Mehek Bassi's Blog - Posts Tagged "india"
Along the Bank of 'Ganges'
It was specifically the second time that I was visiting Mussoorie and Dehradun, in my entire life till now, that my family decided to take a stop at ‘Haridwar’ and spend a night before we could proceed further to relax and enjoy our winter vacations in the queen of hills: Mussoorie. Everyone agreed to visit the holy river ‘Ganges’ and have a snaan (bath) in it, but due to overly cold weather, we stuck to just splashing some water on our faces, I (to be honest) didn’t want to do that even for I read an article about ‘The Ganga Pollution, a cause of concern – research by IIT-Kanpur Professor’ a few weeks back only, and even dipping my hand in the water made me nauseous. Sorry, but this is the truth (I don’t intend to hurt anyone’s sentiments!!)
So, we reached Haridwar at around 8pm, and it was freezing cold (not to forget the fog!) and we reached The Holy Ganga by 9pm. It was all dark and secluded, unlike the usual evenings, when one can’t even find a space of two foot steps to stand by. We all bought a little basket with a diya (earthen lamp) and some flowers, scented leaves and some incense sticks. The pandit initially demanded only Rs. 10 for the puja, but the amount rose to significant Rs. 200 as the puja was over! Then I remembered the movie ‘Oh My God’ by Paresh Rawal, where he brought the truth of pandits and priests in light, and enlightened their ways of befooling the common man on the name of God. But we couldn’t negotiate at that moment, for the priest also asked for Rs. 2500 more if we were interested in any further puja or donations. But we all simply chose to be quiet and washed our hands in Ganges, prayed in silent and moved on. I had to dip my hands in the water for I couldn’t argue with mom who is a devoted religious personality in the entire family!
Next morning, we all decided to visit some temples and also see the ‘Ram Jhula’ in Rishikesh. It is nothing, but an ancient bridge over the Holy Ganga. We watched some ancient temples like: ‘Swarg Asharam’, ‘The Gita Bhawan’ and continued our journey. The guide with us tried to mislead us and also provoked us to buy a ‘Rudraksh’ (estimated of worth a few lakhs) in just a few thousands (that proved it was a forging!).
Next we took a boat to cross the holy river and reach back to our car, and start with our journey to Mussoorie. We got off the boat and started walking along the banks of Ganges and meanwhile I was shooting some awesome shots of nature and hills, with river flowing speedily, making it even more serene. I took a few shots, and then my lens just got stuck onto a ‘saint’, who was rubbing the sand of the river-side on his body. He was dressed in loose saffron clothes, his hair all stuck up together, untidy white beard and lots of malas (garlands and ornaments) in his neck and arms. He had a jute bag with him in which he may be carrying some food or vessels, or may be clothes? I didn’t know, but the wheels of my mind churned and I was forced to think about if these people actually live a peaceful and contended life? Were the really happy with their life? Is it the way to abode to the heavens? I can’t imagine even one day of my life without electricity, internet and all the facilities that made the human race lazy and dependable, but this is the truth!
That man was wearing a few clothes in such a cold weather, don’t they feel cold? I was packed up with sweaters and jackets, but he was barely wearing two layers, and with his bare legs and feet, he started walking. The picture shown above is the actual picture of that man; unfortunately I couldn’t capture the frontal side, for we had to follow a different path. I was nearing the car, and my mind was filled up with questions. Was this the way to get salvation from the circle of births? If yes, then WHY? What about all the rest of the people who are far, far away from such a lifestyle. People like me, or you (reading this on computers via internet, dependable society!). He carried so little with him, and we have so, so much and still cry for more. He didn’t wear shoes, but we have multiple pairs, and still are not satisfied. He didn’t had much food, but we have pizza hut, dominos, café coffee day, and what not! But still we go to try the new Italian restaurant opened in the city.
What is MOKSHA (liberation)? The true definition might be different for each of us, but for them Moksha means living independently, till the last breath. Living with limited supplies, enough to keep them alive, and keep them away from all the moh-maya (hedonism) of this world, and more than enough to keep them happy.
I thought deeper and deeper…we were going to stay in Fortune Resorts in Mussoorie (rated as one of the best hotel chain in India), does it matter? NO! We were going to have a luxurious week ahead, but will it lead me to internal happiness and satisfaction? I don’t think so. I may end up craving for more, and being greedy instead, or just being plain about it. No amount of money or luxury can provide internal liberation, rather the person just ends up being avaricious and as per the mythology of Hinduism, his soul wanders and his cycle of re-births never ends. But is it the fate of around 6.5 billion people (if we roughly ignore a number as large as 0.5 billion, for all the priests and pandits and moulvis of the world)? Will all the souls wander and will they all take birth again and again?
