Some reality, some imagination

My first day in Melbourne

2008-12-11T08:45:00.008+05:30

The day I got news from my organization that I'll be going onsite to Melbourne for long term, I was on seventh sky. I started dreaming about living style of Aussies, culture, dollars I'll be earning etc. I even cancelled so many planned expenses like AC and Washing machine. You will definitely think that whats the big deal. If someone is going abroad for 1 year then buying AC worth 20k is nothing but stupidity. But here I would like to mention that the news was not confirmed. In IT industry, any travel news is not comfirmed till you reach the destination. Incidents have happened where employees were called back from airports. But as I was on 7th sky, I cancelled all the plans of such expenses or atleast posponed for a couple of months.

My instict clicked correctly and finally my tickets were booked. I decided to travel alone initially as I had to arange for accomodation and other petty stuff before my family (wife + 2 yrs old kid) could join me. I knew that finding a good accomodation will be tough. My flight landed at 7:30 PM. After all the formalities, I headed to get a taxi. One taxi driver met me at the exit of the airport and without wasting my time in getting the details, I settled in the taxi. Driver was a Turkey citizen. On the way we shared few things about our countries. To my surprise, he had totally anti-west mentality. He told me that Mahatama Gandhi was very famous in Turkey. And Gandhi was not given Nobel peace prize because Nobel prize belongs to west and Gandhi fought against western government. We kept on chatting on various topics and soon we reached the destination.

The hotel was old but comfortable. After such a long flight I can bet that even bench of any park in India would have given me comfortable feeling. I spent some time watching TV, unpacking some essential stuff and then fell asleep. As next day was Sunday, there was no need to get early in the morning. Sunday morning (after noon to be precise) I started exploring Melbourne. It was not very different than what I thought. Only few people on roads (compared to India), nice trams and trains, clean roads, hi-tech buildings etc were looking as nice as these could be. I found lot of Indians on the roads - talking in their regional languages. Other thing I could see across the road was Mc Donalds beautifully shining in red. The big smile of mascot was like welcoming a foregner in Australia. I found a small market near by. By this time it was 4:00PM. I gave a phone call to 1 of my friend who was living in Melbourne somewhere. To my surprise his apartment was at a walking distance from my hotel. Now I had something to do for rest of the day. Without wasting any time, I took the instructions on how to reach to his place and rushed. After good 20 min walk, I was outside his building.

My friend made me understand lot many things of Australia. Time flew so fast and soon sun proceeded to take a nap. Both of us cooked the dinner, watched TV and then I headed for my hotel. Next day both of us had to go our offices.

My first day was not something great but it was very nice. New place with old friend is something which can make any day the best day in the life.

Dosti aur Mohabbat

2008-09-05T11:49:00.002+05:30

Rohit aaj bahut excited thaa. Purani yaade uske dimag par haavi thi. 5 saal baad aaj woh India aa rahaa thaa. Kabhi woh apne mata pitah ke baare main sochta to kabhi school ke dino ko yaad kartaa. College ke masti bhare din koi kaise bhool saktaa hai. Woh canteen, lectures, exams ki tension, teachers par crush, woh dosto ki mandali aur woh pehla pyaar Shaalu. Shaalu ka khyaal dimag main aate hi Rohit ke chehre par muskurahat aa gayi. Uske dimaag main abhi bhi woh sab aise taaza thaa jaise mano kal ki hi baat ho. Bahut pyaar kartaa thaa woh Shaalu se. Lekin ab to Shaalu aur Arvind apni family main bachho ke saath khush honge.

College main yeh 3 dost - Arvind, Rohit aur Shaalu. Teeno main gehri dosti thi. Rohit ekdum seedha sadha ladkaa tha. Har cheej main average - padai, sports, extra curricular activities etc. Chote chote sapne the uske. College ke baad koi achhi si job karna aur fir job main promotion lena. Bas ek hi cheej main avval thaa Rohit - dosti nibhane main. Dosto ke liye jaan bhi hajir thi uski. Wahin Arvind bahut smart tha. Handsome, padai main avval, sports main bhi achha. Bas thoda gusse waala tha woh. Shaalu dekhne main bahut hi sweet thi jaise koi masoom si pari. Padai, sports sab main average lekin sapne bade bade. College ke baad USA se MBA karna chahti thi aur fir wahin settle hone kaa plan thaa.

