक बेसीन, एक फॅन... बस्स. त्यात आम्ही किमान सात लोक - आई, तीन मुलं, दोन होणार्‍या सुना, दूरवरून प्रवास करून येणारे नातलग आणि गोडबोलेकाका. ते मूळचे मराठी, पण अहमदाबादला स्थायिक झालेले. त्यांच्या मराठीला एक गोड गुजराथी हेल होता. आमचा त्यांच्याशी आधीचा काहीच परिचय नव्हता. ते बाबांच्या बँकेत नोकरीला होते. तिथूनच त्यांची बाबांशी थोडीफार ओळख झालेली. आपल्या गावी, आपला एक सहकर्मचारी मृत्यूशी झगडतो आहे आणि त्याचं कुटुंब नवीन गावी एकटं पडलंय ह्याच कल्पनेनं त्यांना 'व्यापलं' होतं. आम्ही आळीपाळीने २४ तास बाबांसोबत असायचो. ड्यूटीवरील डॉक्टर आणि नर्स नीट काळजी घेत आहेत ह्याची खात्री करायला, बेडसोअर्स होत नाहीयेत आणि ते खाली पडणार नाहीत याची काळजी घ्यायला. दिवसभर बँकेतलं काम संपवून गोडबोलेकाका रात्री आठाच्या ठोक्याला हजर असायचे, फ्रेश! अधूनमधून सोबत आईला आधार द्यायला काकूही असत. "अहो, तुम्हा सगळ्यांना दिवसभर आहेच की... मला काय बँकेतच जायचं आहे." असा ते विनोद करत. "मी जागतो सकाळी २ ते ६. तुम्ही जरा झोप काढा", असं म्हणत सगळ्यात कठीण वेळ ते मागून घ्यायचे.

याआधी मला कॉलेजात सबमिशन्सच्या आदल्या रात्री नाईटस मारायचा अनुभव होता, पण ही जबाबदारी फारच मोठी होती. काही रात्री बाबांच्या उशाशी जागल्यानंतर, मी अनेक रात्री झोपेतून ओरडत भेदरून उठायचो. कायम एकच स्वप्न... ऑन माय वॉच, मला नकळत डोळा लागलाय आणि त्यात बाबा पलंगावरून खाली पडलेत आणि मी काहीच करू शकत नाहीये. मेंटल ट्रॉमा झालेल्या लोकांना असली नाईटमेअर्स पडतात म्हणे. युद्धातून परत येणार्‍या सैनिकांना किती मानसिक तणावातून जावं लागत असेल, नाही? त्यांचे अनुभव तर अजून कितीतरी जोखमीचे आणि भयावह असतील.

आत्या, काका, मामा, त्यांची मुलं, सुना, फॅमिली फ्रेंडस... सगळे कामातून वेळ काढत भेटीला, मदतीला, आधाराला येऊन जायचे. त्यांनी नवस बोलले, उपास केले, पारायणं केली, अंगारा पाठवला. प्रत्येक जण आपापल्यापरीने जमेल तशी मदत करत होता.

अहमदाबादच्या मराठी व अमराठी लोकांनी सर्वतोपरी मदत केली. रोज सकाळी चहा आणि आंघोळीचं गरम पाणी तयार असायचं. रात्री दादाचा मित्र आईसाठी पथ्याचं जेवण घेऊन यायचा.

बाबांच्यात आता मराठी, गुजराथी, पंजाबी आणि बंगाली रक्त वाहत होतं. प्रथम, काही भेटीस येणार्‍या नातेवाईकांनी रक्त दिलं. अनेकांचे ब्लडग्रूप मॅच व्हायचे नाहीतं. अजून रक्ताची गरज पडली तेव्हा मेव्हण्याने त्याच्या ऑफिसच्या अहमदाबाद शाखेत आवाहन केले. आवाहनानंतर तासाभरात अनेकांनी बाह्या वर करत, काहीही मोबदल्याची अपेक्षा न ठेवता, आनंदाने रक्त दिलं. आपण एक जीव वाचवतो आहे ह्याच भावनेने ते उत्साही दिसत होते.

ह्या सगळ्यांच्या आधारावर आम्ही सगळे नवीन गावी तग धरून होतो आणि रोज उगवत्या सूर्याबरोबर परत mission "increasingly" impossible च्या मागे लागायचो.

