यह संसार  क्या है?

सब मोह और  माया है ।

अविनाशी महत्वाकांक्षाओं

की छवी और छाया है ।

पर व्यतीत करना हमे जीवन

इसी प्रलोभन भरे संसार मेँ है ।

करते हुए  अनश्वर महत्वाकांक्षाओं

के नश्वर प्रचार में है ।

सत्य यहीं है मिथ्या यहीं है

हर वस्तु में बस्ती है अलौकिकता ।

एक वैज्ञानिक दृष्टिकोण से देखें

तो मिट जायेगी  तत्काल अराजकता   ।

कर्म में आनंद हो  और आनंद  का  ही  मोह हो

वास्तविकता और कल्पना में न कभी विद्रोह हो ।

स्वयं के उद्भेद में सत्यता क आभास हो

और इसी  जीवन काल में परिपूर्णता छूने का  प्रयास हो । 

ये माया  जाल फ़िर एक अवसर  मेँ   परिवर्तित हो जाएगा

और हर कृत्रिम भाव भी  प्राकृतिक हो जाएगा । 

अनंत काल से ही तो   संघर्ष जीवन का  प्रतिरुप है

और कर्तव्यनिष्ठ जीवनी ही  मोक्ष का  स्वरुप है । 

आत्म से अवगत हो हम कि  हर्ष और उल्लास को एक  नई  परिभाषा मिले

प्रतेक  ह्रदय में यहां अभिज्ञ अभिलाषा खिले ।

                                        

How Long Will You Wait

How long will you wait
how long should you wait?

Should you wait at all?
Should you wait for even a day?

Would it not be better
If you were to just walk away?

Do you want to touch the waves of time ,
and then seek leave , will that be fine?

Aren't your eyes tired of staring into nothing?
Isn't the space limitless? Do you feel you can gauge the time?

Would you move when asked to ?
Do you want stand here at all?

Do you think you should wait?
Do you think you should wait at all?

Entry Restricted. Exit Prohibited

I entered the University gate to the sounds of a Policeman announcing the potential danger awaiting those who may enter the campus unprepared and unaware of the intrinsic dangers associated with such places.

The security at the gate was massive. Except for harmless looking pedestrians every thing which entered the University had to go through an elaborate search procedure wherein the Cars had to expose their boot space and the Bikers their Faces to the naked eyes of the Security Men.

Me with my black College bag slinging sloppily from my shoulder was the last object they would pay attention to. Inconspicousness has been a striking trait residing in my behaviour ( only in dangerous situations) ever since I was a kid. 

As I passed the heavily guarded gates I could see the vehicle owners waiting impatiently to prove their innocence even as the Cops were suspiciously hovering around the cars and giving full attention to the inmates .

The scene of the road which lay beyond me was quite interesting as well. Anti-Riot vehicles with MMG guns mounted on top were snailing the path and this fact hardly seemed unnatural to the people I happened to encounter on the road. 

The road which cuts at a right angle brought into view an even more absorbing scene as I proceeded closer to my Departmental Building. One both the sides were the marquees of various political groups each attended to by a half a dozen Policemen.

A conscientious soul and careful gaze would have failed to spot a single reasonable soul sitting there.  That doesn't mean there weren't any. It just means that no conscientious should have seen one.

Marching past the battalion like arrangements one felt a little self conscious . Each eye ball sitting inside the Cloth Tent was sizing you up as a potential voter . I saw one of the groups smiling condescending towards me as one of my classmates whispered something into their ears which enhanced my value in their eyes. 

By the time I crossed the entire stretch I was feeling like a hapless consumer wading through the congested Consumer fair where people take upon themselves the solemn responsibility to make the lives of their fellow brethren a little less comfortable.

The entire journey from the gate to my department lasted but 7 minutes (including the 30 seconds I spent standing still and deliberating as to which side of the road should I walk on;I eventually decided to start with the right and and on the left and covered the last 30 metres walking alongside the road divider ).