Fir ek din Arvind ne apne mann ki baat Rohit ko batayi. Arvind Shalu se pyaar kartaa tha. Lekin usse samajh nahi aa rahaa thaa ki woh apne mann ki baat Shaalu ko kaise bataye. Ghar aa kar Rohit iske baare main sochta rahaa. Rohit ko mann hi mann main lagne lagaa ki Arvind Shaalu ke liye usse achha jivan saathi hoga. Rohit ki nazar se dekhe to Arvind Shaalu ke liye perfect match thaa. Usne decide kiya ki woh Arvind ke mann ki baat na sirf Shaalu ko batayega balki har tarah se unki help karega. Yeh faisla asaan nahi thaa Rohit ke liye. Apne haatho se apne pyar ko apne dost ko de rahaa thaa woh. Jaha uska dil udas thaa wahi usko is baat ki khushi thi ki woh koi nek kaam karne jaa rahaa hai. Apne dosto ki help karne se jaada khushi usse kabhi nahi hoti thi.
Rohit ki kurbani rang layi. Jaldi hi Arvind aur Shaalu ne college ke baad shaadi karne kaa faisla kar liya. Idhar Rohit ne soch liya ki woh zindagi main fir kabhi kisi se pyaar nahi karega, kabhi bhi nahi.

College khatam ho gayaa. Teeno apni apni rah par chal pade. Arvind ne busness ko career bana liya. Shaalu India main hi reh kar MBA karne lagi. In dono ki life planning se chal rahi thi. Rohit ki life main chota sa change aaya. Job karne ki jagah woh MBA karne USA chalaa gayaa. MBA khatam ki aur fir wahi par ek MNC main achhi naukri bhi mil lagyi. Arvind aur Shaalu se uska contact bhi bahut kam ho gayaa thaa. Fir ek din usse pataa chalaa ki Arvind aur Shaalu ne shaadi kar li hai. Rohit ke mata pitah bhi shaadi karne ke liye usse baar baar keh rahe the. India aane kaa yeh bhi 1 maksad thaa uska.

-------- end of part 1--------

Ek din 1 store main Rohit ki nazar 1 pyari si bachchi par padi. Bahut hi masoom thi woh bachchi. Aisa lag rahaa thaa jaise shararat koot koot kar bhari ho usme. Lekin fir bhi bahut shaant lag rahi thi. Shayad apni mummy ke dar se koi sharat nahi kar rahi thi. Jab Rohit ki nazar uski mummy par padi to woh hairan reh gayaa. Uske saamne Shaalu khadi thi. Rohit ke dil main Shalu ke liye pyar abhi bhi zinda thaa. Lekin uske liye uski dosti jaada mayne rakhti thi. Woh seedha Shalu ke paas pahucha.
- Hey Shalu, How are you yaar? Long time naa!!
- Rohit!!! kaise ho?
- Main bilkul theek hoon. Arvind kaisa hai? Yeh tumhari beti hai?
- Haan, Shruti.
- Apna mob no bata jaldi se. I'm so excited. Milne kaa plan banate hain.

Rohit jitna khush thaa Shalu ko dekh kar, utna khush Shaalu nahi lag rahi thi. Rohit ko kuchh theek nahi lag rahaa thaa. Shaalu kaa no lene ke baad woh apne ghar chala gayaa. Ghar jaa kar woh Shalu ke saath apni mulakat ke baare main sochta rhaa. "Shaalu mujhse mil kar khush nahi lag rahi thi. Kya baat ho sakti hai? Yaa fir yeh uska vaham to nahi? Akhir Shalu ki ab family life hai. Time bhi bahut ho gayaa hai. Phone karke coffee par invite kartaa hoon. Fir aram se baate karenge." Yeh sochte sochte usme Shaalu ko phone lagaya aur usse Sunday ko ek coffee shop par invite kiya. Shalu is baar bhi kuchh hichkichahat mehsoos kar rahi thi. Par 1-2 baar kehne par woh Rohit ki baat maan gayi.

