Tuesday 22 November 2011

Quotes on Marriage


 
To get the full value of joy
You must have someone to divide it with.
Mark Twain

One advantage of marriage, it seems to me, is that when you fall out of love with each other, it keeps you together until maybeyou fall in love again.
Judith Viorst

One of the best things about marriage is that it gets young people to bed at a decent hour.  ~M.M. Musselman

It's you I like,
It's not the things you wear.
It's not the way you do your hair,
But it's you I like.
The way you are right now
The way down deep inside you
Not the things that hide you
Not your diplomas...
They're just beside you.
But it's you I like,
Every part of you,
Your skin, your eyes, your feelings,
Whether old or new.
I hope that you'll remember
Even when you're feeling blue,
That it's you I like,
It's you yourself, it's you
It's you I like!
Mr Rogers

It is sometimes essential for a husband and a wife to quarrel - they get to
know each other better.
Goethe

A good marriage is the union of two good forgivers.
Ruth Bell Graham

A perfect marriage is one in which "I'm sorry" is said just often enough.  ~Mignon McLaughlin

No man is truly married until he understands every word his wife is NOT saying.
Unknown

I never knew what real happiness was until I got married.  And by then it was too late.  ~Max Kauffman

Mother-in-law:  a woman who destroys her son-in-law's peace of mind by giving him a piece of hers.  ~Author Unknown

Bachelors know more about women than married men; if they didn't they'd be married too.  ~H.L. Mencken

God created sex.  Priests created marriage.  ~Voltaire

Marriage is the only war in which you sleep with the enemy.  ~François, Duc de La Rochefoucauld

Getting divorced just because you don't love a man is almost as silly as getting married just because you do.  ~Zsa Zsa Gabor

Love is blind, but marriage restores its sight.  ~Samuel Lichtenberg


A good marriage would be between a blind wife and a deaf husband.  ~Michel de Montaigne, Essays

Friday 4 November 2011

DCE closes down

૩૦ નવેમ્બરથી કેન્દ્ર સરકારનાં MHRD દ્વારા ચાલતું   District Centre for English નું રાજકોટનાં આ સેન્ટરની અવધી પૂરી થતા બંધ થશે. છેલ્લા સવા બે વર્ષથી હું અહી છું. એક જગ્યાએ લાંબો સમય નોકરી કરાવી મારા માટે શક્ય નથી એ જોતા અઢી વર્ષનો ગાળો ઘણો મોટો લાગે છે! મને ગમ્યું જ હશે એટલે જ ટક્યો હોઈશ પણ છેલ્લા અમુક મહિનાથી સ્થગિતતાનો અનુભવ થતો હતો. હજુ મને પણ ખબર નથી આવતા મહીને હું ક્યાં હોઈશ. ફક્ત એટલી જ ખબર છે કયાંક તો હોઈશ જ. નોકરીઓ થી કંટાળી ગયો છું એટલે ઘણા સમયથી જે coaching institute ખોલવાનો વિચાર છે.

Thursday 3 November 2011

Joseph Macwan's "Angaliyat"

I finished reading Joseph Macwan's "Angaliyat" yesterday. Tiha's death in the end fills our eyes with tears. It is considered the best book in Dalit literature in Gujarati. I want to talk something about Dalit literature before I write about the book. Being a city-guy, I always felt that there was no need of Dalit literature in this 21st century. But later I came across the some Dalit writers who have experienced the injust pracitice of untouchability and insults. As long as Dalit continues to experience this, Dalit literature will exist. Even now Dalit writers think it necessary to write about the ill-treatment that they have to face in their day-to-day life. In cities this ill-treatment may be obscure, but in villages where real India is said to exist, condition of Dalit is not that happy. They are not allowed to live in particular areas, they are not allowed to enter the temples, people keep them at respectable distance. This distance is physical as well as mental. Those who are illiterate and used to this kind of malpractice keep mum, but those Dalits who are educated and rational in thier thinking do not succumb to the insults. They revolt against this and many who can write, put their anger into words so that the world can know what they are suffering from.

"Anglaliyat" is a story of two friends-Tiha and Valji- from the wankar community in South of Gujarat. They weave the sheets and sell them in a nearby village-markets. On one such occasion they go to a village where one boy from the groups throws stone at the earthen pot which Methi, the heroine of the novel- was carrying. Those boys belonged to Patidar community. When Tiha sees this, he challenges the boys and it creates a lot of problem for him later in the novel. Tiha falls in love with the girl, but now it was not possible for him to go to the village. The vengeful Patidars in that village come to know that Tiha has soft corner for Methi, so they try to get her married to the man of her own community to whom she was married in childhood.