The questions are endless and answers are limited and contradictory. The best thing is to find the answer within one’s own self and define liberation on our own terms. Till then, keep thinking, keep travelling, keep talking to yourself and know yourself within…one life!
So, we reached Haridwar at around 8pm, and it was freezing cold (not to forget the fog!) and we reached The Holy Ganga by 9pm. It was all dark and secluded, unlike the usual evenings, when one can’t even find a space of two foot steps to stand by. We all bought a little basket with a diya (earthen lamp) and some flowers, scented leaves and some incense sticks. The pandit initially demanded only Rs. 10 for the puja, but the amount rose to significant Rs. 200 as the puja was over! Then I remembered the movie ‘Oh My God’ by Paresh Rawal, where he brought the truth of pandits and priests in light, and enlightened their ways of befooling the common man on the name of God. But we couldn’t negotiate at that moment, for the priest also asked for Rs. 2500 more if we were interested in any further puja or donations. But we all simply chose to be quiet and washed our hands in Ganges, prayed in silent and moved on. I had to dip my hands in the water for I couldn’t argue with mom who is a devoted religious personality in the entire family!
Next morning, we all decided to visit some temples and also see the ‘Ram Jhula’ in Rishikesh. It is nothing, but an ancient bridge over the Holy Ganga. We watched some ancient temples like: ‘Swarg Asharam’, ‘The Gita Bhawan’ and continued our journey. The guide with us tried to mislead us and also provoked us to buy a ‘Rudraksh’ (estimated of worth a few lakhs) in just a few thousands (that proved it was a forging!).
Next we took a boat to cross the holy river and reach back to our car, and start with our journey to Mussoorie. We got off the boat and started walking along the banks of Ganges and meanwhile I was shooting some awesome shots of nature and hills, with river flowing speedily, making it even more serene. I took a few shots, and then my lens just got stuck onto a ‘saint’, who was rubbing the sand of the river-side on his body. He was dressed in loose saffron clothes, his hair all stuck up together, untidy white beard and lots of malas (garlands and ornaments) in his neck and arms. He had a jute bag with him in which he may be carrying some food or vessels, or may be clothes? I didn’t know, but the wheels of my mind churned and I was forced to think about if these people actually live a peaceful and contended life? Were the really happy with their life? Is it the way to abode to the heavens? I can’t imagine even one day of my life without electricity, internet and all the facilities that made the human race lazy and dependable, but this is the truth!
That man was wearing a few clothes in such a cold weather, don’t they feel cold? I was packed up with sweaters and jackets, but he was barely wearing two layers, and with his bare legs and feet, he started walking. The picture shown above is the actual picture of that man; unfortunately I couldn’t capture the frontal side, for we had to follow a different path. I was nearing the car, and my mind was filled up with questions. Was this the way to get salvation from the circle of births? If yes, then WHY? What about all the rest of the people who are far, far away from such a lifestyle. People like me, or you (reading this on computers via internet, dependable society!). He carried so little with him, and we have so, so much and still cry for more. He didn’t wear shoes, but we have multiple pairs, and still are not satisfied. He didn’t had much food, but we have pizza hut, dominos, café coffee day, and what not! But still we go to try the new Italian restaurant opened in the city.
What is MOKSHA (liberation)? The true definition might be different for each of us, but for them Moksha means living independently, till the last breath. Living with limited supplies, enough to keep them alive, and keep them away from all the moh-maya (hedonism) of this world, and more than enough to keep them happy.
I thought deeper and deeper…we were going to stay in Fortune Resorts in Mussoorie (rated as one of the best hotel chain in India), does it matter? NO! We were going to have a luxurious week ahead, but will it lead me to internal happiness and satisfaction? I don’t think so. I may end up craving for more, and being greedy instead, or just being plain about it. No amount of money or luxury can provide internal liberation, rather the person just ends up being avaricious and as per the mythology of Hinduism, his soul wanders and his cycle of re-births never ends. But is it the fate of around 6.5 billion people (if we roughly ignore a number as large as 0.5 billion, for all the priests and pandits and moulvis of the world)? Will all the souls wander and will they all take birth again and again?