Dono Sunday ko ek coffee shop main mile. Is baar bhi Shaalu ke saath Shruti thi lekin Arvind nahi. 'Arvind nahi aaya?' Rohit ne poochha. Shaalu khamosh thi. Rohit apne swaal ke jawab ke liye Shalu ki aur dekh rahaa thaa. 'Arvind has expired in a car accident' Shalu ne dabi awaz main kaha. Rohit ke raungte khade ho gaye.

'Kya!! kab?'
-'2 mahine pehle'
- 'Oh my God.'

Bas itna hi keh paya Rohit. Woh samajh nahi paa rahaa thaa ki Shalu ko kaise sympathy de. Sahi shabd dhoondne ki koshish kar rahaa thaa. Ab usse samajh aaya ki kyo Shalu is tarah se behave kar rahi thi. Vaapis aa kar Rohit isi ke baare main sochta rahaa. Uskaa dimag kuchh bhi sochne main uska saath nahi de rahaa thaa. Bahut saare sawaal aur vichar uske dimaag main aa rahe the. Poori raat sochne ke baad Rohit ne faisla kiya ki woh Shalu ke saamne shaadi ka proposal rakhega. Rohit Shruti ko apnane ko bhi tayar thaa. Lekin Shalu ke mann main kya hai yeh kaise pataa chalega usse. Abhi Arvind ko gujre 2 mahine hi huye hain. Kya yeh sab baate Shaalu se karnaa theek rahega? Usne yeh baate apne mata-pitah ko batayi. Pehle to unhone saaf inkaar kar diya lekin Rohit ke samjhane par woh maan gaye. Mata-pitah ko apne bachho ki khushi se badkar kya ho sakta hai. Rohit ne Shaalu ko phone kiya aur baato baato main uski planning jaanene ki koshish ki. Lekin Shalu ko kewal Shruti ke liye jeena thaa. Rohit ko samajh nahi aa rahaa thaa ki woh is baat ko kaise aage badaye. Usne ek tarkeeb nikali. Usne Shalu ko milne ke bahane uske ghar jaane kaa faisla kiya. Woh Shalu ke mata-pitah aur saas-sasur se ek baar baat karke jaanana chahta thaa ki woh kya soch rahe hain. Rohit ne baato baato main Shalu ke saas-sasur se poochha:

- Ab kya plan hai aage kaa? Kuchh socha hai Shalu ne?
- Kehti hai ki naukri karegi aur Shalu ki parvarish karegi
- Dubara shaadi kaa koi vichar .....
Thoda jhijhak kar Rohit ne poochha. Situation ki nazukta kaa andaza thaa usse.
- Beta, hum to chahte hain ki aisa ho jaye lekin marzi to Shalu ki hi hai.
- Aur Shalu ke mata-pitah? Kya woh bhi yehi chahte hain?
- Shalu kaa ghar bas jaye to aur kya chahiye unko bhi. Lekin aisa ladkaa dhoondna mushkil hoga jo Shruti ko apni beti ki tarah rakhe. Hame to koi ummeed nahi hai aisa ladka milne ki.

Rohit ko roshni ki kiran nazar aa rahi thi. Kam se kam parivar ke log aaj kal ke vichar rakhte the. Usne apne mata-pitah ko Shalu ke mata-pita se baat kare ko kaha. Lekin is baat kaa khyal rakhna tha ki yeh baat Shalu ko pataa na chale. Baat karne par pataa chalaa ki Shalu ke mata-pitah Rohit ke liye raazi the. Rohit ki woh bahut pehle se jaante the. Jab unko pataa chalaa ki Rohit Shruti ko apnane ko tayar hai to unko rishte se koi apatti nahi thi. Shalu ke mata-pitah ne Arvind ke mata-pitah se baat ki to unko bhi Rohit achha ladka laga. Ab bas Shalu se baat karne ki der thi lekin iski himmat koi nahi juta paa rahaa thaa. Akhir kar Shalu ke mata-pitah ne usse baat karne kaa faisla kiya. Baat karne par Shaalu ne saaf inkaar kar diya. Woh bas Arvind ki yaado ke sahare hi zindagi guar lena chahti thi. Lekin sab ke dabav daalne se woh sochne par majboor ho gayi. Sab ne usse Rohit se ek baar milne ki salah di.

