Rahul Writes

Indian democracy becomes a joke when we talk about equality of all castes and religions. What our politicians actually practice is “vote bank politics”. Any group, be it a caste, religion, or gang, can demand and get anything and everything, if they are united and ready to “vote en mass” for or against any political party or leader. Caste based reservations, or popularly called Quota, are an example of this.  

Caste based reservations were devised to benefit the poor. The rich, no matter belonging to which caste, are always protected in this world which runs on money. But just like the rich among all castes are basically “rich by caste” - they are another group altogether, their lobbying has resulted in a lot of manipulation of original policies to benefit the rich at the cost of the poor. Creamy layer was a system devised to counter this practice.  

Creamy layer system was created to pull out the rich and powerful people among the reserved castes, so that the actually deserving candidates who were very poor, could benefit. So far the limit was Rs 4.5 Lakh per annum, which itself was very high given the socio-economic condition prevailing in India. But now, our super efficient government (check which political party is in power) has raised this limit to Rs 12 Lakh p.a. in metro cities and Rs 9 Lakh p.a. in non-metros! 

Here is the news: 

OBC creamy layer ceiling raised 

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics/nation/obc-creamy-layer-ceiling-raised/articleshow/10762780.cms  

Another shocking reality is the timing of this decision. While the nation is busy fighting corruption and media highlight is on other issues, from the backdoor they have passed this rule thereby benefiting the rich and powerful among the OBC castes!  

In my opinion, caste-based reservations are totally against our democracy and it mocks the principles of equality which our constitution assures to provide. I believe any right minded Indian would oppose the systems like discrimination based on castes, which indeed this Quota system is!  

Long live our democracy! Let us remove all caste-based reservations and schemes! Let the poor come up and prosper!  

Taken from: http://myview-counts.blogspot.com/2011/11/obc-creamy-layer-ceiling-raised-to-rs.html

A few years back ULIPs were market’s favorite investment option. Everyone wanted to invest in ULIPs and ULIPs for income tax (IT) savings were quite popular. All financial experts used to recommend it and agents used to call unsolicited, selling ULIPs like hotcakes. They sold ULIPS in one city while sitting in another, using phone to communicate and courier to send and receive documents. Even I got a call from a salesperson selling Reliance Life plans and her promise was: you deposit Rs 30K for 3 years and at the end of the period, you will get back Rs 1.2L; apart from saving taxes! That was a very good return and I was anyway looking to invest some amount for tax-saving purpose, so I subscribed to the plan. When I received the document, the company had clearly mentioned that I could return back the policy/plan within 10 days if I didn’t like it after going through the detailed terms and conditions. I wanted to take a chance, so I went ahead. And today after 3 years, the net market value is no more than half the principle.  

The problem with ULIP was that there was a large initial allocation to economically wasteful accounts (for the investor), like to the broker, the agent, etc. Did the financial experts tell us about it? No. But by the time investors found out the hidden truth about ULIPs, the financial experts too became prudent and started speaking against ULIPs. Thanks to the government intervention which has taken the shine off from ULIPs. But till the time investors didn’t know about it, no financial expert thought it his or her duty to tell the fact in the open. 

And now, is it happening the same with the SIP? 

SIP, or the systematic investment plan, is being touted today as the best investment option. The logic is simple: since market goes up and down, it is safer to invest in small amounts over the long term rather than in bulk at one go. SIP has less risk, as they say. But the question is: will SIP give me higher returns? (Higher than other options available to me?)  

If SIP avoids the high risk associated with lump sum investment, doesn’t it also avoid the opportunity along with? For example if I know that the market would move between 16000 and 19000 and the market currently is at 16500. I would like to invest more at this point of time. 2 months afterwards when the market is at 19200, I would know that I am at the top of the curve and would like to sell and book profits and I won’t like to invest more. But through SIP, you would be forced to invest even at these high rates! And after one more month if the market comes down to 18000, all the profits you made while investing at lesser rate gets wiped out and adjusted by the losses made by investing at the time when the rates were high. Anything that is equity linked runs an exact risk like this in the long term. I don’t see the point in making 20K profit for the first 6 months of the year and then making 15K loss in the next.  

If market keeps growing, say for a period of 2 years, you shall make less money through SIP than through lump sum investment. Also, SIP doesn’t take our financial wisdom into account. If the market is too low, I would like to invest more. If the market is too high, I would like to invest less or none. But in SIP, you keep investing whether the market is high or low; it doesn’t give you the flexibility which could have been more financially rewarding for you.  

I think SIP is good for the finance and share marketing companies. It gives them a constant business, de-risking them from the ups and downs in the market. Even when the market is at sky’s top and everyone knows it will come down, there will be people putting money in, thanks to the SIP plans. SIP makes sure that the brokers and finance companies never get out of fashion. Also, the fixed elements of the cost when users place orders, like stamp duty or brokerage etc, would be higher if we place 100 small orders, when compared to place one big order.  

I think SIPs are not the best investment option available to us. It may be a structured and disciplined way to invest, but I think when it comes to money and finances, flexibility helps and a straight line rigid method harms our chances (of making more money). For a lot of investors RDs and FDs are still better option due to risk free growth and for those who can take up some risk, lump sum investment gives much better returns. SIP in my opinion needs better evaluation from the investor’s point of view while for the brokers and financial advisors, SIP would remain the best recommended option because of their own self interests. We need more number of honest evaluations to come out in the open whether SIPs are really the best option for the investors, or if these have been tagged so for milking more money out of investors, just like ULIPs.  

- Rahul

Note: The views expressed are entirely personal and don’t express the views of any person or organization associated with the author. The author has taken care to maintain the facts mentioned in the article to be true, but there can be non-deliberate errors and mistakes.

‘Mastering Business in Asia: Supply Chain Management’

By Bowon Kim

John Wiley & Sons (Asia) Pte Ltd

ISBN 0-470-82140-X 

‘Mastering Business in Asia: Supply Chain Management’ is a wonderful book on the interesting subject of supply chain management. Written in a comprehendible language and full of examples and some very useful charts, this book deals with hosts of some very relevant issues in global supply chain management.  

The book starts with a discussion on how in the modern challenging times, a lot of organizations have focused on the supply chain management (SCM) to create value for customers. Then author discusses the role of effective decision making in supply chain management and a chapter on “dynamic learning in SCM” has been a great value add. Some topics like strategic management of a supply chain and innovation in SCM field give a lot of fresh perspective. The concluding chapters are on “global SCM” and “SCM for sustainable competitive capability”.  

The book has been a wonderful read. And to top that, the readers get to go through some brilliant case studies in SCM. For example, one on the MP3 player industry and others on online bookstore industry and an auto parts industry are really enlightening.  

Highly recommended for all SCM lovers and practitioners.  

- Rahul

‘Recess: The Penguin Book of Schooldays’

Edited by: Palash Krishna Mehrotra

Penguin Books

ISBN 9780143100119 

Schooldays are something which can’t be compared with anything else in life. Those carefree days, with its own flavors and enigma, can’t be forgotten totally. Here is a refreshing read, taking us to those good old schooldays. It is a collection of memoires from the childhood and schooldays as shared by a diverse set of authors. The diverse set of authors bring with them a very diverse set of experiences; some beautiful and some bitter. We can connect with many of those, and at some others, we may feel good not having come across in our own.  