दोन इंची ब्रेक-थ्रू
आता बाबांना कोमात जाऊन एक महिना उलटून गेला होता. आलेली दिवाळी फुसक्याबारसारखी अपेक्षा उंचावून निघून गेली. कोमा, इन्फेक्शन, तापाशी लढताना अनेक औषधं झाली, सीटी स्कॅन झाले, अंगारे, पोथ्या, पारयणं, नवस झाले. प्रत्येकाने आपापल्यापरीने प्रयत्न केले. पण यश मात्र हाती लागत नव्हतं. एवढे उपाय करूनसुद्धा रिकवरी दिसत नव्हती आणि टेन्शन वाढत होतं. माझं मन आता वैभवीच्या "बाबा नक्की बरे होणार" या मंत्रावर शंका घ्यायला लागलं होतं. "हे बघ, स्टॅटिस्टिकली, कोमात पाच दिवसांनंतर वाचणार्‍यांचं प्रमाण..." माझं गणिती वाक्य अर्धवट तोडत ती म्हणायची "ते काहीही असो. मला खात्री आहे बाबा नक्कीच, शंभर टक्के शुद्धीवर येणार. " शेवटी एंडोस्कोपी स्पेशालिस्ट कडे गेलो असताना 'युरेका' क्षण आला. तोंडातली फीडिंग ट्यूब २ इंचांनी भलत्याच ठिकाणी औषधं पोहोचवत होती. दोन इंची ट्यूबचं महत्त्व त्या दिवशी कळालं. आमच्या आशा परत पुलकित झाल्या. प्रयत्न नव्या जोमाने सुरू झाले.

एके दिवशी आईच्या नकळत, तिला बाबांच्या उशाशी बसून त्यांचा हात हातात घेत हळुवारपणे कोमातून बाहेर बोलावतांना पाहिलं. बाबा आपलं बोलणं ऐकत आहेत असा तिचा विश्वास होता. याआधी माझ्या नवतरुण खुळचट फिरंगी विचारांच्या भरात मी त्यांना चिडवायचो "अरे काय तुम्ही... फक्त ऑफिस, घरकाम, मुलं... हेच का तुमचं आयुष्य? जरा हातात हात घेऊन पिक्चरला का जात नाहीत? एवढं काय ते लाजायचं." आईपण कमाल करायची. पूजा समारंभाला बाबांसोबत "मम आत्मनः" करत, पळीने उदक सोडताना नव्या नवरीसारखी लाजायची. नंतर मला उपदेशाचे पाठ मिळायचे... "अरे प्रेम असायला हातात हात घालून, नट-नट्यांसारखं गावभर गाणी म्हणत हिंडावं लागत नाही". तो उपदेश माझ्या 'मॉडर्न' डोक्याच्या आरपार निघून जायचा. आईचं ते हळुवार बोलावणं ऐकून असं वाटायचं की अचानक बाबांच्या हातांना परत संवेदना यावी आणि आईच्या हातांना त्यांनी अलगद धरून घ्यावं.

ट्यूब योग्य जागी बसल्यानंतर, आधी निरुपयोगी ठरणारी औषधं आता आपली किमया दाखवू लागली होती. चार पाच दिवसांनी हाताचं ते अनियंत्रित हलणं बंद झालं. हळूहळू त्यांच्यात संवेदना येऊ लागली, डोळ्यांच्या पापण्या हलायला लागल्या, ओठ थरथरायला लागले. अखेरीस एक दिवस बाबा त्यांच्या आवडीचं स्तोत्र, विष्णुसहस्रनाम पुटपुटत हळूहळू कोमातून बाहेर आले. त्यांची आतल्याआत चाललेली स्ट्रगल तेव्हा दिसली. आमच्या आनंदाला पारावार उरला नाही. बाहेरच्या नुकत्याच संपलेल्या दिवाळीच्या फटाक्यांचे आवाज आमच्या मनात परत जागे झाले.

त्या नंतर आमची रोज ओळखपरेड चाले. बाबांच्या नशिबाने त्यांना बायकोचं नाव नीट आठवलं! मुलांची नावं एकदम आठवली नाहीत मात्र त्यांनी एकेका वाक्यात तीनही मुलांची व्यक्तिचित्रं त्यांच्या मिष्किल शैलीतून इतकी बेमिसाल मांडली की आम्ही सर्वांनी तोंडात बोटं घातली. बाबांच्या स्मृतीत आम्ही पोरं नावांनी नाही तर आमच्या 'करतुतीं'नी घर करून होतो!

