Aman Jassal's Blog
July 7, 2021
New Evolution
Last few months have taught us so many things. These unprecedented times are hard for some, easy for others; entertaining for few and boring for many more; busy for few and extra-free for many more. And there are some insane like me who are trying to be extra-optimistic and looking for opportunities in these hard times. There is a reason for this optimism also and that is – being pessimist won’t serve any good.
All thanks to Corona virus for this free time. With plenty of spare time I indulged into all those activities which I was procrastinating since years; Reading, writing, E-commerce business, learning stock trading and investing. And good thing is during all this virus thing, everything including education turned online and there is plenty of free stuff to indulge in. And what I learned during the planning phase of this new education regime is that whatever you put a finger on there are plenty of people already doing it and are masters at. But you got to start some place.continue....
May 3, 2020
Love You Zindagi
Last week I decided to start writing again, and thought it would be a good idea to give myself a timeframe. Let’s say a blog or at least a paper for the next book every week. So, today I opened a Microsoft Word file and was stuck in a thought process for about an hour. There should be plenty to write as I was away from it for four years; should be able to write at least a paper.Don’t want to write anything negative in these gloomy days, we already have enough of negativity. To whom so ever I have talked in last month or so, everyone is counting numbers of dead or infected as if a cricket match is going on and they are following a score board. All these days should have something positive also; and I have four years to search for, these many years must have given me at least a paper load of good stuff; so let’s start writing.Love YouZindagiThis hibernation or writer’s block has started from my fatherhood. In 2016 I became a father. Not only this, my wife gave birth to twins, and the jackpot is one boy & one girl. Enough for a good positive start J. If not whole of my life like many Punjabi’s, at least from last two-three years I was thinking about moving out of India. In 2016 end I shifted my base to Australia. It wasn’t my 1stchoice, as I would have loved to go to Europe any day but Australia is also good. So second positive, I got what I wanted. Always wanted to start something of my own and moving to a new place gave me new opportunities. Leaving the engineering field behind started running a Café and that’s another positive.After a couple of years of hard-work and running around I am now settled here, I own a house (of course with a mortgage) two cars, wife’s happy with her work, kids are growing fast and doing good in mannerism and etiquettes (that’s what I stress more on, not the schooling or winning a kids reality showJ ). Professionally I am working on to something new, can tell you more about it once it’s done. And moreover, I am not a settler; once something is done I will move onto something completely different (that will never stop). When I started writing this piece, I could think of many positive changes in my life (there are plenty more I can write, but these are the major events) but none negative. That doesn’t mean life is all rosy but I believe when you start looking for good things in your life the negativity goes away on its own. And thanks to my weak memory, I can forget the unnecessary stuff quite easily (one more positiveJ). It’s been a long roller coaster ride. So much has happened in these years, life has completely changed. But as they say, all is well if end’s well. So throw away the negativity, just look at the big picture. There will be life after this Corona Virus, and that will definitely be a better version of the previous one.‘Jo hota hai ache ke liye hota hai’ yeh main nahi kehta, GEETA mein likha hai.
April 26, 2020
LOCK-DOWN
Corona virus khatam ho na ho, but this lockdown will definitely make half of India Master-Chef and the other half a Fitness-instructor. That was my FB status couple of weeks back. I am really tired and hell bored of looking on those lame pictures of Dinner tables and videos of home workouts. But then I thought that, atleast they are doing something to kill their free time, something positive in these scary times of Pandemic. What am I doing? Doing what I am best at, criticizing things! That moment hit me hard and I thought of doing something productive and stop criticizing altogether or at least not these TikTok videos or dinner recipes J
In last two weeks I regained my lost love for the things which I forgot in this mad rush called life. Picked up a book to read after a gap of more than 3 years and finished it in few days. After Scion of Ikshvaku by Amish Tripathi now I am reading The barefoot investor by Scott Pape. Happy to the core, I am back into the game. Opened two new trading accounts to start investing and playing with the market, which I always loved and lostJ. But this time I made a resolution of getting the knowledge first and then jumping into the ocean of moneymaking, that’s why that second book which I mentioned above.Coming out of Hibernation is tough, only a bear can tell it better than a writer. It took me more than four and half years and a Pandemic to come back to writing. As much as I remember I haven’t opened a word document since that last blog. The second book I was writing ‘sequel to the RAINBOW- The shades of love’ is left half-done years ago and I haven’t touched that either since the day I landed in this part of the world; Hopefully, will start writing that again.As of now I am happy that at least I have started doing the things which I love the most. And this much positivity is enough to survive the COVID-19 Lock-Down.
August 13, 2015
Achhe Din aane vale hain?
We are a country of over hundred billion people; a country where around 300 million people sleep hungry every night; 700 million defecate in the open. We just don’t have the resources to provide dignified living to people if we continue to grow our population by 22 million every year.A country where one-third of the children are underweight at birth cannot hope to convert its population into any economic dividend. Still people including Mr. PM ‘The Shaktiman’ himself think that he has some magic band to do whatever he has promised during his Election campaign.