The questions are endless and answers are limited and contradictory. The best thing is to find the answer within one’s own self and define liberation on our own terms. Till then, keep thinking, keep travelling, keep talking to yourself and know yourself within…one life!
Republic or 'Rape'-Public?
Republic, err…no! India is now addressed as the ‘Rape’ Public with all the crimes going on at a massive scale, and the government officials maintaining a constant silence like ‘Barfi’…well, at least he managed to say his name in the movie, but here, the people in power are simply mute to the pleadings of common man, deaf to the cries of victims and blind to whatever is going on in the nation. With so many candle marches and protests held against the government, no action has been taken till today, i.e. 03rd January, 2013. December 2012 will be remembered as a black month in the history, but for how long? The government officials are taking the ‘three monkeys’ symbolized by Baapu (Mahatma Gandhi), far too seriously. He symbolized ‘see no evil, hear no evil, and talk no evil’. But today the politicians have adapted to simply one motto ‘see nothing, hear nothing, and say nothing’.
Such shameless people are in power today that they don’t even resign after being allegedly accused for such repugnant corruption cases against them. We vote for them, elect them with a hope that when we will need them, they will come to our rescue, help the people; but opposite happens. Women are publicly molested, people are exploited and the nation is raped daily with all the corruption cases and frauds in the country. Not only sexual harassment, but people are exploited daily emotionally, mentally and socially. Not even the social networking sites are free anymore.
That was one girl who was raped on 16th December, 2012, and the nation woke up. But government is still deep asleep! The accused are still alive while the victim is dead. The matter is not whether those 6 rapists will be punished or not, but the matter is when will all this ‘STOP’? When will India become truly free for girls and women? We cannot even dream about going out in our own town, Ludhiana, after 8pm, save those big metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore etc.
Today people not only demand justice for the departed soul of the victim, but a strong rule and fast track courts to handle such cases in a bound time. But the question arises; will any of the demands get fulfilled? Or the people will as usual become quiet after a few more protests and marches? Will the victim be forgotten and people will consequently get over it? Or this calls for another revolution in India?
I heard some people demanding that girls should be taught martial arts and karate and other defence activities. But what if they are attacked by 10 or 20 or even more men? Over powering those men looks easy in movies and Bollywood drama flicks, but in reality, not even a black belt can do that with ease. Instead of teaching protection techniques to girls, how about teaching ‘NOT TO RAPE’ to men? Instead of making girls physically strong, how about making men ‘respect the sex that gave them birth’?
This topic has endless discussion and infinite view points, but what I felt, I jotted it down. It no doubt invites so many conflicting issues, but that’s all I felt, and thought to add in my site, so here it is…
Lastly I’ll conclude by few lines of my own:
I sacrificed so much for you, brother.
I loved and cared for you always, boyfriend.
I gave up so much for you and your family, husband.
I gave you birth with so much pain, son.
I am the ‘woman’, without whom your existence is impossible!
And what do you do to me? Rape me, molest me, kill me and end it all?
This is how I get re-paid? Today I demand an answer, today I want justice…
Such shameless people are in power today that they don’t even resign after being allegedly accused for such repugnant corruption cases against them. We vote for them, elect them with a hope that when we will need them, they will come to our rescue, help the people; but opposite happens. Women are publicly molested, people are exploited and the nation is raped daily with all the corruption cases and frauds in the country. Not only sexual harassment, but people are exploited daily emotionally, mentally and socially. Not even the social networking sites are free anymore.
That was one girl who was raped on 16th December, 2012, and the nation woke up. But government is still deep asleep! The accused are still alive while the victim is dead. The matter is not whether those 6 rapists will be punished or not, but the matter is when will all this ‘STOP’? When will India become truly free for girls and women? We cannot even dream about going out in our own town, Ludhiana, after 8pm, save those big metropolitan cities like Delhi, Mumbai, and Bangalore etc.
Today people not only demand justice for the departed soul of the victim, but a strong rule and fast track courts to handle such cases in a bound time. But the question arises; will any of the demands get fulfilled? Or the people will as usual become quiet after a few more protests and marches? Will the victim be forgotten and people will consequently get over it? Or this calls for another revolution in India?
