Mithuu - My parrot and his story #lookup

Majority of the times when the chips are down and life seems a burden, you need someone who can make you all happy and cheerful. What better way than to have a pet who gives you some optimism about how to face things ahead and lookup. This is my lookup story as I travel my journey along with Mithuu- my pet parrot who was with me a decade back.

I have been always fascinated with birds, watching them, hearing them tweet every morning. Squirrels, little birds and parrots have been favourite as time just seems to stop whenever I used to observe them. When I was in class 10th, I had started harassing my parents for a pet. I wanted a parrot as one of my relatives had one and I had been regularly going there since I was a child. When they could not deter me from my wish, they ultimately caved in. My request ( my side) was conveyed as a demand ( as my parents saw it) to the same relative whom I still call (Chidiya wale nanaji) owing to the fact that he has been keeping birds all long.

He knew that it was not possible for us to care for the newborn parrot so he took it under his wing to raise him and then hand it over to us when he was big enough to eat on his own. When he was handed over to us, we named him Mithuu. The green parakeet was adorable and mind you that his wings were NEVER cut so we were a bit afraid that he might fly away on the first window of opportunity. We started with his food- whole wheat grains and water. His cage was put in the verandah according to the time of the day. In the afternoon, he was put in a cooler shade to save from the sun and by the night his cage used to be there up at the hanging place I had devised through a strong chain to protect him from cats.

He was full of antics. I myself painted his cage with a still unusued bottle of acrylic paint while he had cowed in a corner unsure of what was going on. He was a chirpy bird who was always happy- full of life. Even before the morning alarms went off , he used to chirp loudly with the birds in the air , dancing all around his cage trying to match their voice. Me and my father used to jokingly say that he is talking to his girlfriends. One day something strange happened. While I was preparing to go to school, I saw him roaming in the verandah. He was out of his cage having lifted the door by his beak and ventured out. My high pitch scream bought my father out who closed the door of the verandah lest a cat should come. I was afraid that he might get hurt if he tried to fly and did not do it correctly. When we were sure that he wont fly away, we left him wandering off there. I guess he was never taught flying since he grew up so he never learned it. Soon he became famous as the “ walking parrot” in the colony as well in the school. Once a classmate of mine came to visit me and saw him walking, since then the word spread like forest fire. 

Even my father used to call out to him when he used to return from office and he would answer with his voice. This bird used to take a bath under the tap, god forbid his fondness for all types of food. He used to relish rice and daal with the same zeal as green chillies or cooked ladyfinger. We got to know about his love for Green chick peas (hara chana) by accident. Once when I finished up shrubs of it and threw it in the garbage bin, he saw it and started screaming on top of his voice, indicating to us that he too wanted it. When I gave him one stem with peas he finished up much quicker than anybody. From then on there was always another 100 gms extra bought of for Mitthuu. When I used to sit down to eat, I used to call out to him and he would appear. At nights during the winters, he used to sleep in my room in a corner in his cage, otherwise he had a warm jacket like enclosure made for his cage when it was not possible. When he used to finish his food, which he always used to take in the cage as his bowls were there, he used to put them one top of the other to indicate “ no more”.

He had his favourite resting spots- The front tire of my cycle, he used to climb on it by the spokes in the wheels or our bajaj scooter. It happened many times that we often forgot to open the gate to his cage so that he could go in. Opening from outside was tough for him as opposed to the inside as I had bent the gate grooves a bit so that cats cant open that. If he wanted to go inside he used to stand there and call us out indicating that open the door. Sometimes when he used to doze off on the wheel and we couldn’t find him in the cage ,we used to call him out, “ Mithuu…kahaan ho? ( Where are you? ) and he used to answer back and walk to his cage. He was like a family member to us all. 

He was a bird that taught me that you cant plan life too much in advance and then try to live it. He taught me to live life, try out new things and be different from the rest so that people fock to you to see you.. He was unique… my Mithuu.

Visit lookup here - https://housing.com/lookup

Heroes: Why soldiers are forgotten ? #Cricket vs #Soldiers

Kiran Shekhawat

Abhinav Nagori

बहुत से अखबारों के चंद पन्नो पे एक खेल का मातम देखा है, जाने उस बेटी की मौत की खबर कौन से कोने में दफ़न होगी ?