The day Mr. Modi took Oath for the PM post; I planned to write this blog (and four more on every anniversary of the NDA Govt.). That day I was sure there will only be negatives to write about as I was not happy with his loud-mouth, self-praise, I-me-myself attitude. He made tall promises, which I believe everybody knew (including himself) he can’t fulfill. BUT, I am happy to write that there are some positives in the last 365 days along with those rebuffs.Next five years will surely be interesting; that was clear when SAARC members were invited by Mr. Modi for his swearing in ceremony. That was a major diplomatic signal to the region as well as to the global community. And from that day onwards, there is no looking back at the diplomatic front. From China to Japan; from Russia to USA; from Nepal to Afghanistan wherever he went, Mr. Modi left his solid imprints. Whether India benefited or not from these trips will be clear in future years, but as of now it seems these trips are more of ho-hala than the business. Wherever Mr. Modi went; it seemed more like a Bollywood celebrity tour instead of a PM. During the G-20 summit Australia visit, Mr. Modi spent four days with highlighted fanfare and little business; and compared to what Chinese Xi Jinping got in his single day trip, Mr. Modi’s accomplishments are nothing. The only big thing was the coal mines which he got for his dear friend ‘Adani’ and that project is also on hold as of now. Mr. PM asked the NRI’s in China to push at least five Chinese every year to travel to India. I ask him for what? To witness polluted Ganga? The sewage drain Yamuna, which was once a river? The rain drained Mumbai? The ever ignored Himalayas or the once heaven on earth Kashmeer? The political battle ground Delhi? Which is still looking at both P.M. and C.M.; whom to blame for her pathetic condition?What will we showcase to those tourists?Business world internationally and Indian startups are really up-beat about the future market in India. More FDI is flowing in more mergers and acquisitions taking place, venture capital is flowing steadily into start-ups. Rafale deal, Spectrum allocation and coal mines auctions are really ‘work well done’ by the Present Government. The new policies Mr. PM launched in this one year are commendable, JanDhan yojana, Insurance bill, Land acquisition bill (Tabled), Goods & Services Tax (still to come) etc. some of which are UPA’s work. These bills will really improve India’s growth. But the way these bills were tabled, especially the Land acquisition bill shows the arrogance of the NDA party. As Mr. Modi says ‘I am a small person, will fix small problems first and work for the small (poor) people. He must walk the talk, and must take in account the interests of the poor people in his favorite bills.And people must know that the rise in stock market and stability in currency has less to do with Mr. Modi and more to do with its central bank governor Raghuram Raju, who in my view is among the best central bankers of the world. Moreover, despite the high GDP figures (7.3 – calculated by new formula, which is again debatable), credit growth has been painfully slow. And exports have been dropping in every field. Instead of bringing money from the outer world, Mr. Modi must concentrate on the local consumers first, fix the local problems first. All of the world is looking to India as a future market; but don’t know why only we are interested in the other countries. Mr. Modi more black money is stacked in India than the Swis banks; think about that first.
Governance - Modi and his political party appear to be pulling in different direction while Modi propagates an image of a liberal and progressive India, the party and its workers appear hell bent on taking regressive steps. The party’s job may be to grow its roots in every city and state, but the govt’s job is governance. I really want to ask Mr. Modi to concentrate on governance, not on winning states after states. We have given you the whole country, now don’t run after states. I really feel sorry for our country, when her PM goes for Delhi/ Bihar election campaign and then use foul language for the competitors and the ruling parties. I hope Mr. PM will soon realize that he must rise above his marketing job for the BJP and start thinking and delivering as a PM.
Communism – The BJP went so low on the issue, they didn’t even left the children out of their parade. saffronization of education also came to the fore when Human Resources Development Minister, SmritiIrani, announced giving "Hindu perspective" to school curriculum. And when it really comes to delivering on that front also, it reminds me of Article 370 – BJP always played politics on this issue and raised this issue at every election. But as it seems to rule a state is more important than their principles. Mr. Modi didn’t even talk about Article 370 during his Kashmir visit; however it was not a surprise for me.Political Vedanta - Governors of seven states, who were appointed by UPA2 government, have been asked to quit. Mr. Modi said that his party is different. Really? Mr. PM let me give you an advise‘The character of a person is not judged by how he speaks with his seniors but how he behaves with his subordinates.’ Now you are ruling the country, you must lead by example, don’t follow the foot-steps of your predecessors; in playing the revenge politics. Show us that you are really different. Show us that you are really good. Delhi Police somehow became very efficient in pinning down AAP’s leader Mr. Tomar in a fake degree case (I am not marking it as a wrong move). But Mr. Modi has no intentions to take action against Ms. SushmaSwaraj, Ms. Rajeand Mr. Shiv Raj Singh Chauhan. There are plenty of more examples. And here I am not saying that all other party members are clean; but as Mr. PM says BJP is different, ‘Prove it’.
Misguided priorities - Railway Minister has announced 100 per cent FDI in Indian Railways for modernizing railway sector, on one hand, and meeting resource crunch, on the other. FDI is expected to create high-end infrastructure to make high-speed trains in India a reality. But, India does not need such high speed trains, for which the entire nation has to suffer on account of increased inflation. In a country where 70 per cent of its population spend their daily lives within a mere $2, there’s no rationale of opening up the third largest Railway of the world to foreign finance, whose burden has to be borne by the middle class along with the entire society. Raise your hands who agree that India need Bullet trains? A country where it’s next to impossible to get a train ticket booked, you are talking about bullet trains? At present we need to improve our existing trains; improve the number of trains, connect more areas, improve the ticketing system, and maintain running schedule, concentrate on cleanliness & hygiene. First do these necessary things; dream of bullet trains can wait.