ते हळूहळू चालायला फिरायला लागले आणि घरी जायची परवानगी मिळाली तोवर अहमदाबादेतल्या आमच्या वास्तव्याचा दीड महिना उलटून गेला होता. त्यांना पूर्णपणे पूर्ववत व्हायला एका वर्षाहून जास्त वेळ लागला.

अहमदाबादहून निघायच्या आदल्या दिवशी बाबांना वाचवणारे गुजराथी बांधव आवर्जून वॅन घेऊन आले होते, त्यांच्या पप्पाजींना आणि आम्हां सगळ्यांना त्यांच्या श्रद्धेच्या मंदिरात व आपल्या घरी जेवायला घेऊन जायला. त्या दिवशीच्या खाकर्‍याची आणि उंधियोची चव काही औरच होती.

देव + माणसं = देवमाणसं !!
माझा चमत्कारांवर, अंधश्रद्धांवर विश्वास नाही. माझ्यामते बाबांचा सर्वपित्री अमावस्येला झालेला अपघात हा केवळ को-इन्सिडन्स होता. कदाचित त्या रात्री जरा जास्त अंधार असावा. पण 'देव' ह्या संकल्पनेने आम्हां सगळ्यांना आशा दिली हे मात्र खरं. हतबल क्षणी, मनुष्याच्या ताकदीच्या बाहेरही अनेक गोष्टी आहेत ह्याची जाणीव होते. "आसमान में रहनेवाला जादूगर" काही किमया करून जाईल ह्या पुसटशा आशेवर आम्हाला संकटातल्या दिवसांना सामोर जाण्याचं बळ मिळालं.

आभार मानायचे ते कोणाकोणाचे? रस्त्यावर निपचित पडलेल्या अपरिचित व्यक्तीला मदतीचा हात देणार्‍या जीवनदात्यांचे? की बाबांच्या रिकवरी फेज मध्ये त्यांचा आत्मविश्वास परत द्यायला एक बिनकामी पोस्ट तयार करणार्‍या स्टेटबँकेतल्या स्नेह्यांचे? की सामजिक भोचकपणा झुगारून देत, फुलटाईम घरचे डॉक्टर्स देणार्‍या आमच्या सासुरवाड्यांचे? की दुखाःच्या क्षणी आपापल्यापरीने आधार देणार्‍या सगळ्या आप्तस्वकीयांचे? हे सगळे लोक तर आभारप्रदर्शनाच्या फॉर्म्यालिटी पलिकडे गेलेले आहेत. माणुसकीने आपलंसं करणारे हे लोक भेटल्यावर माझा देवावरचा विश्वास वाढला नसला तरी देवमाणसांवरचा विश्वास नक्कीच दृढ झाला आहे.

बायकांच्या भावनिकतेवर पुरुषदृष्टीने कितीही विनोद केले तरी, रात्री रडणार्‍या बाळाचा आवाज ऐकून फुटणारा पान्हा आणि आयुष्याशी झगडत असलेल्या नवर्‍याची काळजी घेणारी बायको बघितल्याशिवाय त्या भावनिकतेची आणि संवेदनक्षमतेची खरी किंमत कळत नाही.

देश, वेष, भाषा, जात ह्यांच्यापलीकडे गेलेली माणुसकी पाहिली की माणसाचं खरं 'नेचर' कळतं. भावनेच्या आधारावर, संवेदनक्षम मनं मोकळी करत जाणारी ही चालती बोलती देवमाणसं भेटली की त्यांच्या पावलावर आपली छोटी पावलं टाकण्याची प्रेरणा मिळते.

जीवनदान देणारी उदात्त मनुष्यवृत्ती पाहिल्यावर, जेव्हा जीव घ्यायला निघालेले, लोकांना एकमेकांपासून दूर करणारे, संकुचित वृत्तीचे मराठी-बिहारी, रशियन-जॉर्जियन, हिंदू-मुस्लिम जातीयवाद ऐकले की वाटतं, "वि कॅन डू बेटर दॅन धिस". बाबांच्या एका जुन्या वहीत लिहिलेला शेर आठवतो - "अष्कों को जो शबनम समझे, दर्दों को जो सरगम समझे, इन्सां है वो इन्सां बडा, जो दुश्मन को भी हमदम समझे|"

रक्ताची नाती
कधीकधी जुन्या आठवणींना उजाळा मिळतो, उंधियो खाताना घास घशात रेंगाळतो, डोळे पाणावतात आणि आमच्या आयुष्याला नवीन वळण देणारी १९९९ची ती अहमदाबादमधली दिवाळी आठवते. आम्ही सगळे त्या अनुभवातून खूप शिकलो. हा माझ्या डोळ्यांनी पाहिलेला, मनाला जाणवलेला फक्त चार महिन्यांचा आढावा. बाकी लोकांचे अनुभव बरेच वेगळेही असतील. पण ते मी इथे सांगणं योग्य ठरणार नाही.