भूल जाओगे तुम यह शोक कुछ दिनों बाद ही कि चार साल बाद फिर एक मौका आएगा

उस माँ का क्या होगा जिसका यह शोक ताउम्र रहेगा ?

वो तो लौट आये विदेश से, जो नहीं लौट पायी वो एक बेटी, एक पत्नी थी

देश सेवा तो दोनों ही कर रहे थे , फूल मालाएं दोनों को ही मिलेंगी , बस फर्क इतना की एक का स्वागत करने को भीड़ मिलेगी और एक का स्वागत चंद नम आँखें करेंगी

उस घर में भी दुःख होगा जिसका बेटा अभी तक नहीं मिला

हर गुज़रते पल के साथ ज़िन्दगी की उम्मीद साथ छोड़ रही होगी , मगर जिंदा होने की आस तो अभी भी होगी

क्या एक जीत की प्रार्थनाएं एक ज़िन्दगी की प्रार्थनाओं से ज्यादा हो गयी ?

सब पूछ रहे हैं एक हार की वजह , दो मौतों की वजह कोई नहीं पूछ रहा

यह भारत है जनाब, यहाँ देश में इक खेल पे मरने वाले बहुत मिलेंगे मगर देश पर मरने वालों के लिए कोई नहीं

जो एक खेल की हार का दुःख मनाये तुम उसे साथी मानते हो

मगर जो एक सिपाही को खोने का दुःख अपना समझता हो तो उसे क्या कहोगे ?

जो तुम सुबह अख़बार पढ़ रहे हो तो मुझे एक बात बताना ज़रूर...

बहुत से अखबारों के चंद पन्नो पे एक खेल का मातम देखा है, 

उस बेटी की मौत की खबर कौन से कोने में दफ़न होगी ?

The story behind this- The whole country was more interested in the run up clash with Australia and at the same time a Dorneir Surveillance aircraft of the Indian Navy crashed at sea with 3 people on board. One was rescued by fisherman while the rest 2 were still to be found. At the day of the match, the whole country was praying for a win , I was praying for these 2 lives. Nobody cared for them. As the night progressed, the country started mourning the title loss, I mouned the loss of the female navigator whose body was found with the co pilot yet to be found. The next day , newspapers are filled with reports of the match loss, jokes on the cricket team and such but I could not find even one news about the death of the pilot there. This is one such country where one sport overshadows everything else, even soldiers.

I question it why???

This post is dedicated to all those people who treat a soldier`s loss as their own personal loss and is in memory of Lt. 
Kiran Shikhawat and Second officer-sub-lieutenant Abhinav Nagori who is still missing.
An update: Second officer-sub-lieutenant Abhinav Nagori has also been found.. dead. RIP Soldiers .

The half mast flag in rememberance of them...

Friends - #together

When life becomes all about earning and living life, we often leave the people behind who once meant a lot to us, sometimes who were an important part of our lives- our friends, the buddies who just fell apart by distances. I also lost a track of all of my friends from school- meeting them was not possible because we were not in the city – Lucknow. Something or the other happened and our visits were never synced in any way. Keeping in touch through phone is never a substitute to meet in person. One day or night should I say became memorable for us as we rushed to meet each other. It was something that happened suddenly and we all met that Holi night which became the most memorable for us all. 

All these years we had lamented about not being able to meet each other and we were a bit disappointed by it all but when fate strikes , you would never ever know. It was in 2011, the holi night when I was about to meet 2 of my childhood friends in lucknow. Holi was always convenient for us as we used to always meet in the night. Its only the friends that changed. Before I set off from home, I got a call from my friend who asked me as to what I was doing, when I told him that I was going to meet the rest of the gang he was upto it and asked me to pick him up from his house(which was on the way). So we were now 4 people instead of initially 3. We had chosen a mall as our meeting place. The open area there was our favourite place where we used to sit and just chat while having coffee. While we were remembering our past school days, I got a call from another of my friend asking me where I was when he heard the noise in the background. On hearing the names of the people I was with, he got excited and told me not to make a move from the place as he was coming as soon as the lucknow roads would allow him to cover the distance.