Tiha's friend Valji prepares a plan so that these lovers can meet and get married, but unfortunately gets killed. His wife Kanku laments the death, but still doesn't hate Tiha. Tiha feels he is responsible for ruining the happy married life of Valji and Kankubhabhi so he vows not to marry at all. He thinks he can't enjoy the carnal pleasure with MEthi when Kankubhabhi is leading a lonely life. Later in the novel when he is forced to marry, he talks about the re-marriage of Kankubhbhi to Valji's younger brother. It is irony that when Kanku is ready for the marriage, Methi is married already to her childhood husband! Methi becomes mother of a son, tries to forget Tiha and live with his husband happily but could not do so because her husband used to beat her brutally. One day she beats her husband and thinking that he is dead, she runs away with her son to commit suicide by jumping in the well. When she was about to jump in the well, Tiha clutches her hand and explain her not to do so. She comes to Tiha's house and decides to live alone. Both could not marry because Methi's husband was not dead as she thought that day. Methi forces Tiha to marry a nice girl as there was no meaning leaving a lonely life. Tiha gets married and just after some times Methi's husband dies!

In the last chapters, Tiha is attacked by the those old enemies and this time they beat him with sticks so brutally that he succumbs to death. When the news of his death reaches Methi, She becomes mad with the shock.She keep crying continously. People had never ever seen any woman crying that way, not ever for the husband. Methi without telling anyone, stops having meals and dies withing few days of his beloved Tiha.



Friday 7 October 2011

-શ્રી શ્રી હિજા મહારાજ ઉવાચ:

"મને કોઈ પ્રેમ કરતુ નથી, કોઈ ગણકારતું નથી.બધા મારી ઉપેક્ષા કરે છે."...ઘણીવાર હું લોકોને આવી ફરિયાદ કરતા સાંભળું ત્યારે પ્રશ્ન  થાય કે લોકો આપણને ચાહે એવું આપણે થવા  દઈએ છીએ? ઘણીવાર એવું બનતું હોય છે કે લોકો આપણને ખુબ ચાહવાની કોશિશ કરતા હોય અને એ જ સમયે આપણે એમને એમ કરતા (આપણી પોતાની જાણ બહાર પણ) રોકાતા હોઈએ છીએ. કેવી રીતે?.... એમને આપણામાં ન ગમતા  દુર્ગુણોને છોડવાને બદલે સાચવીને.



પ્રશંસા ખુદાને પણ પ્યારી હોય છે એવું આપણે બધાએ સાંભળ્યું જ છે.  અમુક લોકોને આત્મપ્રશંસા એથી પણ આધારે પ્યારી હોય છે. યાદ રાખવા  જેવી વાત એ છે કે આત્મપ્રશંસા એ ગુનો નથી એ માણસ ની નિર્દોષતા નો નમુનો છે. હા, આત્માપ્રશંસા કોણ અને કયા પ્રકારની વ્યક્તિ  કરે છે અને કયા કરે છે  એ પર થોડી ટીકા કરી/ ટાળી શકાય. જીવનમાં કોઈપણ મહત્વનું પ્રદાન ના કરનારા બેવકૂફો જયારે આત્મપ્રશંસા કરે ત્યારે તમારા-મારા જેવા માણસ ને હસવું/ગુસ્સો આવે એ સમજયા. પણ જીવનમાં મહત્વનું પ્રદાન કરનારા અનેક વ્યક્તિઓએ આત્માપ્રશંસા પસંદ કર્યા ના દાખલા છે . આત્માપ્રશંસાની બાબત માં મન અને દિમાગ ખુલ્લા રાખીને વ્યક્તિનો વિચાર કરવો રહ્યો. ચંદ્રકાંત બક્ષીનું ગુજરાતી કથાસાહિત્ય ક્ષેત્રે નોંધપાત્ર  પ્રદાન રહ્યું છે. એમને આત્મપ્રશંસા પસંદ હતી અને કોઈ જાતના ડર કે નમ્રતાના ઢોંગ  કર્યા વગર આત્મપ્રશંસા કરી લેતા. કયારેક એક ડગલું આગળ વધીને અન્યોની ટીકા પણ કરી લેતા.અને એમની આવી આદત  પર વાત કરતા રઘુવીર ચૌધરીએ કયાંક લખ્યું હતું કે અમે દૂધ દેતી ગાયોની લાત પણ પ્રેમથી ખાઈ લઈએ  છીએ.