The set of authors include Rabindranath Tagore, Swami Dayananda Saraswati, Gandhiji, Premchand, Nehruji, Nirad C. Chaudhuri, Vijay Lakshmi Pandit, RK Narayan, Harivansh Rai Bachchan, Ismat Chugtai, Satyajit Ray, Vikram Seth, PT Usha, and a lot of known and not-so-known names. Swami Dayananda Saraswati’s episode from childhood tells about an incident in the Shiva temple where he witnessed a rat eating the sweets offered to the deity and wondered why the deity couldn’t protect its offerings? Lal Behari Dey talks about his school days in Calcutta and about Duff’s School where the principle was a radical Christian Missionary converting a lot of Bengali youth and how despite this fact, his father sent him in that school keeping “faith in fate”. Fakir Mohan Senapati’s account tells about the domination of Bengali over Oriya language. Rabindranath Tagore tells about his home tuitions. Krupabai Satthianadhan tells a very interesting “The Story of a Conversion”, about how an old teacher, a Christian Missionary, was trying to influence a young South Indian lad who decided to tolerate all because of willingness to learn English; but it couldn’t prevent him from feeling like giving it back to the “old fanatic”. Ismat Chugtai tells the inside story of a girls hostel. Gandhiji’s childhood part is taken from The Story of My Experiments with Truth and talks about the popular portion where he was accused of telling a lie, and on the importance of sports and learning Sanskrit. Premchand’s childhood was influenced by his Big Brother (elder brother) and the way he recollects the events, makes it such a hilarious account.  

The childhood stories are diverse and bring with them all sort of tastes. There are also some controversial ones. I feel if the editor had decided to keep the controversial and bitter ones out; the book would have been absolutely delightful. But like our childhood is full of good and bad experiences, I think the different shades of the stories give this book a unique depth and gravity.  

Highly recommended to all.  

- Rahul

While visiting temples, I think most of us would be dropping some money or some coins in the hundi or cash collection boxes. We would also offer some coins (dravya) as part of our offering during worshipping the deity. Bigger temples display written notices directing the devotees to drop money only at the designated places. I guess at some point of time all of us would have wondered if such donations to temples are worthwhile. Some of us might be thinking that it is a waste of money and it goes to the overfed priests. I think there can be a serious misconception and lack of awareness if our views are on these lines.  

Bigger Hindu temples carry out a lot of social welfare activities. For example, the list of social welfare work being done by the famous Tirupati Mandir consists of:  

·         Giving free medical treatment to the poor

·         Maintaining shelters for poor

·         Home for treatment of leprosy patients

·         Free boarding, lodging and education to orphans and destitute

·         Training center for handicapped people

·         Schemes to conserve underground water and rain water

·         Planting saplings and developing forests

·         Protection of cows

·         Preservation of temples and religious symbols 

References: [Link1] [Link2] [Link3] [Link4]  

Similarly, Mata Amritanandamayi Math carries out a host of social welfare activities including: 

·         Homes for the Homeless (Amrita Kuteeram project to build 100,000 homes for the poor)

·         Free monthly pension for the poor

·         Prisoner Welfare

·         Tribal Welfare programs

·         providing free legal services to the poor

·         Mass Marriages of impoverished couples

·         Free food and clothes to the poor

·         Care Homes for the Elderly

·         Running Orphanage

·         Vocational Training & Self Help Groups 

Reference: [Link1] 

While bigger temples carry out a lot of social work using the money received through donations, a lot of bigger Hindu temples are actually managed by the state governments. In such cases, the money collected in the temples is also spent on developing infrastructure of the cities and areas around it. For example, you can read about how Shirdi Sai Baba Temple funds are being used by the state government for infrastructure development projects like building roads, footpaths, and parking places. [Ref1] Although this is a controversial topic whether state governments should take temple donations to carry out work which they are supposed to do anyway. [Ref2] In my opinion, government’s control over Hindu temples is undesirable and it should be decontrolled over time. (Though the current trend is just the opposite.) Until the decontrol happens, even if the governments take a big portion of temple donations for other work, if there are lesser donations the actual money left with the temples to do social work would be lesser and hence our donations are needed to maintain the current running set of social welfare activities.  

Smaller temples depend hugely on donations to maintain themselves and to cover expenses like regular puja, cleanliness, security and infrastructure maintenance. In my opinion, we should donate more at smaller temples than at the bigger temples because of this reason.  

If we look at the historical account too, the need for funding our temples is very genuine. For centuries during the Islamic invasion of India, temples of all sizes were destroyed and desecrated by the barbaric forces. Somnath Temple is a classic case, but such cases are scattered all over India, especially the Northern part. Almost all major temples were attacked. The Ram Temple at Ayodhya is a recent example where the court had to rule out the inconvenient fact that there was indeed a Ram Temple at the site of the Babri Masjid. Over a thousand years of foreign rule left our temples in pitiful state. Therefore there was a severe need to start rebuilding our temples post our independence. There have been some extraordinary efforts in this area by the Birlas who built Birla Mandirs in all major cities and institutions like ISKCON who have built world class temple complexes. I think we need more number of grand temples of the scale of Akshardham or Somnath Temples. I think we should therefore definitely fund construction of any new big size temple.  

Apart from making new temples, there is a serious need to develop the infrastructure of existing temples. Every year we hear some stampede or calamity at the crowded ancient Temples which were not designed for so much rush. How else will they be able to make better arrangements, than by using our donations?  

Now coming to the question if such donations are charity? Why not? Charity is defined as “The voluntary giving of help, typically money, to those in need”, or “benevolence or generosity toward others”. I think without doubt our donations at Hindu temples can be counted as charity. It is a charity towards causes which are both noble and in dire need.  

Looking from all positions I think we should continue donating some money at the collection boxes of our temples. 

- Rahul

Oneness With All Life: Inspirational Selections from A New Earth

Treasury Edition

By Eckhart Tolle

Michael Joseph: an imprint of Penguin Books

ISBN: 978-0-718-15541-4 

Eckhart Tolle is a Canadian (born in Germany as Ulrich Tolle, in 1948) spiritual teacher and bestselling author. I have written about him and his book “The Power of Now” here [Link].  

This book titled “Oneness With Life” has been created with some passages picked from the original book A New Earth. These passages are inspirational and meditative in nature. The book is divided into chapters with some themes. Passages of varying length would appear one after the other, trying to give readers a lot of food for thought.  

Some random portions: 

There are no random events, nor are there events or things that exist by and for themselves, in isolation. The atoms that make up your body were once forged inside stars, and the causes of even the smallest event are virtually infinite and connected with the whole in incomprehensible ways. 

If you wanted to trace back the cause of any event, you would have to go back all the way to the beginning of creation.  

The ego’s greatest enemy is the present moment, which is to say, life itself. 

Most egos have conflicting wants. They want different things at different times or may not even know what they want except that they don’t want what is: the present moment.  

What is the relationship between awareness and thinking? Awareness is the space in which thoughts exist when that space has become conscious of itself. 

There are three words that convey the secret of the art of living, the secret of all success and happiness: One with life. Being one with life is being one with Now. You can then realize that you don’t live your life, but life lives you. Life is the dancer, and you are the dance.  

About his thoughts and philosophy, I would repeat what I said in my previous book review: After reading this book, I felt a curious connection to philosophies of Hinduism and Vedanta. When I searched about the author, I came to know that Tolle has been quoted as saying, “I feel actually that the work I do is a coming together of the teaching ’stream’, if you want to call it that, of J. Krishnamurti and Ramana Maharshi”. Tolle himself has mentioned texts such as the Tao Te Ching, the Bhagavad Gita and other Hindu scriptures, the Buddhist scriptures, etc, and after coming to know this I think the connection is more real.  

I believe reading the original book would be more beneficial for readers. Those who have read it can read this gradually to reflect on certain portions.  

- Rahul

She pulled the sheet up to her neck. When the nurse comes she would ask to raise the room temperature a bit. Or at least she will ask a warmer blanket… The clock tells the time is 1:20 PM. It must be very hot in Delhi at this time of the year. She doesn’t remember when she felt Delhi’s heat the last time, as she has been in this hospital’s air conditioned room for more than two months now. Still no sign of when this will get over… She starts looking at the ceiling; searching for anything which is not white; any sign of something new… Something unexpected…  

She picks up her i-Pod with one hand and fixes the earphones one after the other.  