झाडांमधून जंगल पाहायचं असेल तर जरा दूर जावं लागतं असं म्हणतात. आज या गोष्टीला बरीच वर्षं झाली आहेत. आता दुरून माणुसकीचं जंगल कसं स्वच्छ दिसतंय!

आम्हां दोघा भावांची लग्नं ठरल्याप्रमाणे दोन महिन्यांतच धूमधडाक्यात साजरी झाली. सासरकडच्या मंडळींनी जय्यत तयारी केली होती. अंगावर पांढरा कोट आणि गळ्यात स्टेथस्कोप घालून अहमदाबादमध्ये डॉक्टरच्या रुबाबात वावरणार्‍या सुना, आता नऊवारीत आणि दागिन्यात लाजल्या सवरल्या होत्या. त्यांच्या सौंदर्यावर सजलेला तो आत्मविश्वासाचा, अमाप जिव्हाळयाचा, आणि माणुसकीचा अदृश्य दागिना त्यांचं रूप अजूनच खुलवत होता. लग्नाला सगळ्या नातेवाईकांत, शुभचिंतकांत अहमदाबादच्या खास नातलगांचा पण समावेश होता. अंबालालजी, मेहुलकुमारजी, विमलजी, राजेशकुमारजी, बिरजूभाई आणि गोडबोलेकाका आवर्जून आले होते.

आमच्या रक्ताच्या नात्यांत आता अनेकांची भर पडली होती. 'बहनेवाला खून' थांबवणारी, पिशव्या भरभरून रक्त देणारी, आणी एका तान्हुल्यागत काळजी घेत बाबांना नवजीवन देणारी... "रक्ताची नाती".

-सुदर्शन महाबळ

Recession : What brings Software Engineers to reality...

I have seen pain in eyes of those who are not in this industry and I have seen how they are suffering. When will people in this industry will learn that money is not which lasts long. The way people in software/ BPO spends is USA mentality. "Jio yaar!!" that's what is funda. Everyone in software industry is trying to buy land/ flats/ apartment. Well and the hunger doesn't stop at one place but they need multiple. One for husband, one for wife, one for child and multiple if children. No wonder prices of everything goes up.

This was a forward but should be read and understood by all.

Mumbai Attack Sponsor

Bharatiy government is now probing into money transaction that might have been linked to Mumbai attack.... the news says.

Around Rs 2000 cr and 200 banks have been used to navigate this money to Bharat which was used for Mumbai attack. If government releases name of banks which were used for these transactions I wonder how many banks name may come up. I wonder if we have any policy for money laundering. US, UK and most of Europe have there policies around illegal use of money. Any bank involved in money laundering is heavily charged and may even be banned from any transaction. These rules if not already should be in place for all banks which operate in Bharat.

All banks, bank staff and anyone who works for bank may be not an employee of should be aware of these policies. If we dont set it right... same thing mught be used again against us.

A movie is released around same topic a week back, The International. I think everyone should see the movie which shows what impact money laundering can have. I can describe the outline of movie here. An international bank IBBC from Netherlands is involved in money laundering. Interpol is tracking the bank. Money is routed from African country to this bank. Weapons are purchaed from China and are supplied to these African countries. Interpol and few agent from America tries to invade their plan. It is fast paced movie. You just dont get time to think about anything till the last frame. But in a process you come to know everyone from top to bottom and from left to right, is involved in this. You can get in this mess thinking of trying to solve it. But you CAN'T.

Banglore Incidence... Something not new for Maharashtrians

News in Deccan

http://www.deccanherald.com/CONTENT/Feb92009/city20090209117445.asp

A letter from Saugata Chatterjee of Bangalore:

A few of my friends and I were just paying our bills and coming out of our regular Friday night watering hole and dinner place in Rest House Road, just off Brigade Road, and most of the women in the company were already standing outside. Some of us outside were smoking, people were happy, there was laughter and jokes, as there were many other people in the street, all coming out, satiated, in the closing hour of the various pubs and restaurants around.