By the time I completed the call and informed the others, there was wide grins on the faces of the others, they also had got a few more calls from our batchmates and they too were turning up as they knew that this moment of meeting all after a decade might not be possible in the time to come. When the friend who had called me turned up, I was surprised to see another of my friend with him. When I asked him he told me that he had just reached my friend`s house to meet him and he had dragged and pulled him alone to come alone. The initial meeting which was supposed to happen between just 3 people had taken the count to 9 people in total. Luckily I had my camera to capture all the moments. We had to move to a resto bar in the same mall to relive all those days, coffee joints was not enough spacious now. As we sat at the terrace of the place, all those childhood memories and talks came rushing back. It was a truly a special moment for all.

During the school time, we used to fight over who`ll pay for the canteen expenses, here too a similar fight was going on…everyone fighting over the fact that he would pay the bill. The festival in the day might have been dull for us but as the night progressed and this meeting happened, we all grew a bit optimistic that maybe we`ll all meet more often now. All we had to do now was to inform others and then see that who turns up. The optimism that our friendship can never be broken by distance or a fading memory- its here to stay… for a long time.

Visit housing here - https://housing.com/

My struggles and a new life - #StartANewLife

Change – Something we do it willingly and sometimes circumstances make us do it whether we like it or not. My change story is associated with my higher studies, abeit in a new city altogether by myself. The change story is associated with my struggles of my Master`s days and how it changed me and brought about somewhat of an organized and confident person what I am today and when I say that believe me that its not at all that easy, not even a bit in any case.

After my graduation, my desire to get into a Master`s degree took me to MBA and then cracking it was a tough job then and after a bit share of my struggles I secured admission in an institute in Jaipur, it was to be my home for the next 2 years. Having relatives there meant there that I had a backup for support in case I needed any help of any sort. It was the beginning of a new life for me. One fact which needs to be kept in mind is that I had never lived away from my home – Lucknow. It was scary- living so far away and an yet to be experienced hostel life. The scare of the seniors, ragging ( the so called anti ragging law present now was still in fancy stages then. It would claim a lot more lives before the country took it seriously). The hell week started with PDPs (personality development programme- the fancy name for ragging) making life hell for us ( we were 8 people in the hostel). All this was new for me. The only respite was the 4 hours we were having classes, after that it was all about hiding from the seniors as anyone could rag you anywhere. In the institute, it was all interaction but people know what goes in hostels.

At first I was subjected to 1-2 sessions of ragging but then I had to decide how I wanted my life to turn out to be. My studies were getting affected, I was losing out on my sleep ( anything less than 8 hours and my battery used to be down all day). Then I decided to convey my decision to all – I wont indulge in any ragging. Faced with a lot of hostility from all quarters, I stuck my ground. This was the 1st struggle of my new life. This also meant that I couldn’t do the same to my juniors as well. I was ok with it. It was better to live with self dignity than to be subjected to people. I have taken a bit of control of my new life now, a lot needed to be learned on the way. All this had already taught me to handle pressure. The ones backing me were my hostelmates. They used to cover for me. The Lucknow boy who had not stepped out of his home except for travel and vacations was now standing up on his own in an alien city, trying to make his own mark.

With seniors taken care of, I concentrated on my studies, showing off my batchmates that I was a highly tech savy person. When the word spread that I was a masters in computers ( that’s what my batchmates tell me still), I started getting unusual requests from friends and batchmates- Laptop repairs. With a plethora of tricks and softwares with me to correct faults my room used to be filled with laptops of various friends, even girls. Those who couldn’t come to my hostel used to send it through their boyfriends. There are no free lunches in the world so I had my payment terms clear- payment to be made in chocolates, I was satisfying my sweet tooth. Sometimes I used to get a chocolate from somebody, a clear indication that a laptop was on its way. On one instance I was working on 8 laptops simultaneously. He he.

Even after more than 5 years of passing out, I still get tech support requests from friends. My new life taught me a lot of things which I don’t think would have been possible in the normal sense. Became more confident when in a new city altogether, decided that whats wrong and whats not when faced with odds. Had I said yes to ragging few years back and not taken up studies, I would have not been the person I am today. I defied many orders of the seniors, even today they know that I am a person not to be messed with. The boy who used to be afraid travelling from Jaipur to lucknow by train now travels multiple cities by flight sometimes.