Jab bhi ye dil udaas hota hai,

Jane kaun aas paas hota hai…

Jab bhi ye dil udaas hota hai…  

As if she woke up from sleep, she trembles and changes the track in haste… This was the only old song in her play list. It is not that she doesn’t like old songs. She avoids them because she doesn’t want to think about the past and the old songs take her to her past… At one time she had such a huge collection of old melodies. She had built her musical library on one shelf of Rahul’s library… One summer, Rahul had arranged all his books in that tall cupboard and called it his library. When she came back from work, she found Rahul sitting on a chair in the front of the cupboard, with a book in his lap but eyes fixated on the shelves of the cupboard. Did he look happy? He looked elated! In no time, he started making plans to buy some dozens of more books to fill up the empty space on the cupboard. She just sat on the chair next to him and looked at his ‘library’… “I can fill that empty space now”, she said. “How?” “Just watch”. And she arranged all her music CDs and DVDs in that empty space. Now “his library” had become “their library”! They celebrated this new adventure in their rented flat with the baigan ka bharta she prepared in dinner. And Rahul promised to prepare the breakfast next morning. She smiled… ‘Rahul’s promise!’ :) Her lips tried to smile but eyes betrayed, as tears dropped from them… What were those days? They seem so far… Hot tears slipped off from both her eyes… She pulled her iPod off and let it lie away from her pillow. The music was irrelevant for what was going inside her heart… If there was one thing which was closest to her in the recent troubling phase, it was her pillow. Though the nurses changed its cover everyday, she had asked them not to change the pillow itself; ever. She can only assume that they had indeed obliged her… In her good days, she was very touchy about her pillow… She would make sure that it doesn’t get exchanged with anyone else’s; not even with Rahul’s…  

Using her right hand she wiped off her tears with the towel… But fresh gush of tears came trickling after… Outside the room, someone wiped his eyes with a handkerchief…

***  

Realizing that she had allowed herself to go back in her past, she tried to move her body alternately in both sides as if to shrug off all the bits of past from herself… She looks in a different direction, keeps her iPod on the table, tries to bend her head towards the right, where she could see the bottle of blood being transfused into her… When she was a kid, she would not be able to control herself at the sight of anyone’s blood… Once her cousin sister fell down from a stationary bullock cart and had a cut on her head. Instead of helping her, she had run away… shouting… crying… in all tears… first to the bedroom, then to the roof, then to the varandah, then ultimately to the bathroom where she cried for good half an hour. By the time her mother came to her and took her out again in her lap to meet Rachna, she had her eyes red and swollen. But Rachna had already started her game of kit-kit and welcomed her back into it. All that remained as a mark of the cut was a white piece of cotton hanging loyally from her forehead due to a patch of yellow Dettol. Then there was that accident of her teacher. His motorbike had skidded off the road in an attempt to avoid a little goat. He came to teach her the next day with a bandage on both his arms with red spots showing the depth of the wounds. At the mere sight of it, she started crying again, and this time instead of going inside the house she ran outside, in any direction where her feet followed, and ended up falling in the little pond dug at the neighbouring construction site. Her father called her to him that night and asked her to sleep with him… She liked his smell and craved for the warmth of his arms, when he took her to sleep gently patting on her shoulders and tinkling her forehead… Baba was not generally accessible to her, unless he specifically asked her to come to her. This was often inspired by some of the misadventures she would end up doing, or when she picked up a fight and never gave up till the end of the world. She would also have the privilege to hold his finger and walk to the school on the days when Munna Chacha would have gone somewhere and Baba would decide to take her and her brother to their school himself.  

She wiped her ears again, as a nurse came for vigilance and swiftly went back out of the room finding everything normal as expected.  

Baba had a bushy moustache which matched his personality… He was the Daroga Sahab of the nearest thana. Not only children of his village but almost everyone revered and feared him… Every morning when she would wake up and go out, she would find him in front of their house sitting on his large chair, having finished his kasrat. In some time a massager would be coming to massage his body with sarso tel, after which he would go to take bath. He would also call Santosh for bath who would eagerly wait for this moment perhaps as a means to end his morning study session. She envied him for this exclusive opportunity. Though at times Baba will also let her in; often on Sundays when her mother would send both the kids to take bath with Baba. Her brother and she would sit in the laps of their father who would pour buckets of water on himself, thereby making them enjoy a splashing fountain bath. At times Ma would watch their bath from a distance, laughing and giggling. In those moments, they would call their mother to join them and never could understand why she didn’t join in on any of the days. It was so much fun to take bath with Baba…  

(To be continued…)
- Rahul

Our generation (those born in the 80s) grew up seeing this strong tagline for Infosys:  

“Powered by intellect. Driven by values.” 

This tagline was so strong and impactful that it generated a high feeling in the audience immediately. It also gave the employees and the associates a matter of pride and a challenge to make this self-assertion true; every single day and hour. But many felt that this tagline was “inward focused” – to which even I agree. It strongly proposed what Infosys stood for, which was very inspiring in the company’s initial years. I am sure this tagline shaped the way Infosys grew up in the earlier years.  

After the above slogan another brand positioning statement came which told where the company was heading to. It said:  

“Win in the Flat World.” 

This new tag was outward focused. It told about how Infosys can help its clients win in the ever globalized world. It told that the company was in touch with the latest technologies and skills which will enable “winning”. I think this new line put Infosys in the league of world’s best companies and gave the Infosys brand an international feel.  

And then, the present tagline has happened:  

“Building Tomorrow’s Enterprise.” 

The new visual brand identity is here:  

This journey is captured in the below description which a TOI article quoted Infosys COO SD Shibulal saying:  

Infosys 1.0: (First 20 years):  focused on developing and managing technology applications for customers and on building a global delivery model.  

Infosys 2.0: (Next 10 years): developed end-to-end service capabilities, systems integration capabilities, and added consulting and innovation expertise. 

Infosys 3.0: (Now and onwards): To be at the intersection of the client’s business and technology and of global trends, and use the knowledge and expertise to help them transform and move into new directions. 

And hence, “Building Tomorrow’s Enterprise” makes perfect sense! 

I think the above tagline is a perfect brand-positioning for Infosys. It also is an appropriate one given the legacy of Infosys brand positioning statements. Also, it is an honest one, given that the company is focused on breaking away from linear business model where business growth is proportional to new human resources hiring and is aiming towards more consulting and business transformation projects. I am sure the new brand identity and positioning statement are perfect and will be helping Infosys in its 3.0 journey.  

- Rahul  

PS: The views expressed here are entirely personal and do not represent the views of any organization or firm. There is no associated claim of100% factual accuracy of everything that is written in this article, though care has been taken to avoid any error or misrepresentation.

We now have ‘Infy Heritage Club‘ within Infosys. Some time back we were asked to nominate ourselves voluntarily for this newly created club. I just received a mailer welcoming us and also invited me to an online survey to ascertain my skills which can be of use for this club.  The mailer informs us that under the banner we have some exciting projects lined up using our skills in the field of project management, creativity, IT expertise, and above all, as it says, “through the passion & spirit of Infy!”  

The Infy Heritage Club is proposing these projects in collaboration with Ministry of Culture (Govt of India) and some of the prestigious institutions and subject matter experts in the country.  

- Rahul

(On Rediff iLand, the previous version of Rediff Blogs, we used to have a very popular writer-blogger amongst us who wrote in the name of Kim Agrawal. He wrote his blogs in beautiful Hindi and all his posts carried the fragrance of our earth and colors of Mother Nature. After Rediff iLand migrated to Rediff Blogs, unfortunately his blog http://rypcg.rediffiland.com/ was lost due to some technical error. I happened to find some of his posts saved on my computer and I am posting these 10 posts on my blog, with my love and regards to Kim and waiting for his return to blogging.)