To ‘make in india’ we have to first make India clean, productive, efficient and attractive for its own citizens.There is no ‘one-fit-for-all’ solution. While india is a country of hundred billionaires, it is also a country with the largest number of poor. While job creation and growth are important, there is a need to address the aspirations of have-nots. More than big bang reforms, the country requires long term structural, systemic changes. Just announcing ‘Swach Bharat campaign’ won’t make India clean. Follow the thumb rules; ask the sanitary workers and responsible departments to take charge. You do your bit first, abolish food subsidy of the parliamentarians, reduce number of security personals for the VIP’s, Reduce your car convoys while traveling, abolish reservation in education; then you are welcome to ask citizens to leave the LPG subsidy.
After acquiring PM seat Mr. Modi made grand promises to address gender disparities, create jobs, remove poverty, and solve education and health problems. But during its first year, his government has repeatedly demonstrated a lack of seriousness in meeting these promises, by cutting funding to social sector programs by Rs. 4,39,192.25 crore. These cuts are across all social sector ministries— healthcare, education, women and child development, drinking water and sanitation, rural development, agriculture, the MNREGA and the Mid-Day Meal scheme. These cuts have also adversely affected several of the UPA’s signature schemes.One of the biggest successes of the UPA had been the vast increase in school enrolments, stemming from the flagship Right to Education Act. But under the Modi government, the allocation for the SarvaShikshaAbhiyan has been reduced by nearly 80%. It is hard to take the government’s own programmes, such as Make in India or SkillIndia — seriously if it fails to demonstrate a commitment to addressing core education challenges.The UPA’s efforts led to a significant reduction in the number of women dying during childbirth thanks the innumerable schemes launched over the past 10 years. But now, with the cash crunch in social sector, these schemes will die down. Some of these UPA schemes might be less productive; but the reason behind that is poor implementation not the faulty scheme. Mr. PM must look at proper implementation of schemes. Otherwise closing previously running schemes and launching new schemes will be like an old wine in a new bottle. The intentions and set goals of the present government look good, but I can’t say the same for their performance so far. Mr. Modi has said ‘When we meet in 2019, I will give you my report card’. It would be great if we see promise 2019 with the metrics to measure performance versus promise (eg. MW of power generation capacity added, KM’s of national highways constructed, Number of government schools and Hospitals constructed etc.)
P.S. They say ‘It’s been a year only’.Let me remind them, 20% of your tenure is already over; you better start delivering man. Otherwise 5 years won’t last for life time.
A rising tide raises all boats; it is only when the tide goes out that you know who has been swimming naked - Warren Buffet
The day Mr. Modi took Oath for the PM post; I planned to write this blog (and four more on every anniversary of the NDA Govt.). That day I was sure there will only be negatives to write about as I was not happy with his loud-mouth, self-praise, I-me-myself attitude. He made tall promises, which I believe everybody knew (including himself) he can’t fulfill. BUT, I am happy to write that there are some positives in the last 365 days along with those rebuffs.Next five years will surely be interesting; that was clear when SAARC members were invited by Mr. Modi for his swearing in ceremony. That was a major diplomatic signal to the region as well as to the global community. And from that day onwards, there is no looking back at the diplomatic front. From China to Japan; from Russia to USA; from Nepal to Afghanistan wherever he went, Mr. Modi left his solid imprints. Whether India benefited or not from these trips will be clear in future years, but as of now it seems these trips are more of ho-hala than the business. Wherever Mr. Modi went; it seemed more like a Bollywood celebrity tour instead of a PM. During the G-20 summit Australia visit, Mr. Modi spent four days with highlighted fanfare and little business; and compared to what Chinese Xi Jinping got in his single day trip, Mr. Modi’s accomplishments are nothing. The only big thing was the coal mines which he got for his dear friend ‘Adani’ and that project is also on hold as of now. Mr. PM asked the NRI’s in China to push at least five Chinese every year to travel to India. I ask him for what? To witness polluted Ganga? The sewage drain Yamuna, which was once a river? The rain drained Mumbai? The ever ignored Himalayas or the once heaven on earth Kashmeer? The political battle ground Delhi? Which is still looking at both P.M. and C.M.; whom to blame for her pathetic condition?What will we showcase to those tourists?Business world internationally and Indian startups are really up-beat about the future market in India. More FDI is flowing in more mergers and acquisitions taking place, venture capital is flowing steadily into start-ups. Rafale deal, Spectrum allocation and coal mines auctions are really ‘work well done’ by the Present Government. The new policies Mr. PM launched in this one year are commendable, JanDhan yojana, Insurance bill, Land acquisition bill (Tabled), Goods & Services Tax (still to come) etc. some of which are UPA’s work. These bills will really improve India’s growth. But the way these bills were tabled, especially the Land acquisition bill shows the arrogance of the NDA party. As Mr. Modi says ‘I am a small person, will fix small problems first and work for the small (poor) people. He must walk the talk, and must take in account the interests of the poor people in his favorite bills.And people must know that the rise in stock market and stability in currency has less to do with Mr. Modi and more to do with its central bank governor Raghuram Raju, who in my view is among the best central bankers of the world. Moreover, despite the high GDP figures (7.3 – calculated by new formula, which is again debatable), credit growth has been painfully slow. And exports have been dropping in every field. Instead of bringing money from the outer world, Mr. Modi must concentrate on the local consumers first, fix the local problems first. All of the world is looking to India as a future market; but don’t know why only we are interested in the other countries. Mr. Modi more black money is stacked in India than the Swis banks; think about that first.