Those 2 years during my Masters days taught me a lot. The funda of how you need to start living a new life which can change you for the better as there is something everytime which can be learned to make things more better.

Check out Housing here - https://housing.com/in

27coupons: Start saving money on travel

Travel- Something that started happening with me on a bit of a regular basis towards the end of 2013 and since then I have been to quite a lot of places, each different from its own teaching me something or the other everytime. No matter where you go, whether in India or abroad, advance bookings and expenses are 2 of the most important factors for every traveler out there planning his next trip.

People these days go for advance bookings for stay to save themselves the hassles of last minute rush. I myself remember 2 instances of December 2013 in kanyakumari where I saw quite a lot of people hunting for accommodation with their luggage tugging behind and the same scene repeated in Shimla in October 2014. Nothing new you can say but it pays to get your bookings done in advance. The fastest and the all in one place where people prefer to book it is the famous Makemytrip. Right down from Flights, Rail tickets to hotels and bus bookings it has it all. A place which has the ease of having all things under one roof. With majority of people using it for flight and hotel bookings, it’s the hot cake sector but not cheap mind you in any case. Every person starts to look for ways to save money but these are few and far in between. What if you get to a place where you can find all this?

Welcome to 27coupons.com. As the name suggests it’s a coupon site which holds all coupons of makemytrip from all over the internet so that you don’t have to google it all up everytime you are looking for travel. Before I divulge straight into the specific coupons or how to use them, here`s something unique about the site- it pays you to use the coupons. Right from creating an account, signing up to the newsletters to actually using up coupons you are paid points for every usage which can be used later on for redemption. Who said using coupons didn’t pay? Now coming to the travel coupons. It lists all the available makemytrip coupons on its page, which can run into more than one page, depending on the various discounts being offered at that time by various players. The most latest ones would be found at the top alongwith the date when they were offered. The biggest irritating feature I have noticed on other coupon sites is that they don’t mention easily that a particular discount is applicable on which payment mode. You have to read between the fine print to see whether you qualify for this coupon or not. This is not the case with 27coupons. If there is any such condition that mentions the use of any specific bank or card for the coupon to work, its stated in bold caps at the center of the deal so you easily know that its for you or not , thus saving you valuable time. Next, a success % next to the coupon would show you that how much of a success that particular coupon it is in reality. This is so because most people don’t know that a lot of coupons come preloaded with a set number of usage and once its past that, its of no use. So this % proves to be useful.

So the next time you are planning a trip, be sure to check out 27coupons.com for the best coupons available at one place, you just don’t know that which one from it might prove to be beneficial for you. I wish that I had known about these in my time so that I too could have saved some money.

Find the coupons at -
http://www.27coupons.com/stores/makemytrip.com

Coca-Cola : Things that make me happy

Coke is all about spreading happiness in the lives of the people. Every person becomes happy in his / her own ways. For some it might be the big things to bring about happiness, for some it might be the small ones, the things which might not seem that important to the others would mean the world to that person. 

So here are the things which make me happy –

1. Hockey – The truly lightning sport I love watching, more in the stadium than on tv itself. Started watching it 11 years back and since then it has kept me hooked in its own way. With no more ads to tolerate every 5 minutes and a whole day to waste as in cricket, it is fast and furious with no relent in energy and speed. Things happen in the blink of an eye and in a matter of minutes. The very first game I watched was the Sultan Azlan Shah game against Pakistan and what a match it was. Drubbing them 7-3 was no mean feat when you consider that their hockey team is way better and dangerous than their cricket one. Every match India plays in the international arena is important to me. The happiness on scoring goals and victory and the heartbreak on every defeat, it all comes to me. Where do those 60 minutes go by, you really don’t know as I keep on shouting on top of my voice while watching it on tv too and it seems that my family has taken to the understanding that this is one sport I`ll watch and if possible go to stadium too to back the team. This is the same to me as cricket is to the others.