Rohit soch rahaa thaa ki baat kaha se shuru kare. Lekin woh pehle se jaada comfortable lag rahaa thaa.

- Shalu, please don't misunderstand me. Main India shaadi ke liye koi ladki dekhne aaya thaa. Lekin mujhe samajh nahi aa rahaa thaa ki 1 din main kaise kisi se shaadi karne kaa faisla kar lu. Tum to meri itni achhi dost ho. To socha tumse achhi partner nahi mil sakti mujhe. Main Shruti ko bhi apni beti ki tarah rakhunga. Baaki tum batao.
- I'm not prepared for marriage. Meri zindagi main Arvind ki jagah koi nahi le sakta.
- I understand. Tum mujhe achhi tarah se jaanti ho. Jo bhi decision logi mujhe manjoor hoga.
- Decision jo bhi ho, main India chhod kar nahi jaungi.

Dono ki mulakat jaada lambi nahi chali. Shalu ne abhi tak kuchh bhi faisla nahi liya thaa. Usse waqt chahiye thaa. Lekin fir bhi Rohit ne India main hi shift karne ka faisla kar liya. Idhar Rohit vaapis USA chalaa gayaa aur idhar Shalu par shaadi ka dabav badhne lagaa. Rohit ne India main naukri dhoond le aur 6 mahine baad India shift ho gayaa. Shalu doosri shaadi bilkul nahi karnaa chahti thi lekin uske ghar waale us par dabav banaa rahe the. Akhir bina mann ke usne haan keh di.

Dono ki shaadi ho gayi. Lekin Shalu abhi bhi khush nahi thi. Uski purani yaade taza hone lagi. Arvind ke saath bitaya huya har pal uske saamne fir se aa rahaa tha. Shaadi ke baad Rohit uska poora khyaal rakhne lagaa. Usse kabhi bhi jhagda nahi karta. Shruti ko bhi bahut pyar karta tha. Shalu bas apne aap main khoyi rehti thi. Keval Shruti ka hi dhyan rakhti. Rohit ki taraf usla lagav bilkul nahi thaa. Rohit Shalu ke liye pareshan rehne laga. Usne socha ki kyo naa Bangalore shift ho jau. Shayad nayi jagah jaa kar Shalu main kuchh badlav aaye. Yeh soch kar usne Bangalore transfer le liya.

Bangalore main Shalu ki halat aur bhi bigadne lagi. Usse lagne lagaa ki Rohit usse sab se door le jaana chahta hai. Rohit ke liye uske mann main nafrat bharne lagi thi. Shruti ki taraf bhi uska dhyan nahi rehta tha. Rohit hi Shruti kaa khyaal rakhta. Woh yehi sochta rehta ki kis tarah se apni 'dost' ki zindagi fir se khushhal kare. Lekin uske sabhi prayas nakam hote nazar aa rahe the. Usne apne kamre se Arvind ki tasveer bhi hata di. Lekin Shalu ko yeh bhi manjoor naa thaa. Woh to Rohit ko Arvind kaa katil bhi maanane lagi thi. Naa khane kaa hosh aur naa hi kisi ki parvah. Uski halat paaglo jaisi thi. Rohit ki har ek koshish bekar saabit ho rahi thi.

Ek din Rohit ko office main phone aaya ki Shalu kaa accident ho gayaa hai. Rohit jaldi se hospital pahucha. Shalu kafi serious thi. Who ghar se bahar sadak taka a gayi thi aur 1 car se uska accident ho gayaa tha. Doctors operation kar rahe the. Rohit ne phone karke Shalu ke mata-pitah ko bhi bula liya tha. 3 ghante ke operation ke baad bhi doctors ne kuchh bhi kehne se manaa kar diya tha. Bas sab log Shalu ke hosh main aane ka intezar kar rahe the. Shalu ne aankhe kholi. Usne Rohit ki god main Shruti ko dekha fir Arvind ki tasveer ko. Shalu Shruti ke liye santusht kag rahi thi mano Rohit ki ehsan-mand ho. Aur fir uski aankhe hamesha ke liye band ho gayi.