Governance - Modi and his political party appear to be pulling in different direction while Modi propagates an image of a liberal and progressive India, the party and its workers appear hell bent on taking regressive steps. The party’s job may be to grow its roots in every city and state, but the govt’s job is governance. I really want to ask Mr. Modi to concentrate on governance, not on winning states after states. We have given you the whole country, now don’t run after states. I really feel sorry for our country, when her PM goes for Delhi/ Bihar election campaign and then use foul language for the competitors and the ruling parties. I hope Mr. PM will soon realize that he must rise above his marketing job for the BJP and start thinking and delivering as a PM.
Communism – The BJP went so low on the issue, they didn’t even left the children out of their parade. saffronization of education also came to the fore when Human Resources Development Minister, SmritiIrani, announced giving "Hindu perspective" to school curriculum. And when it really comes to delivering on that front also, it reminds me of Article 370 – BJP always played politics on this issue and raised this issue at every election. But as it seems to rule a state is more important than their principles. Mr. Modi didn’t even talk about Article 370 during his Kashmir visit; however it was not a surprise for me.Political Vedanta - Governors of seven states, who were appointed by UPA2 government, have been asked to quit. Mr. Modi said that his party is different. Really? Mr. PM let me give you an advise‘The character of a person is not judged by how he speaks with his seniors but how he behaves with his subordinates.’ Now you are ruling the country, you must lead by example, don’t follow the foot-steps of your predecessors; in playing the revenge politics. Show us that you are really different. Show us that you are really good. Delhi Police somehow became very efficient in pinning down AAP’s leader Mr. Tomar in a fake degree case (I am not marking it as a wrong move). But Mr. Modi has no intentions to take action against Ms. SushmaSwaraj, Ms. Rajeand Mr. Shiv Raj Singh Chauhan. There are plenty of more examples. And here I am not saying that all other party members are clean; but as Mr. PM says BJP is different, ‘Prove it’.
Misguided priorities - Railway Minister has announced 100 per cent FDI in Indian Railways for modernizing railway sector, on one hand, and meeting resource crunch, on the other. FDI is expected to create high-end infrastructure to make high-speed trains in India a reality. But, India does not need such high speed trains, for which the entire nation has to suffer on account of increased inflation. In a country where 70 per cent of its population spend their daily lives within a mere $2, there’s no rationale of opening up the third largest Railway of the world to foreign finance, whose burden has to be borne by the middle class along with the entire society. Raise your hands who agree that India need Bullet trains? A country where it’s next to impossible to get a train ticket booked, you are talking about bullet trains? At present we need to improve our existing trains; improve the number of trains, connect more areas, improve the ticketing system, and maintain running schedule, concentrate on cleanliness & hygiene. First do these necessary things; dream of bullet trains can wait.
To ‘make in india’ we have to first make India clean, productive, efficient and attractive for its own citizens.There is no ‘one-fit-for-all’ solution. While india is a country of hundred billionaires, it is also a country with the largest number of poor. While job creation and growth are important, there is a need to address the aspirations of have-nots. More than big bang reforms, the country requires long term structural, systemic changes. Just announcing ‘Swach Bharat campaign’ won’t make India clean. Follow the thumb rules; ask the sanitary workers and responsible departments to take charge. You do your bit first, abolish food subsidy of the parliamentarians, reduce number of security personals for the VIP’s, Reduce your car convoys while traveling, abolish reservation in education; then you are welcome to ask citizens to leave the LPG subsidy.
After acquiring PM seat Mr. Modi made grand promises to address gender disparities, create jobs, remove poverty, and solve education and health problems. But during its first year, his government has repeatedly demonstrated a lack of seriousness in meeting these promises, by cutting funding to social sector programs by Rs. 4,39,192.25 crore. These cuts are across all social sector ministries— healthcare, education, women and child development, drinking water and sanitation, rural development, agriculture, the MNREGA and the Mid-Day Meal scheme. These cuts have also adversely affected several of the UPA’s signature schemes.One of the biggest successes of the UPA had been the vast increase in school enrolments, stemming from the flagship Right to Education Act. But under the Modi government, the allocation for the SarvaShikshaAbhiyan has been reduced by nearly 80%. It is hard to take the government’s own programmes, such as Make in India or SkillIndia — seriously if it fails to demonstrate a commitment to addressing core education challenges.The UPA’s efforts led to a significant reduction in the number of women dying during childbirth thanks the innumerable schemes launched over the past 10 years. But now, with the cash crunch in social sector, these schemes will die down. Some of these UPA schemes might be less productive; but the reason behind that is poor implementation not the faulty scheme. Mr. PM must look at proper implementation of schemes. Otherwise closing previously running schemes and launching new schemes will be like an old wine in a new bottle. The intentions and set goals of the present government look good, but I can’t say the same for their performance so far. Mr. Modi has said ‘When we meet in 2019, I will give you my report card’. It would be great if we see promise 2019 with the metrics to measure performance versus promise (eg. MW of power generation capacity added, KM’s of national highways constructed, Number of government schools and Hospitals constructed etc.)