 

Daily Soaps and their side effects-PART 1

I have never been an avid fan or viewer of daily soaps. The mere prospect of watching a stretched out story running into years of moribund drag gives me the willies. But I don't govern Public opinion and uptill this date the public has rarely paid heed to whatever little I've ever had to say. I am quite satisfied with my situation,though I would not mind if the public started lending their overworked ears to my sparingly utilized thoughts.

Today I would like to devote sometime to a handful of such soaps which have made my existence a little less comfortable . These stalwarts are "Jhansi Ki Rani" aired on Zee TV. Emotional Atyachaar and similar shows aired on "Hep" Youth targeting channels...and lastly Talent Hunt shows..ranging from from the clone army of singing talent shows to general talent shows.

Jhansi Ki rani

This show is the embodiment of everything sordid, typical and ridiculous about our entertainment industry and also our culture as a people. The show dishes out an elaborate account in the early life of Laxmi Bai , one of the heroines of our long Independence struggle. It was as if the writer smitten by the concept of voyeurism in his past life (contemporary to that of Laxmi Bai) had planted secret cameras in and around the dwelling house and scene of activities of The Patriot and hence had obtained an in depth view of her life in first person perspective.

If this were not the case then I am not sure how anyone could have known what was happening in the lady's life , before she rose to fame . I am sure she didn't have any private secretary who had been commissioned to chronicle her daily life in minute details.

The show does more harm to the Indian Reputation than Bollywood has ever been able to inflict.

I mean in their effort to reconcile the show with the scheming soaps of the day they have proved beyond doubt that in the absence of in house Indian conspirators The British would have failed to establish their rule and flaunt their clout in our Country. The series is infested with hatred directed towards the firangi in it's dialogues , although the plot and script signify otherwise. It also boasts of the most pathetic art direction I have scene in the recent times. The King Gangadhar looks more like a cheap sidekick in an 80's fantasy flick than a member of 19th century royalty. For God's sake, even Rakhi Sawant has more style than the on screen Raja.

The Costumes of the Firangis and the Firangi actors themselves are outrageously funny. Funny hats, useless gowns and an insignia not remotely in sync with the union jack.

The series has set new standards for nonsensical writing.

The show has had episodes which were rip offs from equally dubious (historically speaking) movies like Jodha Akhbar, yes I am talking about the movie where the entire star cast below the age of 40 had come straight out from a rigorous work out session in Solaris.

Another thing which has never failed to amaze me, I don't know why it doesn't bamboozle the audience, is how can people wear those hideously thick layers of clothing in Tropical climate.

A single helping of this show shall force even the most erudite scholar of History to question his knowledge. The show has distorted history to such an extent that the warning preceding the show calling it a work of fiction seems insufficient to absolve it's makers of any liability which may arise due to their epic creation.

Parts 2 and 3 (if needed) shall follow soon

Weather,Climate and The state of affairs.

India , technically has 5 seasons. Summer, Winter,Monsoons, Autumn and Spring. It is another thing that at any given time in our country no season ever lives up to it's name or showcases a benevolent side of it's diverse set of personalities.

It is always too hot, too cold, too dry, too wet, too long, too short , too imperfect to be labelled as any single season.

The summers for example often take up the time allotted to Spring and then themselves get vanquished by the rains which if they do appear often eclipse Autumn as well and if they don't , well then we have a "too long" spell of summer . Both spring and autumn for that matter , being the more tolerable seasons , never infringe anybody's space or right thus shortening their stay on earth. Many people would rather have them play truant and invade summer time and winters, and monsoons than be fictitious gentlemen in an ungentlemanly game.

Winter , of late has made up a lot of ground in our country. Traditionally a region tormented by heat, the cold has emerged as the next best tormentor with fog, frost and no sun marking the winter months. Winters however rarely take up other's time .

Then of course we have another issue here. If it rains well we have floods waiting in the docks, if it rains moderately we have drought licking it's lips, if it rains heavily the crop gets destroyed , if it rains lightly the landslides surface. Another thing, the fact that one part of our country is receiving normal rainfall does not mean anything in context of another part. In fact floods and drought are often observed i the same academic year.