I heard some people demanding that girls should be taught martial arts and karate and other defence activities. But what if they are attacked by 10 or 20 or even more men? Over powering those men looks easy in movies and Bollywood drama flicks, but in reality, not even a black belt can do that with ease. Instead of teaching protection techniques to girls, how about teaching ‘NOT TO RAPE’ to men? Instead of making girls physically strong, how about making men ‘respect the sex that gave them birth’?
This topic has endless discussion and infinite view points, but what I felt, I jotted it down. It no doubt invites so many conflicting issues, but that’s all I felt, and thought to add in my site, so here it is…
Lastly I’ll conclude by few lines of my own:
I sacrificed so much for you, brother.
I loved and cared for you always, boyfriend.
I gave up so much for you and your family, husband.
I gave you birth with so much pain, son.
I am the ‘woman’, without whom your existence is impossible!
And what do you do to me? Rape me, molest me, kill me and end it all?
This is how I get re-paid? Today I demand an answer, today I want justice…
Mini Bollywood in Colleges!
May it be an engineering college or a commerce college or an arts one, all have their own mini-bollywood residing in them. Don’t know how? Read ahead and find out:
In colleges, only guys and girls with heroic and sexy figures are on the most popular list. Now every college have their personal Kareena’s and Aishwarya’s, also the infamous John Abraham’s of the college can be seen performing dangerous bike stunts outside the college campus to impress the new hot fresher aka Katrina of the college! But there do exist Salman’s, who are the brats and can beat-up anyone if they mess with them or their girlfriends!
The freshers of the college are ranked as per their marks in twelfth standard according to college faculty, but they are ACTUALLY ranked as per their looks by their seniors for their upcoming years in the college! Good looking girls can find million friends on first day of her college and many seniors approach them with hungry eyes on their very first day! By the end of the day, she ends up adding plenty of guys on facebook and replying to some hundred new messages saying, “Welcome to our college dear…for any help you can contact me anytime! Don’t feel shy sweety” and some really weird ones too like: “Hey b’ful chick, saw u in canteen 2day, btw Rocky hea…cute gal cya tomrw!”
While the hot and sexy girls are prime attention of seniors, but unfortunately the fresh cool-dudes of college are threat for seniors for they may steal their girl-friends! So they rag them and threaten them on the very first day! Filthy and abusive language is commonly heard while ragging, “Abey, bacha hai tu saale, teri maa *#$*%&^ shaanti se zinda rehna hai to hamare rules follow karne honge!” While maximum of girls are welcomed like sweethearts, but the guys are mostly exposed to unfavorable circumstances! Guys in colleges can be divided broadly into three categories:
1. The Sanjay Dutt’s (of Khalnayak) and Salman Khan’s (of Wanted) are the ‘BHAI-LOGS’ of the college! Any mess up or fight, and they will always be seen in the middle of the crowd. They usually have 2-3 girlfriends and some other chicks in row with them, just for the cool-look! And they are most of the time, surrounded by some comparatively less ‘daring’ guys who flaunt their courage all the time to keep their spirits up! But they too crave for Aishwarya’s and Katrina’s of the college and some fresher girls with sweet looks.
2. Then the second category is of the chocolate boys of college, basically the Ranbir Kapoor’s (of Bachna Ae Haseeno) or Imran Khan’s (of I Hate Love Stories) orShahrukh’s or we can also consider all the Emran Hashmi’s in this category! They pretend to be lover-boys and big time flirts and killers aka ‘shikaris’ but actually end up falling for one sweet girl.
3. And the third category comprises of Sharman Joshi’s (of Three Idiots) who are always busy mugging up the syllabus and studying all the time! To whom the terms like love, relationships, and sex are foreign and who think that talking with a girl is next to committing a crime! They can be easily found in college libraries or computer-labs, working on some projects or mugging up some more books!
Same is with girls…the three broad categories are:
1. First, the popular hot girls like Vidya Balan (of The Dirty Picture) who are mostly seen with the Salman Khan’s of college surrounding them in really short skirts and who are always flaunting their cleavage one or the other way! They end up just being an ‘entertainment, entertainment and entertainment’ for guys, and nothing more!
2. Then the second category is of ‘sweet and bubbly girls’, just like Preity Zinta (inKal Ho Na Ho!) or Kajol (in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai) who are in the eyes of most of the guys of college! Even the nerds can focus on them by fault because of their sweetness! They have lot of friends and they are always seen in the middle of a big flock of girls around them! They also become the common reason of fights among the guys!