P.S. They say ‘It’s been a year only’.Let me remind them, 20% of your tenure is already over; you better start delivering man. Otherwise 5 years won’t last for life time.
A rising tide raises all boats; it is only when the tide goes out that you know who has been swimming naked - Warren Buffet
April 3, 2015
Where is Janlokpal?
Dear Mr. Arvind Kejriwal. 49 days and just one question – Where is Janlokpal?
Last time, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had pulled the plug on its chaotic government after 49 days. This time, same chaos during the first 49 days; the difference being that the disputes this time have come from within the party. Anyhow, I will not discuss about that but for your performance as a C.M. and just one question - Where is Janlokpal?
Historic mandate, No corrupt partner, No clear opposition, Most intelligent and Imandaar leader (as they say) still the brakes are on. still the same question lingers - Where is Janlokpal?Free Power, Free Water, New SIT’s. Is it this for; Delhi elected you, Mr. Kejriwal? Freebies are not why Delhi voted for you. You are here to perform, here to be a role model, here to show other parties that ‘imandaar politicians’ exist. But sorry to say, in these first 49 days of your second innings you failed us. Free water, Free electricity is being provided in Punjab by the SAD- BJP alliance from quite some years now; and let me tell you, this is the most corrupt regime I have ever seen. So please don’t try to fool us by freebies, instead of that concentrate on providing clean governance and corruption free Delhi; as you were promising from last two years; and yes, Janlokpal ?
Before elections you didn't have time for your ever-annoying cough treatment, when you had nothing much to do other than election campaigning. And when the Delhities trusted on your saying that 'I have more important works to do than my cough treatment' and served their beloved Delhi to you on a platter; You straight away ran for your weeks long treatment leaving the delhi office alone to fight its own battle. Oh sorry, not delhi office but your partners in crime. But leave that, still the more importent question is - Where is Janlokpal?
You sat on Dharna, asked the public to join and ordered the then Government to pass the Janlokpal, which was ready with you. And as you said 'Nothing less than Janlokpal; sorry yourlokpal will be agreed'. So 49 days and counting - Where is Janlokpal? Where is yourlokpal? 'which was ready a year ago'.
End of VIP culture? Really? You promised for an end to VIP culture in Delhi. I had not seen own my own but recently, people posted on FB, VIP Parking VVIP Parking billboards which were used during your crowd gatherings. Its normal if you have shifted from WaganoR to Innova; will not brag about that; but will surely write again if you shift to Mercedies or BMW, which I am sure enough to see in future. Do whatever you want, we are born and brought up in this bull shit culture; but - Where is Janlokpal?
To be continued... Till you implement Janlokpal....
Open Letter to Mr. Arvind Kejriwal
Dear Mr. Arvind Kejriwal. 49 days and just one question – Where is Janlokpal?
Last time, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had pulled the plug on its chaotic government after 49 days. This time, same chaos during the first 49 days; the difference being that the disputes this time have come from within the party. Anyhow, I will not discuss about that but for your performance as a C.M.
Historic mandate, No corrupt partner, No clear opposition, Most intelligent and Imandaar leader (as they say) still the brakes are on.Free Power, Free Water, New SIT’s. Is it this for; Delhi elected you, Mr. Kejriwal? Freebies are not why Delhi voted for you. You are here to perform, here to be a role model, here to show other parties that ‘imandaar politicians’ exist. But sorry to say, in these first 49 days of your second innings you failed us.
To be continued...
December 11, 2014
They are scared of me
Yes, I said it right. They are scared of me; and I am so happy about it. It’s not only Kejriwal, the man with broom in hand but people like me also can scare the dirty Indians.
Last Saturday on Gurgaon Rising spot-fix at IFFCO chowk with Broom in hand, I along with a team of twelve more volunteers was clearing the area around Westin hotel side-wall. I was talking to a roadside vendor asking him to raise his voice whenever some passer-by throws trash on the road. He was equally motivated and was participating in dialogues regarding how to work further and maintain the cleanliness of the place. I was all ears to him as he was the person who knew the ground realties of that place.
Meanwhile a passerby purchased a pair of socks from the adjacent vendor and threw the envelope on the road, I was observing him and in seconds he realized what I was about to say; scared, literally scared he picked up the trash and moved further throwing it in the nearby dustbin. I was happy that only one stare of mine can do wonders.
About an hour later, while we were still involved in the so called dirty work a passer-by bought a Gutkha / Supari (don’t know what it is called in English) emptied it in his mouth threw the packet on the ground and begin moving on his way. ‘Excuse me’ loudly I called behind him and as he turned back and looked at me with broom and trash-picker in my hand; he quickly picked the wrapper from the ground mumbling ‘Sorry sorry sorry’ tens of times. He came to me praising the work that we volunteers were doing and promising not to litter around in future.