In Shimla, the situation is quite exciting as well. In summers there is wager shortage due to scarcity of precipitation, during rains there is water shortage due to silt deposit upsetting the power stations' belly. In winters, the water freezes. Now I can hardly wait for a new season to come up and solve our water crisis.

Weather it seems has taken one step forward and is now mirroring the image of the havoc we have reeked upon our environment.What with failed climate conventions and mindless consumption of precious resources it won't be long before seasons give way to calamities and we associate months not with seasons but water shortage, drought, flood and repentance.

We all Need To work to make a living

We all need to work to make a living. I am trying to find some . Am I really trying to find some? Am I actually trying to avoid looking it in the eye even as it stares back at me ?

I don't know , but for all I know I am in a state of confusion , a state of continuous disbelief .

I know what I don't know and am clear regarding the things I am not clear. I know what I want because what I want is not what I want.

Time is my only hope . One day I will want what I want , know what what I should know and be what I should be.

NDTV Imagine-Small Screen's answer to meaningful Cinema

NDTV is undoubtedly urban ( read Delhi ) India's mouthpiece. What with intellectual anchors like Barkha Dutt, Vikram Chandra and highly liberal shows like We the People etc. followed by an unbiased coverage of issues relating to minorities and women's rights.

But NDTV's greatest achievement has been the launch of the most creative , original and by far the most decent entertainment channel- NDTV Imagine.

Yes sir , this is the channel where Nachle Ve with Saroj Khan was aired . The channel where Angrezi mein kehte hain sprung to life . This very channel took upon itself the responsibility to air Vijay Desh ki AAnkhen, Rajkumar AAryan , Seeta Aur Geeta. Take this " Do Hanson ka joda" how imaginative can one get? Oh yes ...one can still get imginative to create and telecast Pati Patni Aur Woh.

But no. The creative team at NDTV Imagine's programme selection department was just getting warm . For it has had the privilege of allotting prime time Television space to three shows who's name needs no introduction for the physiological, psychological,social,political, economic effects produced by it are truly biblical in proportions.

The shows are :

Raaz Pichle Janam Ka

Rakhi Ka Swyamavar

and ..............................................................................................................................................................

please hold your breathe for this one.....................................

Rahul Dulhania Le Jayega.

These three shows have proved that talented creative teams in India have arrived .

Steeped in decency and propriety. In close contact with the ground realities of the nation. Not by any means manipulated or rigged or schematic in thematic content and plot , these shows stand for all that is good about our culture and society.

NDTV IMAGINE has done it.

How deprived I would have felt had NDTV Imagine taken birth after my life span.

But to live and breathe in the same era and space in which the showmen of this remarkable channel do, is a privilege , an honour.

There are those who proudly proclaim that they have marched besides Gandhiji during our freedom struggle. I've encountered proud men who were there when the INA marched into Eastern India defeating the antagonistic contingents it encountered. I've seen them who lived through moments of sporting and cinematic glory. But I pity them , if they have not been witness to the birth and progress of NDTV IMAGINE as a force to reckon with in the Indian Television Industry.

It has been able to hire the services of great personages like Saroj Khan, Rakhi Sawant, Rahul Mahajan and of course that Graceful female who hosts the realistic and serious show Raaz Pichle Janam ka.

Hats off.

Pardon me dear reader if , due to the highly emotional state I find myself in , I may have ignored, failed , neglected , avoided, circumvented , skipped, overlooked, refused , forgotten to mention any other show where the limits of Imagination were employed . (To my mind comes the show where a group of girls were out to find grooms and were aided by their respective mothers....did this very channel air it?).

Acknowledgement:

NDTV IMAGINE WEBSITE

RAHUL MAHAJAN

Raaz pichle janam ka for helping me to discover the fact that I was an innocent man in my previous birth who was killed by the forcible intake of rotten Yash-Raj, Yash Chopra, Kunal Kohli romantic movies.