हमारी संस्कृति में,  हमारे संस्कारों का कैसे बीजारोपण हुआ है, इसकी मिसाल हैं,  हमारे तीज-त्यौहार. यकिनन हम सबको इसका अहसास है. एक-एक त्यौहार क़ी, हर एक परम्परा में, कहीं न कही सामाजिक मूल्यों का बोध होता जान पड़ता है. बस्तर के दशहरे को ही ले लीजिए, जो एक पिछड़े कहे जाने वाले, धूर जंगली इलाक़े में ठेठ भारतीय अंदाज में, पुरखो से मनाया जा रहा. लेकिन, इसके हर तौर तरिके में वो संदेश अभिव्यक्त हैं, जिस पर हम सब गर्व कर सकते हैं. अमूमन बस्तर के दशहरे के संबंध में, यही अधिकतर लोग जानते हैं कि यह भगवान राम क़ी रावण पर विजय के उपलक्ष्य में नही, अपितु माँ दंतेश्वरी{बस्तर अंचल के लोगो क़ी आराध्य देवी जो दुर्गा का ही एक रूप है }क़ी आराधना को समर्पित एक पर्व है, जो 10 दिन नहीं पूरे 75 दिन तक चलता है. पर बस्तर के दशहरे क़ी जानकारी इससे अधिक का मायने रखती है, एक-एक रस्म, हमारे संस्कृतिक मुल्यो क़ी, महान परंपराओं क़ी संदेश वाहक हैं.
               काछिन गादि को ही लीजिए,ये रस्म है, दशहरे के, मुख्य समारोह के शुरू होने क़ी पहचान.{वैसे यह दशहरा शुरू होता है,श्रावण मास क़ी अमावश्या से, रथ बनानेवाली लकड़ी पूजा से और चलता है अश्विन मास के शुक्ल पक्ष क़ी त्रयोदशी तक} दिन होता है भाद्र मास क़ी अमावश्या.  इस दिन माँ दंतेश्वरी से मुख्य समारोह शुरू करने क़ी अनुमति ली जाती है, जो विराजित रहती हैं काछिनगादि पर. यह एक कांटो क़ी सेज होती है,जिस पर एक बाल कन्या माँ दंतेश्वरी के रूप में लेटती है. यह कन्या होती है एक अनुसूचित जाति {एस.सी.} क़ी और उससे समारोह क़ी अनुमति लेता है, बस्तर के राजपरिवार का व्यक्ति. वह हाथ जोड़कर बालिका क़ी पूजा करता है और उससे बदले में फूल भेंट पाने पर, देवी क़ी अनुमति समझा जाता है. इस रस्म का अद्भुत पहलू देखिए, बस्तर आदिवासी बाहुल्य वाला इलाका है और जब बस्तर का दशहरा 15 वीं शताब्दी में चालू हुआ उस समय भी यह क्षेत्र आदिवासी बाहुल्य वाला था. वैसी स्थिति में एक दलित वर्ग{आदिवासी नहीं] क़ी कन्या को, इतना सम्मान कि स्वयं राजा, उसकी पूजा करे और उससे किसी समारोह क़ी शुरूवात की याचना करे, यह सम्मान तो आज के वोट के राजा भी नहीं देते.
                      समारोह की परंपरा में फिर होती है, जोगी बिठाई. जिसमें एक हलबा अनुसूचित जनजाति [ एस.टी.]  का व्यक्ति माँ दंतेश्वरी की लगातार 9 दिन तक उपवास रख कर, एक ही स्थान पर आराधना करते रहता है. जोगी बिठाई से प्रतिदिन मांझी, मुंडा, नाईक इत्यादि विभिन्न आदिवासी समुदाय के लोग रथ को रोज शाम को सात दिन तक राजमहल के सिह द्वार तक खींचते हैं. जोगी उठाई के बाद भीतर रैनी (विजया दशमी) और बाहर रैनी (रथ खींचने की परंपरा कासमापन) में सभी समुदाय के लोग मिलजुलकर हिस्सा लेते हैं. आश्विन शुक्ल की बारहवी को लगता है मुरिया (इसी आदिवासी जाति का घोटुल विश्व प्रसिद्ध है) दरबार. जिसमे आम जनता के साथ राज परिवार के लोग बैठकर विभिन्न सामाजिक मुद्दों पर बातचीत करते हैं. और अंत में अश्विन शुक्ल 13 वी को होता है ओहाडी पर्व. जो मावली माई के सम्मान में होता है. और सब लोग इस दिन मिल जुलकर भोजन ग्रहण करते हैं.
                        बस्तर दशहरे के इन रस्मों में सामाजिक समरसता और भाईचारे का जो संदेश पग-पग पर दिखाई देता है वह आज के इस लोकतांत्रिक प्रक्रिया में राजसी ठाठबाट पा रहे उन राजनेताओ के लिए एक सीख है कि सत्ता प्राप्ति के लिए समाज को बांटने की जरूरत नहीं बल्कि इस देश की माटी ने सत्ता को ज़िम्मेदारी का बोध कराया है. जातपात के नाम पर हायतौबा करने वाले उन लोगों को काछिन गादि की परंपरा से कुछ सीख तो जरूर लेनी चाहिए कि हमारी सामाजिक व्यवस्था में समरसता पुरखों से है. उसे रैलियों, भाषनो और नारों की आवश्यकता नहीं. वे इसे न समझ सके तो आकर बस्तर दशहरा से सीख सकते हैं.
             

(On Rediff iLand, the previous version of Rediff Blogs, we used to have a very popular writer-blogger amongst us who wrote in the name of Kim Agrawal. He wrote his blogs in beautiful Hindi and all his posts carried the fragrance of our earth and colors of Mother Nature. After Rediff iLand migrated to Rediff Blogs, unfortunately his blog http://rypcg.rediffiland.com/ was lost due to some technical error. I happened to find some of his posts saved on my computer and I am posting these 10 posts on my blog, with my love and regards to Kim and waiting for his return to blogging.)

(On Rediff iLand, the previous version of Rediff Blogs, we used to have a very popular writer-blogger amongst us who wrote in the name of Kim Agrawal. He wrote his blogs in beautiful Hindi and all his posts carried the fragrance of our earth and colors of Mother Nature. After Rediff iLand migrated to Rediff Blogs, unfortunately his blog http://rypcg.rediffiland.com/ was lost due to some technical error. I happened to find some of his posts saved on my computer and I am posting these 10 posts on my blog, with my love and regards to Kim and waiting for his return to blogging.)



