Trip to Great Ocean Road

Heena (my wife) was quite apprehensive when I told her about my plan of going to Great Ocean Road. And I was not unaware of the reason. It was a long drive. Both Heena and Yugam (our 2.5 yrs old son) have problem of motion sickness in car. GOR was 2 days trip and has some swirls on the way. As it was a must visit place, I tried to convince her. After a long discussion of 2 hours, finally she agreed.

I made the plan, collected all the information and then booked the car to hire. Now the only issue was to get an accommodation. As it was Easter long weekend, finding accommodation was difficult or rather I should say getting accommodation in our budget was difficult. I searched all the websites to find some decent family accommodation but no luck. Then 1 of my friend referred me to a farm house cottage. It was 30 KM away from the main stream and was quite remote. As soon as my friend stopped describing it, I decided to book the cottage. It was a proper farm house. You need to cross a beach forest on the way to reach the cottage. It was cozy and best suited for people who want to relax away from city life. I was fortunate that it was available on the planned night. I instantly booked it.

It was now last working day before Easter long weekend. I was quite excited and wanted to leave office asap but had a hard luck that day. I had to deal with some unplanned issues occurred in my server. I tried hard and finally got free by 8:00 PM. Heena had already given me phone call 5 times. All said, I reached home at about 9:00 PM and then started packing my stuff.

Next morning was quite beautiful. It was sunny but not hot. We started our trip at about 9:00AM. After a drive of 30 min, we touched the highway. Our Toyota Aurion was at 100 kmpl. Yugam was playing with Heena and Sujata. I and Saurabh were on front seats acting as driver and co-driver respectively. Soon we reached to a place where road and ocean were running side by side. The view was awesome. Blue never looked more beautiful to me, I swear. Heena was also so happy and called it “must see of Melbourne”. Now all her complaints were turning into praise. We passed Lorne now with taking stops in between and taking shots of natural beauty.

We wanted to reach to our cottage before sunset. And we were aware of it that we had to pass through a forest to reach the right spot. Just before Apollo Bay, we took a turn leaving Great Ocean Road and headed towards the cottage. Soon we entered the beach forest. It was thick dark forest with hardly anybody visible. The route was curvy. Motion sickness was sure for Heena and Yugam. When Heena was restless to reach cottage, Yugam was sleeping without giving any trouble to us.

After driving 20 km in the thick forest, Saurabh and I thought that we are on some wrong way. Saurabh took GPS system and fed the address of the cottage. Initially we thought that GPS would not have map till cottage as it was quite remote but GPS proved us wrong. A sweet female voice came from it “Drive 9 km and then turn left”. GPS was smiling at us and we were smiling at the lady who was guiding us through the forest. It was getting darker and colder and speed of car was increasing with every passing moment. Yugam was still sleeping comfortably.

At about 6:30 PM, we reached the cottage. Ah, what a relief!!! Without wasting any time, we parked the car and rushed into the cottage. The owner followed us and started guiding us. The cottage was as comfortable as our own house. It had 3 big bedrooms, 1 big drawing room and a big kitchen. Being a small town boy, I was missing big houses which are difficult to find in big cities. By this time Yugam was out of his hibernation.

We lit fire in fire place enjoyed the warmth as any filthy rich foreigner would have enjoyed. After some chat, we all went to our respective rooms. Next morning we had to start early. I wake up at 7:00 AM and went for a morning walk. The scene outside the cottage was so beautiful that I never wanted to get back from there. Lush freen fields, small grassey hills, jersey cows erverything was looking damn beautiful. I enjoyed the natural beauty and the returned to the cottege. By that time Heena and Yugam were also up. All of us got ready & then left for the remaining journey.