This post, I am not writing to praise my-self or advertising our work. But to let people know that you, even an individual can make a difference; we only have to realize our potential. You have the fresh examples of Kailash Satyarthiand Malala; if you believe it’s possible, it will definitely happen. As Mr. M.K. Gandhi has said ‘Be the change you want to see in the world’. So, pick up the broom and clean the place you want to see clean. Keep Rising.
Last Saturday on Gurgaon Rising spot-fix at IFFCO chowk with Broom in hand, I along with a team of twelve more volunteers was clearing the area around Westin hotel side-wall. I was talking to a roadside vendor asking him to raise his voice whenever some passer-by throws trash on the road. He was equally motivated and was participating in dialogues regarding how to work further and maintain the cleanliness of the place. I was all ears to him as he was the person who knew the ground realties of that place.
Meanwhile a passerby purchased a pair of socks from the adjacent vendor and threw the envelope on the road, I was observing him and in seconds he realized what I was about to say; scared, literally scared he picked up the trash and moved further throwing it in the nearby dustbin. I was happy that only one stare of mine can do wonders.
About an hour later, while we were still involved in the so called dirty work a passer-by bought a Gutkha / Supari (don’t know what it is called in English) emptied it in his mouth threw the packet on the ground and begin moving on his way. ‘Excuse me’ loudly I called behind him and as he turned back and looked at me with broom and trash-picker in my hand; he quickly picked the wrapper from the ground mumbling ‘Sorry sorry sorry’ tens of times. He came to me praising the work that we volunteers were doing and promising not to litter around in future.
This post, I am not writing to praise my-self or advertising our work. But to let people know that you, even an individual can make a difference; we only have to realize our potential. You have the fresh examples of Kailash Satyarthiand Malala; if you believe it’s possible, it will definitely happen. As Mr. M.K. Gandhi has said ‘Be the change you want to see in the world’. So, pick up the broom and clean the place you want to see clean. Keep Rising.
December 2, 2014
INCREDIBLE !ND!A - Rustic Charms of Udaipur
Finally I boarded train for Udaipur. After envisaging and planning for the Lake city for quite a few years, finally a friend’s wedding in Udaipur gave me a chance to visit the city. Contrary to my recent experiences with Indian Railways, this time it was a smooth sailing through IRCTC and then the travel. When we arrived in Udaipur; I was in a shock. A pleasant shock, as it was very different from the image that comes to mind when we imagine Rajasthan; ‘It’s quite clean & green.’ The antique wooden and ivory carved door & cabinet shops just outside the railway station hinted me of the cultural heritage of the city.
Since it was my virgin trip to Udaipur, I wanted to pick the Taj Lake Palace as my home for the short stay; but my pocket didn’t allow that. We took shelter in a hotel arranged by our host near her home. After taking some rest and participating in some wedding rituals at our host’s place we moved out to wander around the streets of Udaipur, just for a leisure walk while exploring the city. And we heard that Lake Picholaand Foreigners market are best for that.
The best way to commute in Udaipur is TukTuk, which took us to city palace gates from where we started our stroll in the Udaipur’s narrow lanes. The main market street was like any other tourist spot market but as you drift away towards the inner lanes, you will smell the real fragrance of Udaipur. I am sure you will enjoy those tiled narrow lanes with European style small shops of Leather bags, Handmade paper diaries and the hand-painted T-shirts. Walking in streets you will never know which blind-turn will surprise you with the magnificent view of Lake Pichola. The craziness of the main market, the elegance of the slender lane shops and the calmness of the Lake, all co-exists there and believe me you can spend a whole day soaking all that within you without any hint of exhaustion.
Meanwhile while visiting Jagdish temple on the market street itself, I noticed few strange things - Sadhusare more interested in getting clicked than the Puja; couldn’t found any history note anywhere in the compound & when I tried asking someone they were not bothered to reply or maybe they didn’t know either; the strangest thing was – Kamasutra images all around the sculptured building. I believed these belonged only to Khajuraho temples but I was dumb-stuck wrong. The high point of the day was the evening Puppet show at Bagore ki Haveli. Don’t miss it at any cost, I bet you will be hypnotized by the sheer talent of the artists.
Next day we were to attend the wedding function in the afternoon, so we utilized first half of the day to visit Sajangarh-fort / Monsoon Palace located bit away from the city rush on a hill top. The all-around view from the fort was mesmerizing; but alas, I must have visited this place during Monsoon as the sun-rays were so sharp that we squint more than the vision and missed soaking-in the beauty of the place.
Many hours of day three in Udaipur, were dedicated to the City Palace. Big Museum for commoners, crystal Museum, Vintage cars gallery, Boat rides, Restaurants, souvenir shops everything in the premises. Walking through one of the largest palaces in the country, I couldn’t help but reflect on the business acumen of its owner Arvind Singh Mewar. He was really earning a-lot from every inch of the place. That privately owned and operated palace was so beautifully and cleanly displayed that for sure every visitor will be overwhelmed including my kind of sceptics.
Day four was our last day in Udaipur and we wanted to keep it relaxed and leisurely. Karani Mata templewas our first point, I opted this place as I was told by someone that at this place a temple and a mosque cohabit under the single roof. But the realty was somewhat different; you can check it once you visit the place. But yes, the rope-way ride and the view from the temple top were really beautiful. Next, our TukTuk took us to Shilp-Gram (a must visit place for the tourists, especially during the festival season – December end) that gave us the insight to the old forgotten culture and tradition of India. Interacting with the local handicraft vendors and potters was really an awesome experience and yes you must not miss the local food served there.
