The Beauty of Democracy!

Yesterday, I witnessed the swearing in ceremony of the new chief minster of Delhi - Arvind Kejriwal. I am not a ardent follower of the gentleman or his political outfit but the positivity and enthusiasm at the ram leela maidaan yesterday was pleasing to the eye!

All of us who care for our country also discuss important issues - governance, economy, politics, policing etc. We may not be experts but being educated, each of has a point of view and a logical way of looking at things. If there is one conclusion that I could recall from many such discussions it would be - 'We have all the right systems in place but it's all in theory we fail at implementing them'. The efficacy of our systems was proven beyond doubt yet again.

I was elated when I saw the CM taking oath yesterday. My faith in our constitution and the democratic setup has strengthened further. Isn't it beautiful to see that the same setup that has lead to political emergency - has given birth to a new ray of hope! The same Democracy that has been termed as a sham owing to the apathy, negligence and suffering of its own people has nurtured a rebel within its own boundary. It is wonderful to see that India did not have to go through a rebellion or complete overturn of its political setup to devise a solution to the unrest housed in a billion hearts. To appreciate the beauty of our constitution we don't need to go too far - look at our neighbors on the western and eastern borders and you would thank the founding fathers who drafted it for us!

It is pre mature to comment on how successful the CM and his cabinet would be. But, in my personal opinion this new breed of politicians is different and determined to be the change they want to see. At the end of the day if there is a winner today - its the beautiful idea of the republic of India.

Random Thoughts..

People and Object differ in so many aspects. I was just thinking of one today -

When objects break, we join their pieces together in the best possible way. We may succeed in restoring the aesthetic glory, but the new piece is always weaker than the original. It works in an opposite manner with people. When people break and manage to gather the broken threads of their personality to weave it together again - they always emerge stronger than they were before. This phenomenon reinforces itself after every iteration.

You know why is this so? Because, objects do not have the self-correcting mechanism. There has to be an external influence to restore it to its previous glory. But people cannot recover until they want it from within them. It's this strong inner force that helps us recover and often surpass the original previous self. No one but we ourselves decide if we want to get back on our feet once we have fallen to the ground. To me, this is the greatest blessing we have. We should make the right choice always - because we can!

It's a matter of choice?

Life is all about the choices we make. We choose our joys and we choose our sorrows.
When we don't have a choice to influence the events, we always have the choice to pick our reactions.
Despite knowing this- we cry, we smile, we feel sad and we get happy!

This irrational frailty, this phenomenon called emotion - is what makes you and me Human.

रावण का दशहरा!

पिछले कुछ दिनों से मोहल्ले के मनचले बहुत धार्मिक लग रहे थे,
उनके माथे पे तिलक और हाथों में गरबा, गधे पे सींग की तरह जच रहे थे!

हमारी उत्सुकता कुछ कुलबुलाई, भक्ति-धारा ये पाषाण कैसे पार कर पाई?
समाचार का प्रभाव हो या मानव स्वभाव - हमे तो इस परिवर्तन में किसी षड्यंत्र की बू आई!

पर खैर, भक्ति और धर्म पे कौन लगा सका है लगाम?
रास छुपा कहीं राक्षस में , कहीं आसाराम से उन्मुख राम !

बहोत प्रयास के बाद भी जब प्रश्नों ने हथियार नहीं डाले,
आधुनिक धर्म रक्षकों से कुछ सवाल हमने पूछ ही डाले!

"ओ सर्व-सुसज्जित दिव्य जनों, क्या चल रहा था ये पिछले दिनों?"
'बस यूँ ही, नहीं कुछ ख़ास - देवी दर्शन और डांडिया रास!'

ये भी सही कलियुग है, भ्रमित आस्था डगमग है
देवी महिमा ये क्या समझें, जब रास विलास सब एकरस हैं!

"आभार आपके पुण्य कर्म का, इश्वर जाने अपने धर्म का,
वैसे ये दिव्यास्त्र लिए, आप सब सुरमा कहाँ चले?"