Next stop was tree-top walk in the beach forest. It was a mettalic platform built 20 mts above the ground level. You were really on "top of the trees". This was the best experience of this trip. From there we headed for 12 apostles. After 2 hrs of drive, we were there. It was 12 big rocks in between the ocean. The scene was as beautiful as you could imagine. Just like watching in some romantic Hindi movie. Port Campbell was our next stop; last destination of the trip. It is a small town with a beautiful beach. Best thing was that there was a small garden on the ocean side. Yugam was enjoying to its max. We had lunch there, spent some time and then started for Melbourne.

Yugam again fell asleep on the way. We reached back at 10:00 PM. Had dinner at a good resturant and returned home.

My first day in Melbourne

The day I got news from my organization that I'll be going onsite to Melbourne for long term, I was on cloud 9. 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

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.


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. Idhar Rohit ne soch liya ki woh zindagi main fir kabhi kisi se pyaar nahi karega, kabhi bhi nahi.

-------- 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 daant 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.

- Shalu, Rohit here. Busy to nahi hai? Sunday ko milte hain, kuchh plan to nahi hai?
- Rohit, woh ... thoda busy hoon Sunday ko ... Shruti ka homework karvana hai
- Arre yaar, homework subah karva dena. Shaam free rakhna. Sunday ko Arvind ki bhi chutti hogi. Shaam ko 5 baje milte hain
- Thoda mushkil lag rahaa hai
- Yaar, tum ladkiya kitne nakhre karti ho. Chal Arvind se baat karta hoon. Baat karva
- Ok. Sunday ko milte hain

Rohit soch rahaa thaa ki pata nahi kyo Shalu hichkichahat mehsoos kar rahi thi. Par socha ki 1 baar milenge to sab theek ho jayega.

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 sawaal 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. Usse Poori raat neend nahi aayi. Uskaa dimag kuchh bhi sochne main uska saath nahi de rahaa thaa. Bahut saare sawaal aur vichar uske dimaag main aa rahe the.
Agle dine bhi woh usi soch main dooba tha. Soch rahaa thaa ki aisa kya kare ki Shalu ki zindagi main khusi aa jaye. Bahut 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. Unhone saaf inkaar kar diya.

- Samaaj kya kahega?
- Maa, shaadi mujhe karni hai. Vaise bhi to main USA main hi rehta hoon. Yaha log kuchh din bolenge fir chup ho jayenge
- Tujhe koi bhi achhi ladki mil jayegi
- Papa, aap Shalu ko achhi tarah se jaante hain. Woh bahut achhi ladki hai aur aapko bhi pasand hai. Arvind ke accident ke baad wohi ladki khraab kaise ho gayi?
- Tujhe wohi ladki kyo pasand hai? Ladkiyo ko kami hai kya?
- Kisi anjaan ladki se shaadi karne se achha hai ki main Shalu ke saath shaadi kar loo. Kam se kam khush to rahunga
- Lekin beta, uska 1 bachha bhi hai. Tu apnaa payega usse? Tere apni family kaise expand hogi?
- Yeh to proven fact hai ki ladko ko yeh sab adjust karne main problem nahi hoti. Ladies hi pyar ke maamle main selfish hoti hain. Main Shruti ko apni beti ki tarah rakhuga.


Mata-pitah ko apne bachho ki khushi se badkar kya ho sakta hai. Rohit ne aakhir kar unko raazi kar liya. Woh khush to nahi the par Rohit ki zid ke aage unki 1 naa chali.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 logo ki soch achhi thi. 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 ko 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.
- I understand. Tum mujhe achhi tarah se jaanti ho. Jo bhi decision logi mujhe manjoor hoga.
- Meri zindagi main Arvind ki jagah koi nahi le sakta. Main isi shehar main rahungi, Arvind ki yaado ke saath.