3. And the third category is of SUPER-NERD girls, like Vidya Balan (in No One Killed Jessica), who are most of the time busy with their books and their computers and doing some random projects. They don’t even know the terms like ‘bleaching, waxing or even hair-cut’, they believe in “hidden beauty” and so they prefer “hiding their beauty!”
So, every college has a mini-bollywood, while some people play the characters, some just walk in and out as audience! Some are the heroes, and some villains, some are geniuses while some, total NERDS! Every college has a colorful life…so, go discover it in your college, add colors to your life, live to the fullest…one life!
In colleges, only guys and girls with heroic and sexy figures are on the most popular list. Now every college have their personal Kareena’s and Aishwarya’s, also the infamous John Abraham’s of the college can be seen performing dangerous bike stunts outside the college campus to impress the new hot fresher aka Katrina of the college! But there do exist Salman’s, who are the brats and can beat-up anyone if they mess with them or their girlfriends!
The freshers of the college are ranked as per their marks in twelfth standard according to college faculty, but they are ACTUALLY ranked as per their looks by their seniors for their upcoming years in the college! Good looking girls can find million friends on first day of her college and many seniors approach them with hungry eyes on their very first day! By the end of the day, she ends up adding plenty of guys on facebook and replying to some hundred new messages saying, “Welcome to our college dear…for any help you can contact me anytime! Don’t feel shy sweety” and some really weird ones too like: “Hey b’ful chick, saw u in canteen 2day, btw Rocky hea…cute gal cya tomrw!”
While the hot and sexy girls are prime attention of seniors, but unfortunately the fresh cool-dudes of college are threat for seniors for they may steal their girl-friends! So they rag them and threaten them on the very first day! Filthy and abusive language is commonly heard while ragging, “Abey, bacha hai tu saale, teri maa *#$*%&^ shaanti se zinda rehna hai to hamare rules follow karne honge!” While maximum of girls are welcomed like sweethearts, but the guys are mostly exposed to unfavorable circumstances! Guys in colleges can be divided broadly into three categories:
1. The Sanjay Dutt’s (of Khalnayak) and Salman Khan’s (of Wanted) are the ‘BHAI-LOGS’ of the college! Any mess up or fight, and they will always be seen in the middle of the crowd. They usually have 2-3 girlfriends and some other chicks in row with them, just for the cool-look! And they are most of the time, surrounded by some comparatively less ‘daring’ guys who flaunt their courage all the time to keep their spirits up! But they too crave for Aishwarya’s and Katrina’s of the college and some fresher girls with sweet looks.
2. Then the second category is of the chocolate boys of college, basically the Ranbir Kapoor’s (of Bachna Ae Haseeno) or Imran Khan’s (of I Hate Love Stories) orShahrukh’s or we can also consider all the Emran Hashmi’s in this category! They pretend to be lover-boys and big time flirts and killers aka ‘shikaris’ but actually end up falling for one sweet girl.
3. And the third category comprises of Sharman Joshi’s (of Three Idiots) who are always busy mugging up the syllabus and studying all the time! To whom the terms like love, relationships, and sex are foreign and who think that talking with a girl is next to committing a crime! They can be easily found in college libraries or computer-labs, working on some projects or mugging up some more books!
Same is with girls…the three broad categories are:
1. First, the popular hot girls like Vidya Balan (of The Dirty Picture) who are mostly seen with the Salman Khan’s of college surrounding them in really short skirts and who are always flaunting their cleavage one or the other way! They end up just being an ‘entertainment, entertainment and entertainment’ for guys, and nothing more!
2. Then the second category is of ‘sweet and bubbly girls’, just like Preity Zinta (inKal Ho Na Ho!) or Kajol (in Kuch Kuch Hota Hai) who are in the eyes of most of the guys of college! Even the nerds can focus on them by fault because of their sweetness! They have lot of friends and they are always seen in the middle of a big flock of girls around them! They also become the common reason of fights among the guys!
3. And the third category is of SUPER-NERD girls, like Vidya Balan (in No One Killed Jessica), who are most of the time busy with their books and their computers and doing some random projects. They don’t even know the terms like ‘bleaching, waxing or even hair-cut’, they believe in “hidden beauty” and so they prefer “hiding their beauty!”
So, every college has a mini-bollywood, while some people play the characters, some just walk in and out as audience! Some are the heroes, and some villains, some are geniuses while some, total NERDS! Every college has a colorful life…so, go discover it in your college, add colors to your life, live to the fullest…one life!