Suddenly from up the street a massive SUV comes revving and speeding, hurtling down, and stops in a scream of brakes and swirling dust, millimeters away from this group of 4 women, barely missing one of their legs. A white Audi, imported, still under transfer, with the registration plate of KA-51 TR-2767. Some millionaire's toy thing, that in the wrong hands can kill.

Naturally the women are in shock. And quickly following the shock comes indignation. These are self made women running their own businesses, managing state responsibilities for global NGO firms, successful doctors. They are not used to being bullied. So they turn around, instead of shrinking back in fear. They protest.

And as soon as they turn around in protest, the car doors are flung open, and a stream of 4-5 rabid men run out towards these women, screaming obscenities in Hindi and Kannada against women in general, fists flailing.. Some of us who came in running at the sound of the screaming brakes now stand in the middle in defense of our women, and then blows start raining down. One of the goons make a couple of calls over the cellphone, and in seconds a stream of other equally rabid goondas land up. They gun straight for the women, and everyone a few well-meaning bystanders, acquaintances who know us from the restaurant, basically everyone who tries to help the women starts getting thoroughly beaten up.

Women are kicked in the groin, punched in the stomach, slapped across the face, grabbed everywhere, abused constantly. Men are smashed up professionally, blows aimed at livers, groins, kidneys and nose. A friend is hit repeatedly on the head by a stone until he passes out in a flood of blood.

A plain-clothes policeman (Vittal Kumar) who saunters in late stands by watching and urging people to stop, but doing absolutely nothing else. A 'cheetah' biker cop comes in, with our women pleading him to stop this madness, but he refuses action, saying a police van will come in soon and he cannot do anything. Everyone keeps getting hammered. Relentlessly.

The carnage continues for over 20 minutes.

Finally when the police van does come in it is this vandals who are raging and ranting, claiming to be true "sons of the Kannadiga soil", and we are positioned to be the villainous outsiders, bleeding, outraged. How do the cops believe them, especially seeing the bloody faces of our men and the violated rage of our women, while they carry nary a scratch on their bodies? Don't ask me! Yet, it is us who these goondas urge the newly arrived law-keepers to arrest, and the police promptly comply, and we are bundled into the van, some still being beaten as we are pushed in. Some blessed relief from pain inside the police van at least, even if we are inside and the real goons outside, driving alongside in their spanking white Audi. The guy who was hit by the stone is taken separately by the women to Mallya hospital.

Inside the police station at Cubbon Park it becomes clear that these goons and the police know each other by their first names. The policeman in charge (Thimmappa) initially refuses to even register any complaint from me, on the purported grounds that I am not fluent in Kannada and I have taken a few drinks (3 Kingfisher pints, to be precise) over the evening. No, it doesn't matter that I didn't have my car and was not driving, and no, it doesn't mater that the complaint will be written in English. We watch them and the goons exchange smiles and nods with our our bloodied and swelling eyes and realize in our pain-clouded still-in-shock brains the extent of truth in the claim of one of the main goons when he claimed earlier in the evening in virulent aggression: we own this town, this car belongs to an MLA, we will see how you return to this street!!

This was the turning point of the saga, I guess. For we refused to lie down quietly and be victims.

One of our girls, a vintage and proud Bangalorean who is running one of the town's most successful organic farming initiatives, took upon herself to write the complaint, when I was not allowed to write the same. Another Bangalore girl, a state director of a global NGO firm,
wrote the other molestation complaint separately on behalf of all the girls. Some of us called our friends in the media and corporate world. Everyone stepped up. And even when the odds were down and we were out, we did not give up, and as a singular body of violated citizens we spoke in one voice of courage and indomitable spirit. That voice had no limitation of language, not Kannada, nor English, or Hindi. It was the voice of human spirit that cannot be broken.

And in the face of that spirit, for the first time, we saw the ugly visage of vandalism, hiding behind the thin and inadequate veil of political corrupt power, narrow-vision regionalism and self-serving morality, start to wilt.

We spent 6 hours next day in the police station. The sub-inspector of police who filed our FIR, Ajay R M, seemed a breath of fresh air inasmuch that he did not appear a-priori biased like others, even though the hand of corruption and politico-criminal power backing these goons was still manifest in many ways: a starched, white-linen power-broker walked in handing over his card to the sub-inspector in support of the goons; the goons got an audience with the Inspector because of this intervention, while we had to interact one level lower down in the hierarchy; the plains cloth policeman of last night, even though he had arrived far too late in the crime scene, gave a warped statement, passing it off as a "neutral" point of view, repeatedly stressing that we came out of a pub and hence were drinking, positioning this as a 'drunken brawl', while completely forgetting to mention the unprovoked attack against the women and the one-sided vandalism and violence that ensued. I guess one cannot blame the low ranked police officer the criminal connections of these goons must be pervasive enough for him to be careful..