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. Isse woh Shalu ke kareeb reh sakta thaa. Shalu bhi yaha se kahi aur nahi jana chahti thi.
Idhar Rohit ki chutti khatam ho gayi aur roh vaapis USA chalaa gayaa aur idhar Shalu par shaadi ka dabav badhne lagaa. Rohit ne India main naukri dhoond li 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. Honeymoon par bhi woh Rohit ki jagah Arvind ko hi expect kar rahi thi. Arvind ke saath bitaya huya har pal uske saamne fir se aa rahaa tha. Rohit usse ghoomane ke liye kahi bhi le jata, Arvind ki yaade uske saath hoti. 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 uska 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 khushaal kare. Usne apne kamre se Arvind ki tasveer bhi hata di. Lekin Shalu ko yeh bhi manjoor naa thaa. Woh to Rohit ko khud ka dushman bhi maanane lagi. Rohit ne bahut koshish ki Shalu ko khush rakhne ki. Jo usse pasand thaa woh sab kiya - Shruti ka kyaal rakhna, Ghar par time bitana, family ke saath ghoomne jaana etc. Yaha tak ki usne Shalu ke parents ko bhi beech beech main Bangalore aane ke liye raazi kar liya thaa taaki usse unki kami mehsoos naa ho. Arvind ke parents bhi Shalu se phone par baat karte. Lekin uske sabhi prayas nakam hote nazar aa rahe the. Naa khane kaa hosh aur naa hi kisi ki parvah. Shalu ki halat paaglo jaisi thi. Rohit ki har ek koshish bekar saabit ho rahi thi. Woh Rohit ke saath baat baat par jhagda karti. Bas ek hi baat se santusht thi woh ki Shruti Rohit ke saath khush thi. Rohit Shruti ka khyaal rakhta tha.

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 tak aa 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. 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 side par rakhi 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, halaat 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 ....

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 telecasting 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? Are we 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. We should implement 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 fulfill 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

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. हल्की-हल्की 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 बर्फ 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 बूढ़ा आदमी चाय बना रहा था. पूछने पर उसने अपना नाम अब्दुल बताया. मैंने पूछा "चाचा, इतनी सुबह यहाँ चाय पीने कौन आता है? यहाँ तो आबादी भी बहुत कम है." अब्दुल बोला - "बेटा, यह तो समय की मार है, नहीं  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 ...... "
- "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 थी. 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 में 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?

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 7 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. Sardi ke mausam main garam garam chai ka mazaa hi kuchh aur hota hai. Sab us se chai le rahe the. Maine bhi 1 chai li aur TT ko bola

"Aayiye sahab, aap bhi chai pee lijiye. Tickets baad main check kar lijiyega"

TT sahab bhi hamare saath baith gaye aur chuski le kar peene lage. Itne main us 7 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 apni nanhi si muthi kholi aur usme rakhe 1 coin ko dhyaan se dekha. Us coin par 5 likha thaa. Usne kuchh socha par uske chehre par confusion saaf nazar aa rahi thi. Woh shayad hisaab nahi lagaa paa rhaa thaa ki 5/- main kitni chai aayegi. Kuchh der sochne ke baad akhir kar woh chai waale se bola:

"Achha, 5 rupees ki chai de do"

Sab log us masoom ki taraf dekh rahe the. Bachhe ke mata-pitah bhi nahi samajh paa rahe the ki woh chai kyo le rahaa hai. Bachhe ki maa ne bachhe ko rokne ki koshish ki par uske pitah ne ishare se use rok diya. Who dekhna chahte the ki bachha aakhir kar kya raha hai. Chai waale ne 1 chai aur 1 rupya bachhe ke haath main thamaa diye aur baaki logo ko chai dene laga. Bacha chai ka cup le kar darwaje ki taraf chalne laga. Woh dheere dheere chalte huye us garib aadmi ke paas pahucha aur usko chai de di. Thoda sharmata huya bhag kar seedha apne papa ki god main aa kar baith gayaa. Uske chehre par muskurahat thi aur kuchh achha karne ka garv bhi. Poori tarah se khamoshi chha gayi. Koi kisi se nazar nahi mila paa rahaa tha. Maine tirchhi nazar se bachhe ki taraf dekha. Uski payari si muskurahat maano hum sab ki hasi udaa rahi thi.