"વર્ષો સુધી સન્ધર્ષ અને પીડા ભોગવીને હુ બન્નેનો તિરસ્કાર કરવા માન્ડયો હતો. પછી એવુ બન્યુ કે દુઃખના દિવસો વાવાઝોડુ પસાર થાય એમ પસાર થઈ ગયા.પણ સુખ મળ્યા પછી ધીમેધીમે કશુક ખૂટતુ હોય એવી અનુભૂતી થવા માન્ડી. એ વસ્તુની ઘટથી સુખની અનુભૂતી પણ ફિક્કી લાગવા માન્ડી. ઘણા સમય પછી મને જે ઘટતુ હતી એની જાણ થઈ. એ હતાઃ સન્ઘર્ષ અને પીડા."



"વડીલ એટલે એવી વ્યક્તિ કે જેમના સંગાથમાં આપણે હોય ત્યારે સદાય આપણને નાના હોવાનો અનુભવ થાય; જેમને સલાહ-સુચન આપવાનો વિચાર આપણને ક્યારેય ના આવે. અને જેમના માટે આપણા હદયમાં હરહમેશ સન્માન અને ભીતીયુક્ત આદર હોય. માત્ર ઉમર અને પાકી ગયેલા વાળ થી કોઈ વડીલ બનતું નથી."

 "Often I have found that a person is bearable: what is unbearable is his/her IGO. Our IGO interrupts others who are, otherwise willing to love us. " If you check the history of long-lasting and cordial relationship between two individuals you would observe they had two things in common: both were in possession of high understanding and considerate nature OR both were completely dumb. There is no any third alternative for that.

(to be continued)

Wednesday 21 September 2011

Kaun Hai Jo Sapano mai Aya...



At EFLU, Hyderabad one day our handsome professor Balgopal asked us: What will happen if you are driving looking towards the sky( because your lover is flying in the plane there) and singing a song at the top of your voice (so that your lover in the plane can listen to that) with your hands off the steering wheel every now and then?.....All of us shouted unanimously: ACCIDENT!! ...."Yes," he said." but Rajendra Kumar did not realise this in one of my favourite songs 'Kaun hai jo sapano mai aaya'...Nor did I realise while watching this song that what Rajendra Kumar was doing was the most stupid thing to do while driving!!!!! I could not understand Hindi much when I heard this song in my youth, but I was all for this song..."
 
Prof. Balgopal singing the song
 
Kalpesh sir, prof. Bal gopal, Kajal Rao and me
 

Thursday 15 September 2011

Can we fall in love second time?

I believe WE FALL IN LOVE ONCE ONLY. And there are scientific and biological proofs!! Many people say we can fall in love second time (or, for that matter, third, forth and so on). When I hear of SECOND TIME LOVE, certain questions rise in my mind: Can we find the same happiness sitting beside any person that we felt when we sat beside our beloved earlier? Can we have the same enthusiasm talking to any person that we had while talking with our beloved? Can we miss some one else as passionately as we miss our beloved now?

I believe FIRST LOVE, if it is not mere attraction, exhaust the person completely. When you love someone so passionately, you put yourself so much into that person that you hardly have any desire(or energy) left to repeat that. And if someone realises that he/she is falling in love again with the same energy, it means what happened earlier was anything else except love.Maturity always plays its role in love. We can't choose a bad partner and complain that he/she turned BEWAFA and left me. In such case, if anyone is culpable, it is us. Not even the person who, we thought, was our beloved.

At the same time, I don't believe living life being single. I don't want anyone living a singlelife. This world has 6/7 billions of people and of this there are millions who are so pure, good, charming, loving and worthy of love and respect and we are bound to come across them sometimes and we may get attracted towards them for their nature and thoughts and understanding. We may, though not always, find similarity between our beloved and them. I don't find any wrong in choosing them as our partner for the remaining life well aware that it is not possible to unite with our beloved. That is no compromise

Tuesday 30 August 2011

ભ્રષ્ટાચાર સામેના જનઆન્દોલન સામે સરકાર ઝૂકી


સન્સદમા જનલોકપાલ બિલ પસાર થાય અને કાયદો બને એ માટે ૭૪ વર્ષના ગાન્ધીવાદી સામાજીક કાર્યકર અન્ના હજારેએ ૧૬ ઓગસ્ટ થી ઊપવાસ શરુ કરી ભ્રષ્ટાચાર વિરોધી જનઆન્દોલનની શરુઆત કરી અને પહેલા જ દિવસે ૧૪૪ ની કલમ હેઠળ ધરપકડ થઈ અને કલમાડી અને એ. રાજા જેવા ભ્રષ્ટાચારીઓ જ્યા કેદ થયા છે એ જેલમા અન્નાને પણ મોકલી દીધા.(આમ કરીને સરકારે જાહેરાત કરી છે કે UPA સરકાર માટે ઘોડા અને ગધેડા બન્ને સમાન છે! )