To conclude I can say that the very air of Udaipur was free from the element of exhaustion that is always evident in NCR, but it was filled with the weight of the centuries, the baggage of rich history. The essence of any place lies in the fabric of its local people and honestly, the local public was so warm and welcoming for the tourists that you won’t feel homesick. But you will definitely find yourself dim while arriving at station for your return train.
Rustic Charms of Udaipur
Finally I boarded train for Udaipur. After envisaging and planning for the Lake city for quite a few years, finally a friend’s wedding in Udaipur gave me a chance to visit the city. Contrary to my recent experiences with Indian Railways, this time it was a smooth sailing through IRCTC and then the travel. When we arrived in Udaipur; I was in a shock. A pleasant shock, as it was very different from the image that comes to mind when we imagine Rajasthan; ‘It’s quite clean & green.’ The antique wooden and ivory carved door & cabinet shops just outside the railway station hinted me of the cultural heritage of the city.
Since it was my virgin trip to Udaipur, I wanted to pick the Taj Lake Palace as my home for the short stay; but my pocket didn’t allow that. We took shelter in a hotel arranged by our host near her home. After taking some rest and participating in some wedding rituals at our host’s place we moved out to wander around the streets of Udaipur, just for a leisure walk while exploring the city. And we heard that Lake Picholaand Foreigners market are best for that.
The best way to commute in Udaipur is TukTuk, which took us to city palace gates from where we started our stroll in the Udaipur’s narrow lanes. The main market street was like any other tourist spot market but as you drift away towards the inner lanes, you will smell the real fragrance of Udaipur. I am sure you will enjoy those tiled narrow lanes with European style small shops of Leather bags, Handmade paper diaries and the hand-painted T-shirts. Walking in streets you will never know which blind-turn will surprise you with the magnificent view of Lake Pichola. The craziness of the main market, the elegance of the slender lane shops and the calmness of the Lake, all co-exists there and believe me you can spend a whole day soaking all that within you without any hint of exhaustion.
Meanwhile while visiting Jagdish temple on the market street itself, I noticed few strange things - Sadhusare more interested in getting clicked than the Puja; couldn’t found any history note anywhere in the compound & when I tried asking someone they were not bothered to reply or maybe they didn’t know either; the strangest thing was – Kamasutra images all around the sculptured building. I believed these belonged only to Khajuraho temples but I was dumb-stuck wrong. The high point of the day was the evening Puppet show at Bagore ki Haveli. Don’t miss it at any cost, I bet you will be hypnotized by the sheer talent of the artists.
Next day we were to attend the wedding function in the afternoon, so we utilized first half of the day to visit Sajangarh-fort / Monsoon Palace located bit away from the city rush on a hill top. The all-around view from the fort was mesmerizing; but alas, I must have visited this place during Monsoon as the sun-rays were so sharp that we squint more than the vision and missed soaking-in the beauty of the place.
Many hours of day three in Udaipur, were dedicated to the City Palace. Big Museum for commoners, crystal Museum, Vintage cars gallery, Boat rides, Restaurants, souvenir shops everything in the premises. Walking through one of the largest palaces in the country, I couldn’t help but reflect on the business acumen of its owner Arvind Singh Mewar. He was really earning a-lot from every inch of the place. That privately owned and operated palace was so beautifully and cleanly displayed that for sure every visitor will be overwhelmed including my kind of sceptics.
Day four was our last day in Udaipur and we wanted to keep it relaxed and leisurely. Karani Mata templewas our first point, I opted this place as I was told by someone that at this place a temple and a mosque cohabit under the single roof. But the realty was somewhat different; you can check it once you visit the place. But yes, the rope-way ride and the view from the temple top were really beautiful. Next, our TukTuk took us to Shilp-Gram (a must visit place for the tourists, especially during the festival season – December end) that gave us the insight to the old forgotten culture and tradition of India. Interacting with the local handicraft vendors and potters was really an awesome experience and yes you must not miss the local food served there.
To conclude I can say that the very air of Udaipur was free from the element of exhaustion that is always evident in NCR, but it was filled with the weight of the centuries, the baggage of rich history. The essence of any place lies in the fabric of its local people and honestly, the local public was so warm and welcoming for the tourists that you won’t feel homesick. But you will definitely find yourself dim while arriving at station for your return train.
October 30, 2014
RELIGION Again
I don’t want to write about it again and again. But there are so many flaws in it and weather I want or not but I bump into those flaws frequently and it forces me to write. FLAWS – not in religions but in us, how we follow it.My recent trip with my parents to McleodGanj, started on a religious note and ended on one. And unfortunately both experiences were not that good. On the way mom saw the signboard saying, Maa Chintpurni Mandir – 2 Km’s towards left. And obviously she was keen to visit. And when we reached there, needless to say, there also the commonest scene of Temple’s prevails – shopkeepers forcing you to buy Prasad from their shops, plenty of Beggers almost reaching your pockets to snatch some money, even the trans-genders; but that’s not the reason I am writing this.Part – 1As we reached the main Temple for offering our prayers, the Pujari reached out to hold my Prasad to offer it to the statue of Mata chintpurni. There were five Pujaris cramped in that small room; and we had to make efforts to have a look of the statue. But I was happy as it seemed that the Pujari was making personal efforts for us to reach in front and pray together as a family unlike other big temples where the pujari’s itself push you away to make room for the others to come. But that happiness of mine, was short-lived. He took a minute or two for the offerings and then asked us to come to the side gate to get the Prasad. That’s where the story began.