घंटियों की निनाद और जयघोष की मधुर अनुगूँज के बीच, हम खड़े थे अरदास लिए, माँ काली के मंदिर में. भावविभोर और निश्छल मन से समवेत रूप से जय-जय घोष हो रही थी–विश्व का कल्याण हो, प्राणियों में सदभावना हो, धर्म की जय हो. आज ही नहीं अक्सर हम इस मंदिर में धोक् मारने आते हैं, पत्नी के साथ और यही अनुगूँज होती है,सदैव. लेकिन, आज जब मंदिर से घर पहुँचे, तो ड्योढ़ी पर खड़ा पाया, चुनावी रंगदारों को { छत्तीसगढ़ मे 14 & 20 नवंबर 2008 को विधानसभा के चुनाव होने हैं}. घर के अंदर जाते उसके पहले ही, हमें घेर कर समझाया जाने लगा, कैसे और किसे मतदान करना है और क्यों ? इस क्यों में था, प्रदेश में धर्म निरपेक्ष सरकार बनाया जाना भी. मेरी पत्नी को यह सब असहज लग रहा था, क्योंकि वह मंदिर में मिले फूल और प्रसाद को,  जब तक, एक बार घर के पूजा स्थल पर अर्पित न करदे, तब-तक घर वालों से भी बात-चित करना, उसकी आदत में शुमार नहीं है. वह अपने को अधिक देर तक रोक नही पायी उसने चुनावी टोली के मुखिया को तल्ख़ लहजे में फटकार लगाते हुए कहा, आप शायद कभी मंदिर नहीं गये हैं, और गये हैं तो उन जय-जय घोषों को ध्यान से नहीं सुना है, जो पूजा के बाद भक्त अंतर्मन से उदघोषित करते हैं. वो हैं हमारी धर्म-निरपेक्षता की जड़े, जहाँ मानव, मानव ही नहीं सभी प्राणियों में सदभावना क़ी बात होती है, विश्व के कल्याण क़ी अनुगूँज होती है और हिन्दू शब्द का प्रयोग किए बिना धर्म मात्र क़ी जय-जय कार् करायी जाती है और आप कह रहे हैं, धर्म निरपेक्ष सरकार लाना है, धर्म निरपेक्षता हमारी संस्कृति क़ी जड़ों में है आप जिस धर्म निरपेक्षता क़ी बात कर रहे हैं, वो तो हमें शर्मिंदा कर रहीं हैं, भारत में धर्म-निरपेक्षता क़ी बात करने वाले लोग कभी मंदिर नहीं जाते, अगर जाते तो उन्हे इस शब्द का प्रयोग करते हुए शर्म आती. पत्नी ने सारी बातें एक सांस में कह दीं और सॅट-पट घर के अंदर चल दी. चुनावी टोली को तो मानो “सांप सूंघ गया था”, मैने वातावरण को सहज बनाने के लिए पूछा कि आप लोग पानी लेँगे क्या ?
             पत्नी को मैने कभी भी राजनीति पर रुचि लेते हुए, इसके पहले नहीं देखा था, यहाँ तक क़ी वो राजनीति के समाचार पढ़ने से भी गुरेज करती है, यद्दपि वह स्वयं राजनीति में एम.ए. है. घर के अंदर जा-कर मैने उसे कह डाला कि अब, तुम राजनीति में भाग ले सकती हो, तुम में भाषण देने का दम है. पर वह अभी भी गंभीर थी, उसकी नाराज़गी अभी-भी दूर नहीं हुई थी. वह फिर कहने लगी कि तुम बताओ, मैं काली की अनन्य उपासक हूँ, तुम साई-बाबा के, हमने एकदूसरे को ये कभी नही कहा कि  हमें किस इष्ट को मानना है. मैं काली मंदिर जाती हूँ, आपने ये कभी नहीं कहा कि मैं नहीं जा-उंगा, ठीक उसी तरह जब आप साई-बाबा के मंदिर जाते हैं, मैं बिना बोले तैयार हो जाती हूँ. मेरे माँ-बाप, भाई-बहन, दादा-दादी ने भी मुझे ये कभी नहीं कहा कि किस मंदिर में जाना है और किसमें नहीं. यहाँ तक कि मैं काली माँ की उपासक अपनी मर्जी से हूँ, और तुम, तुम्हारे परिवार में तो, तुम को छोड़ कर कोई साई-बाबा का न तो पहले भक्त था न अब. हमने अपने इच्छा से इष्ट चुने हैं. मुझे बताओ, तुम लोग बहुत सेमिनार और गोष्ठियाँ करते हो, क्या इससे अधिक धर्म को मानने और न मानने की आजादी किसी धर्म में हैं. हमारे संस्कारों में एक बच्चे को माँ रोज मंदिर लेकर भलेही जाए, पर बड़ा होकर, वो बालक रोज माता द्वारा बताए गये देव के मंदिर ही जाए ये जरूरी नहीं, वह अपनी मर्जी से इष्ट का चुनाव कर लेता है, जैसे तुमने किया, मैने किया. फिर इस देश में क्यों होती है धर्म-निरपेक्षता की बाते? धर्म हमारे संस्कारों का वाहक है जो हमारी रगो में रचा-बसा है. जो लोग इसे नहीं जानते वो मंदिरों में जाकर सीखले जहाँ प्राणी मात्र में सदभावना की जय-जय कार होती है. 

(On Rediff iLand, the previous version of Rediff Blogs, we used to have a very popular writer-blogger amongst us who wrote in the name of Kim Agrawal. He wrote his blogs in beautiful Hindi and all his posts carried the fragrance of our earth and colors of Mother Nature. After Rediff iLand migrated to Rediff Blogs, unfortunately his blog http://rypcg.rediffiland.com/ was lost due to some technical error. I happened to find some of his posts saved on my computer and I am posting these 10 posts on my blog, with my love and regards to Kim and waiting for his return to blogging.)

(On Rediff iLand, the previous version of Rediff Blogs, we used to have a very popular writer-blogger amongst us who wrote in the name of Kim Agrawal. He wrote his blogs in beautiful Hindi and all his posts carried the fragrance of our earth and colors of Mother Nature. After Rediff iLand migrated to Rediff Blogs, unfortunately his blog http://rypcg.rediffiland.com/ was lost due to some technical error. I happened to find some of his posts saved on my computer and I am posting these 10 posts on my blog, with my love and regards to Kim and waiting for his return to blogging.)

              ये उस गाँव की बानगी है, जो छत्तीसगड के कवर्धा जिले की पंडरिया तहसील का धुर जंगलो के बीच पहाड़ी पर बसा है. तेलियापानी-लेदरा है इस गाँव का नाम. जहाँ पूरी आबादी आदिवासियों की है. हम जब इस गाँव में पहुँचे तो वे अनुभव भी किसी बड़े रोमांच से क़म नहीं हैं. गहरी घाटियों और एक चूक से प्राण गवां देने वाले रास्तों को पार कर जब हम इस गाँव पहुँचे तो मानो हमें देखने सारा गाँव ही इकट्ठा हो गया. गाँव के जिस टोले {आदिवासी गाँव के छोटे-छोटे मोहल्ले जो पहाड़ियों पर बसे होते हैं}  में भी हम गये देखा, किसी घर भी घर में दरवाज़ों पर पल्ले नही, कोई खाट नहीं, ओढ़ने बिछाने की बात तो दूर, तन ढकने के लिए भी ठीक से कपड़े नहीं है. जीविका में सुवर पालन, शिकार, लकड़ी बेचना और कंद-मूल ही साधन हैं. लेकिन लोग एकदम साफ दिल के मानो ईश्वर के अवतार हों. इसी बात से समझा जा सकता है कि आज इस गाँव में पटवारी उनके खेतों को चिन्हकित करने आया था, हमने देखा कि वो एक खेत पर खड़ा होता और मजाक में वह बड़े भू-भाग को कहता कि तुम्हारा खेत दोएकड़ लिख दूँ, वे कहते आप जाने, आप गलत थोड़े करेंगे. हमने पटवारी से पूछा कि आप कितना लिखते हैं, उसने कहा गाँव में 10 एकड़ से क़म किसी परिवार के पास जमीन  नही है, हमने पूछा जब आपके पास इसका रिकार्ड है तो फिर ये क्या कर रहे हैं ?  उसने बताया कि इनके गाँव अन-सरवेद है, हर साल लिख कर ले जाना पड़ता है, इनका रिकार्ड.  जहाँ जमीन के  एक-एक कतरे पर लोगो के कत्ल हो रहे हैं वहीं इन्हे तो मानो वीतराग सा है. हमने उनसे बातचीत में जो सच्चाई पायी उसे शब्दो में पिरोना मुश्किल है. सहजता, बनावटीपन से कोसों दूर, गाँव का आपसी भाईचारा इतना मजबूत कि आजतक वहाँ पुलिस नहीं पहुँची है, प्रकृति के इतने नज़दीक कि मानो वो उनमें साक्षात समाई हुई-सी है. शिकार के साधन दिखाने के हमारे आग्रह पर जरूर वे सकुचाए. पर बाद में हमसे अपनत्व समझकर धनुष और तीर को लेकर हमें उसकी एक-एक बारीकी समझने लगे. जब हम तीर के नुकीले भाग को छूने लगे तो उन्होने तत्काल हमारा हाथ पकड़ लिया. उन्होने कहा कि यह जहर है और ऐसा करने से आपकी मौत हो सकती है. हमने पूछा कि ये क्या चीज है तो बस उन्हे यही ग्यान है कि वे इसे शहर से लाते हैं. जब नमक लेने जाते हैं, यानी बहुत क़म जाना होता है उनका शहर.
                     हमे यह जानकार आश्चर्य हुआ कि बैगा बाहुल्य वाले इस गाँव में एक दंपत्ति को एक से अधिक संतान नही है. कारण पूछा तो उन्हे नही मालूम (मुझे भी नही मालूम क्यों ?). पूछने पर पता चला कि आसपास के बैगा परिवारों के गावों में भी यही स्थिति है. एक रोचक तथ्य जानकार हम अत्यधिक रोमांचित हुए कि जब घर का पुरुष लकड़ी काटने या बीनने जाएगा तो दूसरे दिन उस घर की महिला लकड़ी काटने या बीनने जाएगी. तब घर का खाना और बच्चे को खिलाने का काम पुरुष के ज़िम्मे रहता है (शायद आप इसे पिछड़ापन तो नही कहेंगे ना ?).  इसी तरह गावों में \महिलाओं का गोदना भी एक अद्भुत अनुभूति थी. ढेर सारी बातों के बीच सबकुछ इस आलेख में समेत पाना मुश्किल जान पड़ रहा है. फिर भी हमारे मन में एक प्रश्न बार-बार खड़ा हो रहा था कि प्रभु के ये लोग सभ्य हैं या इस सभ्य दुनिया के चमचमाती विकास की धारा में शामिल हम लोग ? वास्तव में पर्यटन की इस यात्रा में जो सुकून और अनुभव इस आदिवासी गाँव की विरासत से मिला उसे स्मृति के पन्नो से भुला पाना नामुमकिन रहेगा.