2. Speed- When Hockey is there, how can formula 1 be left behind? The sport which makes me sit on the edge of my seat or bed (as the case maybe) for those 90 nonstop minutes where everything happens in the flash of nano seconds. Michael Schumacher`s 4.4 seconds pitstop introduced me to this sport way back in 2002 and since then I have stuck to it like a true devotee. From worshipping Schumacher to Ferrari and then feeling proud to be backing India`s team- Force India. Over the years my happiness in formula 1 is directly related to the progress/ points scored by Force India in every race. I always want them to do better than the other teams /themselves as they are considered as the mid field underdogs and not much of a technical team. I am happy everytime the team ends up scoring points and am ecstatic the 2 times the team has scored podium finishes. Would be the happiest the day I get to hear the National Anthem at the presentation ( the day they come 1st at a race beating other teams).

3. Others- The world considers India to be a force only in cricket. There is a lot more to be achieved otherwise. I become happy the day other sports achieve a milestone or compete against the best keeping in mind the limited resources and opportunities they get. I would celebrate the most when athletes would make it to the main race in the Olympics or better still, win a medal. You could hear me backing every sportsperson out there for all he is worth. I back my teams (not cricket).

4. Nature- A stroll down some trekking path or discovering the beauty of nature without the rush and hustle bustle of daily chaotic life. I feel happy on discovering the undiscovered side of nature without any disturbance and can stare and hear the birds into eternity. Getting lost more than a child , I watch the antics of squirrels playing as I simply lose the track of nature. All in all, it’s the combination of nature and birds which makes me happy.

5. History- When Nature is there, can history be far behind? For me happiness has always been found in discovering history through the various monuments of india as compared to just reading about them in textbooks in school. My happiness loses itself in thinking about the past of the monuments- the time it was built, the purpose of it, how majestic it looks right now and things like these which make my mind wander. While others take selfies around these monuments for pictures, I indulge into history for the time being.

6. Blog- Writing my thoughts and emotions on the blog gives me happiness. The blog is like a slambook to me where I go over what all I have written all these years. Its like a detoxic zone for the mind where I just penning my thoughts without any boundaries. The blog gives me the privacy of sharing with those whom I really want to and keeping it away from the people too. The happiness comes when it really touches the people it was written for. Its just like my very own baby, the one I have seen really grow up before my very own eyes.

7. Defence- This might seem to be quite an unusual topic for many but its special for me in its own way. Every new equipment purchased by the forces brings the same joy to me as if I have got a new toy. When the forces compete with international forces in worldwide exercises and emerge victorious my joy has no bounds. My joy implies that the country is in very safe hands.

8. Reliving childhood- Nothing can match the happiness of reliving the childhood when I dive into the bundles of my comics of Chacha Chaudhary, Pinki and “ accidently” open up the carton of my toys, much to the frustration of my parents. Whether its reading comics, playing with the action figures of GI JOE, playing double player in monopoly and chess or worse…playing badminton with the wall, striking the shuttlecock well into the night as say 1 or even 2 am for example. I do it all….for this bit of happiness.

This is what makes me happy…whats yours??

 

Visit Coca Cola....

Heroes: इंतज़ार ....

The story behind this - Probably the toughest prose written by me on the defence forces and the first in Hindi. Leaving the usual aggression of a soldier and instead diving into the depths of human emotions, this is a tribute to the wives of every defence personnel. 

It salutes their courage and tries to bring out their fears which may seem to be common to the readers but it is different for every wife in its own little way as you read the thoughts of a newly married wife, a wife of every flying aviator in the forces( army/navy/air force), a wife of a POW ( prisoner of war) who doesn’t know that whether her husband is alive or not and finally a war widow.

This post salutes each and every one of them as they live their lives everyday like a brave woman but still harbours some fears which she doesn’t want them to come true. 

Its a wait…a long wait for them.