અન્નાની આમ ધરપકડ કરાવી સરકાર આન્દોલનને ઉગતુ જ ડામી દેવા માગતી હતી પણ બન્યુ તેથી ઉલટુ. દેશભરમા આ ધરપકડ સામે વિરોધ જાગ્યો. દિલ્હી તેમજ દેશભરમા માણસો એકઠા થઈ જુલુસો થવા માન્ડયા.દિલ્હી પોલિસે થોડીજદારી દાખવીને અન્નાને છોડવાનો નિર્ણય લીધો અને શરતો સાથે ઉપવાસ તેમજ આન્દોલન ચલાવવાની પરવાનગી આપવાની તૈયારી બતાવી. આ શરતો વિચિત્રાતાથી ભરેલી હોય અન્નાએ જણાવ્યુ કે બિનશરતી મન્જૂરી મળે તો જ પોતે જેલ બહાર જશે.( શરતો હતી અન્ના ત્રણ દિવસો કે વધુમા વધુ એક અઠવાડિયા સુધી જ આન્દોલન ચલાવશે અને ૨૫૦૦૦ થી વધુ સમર્થકો એ જગ્યાએ નહી એકઠા થાય! જાણે અન્ના કોઈ લગ્ન માટે આમન્ત્રણ આપતા હોય!)

આખરે સમાધાન થયુ અને સરકારે જેન્તર-મન્તર કે જે. પી પાર્કને બદલે અગાઊ બાબા રામદેવે જ્યા પોતાના ઉપવાસ કર્યા હતા ત્યાજ એટલે કે રામલીલા મેદાન ખાતે અન્ના તેમજ એમના સમર્થકોને ત્રણ અઠવાડિયા માટે આન્દોલન માટે છૂટ આપી. અરવિન્દ કેજરીવાલ, કિરણ બેદી, પ્રશાન્ત ભૂષણ, વગેરેનો શરુઆતથી જ અન્નાને હતો. અન્નાની ધરપકડ પછી જનતાનો ટેકો પણ પ્રબળ બનતો ગયો. મીડિયા પણ પૂરી નિષ્ઠાપૂર્વક ૨૪ કલાક પ્રસારણ આપી જનતાને એક એક ઘટનાથી વાકેફ રાખતુ રહ્યુ.

૧૨ દિવસના અન્નાના ઉપવાસ અને જનતાના આન્દોલન પછી આખરે સરકાર ઝૂકી અને જન લોકપાલ હેઠળ અન્નાની જે મૂખ્યા ત્રણ માન્ગો હતી તે માન્ય રાખવાની તૈયારી બતાવી. નોન્ધવા જેવી બાબત એ છે કે આ આન્દોલનની શરૂઆતથી જ સરકાર અને તેના કપીલ સિબલ અને દિગ્વીજય સિન્ઘ જેવા મેકિયાવેલીયન ટાઈપ મન્ત્રીઓ અન્નાની માન્ગણીઓને લોકશાહી અને બન્ધારણા વિરુધ્ધની ગણાવતા રહ્યા હતા.

૨૬ ઑગસ્ટના રોજ અન્નાએ વડાપ્રધાન મનમોહન સિન્ઘ પરના પોતાન પત્રમા જે ત્રણ મૂખ્ય માન્ગો જણાવી હતી તે આ હતીઃ

૧) દરેક રાજ્યમા લોકાયુક્તની નિયુક્તિ.
૨) બધા જ સરકારી ડિપાર્ટમૅન્ટસમા સિટીઝન ચાર્ટર હોવા જોઈએ જેથી કરીને લોકોની સમસ્યાઓનુ નિરાકરણ થઈ શકે.
૩) કેન્દ્ર તેમજ રાજ્ય સરકારના દરેક લેવલના કર્મચારીઓને લોકપાલના કાર્યક્ષેત્ર હેઠળ લાવવા.