(On Rediff iLand, the previous version of Rediff Blogs, we used to have a very popular writer-blogger amongst us who wrote in the name of Kim Agrawal. He wrote his blogs in beautiful Hindi and all his posts carried the fragrance of our earth and colors of Mother Nature. After Rediff iLand migrated to Rediff Blogs, unfortunately his blog http://rypcg.rediffiland.com/ was lost due to some technical error. I happened to find some of his posts saved on my computer and I am posting these 10 posts on my blog, with my love and regards to Kim and waiting for his return to blogging.)

                  माई की बगिया नर्मदा नदी के उदगम के पास कोई 1 कि.मी. दूर् है. ऐसा माना जाता है कि यहाँ “नर्मदा” का बाल्यकाल गुजरा था. यहीं “गुलबकावली” जो एक औषधीय पौधा का जन्म स्थल भी है. आँखों के लिए इसका अर्क रामबाण माना जाता है. हर दुकान में आपको ये रखा नजर जाएगा. इसी स्थल से कोई 2 कि.मी.आगे एक ओर मनोरम स्थल है, सोन नदी का उदगम स्थल. यहाँ जाते वक्त बीच में शंकराचार्य का आश्रम पुराने अवशेषों में, बरबस ध्यानाकृष्ट करता है. आदि शंकराचार्य के इसी स्थल पर अपने गुरु का सामीप्य मिला था. यों कहलें हमारी संस्कृति के महान पुरोधा आदि शंकराचार्य को, यहीं मिली थी गुरुवाणी, भारत की एकता के लिए चार दिशाओं में चार मठ (बद्रीनाथ, पुरी, द्वारिका और श्रिन्गेरि पीठ) की स्थापना. नर्मदा उदगम से, उसके प्रवाह की दिशा में, ठीक 6 कि.मी.दूर् है, कपिल धारा. नर्मदा नदी का पहला और सुंदर जलप्रपात. नीचे जाकर निहारेंगे तो लगेगा मानो श्वेत रूई कई टुकड़ों में बिखर रही है. यहीं पर है कपिल आश्रम.        
           कपिल आश्रम एक छोटा सा स्थल. जहाँ कपिल मुनि ध्यानस्थ रहा करते थे और उनकी इस साधना ने “सांख्य योग” के रूप में मूर्त रूप लिया. षटदर्शनों में एक है सांख्य दर्शन. जो हमारी संस्कृति की एक बड़ी पूंजी है. जीवन के गूढ सूत्रों की व्याख्या, इस अरण्य क्षेत्र में हज़ारों साल पहले हुई. पर ऐसी ही हमारी ये पूंजियों का हमें कोई ज्ञान आज की पीढ़ी को नही. ये पूंजियाँ धर्मनिरपेक्षता के संकीर्ण आईने की भेंट चढ़ गई. अमेरिका के एक विश्व-विद्यालय में गीता को एक अनिवार्य विषय बना दिया गया.  आज क्या ऐसी बात हम इस देश में सोच सकते हैं ?  अमेरिका ने एक राह दिखाई है कि हमारा पुराना साहित्य जो प्रकृति की कोख में बैठकर रचा गया है, वह मानवता की असली सीढ़ी है, वह मानव मात्र की पूंजी है. उसके पढ़ने से कोई धर्म भ्रष्ट नहीं होगा. किसी धर्म-निरपेक्षता पर खतरा नहीं आएगा. प्रकृति के पेड़-पौधे, जल, पहाड़, हवा आदि सब एक समान सबके लिए उपयोगी है. इनके सानिध्य में लिखा भारत का पुरातन ज्ञान भंडार भी सबके लिए समान रूप से उपयोगी है. पर भारत में ही ये अब मात्र पुस्तकालयों का हिस्सा बनकर रह गया है.
                 कपिल धारा के पास ही है दुर्वासा ऋषि का तपस्या स्थल, जालेश्वर महादेव आदि-आदि कई पौराणिक एवं प्राकृतिक मनोरम दृश्य है अमरकंटक में. यहाँ पर जाकर लगा कि चर्म चक्षुओं से नही, यहाँ का सौंदर्य मन की आँखों से आत्मानुभूति को अधिक आनंद विभोर करने वाला है. योग की हमारी अनोखी विद्या और कई ऋषियों का ये तपस्या स्थल हमारे संस्कारों का पालना सा लगता है. जितना झूलेंगे उतना आनंद आएगा…. 
                अमरकंटक बिल्कुल छत्तीसगड़ की सीमा से सटा हुआ है. छत्तीसगड़ के एक बड़े शहर, बिलासपुर से सड़क मार्ग से कोई 115 कि.मी. दूर पड़ता है. बीच का रास्ता अद्भुत रमणीय है. साल घाटी के नाम से जाना जाता है. बिलासपुर से निकलकर हमने एक रात अचानकमार अभयारण्य में गुजारी. यहाँ 17 शेर हैं ऐसा माना जाता है. इसी लालच में हम जंगल के बीच स्थित एक रेस्ट हाउस, “लमनी” में रुके. एकदम भोर में उठे. जंगल में घनघोर सन्नाटे के बीच चाँद की, चाँदनी की मादकता से मानो पूरा वातावरण मदमस्त सा लग रहा था. बीच-बीच में किसी किसी जानवर की आवाज़ इस सन्नाटे को विदीर्ण करती हुई सी जान पड़ रही थी. सुबह 5.30 बजे हम घने वनों के बीच जंगल में वन्यप्राणियों की छटा देखने निकल पड़े गाड़ी से. बीच- बीच में हिरण, चिंकारा, खरगोस, मोर, तितर नाना प्रकार के वन्यप्राणियों को प्रकृति की गोद में कुलाचें भरते देखा. वो हमें देखते और फिर सहम कर भाग जाते. शेर नही दिखा. मायूसी जरूर हुई, पर प्रकृति का इतना सुंदर सामीप्य, एक यादगार ताज़गी, स्मृति के पन्नों में हमेशा के लिए दर्ज कर गया. 
                   हमारे गाइड कन्हैया ने बताया कि पहले वन्यप्राणी गावों के नजदीक ही दिख जाया करते थे. अब वो बात नही रही. गावों में रेडियो, माइक, टी.व्ही. आदि की आवाजों से वे डरते हैं. सैलानियों की आवाजाही भी अधिक हो गई है. हम कन्हैया के मन को पढ़ रहे थे. वह इससे खुश नही था. एक गाइड होते हुए भी, वह जंगल की खूबसूरती को अधिक तवज्जो दे रहा था, न कि अधिक से अधिक सैलानी यहाँ आएँ. हमने भी इस चीज को महसूस किया कि आसपास के गावों में सुबह से ही माइक जोर-जोर से बज रहा था. फिर हमें वन्यप्राणी देखकर जिस तरह बिदक रहे थे, उससे साफ है कि वे हमे (इंसानो) अपने इलाक़े में पसंद नही करते. फिर, इस दिशा में सोचा जाना चाहिए कि क्या वनों, अभयारण्यों एवं नेशनल पार्कों में सैलानियों की संख्या बढ़ाना जरूरी है ? जबकि वे (वन्यप्राणी) हमें पसंद नही करते. फिर भी क्या सिलसिला बदस्तूर जारी रहेगा ?  कहीं खो न जाएँ ये …