Rohit samajh nahi paa rahaa thaa ki Shalu ki maut kaa jimmedar kaun hai – Arvind kaa pyar, halat yaa fir Rohit khud. Rohit ne faisla kiya ki who ab keval Shruti ke liye jiyega aur kabhi kisi se pyar nahi karega, kabhi bhi nahi.

Water water everywhere ....

2008-06-19T12:49:00.001+05:30

70% area of earth is water in various forms. Yet we see a lot of messages about water conservation on various broadcasting channels. Water in oceans, seas or in rivers is not drinkable. Despite having so much abundance of water on our planet, there are people who struggle to get even a drop of it to drink. The situation is like people die of thirst during floods or those who are continuously on ship having so much of water around them. It reminds of a couple of lines from a poem:

Water water everywhere
Not a single drop to drink.

Government is telecating so many messages on TV to save water, NGOs are talking about it. The idea is to make people aware. I don't say that the step is useless but tell me one thing, if we all start saving some amount of water everyday then will the problem solved? Have people stopped immersing idols of Gods in water? Is our government really serious on this issue? Are
our leaders taking enough steps to improve the situation? I don't think so. There is a bigger picture to look upon.

After so much of awareness still so many farmers are committing suicide because they are unable to irrigate their crops. States are fighting with each other for water. We have to think of some concrete steps to save water. I see nothing has been done so far in this regard. Just showing some messages on TV is not enough. Our leaders should come out with simple but effective solutions. Anyone who is little interested in finding the solutions can easily make out that there are so many places where water is wasted like anything. Government is not taking any step to avoid that wastage but asking common people to use water sparingly. Why can't it be banned to have fountains in private houses/offices? Why can't there be guidelines for usage of water in bollywood movies? Do you know that water used for shooting of 1 rainy song can fulfil the need of 5 villages for a day.

Some of the solutions I can think of are:
- Ban on fountains in private houses, offices and organizations

- Guidelines for water parks

- Guidelines to bollywood or other similar industries

- Rain water harvesting should be mandatory in all big residential/commercial complexes

- Water treatment plants should be installed in big companies/organizations

- Guidelines on swimming pools created in residential complexes (These days almost every society has one pool).

- People should understand that festivals like Ganpati visarjan, Holi etc are not showing their respect towards God but contaminating a precious gift 'Water'.

I hope that both people and government will understand the situation and come out with effective solutions shortly. We will keep using water as per our requirements and can live in better & healthy environment.

Lachari

2008-06-05T12:24:00.000+05:30

सुबह 7.30 बजे थे. मैं सैर करने अपने कमरे से निकल गया. इतनी हसीन सुबह मैंने अपनी ज़िंदगी में पहली बार देखी थी. रास्ते पर पत्ते किसी मखमली कालीन की तरह बिछे थे. हरे हरे पत्तों पर ओस की बूदें मोतियों जैसी लग रही थी. हलकी हलकी धूप जैसे पेडों से छन कर आ रही हो. पंछियो की चहक मधुर संगीत की तरह इस सुबह को और भी मोहक कर रही थी. दूर तक बरफ से ढके ऊँचे पहाड़, घने जंगल, बड़े मैदान सब कुछ बहुत सुंदर लग रहा था. किसी ने इस जगह को धरती का स्वर्ग ऐसे ही नही कहा.
मेरी नज़र कुछ दूरी पर उड़ते हुए हल्के धुऐं पर पड़ी. जा कर देखा के एक चाय की टपरी थी. एक बूढा आदमी चाय बना रहा था. पूछने पर उसने अपना नाम अब्दुल बताया. मैंने पूछा "चाचा, इतनी सुबह यहा चाय पीने कौन आता है? यहाँ तो आबादी भी बहुत कम है." अब्दुल बोला "बेटा, यह तो समय की मार है नही तो बहुत लोग रहते थे यहाँ पर." मेरी उत्सुकता और बढ़ गई. सोचा चाय पीते पीते कुछ गप-शप करता हूँ चाचा से.