આ ત્રણેય માન્ગણીઓ પૂરી થતા અને સન્સદમા એનુ રિઝોલ્યુશન પસાર થતા ૨૮ ઑગસ્ટ(રવિવાર)ના રોજ સવારે ૧૦.૨૦ મિનિટે રામલીલા મેદાન ખાતે બે બાળાઓના હાથે મધ મિશ્રિત નાળિયેળ પાણી વડે અન્નાએ પારણા કર્યા હતા.

અન્ના ટીમના સભ્યોએ એવી આશા વ્યકત કરી કે આવતા મહીને જ સરકાર સ્પેશિયલ સેશન બોલાવી લોકપાલ બિલ પસાર કરશે. અન્ના હજારેએ દેશની સમસ્ત જનતાનો તેમજ
પોતાની ટીમના સભ્યોનો આભાર માન્યો હતો સાથે સાથે જણાવ્યુ હતુ કે હજુ લડાઈ પૂરી જીતાઈ નથી. ઈલેક્ટોરલ રિફોર્મ્સ હજુ બાકી છે. હવે રાઈટ ટુ રિકોલ અને રાઈટ ટુ રિજેક્ટ માટે લડાઈ કરવાની છે.

Friday 26 August 2011

bekaif hain bahara, bechain jaane yaara




Darling aankhon se aankhen chaar karne do
roko na roko na mujhko pyaar karne do
bekaif hain bahara, bechain jaane yaara
bulbulon ko abhi intezar karne do
Darling aankhon se aankhen chaar karne do..


(Darling let my eyes meet yours (let me love you, proverbial)
don't stop me, let me love,
the spring is indifferent, my love is restless,
let the songbirds wait for now,
Darling let my eyes meet yours..)

Darling sorry tujhe Sunday ke din zehmat hui
Darling milna tera fazle khuda rehmat hui
Darling sorry tujhe aate hue sehmat hui
Darling milna tera fazle khuda rehmat hui, rehmat hui
Hey darling khatim ko dil par toh ikhteyar karne do
Darling aankhon se aankhein chaar karne do
Roko na roko na mujhko pyaar karne do

(Darling, I am sorry that you had take time out to meet me on Sunday
Meeting u on this day is like a grace/blessing of God to me. I am sorry for all the inconvenience you went through  to come here (to me).
Hey darling, let this servant of yours have command over you)

Darling chhodo zara sharmane ka yeh qaayda
Hey darling hairat bhi hai ghairat bhi hai kya fyada
Darling public mein sansani ek baar karne do
Darling aankhon se aankhein chaar karne do
Roko na roko na mujhko pyaar karne do
Bekaif hai bahara bechain jaane yaara
Bulbulon ko bhi intezaar karne do

(Leave the formality of shyness.
Wonder as well as morality is there
But what is the use?
Let the public feel shock today. Don’t bother about them)


Tuesday 16 August 2011

દૂર દૂર પરહરતાં, સાજન ! - રાજેન્દ્ર શુક્લ

દૂર દૂર પરહરતાં, સાજન !
વરસો આમ જ સરતાં, સાજન !

કારતકના કોડીલા દિવસો -
ઊગી આથમી ખરતા, સાજન !

માગશરના માઝમ મ્હોલોમાં
નેવાં ઝરમર ઝરતાં, સાજન.

પોષ શિશિરની રજાઈ ઓઢી
અમે એક થરથરતા, સાજન !

માઘ વધાવ્યા પંચમ સ્વર તો
કાન વિષે કરગરતા, સાજન !

છાકભર્યા ફાગણના દહાડા -
હોશ અમારા હરતા, સાજન !

ચૈત્ર ચાંદની, લ્હાય બળે છે,
તમે જ ચંદન ધરતા, સાજન !

એ વૈશાખી ગોરજવેળા,
ફરી ફરીને સ્મરતા, સાજન !

જેઠ મહિને વટપૂજન વ્રત,
લોક જાગરણ કરતા, સાજન !

આષાઢી અંધારે મનમાં
વીજ સમાં તરવરતાં, સાજન !

શ્રાવણનાં સરવરની પાળે,
હવે એકલા ફરતા, સાજન !

ભાદરવો ભરપૂર વહે છે,
કાગ નિસાસા ભરતા, સાજન !

આસોનાં આંગણ સંભારે
પગલાં કુંકુમઝરતાં, સાજન !