(On Rediff iLand, the previous version of Rediff Blogs, we used to have a very popular writer-blogger amongst us who wrote in the name of Kim Agrawal. He wrote his blogs in beautiful Hindi and all his posts carried the fragrance of our earth and colors of Mother Nature. After Rediff iLand migrated to Rediff Blogs, unfortunately his blog http://rypcg.rediffiland.com/ was lost due to some technical error. I happened to find some of his posts saved on my computer and I am posting these 10 posts on my blog, with my love and regards to Kim and waiting for his return to blogging.)



सबेरा हुआ ही था, एक साथ बच्चों का एक बड़ा झुंड, दरवाजे पर एक स्वर से “छेर-छेरा, माई कोठी के धान ला हेर हेरा….” की राग छेड़ रहे थे. मेरे घर पधारे मेहमानों ने मुझे आवाज़ दी, उन्हें ताज़्ज़ूब हो रहा था, एक साथ इतने बच्चे माँगने निकले हैं. मैंने मेहमानो को मुस्कराते हुए समझाया, उनका अनुमान गलत है, ये माँगने वाले बच्चे नही हैं, ये बच्चे तो छत्तीसगढ़ की उस सांस्कृतिक परंपरा के अगुआ हैं, जो इन्हें पुरखों से विरासत में मिली है. ये बच्चे खुशियाँ बांटने निकले हैं. आज पौष पूर्णिमा (11 जनवरी 2009) है, जिसे छत्तीसगढ़ में ‘छेर-छेरा’ पर्व के नाम से मनाया जाता है. छत्तीसगढ़ के किसान धान की कटाई एवं मिसाई के बाद जब धान को घर की कोठी (माई कोठी) में सुरक्षित रख देते हैं, तो गाँव की गलियों में नई फसल का जश्न मस्ती और उल्लास के साथ मनाया जाता है. गाँव के बच्चे-बच्चियाँ हर घर के दरवाजे पर टोलियाँ बनाकर धान माँगने पहुँचते हैं. किसान उन्हें श्रद्धा से अतिशुभ का आगमन मानकर धान भेंट करते हैं. हर किसान आतुर होता है कि उसे आज छेर-छेरा का धान देना है.

(On Rediff iLand, the previous version of Rediff Blogs, we used to have a very popular writer-blogger amongst us who wrote in the name of Kim Agrawal. He wrote his blogs in beautiful Hindi and all his posts carried the fragrance of our earth and colors of Mother Nature. After Rediff iLand migrated to Rediff Blogs, unfortunately his blog http://rypcg.rediffiland.com/ was lost due to some technical error. I happened to find some of his posts saved on my computer and I am posting these 10 posts on my blog, with my love and regards to Kim and waiting for his return to blogging.)

मुंडेर पर, कलरव चिड़ियों का,

है प्रतीक, उषा काल का,
जागृत रोज, मुझे वो करतीं
उठो, लाओ दाना हमारा
सुवासित मंद समीर, छत पर
अर्घ रवि को अर्पित कर
तुलसी को शीश नवाओ.
      
                                          क्यों रोज चुगाता, इनको दाना
                                          पहले माता चुगाती थी, इन्हे
                                          बताती, तेरे दादा, परदादाओ
                                          की है, ये पुरातन परम्परा
                                          पर तूँ भी करना ऐसा ही
                                          कभी तो कहा नहीं उसने
                                          बस देखा, सीखा और
                                          ये अविरल  सिलसिला बन गया

अब रोज मुंडेर पर दाना बिखेरता
चिड़िया हक जतातीं हैं इनपर,
कुछ को चुगती, कुछ बिखराती
चहक-चहक कर,बिखरे दानो को
फिर-फिर चुगती, ऐसे इठलाती
मानो सबकुछ है, इनका
                                               ये दाने, छत, आसमां.. कहाँ से आये
                                               कौन बनाता दाना, कौन है लाता
                                               क्यों जानें ये, क्या मैने ऐसा जाना
                                               जब मैं ये कहता, ये घर है मेरा
                                               क्या मिट्टी, गारा, पानी…….
                                               मेरे हैं? बनाया है, मैने..?
                                               तो ये सच है,ये छत,
                                               आसमां, दाना ,सबकुछ है इनका….

{रोज की इस दिन-चर्या में आज ये भाव बरबस ही मन में आये और सोचा कुछ कविता सी कर ली जाय. ये कविता-सी रचना मेरे उस दोस्त को समर्पित है, जो दिल से बच्चों सा है और समझ में नीर-क्षीर-सा विवेकी. वो जीवन के 16 पवित्र संस्कारों में सबसे महत्वपूर्ण परिणय संस्कार से पोषित हुआ है. उसके सुखद और मंगल भविष्य की कामना के साथ…}

I and my wife visited ISKCON Temple, New Delhi some time back. While in Mumbai, we used to visit ISKCON Temple at Juhu many times and it was nice to visit one in Delhi too. ISKCON Temple in South Delhi is situated in East of Kailash.  

The Temple structure is grand and we need to walk up the stairs to reach the main temple (the height is because the temple is situated on a hill called Hare Krishna Hill). The prime deities Radha and Krishna are so wonderful to visit. The Krishna’s idol here is made of black colored stone. On one side of the main deity are the idols of Sri Sri Gaura Nitai along with Srila Prabhupada and his spiritual master Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati. And on the other side very beautiful deities in the form of Ram Parivaar are installed. The main prayer hall in front of the deities has a very peaceful energy and environment and the devotees sit for some time and soak themselves into the positive energy of the temple.  

One door from the main prayer hall takes us towards a gallery which has beautiful and large portraits showing different leelas and life events of Lord Krishna. It also has a series of portraits of Radha and Krishna from many ISKCON Temples from all across the world. It is a matter of pride for us to see such beautiful temples made by ISKCON all across the world.  

When we come out of the main temple, we find some restaurants and also a beautiful shop selling religious literature and music CDs. There is also a museum gallery. We also got to know that the temple conducts Multimedia Shows for the visitors.  