'अरे! आपको पता नहीं? आज दशहरा पर्व है!
सबसे ऊंचा रावण हम जलाएंगे, इस बात का हमको गर्व है! '

"सुना है रावण ग्यानी थे, माना थोड़े अभिमानी थे,
सीता हरण तो किया अवश्य, पर मान रखा उनका जस-का-तस,
क्यूँ उनका पुतला जलाते हो? प्रदुषण फैला क्या पाते हो?"

'अरे! इतना तो आप भी जानेंगे, बरसों की प्रथा को मानेंगे,
रावण एक विचार है, दुष्कर्म है, दुराचार है!
हम प्रतीक मात्र को जलाते हैं, सच की विजय दिखाते हैं!'

"फिर ये तो कोरी मिथ्या है, बिना काम की विद्या है!
कोई अपनों को ऐसे जलाता है? रावण तुम सब का भ्राता है!
अपने अंतर भी कभी देखो, आचार-विचार को थोडा परखो,
पुतला दहन करने के बाद, थोड़ी आंच तुम भी तो चखो!"

कलियुग में राम का विजय पताका, बस एक दिवस की रीत है,
वैचारिक रावण जीवित है अब भी, बलशाली है अपराजित है!



तुम रात बचा कर रखना !

वो कहेंगे हम तुम काफ़िर हैं, सुबह के उजाले शातिर हैं!
आँखों में भरेंगे वो सोना, तुम मगर परेशान मत होना !

ख़ामोश सितारों के बीच बुने जज़्बात बचा कर रखना,
पलकों के किनारे फैली थी जो वो रात बचा कर रखना!


 

बस यूँ ही !

 

 

 

हाथों में उतर कर चुपके से , क्या बदला लिया कमबख्तों ने !

रेत पे बिछी लकीरों को बेपरवाह मिटाया था मैंने।

The enlightened - Short story

Disclaimer: The below write-up is a work of fiction and bears no resemblance to any individuals living or dead. The views expressed are entirely mine and has no allegiance to any organization.
It was a sunny afternoon during the winter season; I was standing close to the podium of the ‘pandal’ where one of the many fire-brand leaders of our country had just delivered his speech. More than a speech it was a salvo of accusations, challenges and insults targeted towards the minority community. Seneca said ages ago – ‘Religion is regarded by the common people as true, by the wise as false and by the rulers as useful’. The Indian political class is adept in latching on to this usefulness.

 This speech was from a saffron clad ‘saint’ who was supposedly devoid of any worldly pursuits and ills. But his jingoistic appeal to the masses and the choice of words defied all norms of sainthood. However, the crowd loved the performance and showered praises and flowers on their leader.  After all, he is the protector of their ancient culture, religion and dharma. Alas! I wish they all knew what ‘Dharma’ actually means.

Anyways, I had come to attend this rally as a press photographer and was winding up along with the others. There was a team wrapping up the pandals, posters and banners. A different team was piling up the plastic chairs and was loading them into the van. Suddenly a sight caught my attention and gave me a reason to stop longer than usual. At a podium that has just been witness to a speech bashing his religion and community was standing a Muslim worker! The sight was among most contrasting ones I have ever seen in my life! A follower of Islam with a white cap covering his head standing on a podium clad with saffron and embellished with many related religious symbols.

I got curious on what made him come here and what’s he doing on that stage? I moved closer and found out he was the one who amplified this speech to the ones gathered and also to the millions others through media telecasts. His name was Rashid and he was the sound technician, packing the microphones and speakers after they have been used for the function.

I gathered some courage and went ahead to ask Rashid, “So, what do you think about this speech? Didn’t this rhetoric against your religion bother you?” Being the impatient soul I am, I myself replied – “I am sure it would have! But then what makes you work HERE?” He paused for a moment and stood firm to answer my question. His replied assured me that we as a country are still not finished yet!

He said ‘O Saheb, what do you think, we do not understand these things? It’s all about this, he patted his belly. He gets his food by hurling abuses –so be it. I earn by fixing sound systems and that’s what I am doing. And yes, rest assured, there are similar leaders on the other side too and I work for them as well. It’s just that the microphone and speakers should get tinges of green instead of saffron.’

I photographed him as he turned back and walked away with a smile. I didn’t want to have his face published, lest the humanity is damaged yet again by ‘Gods’.