कुछ बातें बस यादें बन कर रह गयी हैं तुम्हारी गैर मौजूदगी में

वो बातें जो हौले से तुमने मुझसे कही थी

तुम्हारी गैर मौजूदगी जो हर रात तन्हा महसूस कराती है

घबराते हुए दिल से उम्मीद करती हूँ तुम्हारी सलामती की

तुम्हारे लौट आने के उस इंतज़ार का जो हर सुबह मेरे लिए उम्मीद की किरण लिए सूरज की तरह उगता है और शाम के ढ़लते सूरज की तरह ही अस्त भी होता है

माना फौजी हो तुम और एक अलग ही रिश्ता है तुम्हारा वतन से 

मगर मैं भी हिस्सा हूँ तुम्हारी  ज़िन्दगी का

साथ निभाने का वादा किया था तुम्हारा इस दिल ने, देखो अब भी वादा निभा रही हूँ मैं

बस फर्क वही है की उस वादे में अब तुम्हारी सलामती की दुआएं 

कुछ ज्यादा हैं हर दिन, हर पल

दुनिया मनाती है रोज़ नए त्यौहार , मेरे लिए तो रोज़ ही करवाचौथ है ... बाकी सब त्यौहार तुम्हारे बगैर सूने हैं

Jaswinder Kaur, widow of Lance Naik Nirmal Singh

तुम्हारे घर वालों ने बहू नहीं बेटी माना है मुझे, कहते हैं जब तू साथ है तो कमी महसूस नहीं होती अपने बेटे की

क्या मैं नहीं जानती की मेरी तरह उनका भी दिल कहीं न कहीं डरता होगा ?

फक्र है मुझे की मैं पत्नी हूँ एक फौजी की , इससे बड़ा सम्मान नहीं मिलता शायद

जब तुम घर आते हो तो लगता है जैसे बसंत छा गयी है, आवाज़ तुम्हारी नयी जान ले आती है

वो इंतज़ार मेरा ....

आवाज़ से तेज़ और मौत को पल पल चकमा देते हुए उड़ते हो तुम सरहद की हिफाज़त के लिए जान जोखिम में डालते हो तुम, अपने साथियों के लिए हमेशा तैयार रहते हो तुम

डर लगता है की कहीं तुम्हें कुछ हो न जाए

कभी यूँ ही कहा करती थी तुमसे की यह जहाज़ मेरी सौतन है , कहीं तुम्हें मुझसे छीन न ले

अब नहीं कहूँगी, बस तुम सही सलामत लौट आया करो

जब तुम पास नहीं होते तो ज़िन्दगी थम सी जाती है और दिल धड़कना बंद कर देता है

आसमान में उड़ते इस परिंदे के साथ मुझे अभी ज़िन्दगी में बहुत दूर तक उड़ना है

Widow of Kargill Martyrs

वो इंतज़ार मेरा ज़िन्दगी भर चले तुम्हारे लौट आने की राह में, हर रोज़

तुम्हारी सलामती की उस खबर का जो सालों से मेरे दरवाज़े पर नहीं आई मगर एक उम्मीद भी है जो साथ नहीं छोड़ती

देखने को तरस गयी हैं तुम्हें मेरी यह आँखें, गुज़रता है उम्मीद और निराशा के बीच हर एक दिन

बस लौट आओ तुम , और ज़िन्दगी से कोई ख्वाहिश नहीं मेरी 

बस वो इंतज़ार मेरा अब ज़िन्दगी भर का तुम्हारी यादों के साथ

ज़िन्दगी भर साथ निभाने का वादा करके यूँ अकेला छोड़ गए बीच सफ़र में

कोई मलाल नहीं मगर मुझे उस बात का, गर्व है एक शहीद की विधवा कहलाने का 

तुम्हारे जाने के बाद भी एक फौजी को कितनी इज्ज़त मिलती है यह अब पता चला

मगर मेरा सफ़र अभी चलेगा आगे , तुम्हारी यादों के सहारे ही

डरती थी की एक दिन ऐसा भी आएगा मगर आज मेरा फक्र , मेरे डर से कहीं ज्यादा है

वो इंतज़ार मेरा, शायद अगले जन्म तक जब तुम और मैं फिर मिलेंगे...

Capt Jayshree- wife of Major Vivek Gupta, saluting his remains.