Some other useful information:  

Name of the temple: Sri Sri Radha Partha-Sarathi ISKCON temple 

Address: Iskcon Temple, Hare Krishna Hill, Sant Nagar Main Road, New Delhi, Delhi 110065, India +91 11 2332 0005 

Timing: Open on all days. Morning Prayer Time: 4.30 am, 7.15 am, 7.45 am. Evening Prayer Time - 12.30 pm, 7.00 pm, 7.45 pm (Prayer Hall Remains Closed from 12 pm to 4 pm) 

Website: http://www.iskcondelhi.com/  

Recommended webpage for a very good review: http://www.shubhyatra.com/delhi/isckon-temple.html 

Here I have posted some of the temple pictures we took during the visit: [Link]

I am a big fan of Dr. Devdutt Pattanaik and I wait for his column “Management Mythos” in the Economic Times every Friday. Dr. Pattanaik, a medical doctor by education (MBBS from Grant Medical College, Mumbai) turned to become a renowned mythologist. He works as a leadership consultant and holds the innovative position of Chief Belief Officer at the Future Group. You can check his website at: http://devdutt.com/  

I am reproducing his today’s article from ET:  

Management mythos: Read situations in all the perspectives 

30 Sep, 2011, 05.49AM IST, ET Bureau 

The sage Narada wanted to marry a young princess. But she said she wanted to marry only Hari. Hari is the name of Vishnu , who is God and the guardian of earth. Narada went to Vishnu and began singing his praises. So Vishnu offered him a boon. 

“Give me the face of Hari,” said Narada. Vishnu granted that wish. Narada went to the princess but instead of garlanding him, she turned around in disgust. There behind her stood Vishnu. The overjoyed princess garlanded Vishnu. Narada wondered what was wrong. Then he saw his face reflected on a mirror. 

It was that of a monkey! He accused Vishnu of cheating him. Vishnu smiled and replied, “I gave you the face of Hari, which literally means monkey, though it happens to be my name.” 

Narad can be read the situation in two ways: a strategic narrative or a sincere narrative. In a strategic narrative, Narad can see Vishnu behaving like a lawyer, playing with words to make him feel like a fool. In a sincere narrative, Narada can see Vishnu behave like God, using a play of words to enlighten him not to trick a young girl simply because he can. 

In a strategic narrative, Vishnu is the wily trickster who wants the princess for himself. In a sincere narrative, Vishnu stops Narada from being a trickster and grants the princess her wish. In a strategic narrative, Narada feels like a fool. In a sincere narrative, Narada is enlightened. 

Every situation can be read strategically or sincerely. When we read a situation strategically, we feel manipulated; we feel we have been reduced to a performing monkey. When we read a situation sincerely , we learn from it; we feel someone cares for us enough to demonstrate to us our shortcomings rather than simply pointing it out. 

After completing his course in Australia, Jason returned to India with plans to start a fast food joint. His father, Paul, was a renowned restaurateur, with many small boutique hotels in East and South India , saw the business plan and knew that it would not work. But he gave his son the seeding capital he needed. 

The hotel started with much fanfare but was in the red in less than six months. That is why Paul sent his team to help out the son. They made two key changes, in the menu and in the advertising. The same place, which was empty for six months, was now full of customers. 

Now Jason has two options, just like Narada. Read his father’s actions strategically or sincerely. He can see Paul as a manipulator, a dominant father, who wanted to put him in his place. Or he can see Paul as a teacher, a caring father, who wanted to show him what actually works in the restaurant business. Jason can feel like Hari, the monkey, or thank Hari, the teacher. The choice is very much his. 

The author is the Chief Belief Officer of the Future Group. He can be reached at devdutt@devdutt .com 

Ref: [ET Article] 

‘Vidur Neeti’ (in Hindi)

(Taken from the Mahabharata; explanations by Sri Hanuman Prasad Poddar)

Gita Press

ISBN: 81-293-0216-0 

‘Vidur Neeti’ is part of the great epic Mahabharata in which the wise counsel Vidur explains many concepts and facts of great wisdom to King Dhritirashtra of Hastinapur. References are in eight chapters, 33rd to 40th, of Mahabharata. This book presents the Sanskrit shlokas with their concise translations in Hindi. The language is simple and it can be read and understood by the masses.  

I am noting down some of the shlokas with their meanings: 

==  

Ijyaaddhayanadaanani tapah satyam kshamaa ghrina |

Alobh iti margoyam dharmsyashtavidhah smritah ||56|| (adhyay-3) 

Yagya, addhyayan, daan, tap, satya, kshamaa, dayaa, aur alobh - ye dharm ke aath prakar ke marg bataye gaye hain. ||56|| (adhyay. 3) 

Yagya, learning/study, alms-giving, tapa (penance), truthfullness, forgiveness, compassion and non-greediness - these are said to be eight types of path towards Dharma. ||56|| (Chapter 3) 

==  

Tatra purvachaturvargo dambharthmapi sevyate |

Uttarascha chaturvargo namahatmsu tishthati ||57|| (adhyay-3) 

Inme se pahle charon ka to dambh ke liye bhi sevan kiya ja sakta hai, parantu antim char to jo mahatma nahi hain unme rah hi nahi sakte ||57|| (adhyay. 3) 

Of these, the first four can even by practiced for ego or pride, but the later four can never be present in those who are not good souls. ||57|| (Chapter. 3) 

==  

Avyahritam vyahritachchhreya ahuh,

Satyam vadet vyahritam tad dviteeyam |

Priyam vaded vyahritam tat tritiyam,

Dharmam vadet vyahritam tachchaturtham ||12|| (adhyay-4) 

Bolne se na bolna achchha bataya gaya hai; kintu satya bolna vaani ki dusri visheshta hai, yani maun ki apeksha bhi duna labhprad hai. Satya bhi yadi priya bola jaye to teesri visheshta hai aur wah yadi dharm-sammat kaha jaye to wah vachan ki chauthi visheshta hai ||12|| (adhyay. 4) 

It is said that not speaking is better than speaking, but speaking the truth is said to be second quality of speech meaning it is better than non-speech. If the truth is even nice/lovely, it becomes third quality of speech (better than only truthful speech), and if that (lovely and truthful) speech is also consistent with Dharma (it is righteous), then it becomes fourth quality of speech (it is even better than the previous three). ||12|| (ch. 4) 

==  

Aakrushyamano nakroshenmanyurev titikshatah |

Akroshtaram nirdahati sukritam chasya vindati ||5|| (adhyay-4) 

Dusron se gaali sun kar bhi swayam unhen gaali na den. Kshama karne wale ka roka hua krodh hi gaali dene wae ko jala deta hai aur uske punya ko bhi le lea hai. ||5|| (adhyay. 4) 

Even after hearing abuses from others, don’t say abuses to them. The restrained anger of those who pardon others itself burns/destroys the abusers and also destroys their punya. ||5|| (ch. 4) 

==  

Krityani purvam parisankhyay sarvanyayvyaye chanurupaam cha vrittim |

Sangrahneeyaadnurupaan sahaayaan sahaayasaadhyaani hi dushkaraani ||24|| (adhyay 5) 

Pahle kartavya, aay-vyay aur uchit vetan ka nishchay karke fir suyogya sahaayakon ka sangrah karen, kyonki kathin se kathin karya bhi sahayakon dwara sadhya hote hain ||24|| (adhyay 5) 

One should first decide on the appropriate duties, income & expenses, and wages and then should collect right associates. Because even the most difficult jobs can be done with the help of associates. ||24|| (Ch. 5) 

==  

Aarjaven naram yuktamaarjavaat savyapatram |

Ashaktam manyamaanaastu dharshayanti kubudhyah ||62|| (adhyay 7) 

Dushta buddhi wale log saralta se yukt aur saralta ke hi karan lajjasheel manushya ko ashakta maankar uska tiraskaar karte hain. ||62|| (adhyay 7) 

People with evil minds consider the simple and sober (because of simplicity) men as weak and they insult them. ||62|| (Ch. 7) 

==  

PS: My apologies for any errors in typing or translation.  

One can see the great intelligence reflected in the first two verses, where Vidhur clearly demarcates the gestures of Dharma which can be fabricated Vs which come to us naturally. Third and fourth contain great practical wisdom. I think the second last verse on selection of associates is a fitting one to be considered by people with interest in business. And the last one is such a timeless wisdom.  

These are only a few of the very interesting and enlightening verses presented in this book. I recommend this to all. 

- Rahul  

Also posted at [Link]