- "अच्छा तो चाचा फिर इतने लोग कहाँ चले गए?"

- "दस्ते के डर से कश्मीर ही छोड़ कर चले गए हैं, बेटा."
- "दस्ता!!! यह दस्ता क्या होता है?"

- "सरकार से नाराज़ लोग जो दूसरे लोगों को अपनी गोली का शिकार बनाते हैं, उनको दस्ता कहते हैं. कभी पैसे के लए तो कभी बदला लेने के लिए यह लोग ऐसा करते रहते हैं."
- "चाचा, यहाँ पर लोगों को डर तो बहुत लगता होगा।"

- "हाँ बेटा, कौन जाने कब कोई दस्ता आ जाये."
- "आप को डर नहीं लगता दस्ते से?"
- "नहीं मुझे डर नही लगता।"

- "क्यों?"

मेरे इस सवाल ने शायद अब्दुल के दिल की दुखती रग छेड़ दी थे. कुछ देर के लिए खामोशी छा गई . मेरी उत्सुकता बढ़ती जा रही थी. फिर चाचा ने घने अँधेरे जैसी खामोशी को तोड़ा.

"क्योंकि मेरा बेटा दस्ते मैं है."
अब्दुल मन ही मन खुद को कटोच रहा था. अब हम दोनों ही इससे आगे कुछ और बात नहीं करना चाहते थे।

Masumiyat yaa Insaniyat?

2008-06-03T11:25:00.000+05:30

Yeh baat hai sardi ki ek shaam ki. kadake ki thand thi. Main Delhi se Agra jaa rahaa thaa. Train ki sleeper class main reserved seat par baitha ek kitab main khoya thaa. Saath waali seat par baitha 8 saal ka bachcha apne papa ki god main baith kar kuchh ajeeb ajeeb sawal poochh rahaa tha. "Papa, yeh train kitni tez chalti hai?", "Kya yeh hamare bike se bhi tez chalti hai?" "Yeh sab log Agra jaa rahe hain?" .....
Kuchh awazo ne mera dhyan apni aur kheecha. TT ticket check karne aaya thaa aur darwaje par baithe 1 admi aur uske chote se bachhe par chilla rahaa tha. "Ticket kyo nahi lete?" "train free main nahi chalti!!" "Bhagwan ne permanent ticket de kar bheja hai. Jab bhi jee kare train main chad jao." Yeh sab kehte kehte TT hamari aur bada. Meri nazar us garib aadmi par gayi. Ek fata purana kambal kisi tarah se lapet kar sardi se bachne ki koshish kar rahaa thaa. bache ka badan kuchh gande kapdo se dhakaa thaa. TT ki awaaz se mera dhyaan bataa. Maine jeb se ticket nikaal kar TT ko thamaa di.

Tabhi ek chai waala waha ayaa. Sab ne chai li aur chuskiya le kar peene lage. TT bhi hamare saath baith kar baate karne laga. Us 8 saale ke bachhe ne chai waale se poochha:
"Uncle, 1 chai kitne ki hai?"
- "4 rupaye ki"
- "aur 2 chai?"
- "8 rupaye ki"
Bachhe ne jeb main haath daala to uski jeb main 5 rupaye hi the.

" achha, 1 de do"

Uski taraf sab dekh rahe the. Bachhe ke mata-pitah bhi nahi samajh paa rahe the ki woh chai kyo le rahaa hai. Chai waale ne paise liye aur 1 chai bachhe ke haath main thamaa di. Bacha utha aur chai us garib aadmi ko ja kar de di. Bhagta huya seedha apne papa ki god main aa kar baith gayaa. Uske chehre par muskurahat thi aur kuchh achha karne ka garv bhi. Uski payari si muskurahat maano hum sab ki hasi udaa rahi ho. TT sahab ne chai waale se us aadmi ko ek aur chai dene ke liye ishara kiya. Chai waale ko paise diye aur waha se chal diye.