एक सफ़ेद गेंद तेरी भी है , एक सफ़ेद गेंद मेरी भी... #Hockey vs #Cricket

Major Dhyanchand

एक सफ़ेद गेंद तेरी भी है , एक सफ़ेद गेंद मेरी भी

11 तेरी तरफ हैं और 11 मेरी तरफ भी

लकड़ी का इस्तेमाल तू भी करता है और मैं भी 

हर 4 साल में मुझसे “ सोने” की उम्मीद रखने वाले ऐ देश यह बता की फिर मेरी लकड़ी का आकार बदलते ही क्यूँ तेरी नज़र भी बदल जाती है मुझसे?

क्यूँ वो प्यारा और मैं सौतेली हो जाती हूँ ?

उसे मिलता है दर्शकों से भरा स्टेडियम , मुझे मिलती है खाली स्टेडियम में सिर्फ मुझे खेलने वाले खिलाड़ियों की गूंजती आवाजें

वो 9 घंटे का मज़ा तुम्हारे लिए और मैं 60 मिनट की सज़ा तुम्हारे लिए

Cricket

वो शोहरत की बुलंदी और मैं अपने वजूद को तलाशती लड़ाई

कभी आकर हौसला बढ़ाओ मेरा भी

मैंने हर लम्हें में हार को जीत में बदलते देखा है

जब गूंजती है लोगों की आवाजें हौसला बढ़ाने को , मैंने खिलाड़ियों को योद्धा बनते देखा है

मैंने उस दिन हर खिलाड़ी में एक ध्यानचंद को देखा है

मैंने ढ़ोल नगाड़ो की आवाजों में पूरा देश सुनते देखा है

जी उठे होंगे ध्यानचंद खुद भी ख़ुशी से तब, मैंने खुद को खुद पर गुमान करते देखा है

लेकिन एक बात बता ज़रा...

मेरी लकड़ी का आकार बदलते ही क्यूँ तेरी नज़र भी बदल जाती है मुझसे?

The story behind this- Having witnessed the hockey game many times at the National Stadium , New Delhi at the big games and ensuing support that day which can lead to roadblocks made me realize that there is an absolute magic in hockey with nonstop action in comparison to cricket which needs a lot of patience. Have really seen the Indian Hockey team come back from the brink of defeat to snatch a sensational victory many times when backed up by the crowd but sadly these moments are few and far in between in comparison to cricket. Despite being hailed as the national sport, it struggles to catch the fancy of the population of india, a country selfish enough to demand a Hockey gold medal at the Olympics every 4 years but really doesn’t give the sport the recognition it truly deserves or the reward the players are entitled to.. 

It’s the hockey`s pain against cricket…and rightly so..

The world "Remade" - #Conclave15

Our world- sometimes I laugh at the irony of it all. Its just a world now, not ours anymore or should I say that its not the way how I would like it to function or be. Tied up in the name of democracy I feel helpless sometimes when I see so many things going absolutely wrong and I cant do anything. The so called change through voting comes once every 5 years so it’s a no go from my side, things need to change for the better much faster than this. When I look at the larger scale of things, I see that its not just about India anymore, it has come down to the whole world itself. There is so much wrong going on in the world that its time to remake everything before anything major happens which would be catastrophic. If I had the power to make a whole new world, this is what I would go in for. It’s a combination of what new things I would want new, the changes in the current system in India as well as taking the whole world into consideration.

This would be my new “remade” world-

• Human survival with the environment. Turn up the green cover in the whole world and make it mandatory for everyone to care for nature. Maybe bring out the captain planet hidden there in each and everyone of us. When we can care for the plants in our homes then why cant we do it for the whole world before its too late to touch the point of no return. 

• Don’t know whether bringing back the dinosaurs would be such a great idea but we humans need to co exist with the wild animals as well and this earth is their home too, so be careful before encroaching on their homes for the so called “development”. I would surely not like a campaign like SAVE THE TIGERS to run ever..or for any animal for that matter . Let them co exist too, without being endangered in any way. 

• Today there is an urgent need to respect all religions. My world would have no religion but if someone wants to follow any religion of his/her choice, there would be no boundation of any sort. “ I respect all religions” is a line that has become limited to only school prayers now. In the real world there is a constant tussle to prove one`s religion greater than the other and in the process either the other religions are being decimated or the people are being killed in the process. This has got to stop. The violators would be punished with an iron hand and there would be no place for such people in the new world. 