The pujari asked us to bow to the banyan tree branch and we obliged, he gave me the Prasad and instructed us, where to place the Chunari and what to do with the other things. He continued his instructions looking strangely at each one of us; my Dad gauzed his intentions and he pulled out a fifty rupee note to give it to him. To this his eyes opened wide in surprise and my Dad put that fifty rupee note back in his pocket to pull out a rupee hundred note. As he handed it to the Pujari, he started begging for more ‘panch log hai hum sardar ji, iss se kya hoga’. I was stunned by his behavior. Seriously, are we in a Temple? Are you a Pujari? Furious I ran out battling the small beggars and Hizras asking for money at every step we took.Part – 2On our return journey, we planned to stop at Anandpur sahib to offer our prayers to the ‘birth place of Khalsa’. My prime motive was to visit the ‘Virasat-e-Khalsa’ a newly built museum dedicated to Sikh history; which the Akali government boosted about that it will be an eighth wonder of the world. I was really impressed by the architecture of the building. After witnessing the architectural marvel you will enter the building thinking of a joy ride to the history, but the miss-management and arrogant & un-friendly staff will spoil your mood. Fabulous building it was, but so poorly utilized. Billions have been spent on the project, and they don’t have few hundred rupees to repair the faulty audio guides. You will have to wait for ‘don’t know how much’ time to receive the audio guides which were in use by the people ahead of you. When they finish the tour, their audio guides will come to you. There were thousands of the devices lying there, but all faulty. Blame it on the management or the illiterate people who destroyed them knowingly or un-knowingly; the later one was more obvious.
The technology was at its poorest level, one of the animations of the Golden Temple displayed there was so poor that even school children will hang their head with shame. The Audio-Visual of the Sikh history which I thought will be the high-light of the place was not working properly; two of the five projector screens were out of order and the rest three were not clear. We were pushed further by the crowd who had no interest in this poorly displayed show. We moved towards the 3-D paintings and cut-outs of the history in other rooms but that too were far behind the present technological standards. Adding to that, the staff was not cooperative in fact very egotistical and rude. At the exit gates the girl on duty literally fought with me when I just asked her to where to place the audio device.From the condition of the services just in few months of its operation I can just say we Indians don’t know the value of periodic maintenance. In abundance public money is spent on the project and then it was left on its own mercy. Billions of dollars went down the drain.
Please for GOD-sake stop selling out RELIGION.
The pujari asked us to bow to the banyan tree branch and we obliged, he gave me the Prasad and instructed us, where to place the Chunari and what to do with the other things. He continued his instructions looking strangely at each one of us; my Dad gauzed his intentions and he pulled out a fifty rupee note to give it to him. To this his eyes opened wide in surprise and my Dad put that fifty rupee note back in his pocket to pull out a rupee hundred note. As he handed it to the Pujari, he started begging for more ‘panch log hai hum sardar ji, iss se kya hoga’. I was stunned by his behavior. Seriously, are we in a Temple? Are you a Pujari? Furious I ran out battling the small beggars and Hizras asking for money at every step we took.Part – 2On our return journey, we planned to stop at Anandpur sahib to offer our prayers to the ‘birth place of Khalsa’. My prime motive was to visit the ‘Virasat-e-Khalsa’ a newly built museum dedicated to Sikh history; which the Akali government boosted about that it will be an eighth wonder of the world. I was really impressed by the architecture of the building. After witnessing the architectural marvel you will enter the building thinking of a joy ride to the history, but the miss-management and arrogant & un-friendly staff will spoil your mood. Fabulous building it was, but so poorly utilized. Billions have been spent on the project, and they don’t have few hundred rupees to repair the faulty audio guides. You will have to wait for ‘don’t know how much’ time to receive the audio guides which were in use by the people ahead of you. When they finish the tour, their audio guides will come to you. There were thousands of the devices lying there, but all faulty. Blame it on the management or the illiterate people who destroyed them knowingly or un-knowingly; the later one was more obvious.
The technology was at its poorest level, one of the animations of the Golden Temple displayed there was so poor that even school children will hang their head with shame. The Audio-Visual of the Sikh history which I thought will be the high-light of the place was not working properly; two of the five projector screens were out of order and the rest three were not clear. We were pushed further by the crowd who had no interest in this poorly displayed show. We moved towards the 3-D paintings and cut-outs of the history in other rooms but that too were far behind the present technological standards. Adding to that, the staff was not cooperative in fact very egotistical and rude. At the exit gates the girl on duty literally fought with me when I just asked her to where to place the audio device.From the condition of the services just in few months of its operation I can just say we Indians don’t know the value of periodic maintenance. In abundance public money is spent on the project and then it was left on its own mercy. Billions of dollars went down the drain.Please for GOD-sake stop selling out RELIGION.