Thanks however to the impartial handling of the situation by Ajay, soon the goons were all identified. The lead actor was one Ravi Mallaya (38), a real estate honcho and owner of a small property off Brigade Road which he has converted into a "gaming" (you know what that means, don't you?) adda. The others identified are Mohan Basava (22) of Chamarajapet 12th Cross, R. Vijay Kumar Ramalingaraju (25) and Shivu Rajashekar (20). All are residents of 12th & 13th Cross in Vyalikaval. Their bravado and machismo were by that time evaporated. It was good to see their faces then.

Of course nothing much happened to them, nor did we expect it. They were supposed to be in lock up for at least the weekend till they were produced in court, but we understand that they were quickly released on (anticipatory?) bail. The car, purportedly belonging to an MLA, also does not figure in the FIR, apparently for reasons of "irrelevance to the case".The media also have given us fantastic coverage and support so far, strengthening the cause.

The goons meanwhile, as an after thought, also filed the customary reverse complaint on the morning after we filed our own complaint: the women have apparently scratched the car! (Why did they not file the complaint the same night, considering they came to the Police Station in the same car? Why was the car allowed to be taken off police custody? Why is the car still irrelevant to the case and not in the FIR? Questions.. questions..).

Is this the end of this saga? Probably not. Are these women, more precious to us as friends and wives than most things in our lives, safe to walk or drive down Brigade Road from now on or are the goonda elements, slighted by this arrest and disgrace, are lying in ambush, waiting, biding their time to cause some of us more grievous harm? We don't know. Is there reason for us to remain apprehensive of future
attacks and victimization? Perhaps.

But here is the point.

We stood up.

We believed in the power of individual citizens even in the face of hooliganism, intolerance, corruption and power mongering. Even though many of us have the option of leveraging political or government connections, we deliberately chose to fight this battle as individuals. Sure, these connections have been activated and they have been kept informed, should the worst case scenario unfold tomorrow. But we have chosen to not leverage them. And in every small win we register as a group of individual outraged citizens of Bangalore and India, however insignificant these milestones may be in the larger scheme of things, there is one small notch adding up in favor of what is right, one small notch against what is wrong. And we believe that every such small notch counts, each such mark is absolutely invaluable.

It is the people who make this city, this country, this world. It is you and I, as much as the terrorists inside and outside. And in our small insignificant little ways, it is my responsibility and yours to not shirk from investing effort – not just lip service or any token attempt, but real effort – in backing up what we ourselves believe in. It is so easy to logically argue that everything is corrupt, nothing is worth it, there are so many risks involved. We must not fall trap to this escapist trend. We must not fail to try.

Next time you feel outraged, violated, abused, don't let it go by and add up to your list of litanies and complaints. Stand up and take it to the limit - at least your own limit. Not in the same way as they wrong you, but in the way that every citizen, at least in theory, is entitled to complain and protest. Do not let the hooligans power rant scare you or prompt you into submission. Do not allow the corrupt cop make you give up trying. Carry the flame forward. Try harder. If are up to it, start right now.

Forward this note to everyone you want to be made aware of this. Post it in your own blogs. Talk about it amongst your circles. And if anyone of you should like to step forward with a word of empathy or advise, talk to me. Comment.

It is not Bangalore that is going to the dogs. It is us. We have far too long become accustomed to let everything go. And the more we let things go without any protest or fight, the dormant criminal and dark elements of the society get that much more encouraged. Every time we turn the other way, the hooligan next street gets incentivized to push the boundary a little further, provoke a little more, try something a little more atrocious. It is time for us to refuse to let this go on. We are responsible for making ourselves proud. Lets believe in ourselves. We can do this.

My name is Saugata Chatterjee. And I am standing up.I refuse to let Bangalore go to the hooligan slumdogs, even if some of them are pets

Developed or Developing

Heathrow expansion was carried two or three years back at London. Terminal 5 was developed over period of two years or so and it is operational since last year. There was opposition to terminal development as residence did not want nuisance and ofcourse for environment. But there campaign was late and gone in vain as government did not budge.