• Politics needs to stay away from both religion and education at all levels. The new world would make sure of that. Politics in the core sense means to serve and it would be used for that purpose only- to serve. Serve the whole world and not one`s own selfish ambitions of power and money. It cant interfere with education at all. 

• Education needs to make sure of 2 things, abeit contrary in nature. Firstly no reservation of any kind on the basis of religion or caste. There would be no SC, ST, OBC category reservation anywhere. When it would be a new world made by me, I would make sure that these bifurcations don’t happen. Its all about education for all and jobs on the basis of capability. The 2nd thing which needs to be done is to secure education and jobs for the differently abled. Yes, I know that I said no reservation in the first place but really need to do this so that the special people get the courage to face mainstream people and be confident in their activities. They too should have equal opportunities like everybody else. They need empathy, not sympathy. 

• Freedom of speech would be there for all, in reality and not just in the various constitutions of the world. The only thing to make sure is that the so called freedom of speech doesn’t hurt anyone. 

• The world needs love and humanity and lots of it. I want to make a world where people falling in love don’t have to think twice about the so called religions, castes or what the society would say and all such stuff to be honest. In this new world, there would be only honour in love and no honour killing. At many a times we have seen humanity die a horrible death. Its time to being human is not just a line or slogan at a fancy tshirt but also exists in reality. Its time people helped each other in times and the new world would make sure it happens. 

• Law would be equal for all in the world. There would be no VIP, VVIP treatment just because the said person is a higher official or a celebrity. In any case, he would be treated in the same way as any normal person is treated for his crimes. Law proves to be same in doing and not just merely saying that it does. Its time the “blindfolded” law needs to take off that blindfold and see things with open eyes for a change. 

• Delayed justice is a big no no. There would be a timeframe in delivering justice to the affected person. The “next date” feature of the courts today would no longer exist. The courts delivering justice would function more like fast track courts so that speedy justice remedies are available to one and all and no longer remains a distant dream. 

• Women would be treated at par with men everywhere. They are not doormats for sure. Its time to give them the respect they deserve in the society and no better way to start all that from something new. The current world is a living hell for them, its high time amends are made in that regard. Punished for loving, wearing clothes of their choice, doing work would be things of the past. 

• Healthcare would be easily accessible to all. It would make sure that the right to healthy living fits into everyone`s reach and pocket. Its time to end the Nouveau riche preferential treatment in healthcare. Medicines would be freely available to one and all so that nobody dies due to lack of treatment.

• A world where all sports have equal respect and recognition. Unlike the present scenario where one particular sport dominates a particular nation and the others fight for their due recognition, the new “remade” world would be a sea of opportunities for all sportspersons across various fields. 

• I would love a world without wars but that doesn’t mean that there would be no security. Every nation would have a force to defend itself in the first place. You cant have your existence threatened just for the sake of world peace. The defenders of the nations don’t have to live and survive on peanuts and search for recognition as compared to their civilian counterparts. They would be remembered forever so that they don’t have to fight for their pensions after their active service life. It would be high time the nation would honour the soldiers. 

• A remade world where people would be encouraged to study courses of their choice based on their interests and not only look at studying with the future “job: prospects or having to worry about “ what are the future prospects of this study?”. Many a times knowledge is liked to be gained just for interest and not just as something which would fruityfy into a job later on. Its time to encourage knowledge, not money associated with it. 

• In the new world, there would be no food scarcity. There would be food for all so that no person misses out on being a healthy person just like the other person next to him/her. 

• Every person in the society would feel secure and its time that they stopped living in fear from each other. 

• Where sexual orientation is not a taboo anymore. The LGBTs exist in humanity with the common people. Who said that having a different sexual orientation gives a right to create barriers between people? When we can accept differently abled people between us with ease, then why cant it happen with the people having different sexual orientations? 

• Anywhere in the world, there would be no division of states in the various nations. Its time to be united and not further divide it. 

• The past history told through monuments would not fade into oblivion of neglect at any cost. There would be preservation of all so that the future generations don’t read about them in just books but also in reality in their full glory.

  

This is how I would create the new Remade world by me…this is how I would like it to be. 

I am participating in the #TheWorldRemade activity at BlogAdda in association with India Today #Conclave15 “.