Now there is plan to expand Stansted airport. This will increase passengers by about 10 million yearly. But this time people are quite efficient for protest and they have taken authorities to High Court. Hearing will happen in another three days but this is how people are being aware of climate change and the surrounding change happening around them.

After reading this news I just remember another news on Pune, Maharashtra, which I read last week. Amidst general election fever picking up, Maharashtra government is in a process to approve fund for Pune international airport at Chakan. I have heard that even Mumbai airport is not utilised fully. This may or may not be true but have the requirements of international airport been evaluated actually for Pune?

But I think very few people have this question in their mind... all the farmers have been moved or are in a process of being moved from the allocated land. God knows how many of them have been paid as per market rate, farmers whose fields have not been taken by government will be sold to builders and they will move from there.... In short when I look at Chakan airport, I can see +CO2 -food from Maharashtra.....

Mindset

This was a forward email, but liked the message....

As my friend was passing the elephants, he suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at anytime, break away from the ropes they were tied to but for some reason, they did not. My friend saw a trainer nearby and asked why these beautiful, magnificent animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away.

"Well," he said, "when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it's enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free." My friend was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn't, they were stuck right where they were.

Like the elephants, how many of us go through life hanging onto a belief that we cannot do something, simply because we failed at it once before? So make an attempt to grow further.... Why shouldn't we try it again?

"YOUR ATTEMPT MAY FAIL, BUT NEVER FAIL TO MAKE AN ATTEMPT."

Tukaram

I was given this good site on Tukaram by my friend Medha. Do check this out.
You can also download gatha from here.

|| Maharashtra Dharma Vadhavava||

Rashi and Horoscope

Few days back I read a book on Punarjanm (Rebirth), by P. V. Vartak. I found answers to some of my questions, may not be fully satisfactory but which can lead to new thinking. Today I came across one news in sakal about Rashis and horoscope. A lecture was given by Pro. Prakash Parekh of "Andhashraddha Nirmulan Samiti".

It is nice to have discussion about such topics and try to investigate on this. But what I found in news is they just ridiculed about the subject. I am believer of Rashis/ Horoscope. I believe this is a science though it is not established like science. There are many proofs if you want to verify which can proove this science.

Though I use to believe this is a science I could not relate why and how exactly it is related to Grahas (Planet) and Nakshatras. My friend told me that earlier there were only Nakshatras and Grahas which vedic people used for predictions. There were no Rashis. It was later when it was hard to explain and figure out formation of Nakshatras, Rashis were created. They consist of 2.25 Nakshatras. Still I could not find reason how Grahas can impact anyone's life.

Well I could find two good reasons for this. First is, Moon and Sun even being at such vast distance affect on sea, which is huge. It cause high tide and low tide, on perfectly regular interval. This cycle is never missed. We are leaving on same earth why is it hard to believe they can also have impact on our body. After all, all communication within out body is done using low electric pulse, isnt it? It can be affected by extenal factors.

Second reason is written in the book I read, which I meantioned at begining. This thought can be digested only by those people who believe in rebirth or reincarnation. Whaterver are our deeds or Karmas in current birth are getting transmitted in atmosphere... it just gets reflected by the planets.

Though this sounds incomplete explanation I think if we investigate more about this we can definitely find some proof of relevance in horoscopic science. We may not rely on what our horoscope but definitely we should not discard it.

Dubai: Land of opportunity in East

Laid-Off Foreigners Flee as Dubai Spirals Down

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/12/world/middleeast/12dubai.html?_r=1

Bryan Denton for The New York Times
Published: February 11, 2009

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Sofia, a 34-year-old Frenchwoman, moved here a year ago to take a job in advertising, so confident about Dubai's fast-growing economy that she bought an apartment for almost $300,000 with a 15-year mortgage.

An abandoned car in a parking garage in Dubai. One report said 3,000 cars were
sitting abandoned at the Dubai Airport.

Now, like many of the foreign workers who make up 90 percent of the population here, she has been laid off and faces the prospect of being forced to leave this Persian Gulf city — or worse.

"I'm really scared of what could happen, because I bought property here," said Sofia, who asked that her last name be withheld because she is still hunting for a new job. "If I can't pay it off, I was told I could end up in debtors' prison."

With Dubai's economy in free fall, newspapers have reported that more than 3,000 cars sit abandoned in the parking lot at the Dubai Airport, left by fleeing, debt-ridden foreigners (who could in fact be imprisoned if they failed to pay their bills). Some are said to have maxed-out credit cards inside and notes of apology taped to the windshield.

The government says the real number is much lower. But the stories contain at least a grain of truth: jobless people here lose their work visas and then must leave the country within a month. That in turn reduces spending, creates housing vacancies and lowers real estate prices, in a downward spiral that has left parts of Dubai — once hailed as the economic superpower of the Middle East — looking like a ghost town.

No one knows how bad things have become, though it is clear that tens of thousands have left, real estate prices have crashed and scores of Dubai's major construction projects have been suspended or canceled. But with the government unwilling to provide data, rumors are bound to flourish, damaging confidence and further undermining the economy.

Instead of moving toward greater transparency, the Emirates seem to be moving in the other direction. A new draft media law would make it a crime to damage the country's reputation or economy, punishable by fines of up to 1 million dirhams (about $272,000).

Some say it is already having a chilling effect on reporting about the crisis.

Last month, local newspapers reported that Dubai was canceling 1,500 work visas every day, citing unnamed government officials. Asked about the number, Humaid bin Dimas, a spokesman for Dubai's Labor Ministry, said he would not confirm or deny it and refused to comment further. Some say the true figure is much higher.

"At the moment there is a readiness to believe the worst," said Simon Williams, HSBC bank's chief economist in Dubai. "And the limits on data make it difficult to counter the rumors."

Some things are clear: real estate prices, which rose dramatically during Dubai's six-year boom, have dropped 30 percent or more over the past two or three months in some parts of the city. Last week, Moody's Investor's Service announced that it might downgrade its ratings on six of Dubai's most prominent state-owned companies, citing a deterioration in the economic outlook. So many used luxury cars are for sale , they are sometimes sold for 40 percent less than the asking price two months ago, car dealers say. Dubai's roads,

usually thick with traffic at this time of year, are now mostly clear.

Some analysts say the crisis is likely to have long-lasting effects on the seven-member emirates federation, where Dubai has long played rebellious younger brother to oil-rich and more conservative Abu Dhabi. Dubai officials, swallowing their pride, have made clear that they would be open to a bailout, but so far Abu Dhabi has offered assistance only to its own banks.

"Why is Abu Dhabi allowing its neighbor to have its international reputation trashed, when it could bail out Dubai's banks and restore confidence?" said Christopher M. Davidson, who predicted the current crisis in "Dubai: The Vulnerability of Success," a book published last year. "Perhaps the plan is to centralize the U.A.E." under Abu Dhabi's control, he mused, in a move that would sharply curtail Dubai's independence and perhaps change its signature freewheeling style.

For many foreigners, Dubai had seemed at first to be a refuge, relatively insulated from the panic that began hitting the rest of the world last autumn. The Persian Gulf is cushioned by vast oil and gas wealth, and some who lost jobs in New York and London began applying here.

But Dubai, unlike Abu Dhabi or nearby Qatar and Saudi Arabia, does not have its own oil, and had built its reputation on real estate, finance and tourism. Now, many expatriates here talk about Dubai as though it were a con game all along. Lurid rumors spread quickly: the Palm Jumeira, an artificial island that is one of this city's trademark developments, is said to be sinking, and when you turn the faucets in the hotels built atop it, only cockroaches come out.

"Is it going to get better? They tell you that, but I don't know what to believe anymore," said Sofia, who still hopes to find a job before her time runs out. "People are really panicking quickly."

Hamza Thiab, a 27-year-old Iraqi who moved here from Baghdad in 2005, lost his job with an engineering firm six weeks ago. He has until the end of February to find a job, or he must leave. "I've been looking for a new job for three months, and I've only had two interviews," he said. "Before, you used to open up the papers here and see dozens of jobs. The minimum for a civil engineer with four years' experience used to be 15,000 dirhams a month. Now, the maximum you'll get is 8,000," or about $2,000.

Mr. Thiab was sitting in a Costa Coffee Shop in the Ibn Battuta mall, where most of the customers seemed to be single men sitting alone, dolefully drinking coffee at midday. If he fails to find a job, he will have to go to Jordan, where he has family members — Iraq is still too dangerous, he says — though the situation is no better there. Before that, he will have to borrow money from his father to pay off the more than $12,000 he still owes on a bank loan for his Honda Civic. Iraqi friends bought fancier cars and are now, with no job, struggling to sell them.

"Before, so many of us were living a good life here," Mr. Thiab said. "Now we cannot pay our loans. We are all just sleeping, smoking, drinking coffee and having headaches because of the situation."

A New York Times employee in Dubai contributed reporting.