- રાજેન્દ્ર શુક્લ


( પરહરતાં=છોડી જતા, મ્હોલો=મહેલો, છાક=કેફ, ગોરજવેળા=સાંજ )

Monday 1 August 2011

The drizzle and Harry Potter

It has been raining, rather drizzling continuously since yesterday. It started at around 12.00 pm yesterday and didn't stop even at night, dashing the hopes of all wives who love to move around city in the evening with their hubbies on Sunday. I wanted to go and meet my friends Anil and Arvind whom I haven't met for so long, but the drizzle didn't let me. Besides I was so engrossed reading "Harry Potter and the Pholosopher's Stone" by J.K.Rawling that the thought that I could go to them despite the drizzle didn't occur to me. Nor did I call them.

I purchased five books of 'Harry Potter' series last year when I was at EFL University in Hyderabad. And read this one first time when I was there, so this is my second reading of the book. A couple of months ago, I was gifted the DVD of 'Harry Potter' movies by a friend. Reading the book again after watching the movie is more fascinating.

As there was no rain in the morning yesterday, I went to Lang Library to borrow new books. Apart from that I remained indoor entire day, reading the book. I started it at around 2 p.m. and and when I finished the book it was 12:00 at night.

The book is so wonderful just likes the movies based on it that you can't put the book down without finishing it. The characters of Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Draco Malfoy, Hagrid, Prof Dumbledore, Prof. McGonagall, Dudley Dursley, prof. Snape, Filch and its cat, Voldemort, prof. Quirrell etc will not fade so eaily from reades' mind.

I am planning to start the second book: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

XXXXXXXXXXX

When I was going to bring milk pouch from the shop with my umbrella in the evening yesterday, I remembered a distant but an analogous funny incident of my childhood. I must be around the 8-9 year old. On one such rainy day, mom ordered me to bring the milk from the dairy. She gave me the umbrella and the vessel and told me how much milk I had to buy. I was kept uttering how much milk I had to buy on my entire way so that I don't forget when I reach the shop. While returning from the shop I faced no problem for some time. But afterward strong wind started blowing and there was a sudden onslaught of rain. It was becoming more and more difficult for me to balance the vessel full of milk and the umbrella. All of a sudden my umbrella, which had outlived its life, gave in and turned upside down, exposing me to the rain. I started shivering because of cold. Now it was becoming even more difficult to balance everything. All of a sudden, a strong gust of wind along with the rain pushed me sideways and I nearly fell down. When I was trying to get to my feet, I could see the white milk mixing up with the pool water in the street. I couldn't stop myself and was nearly crying for fear of being scolded by mom for spoiling the milk. When I reached home tears were streaking down my chicks and when I narrated the entire incident to all, they - my parents and my elders brother and sister- started laughing. That alleviated my fear and I thought if they are laughing, at least they won't scold or beat me!!!

Thursday 28 July 2011

Karanataka CM B S Yeddyurappa ready to quit

A good news indeed. The day before yesterday I read Nagindas Sanghvi’s column (Tad ane Fad)in the Wednesday supplement of Divya Bhaskar where he likened Yeddyurappa’s political career with the the famous maxim: A cat has nine lives. His point was that this Karnataka CM possesses such tremendous power and influence that he will not give in easily and will survive all political problems against him… Thanks to the Lokayukta of Karnataka justice Hegde who submitted his 25,228 pages long report categorically showing Yediurappa, Reddy brothers who are ministers and other 600 officials involved in ill-legal mining in Karnataka, that this time the central leadership of BJP decided to put pressure on Yediurappas to quit..

Why corruption is so rampant? And why govt. is not taking firm action against those involved in such cases? Anna Hazare and others see the answer/solution in Lokpal/Janlokpal. The important point they are raising is: Why govt. takes step against the perpetrators only after the Supreme court interferes? Why govt doesn’t do so on its own? CBI, as it is now, is not independent of Govt. And govt. does put pressure on it as and when need be. Lokpal will be independent. And if ministers don’t come under the purview of Lokpal, the bill would become toothless.

The saddest thing is that ministers themselves are the real culprits and who will raise voice against them? They are doing all this openly and there is none to stop them. They remind us of the sayings: Is Hamam Me Sab Nange Hai!! And Jis Desh ka Raja Vepari, Us Desh Ki Praja Bhikhari...

Monday 18 July 2011

શ્રી રઘુવીર ચૌધરીના લખાણમાંથી પસંદ કરેલાં અવતરણો

મા-બાપને પુત્ર અને પુત્રવધૂ કરતા પૌત્ર વધુ ગમે. એમાંથી જ પેલી કહેવત પડીઃ મૂડી કરતા વ્યાજ વધારે વહાલું લાગે.

ઓછાબોલા હોવાનો એક ફાયદો છે. આપણી પીડા પ્રગટ થઈ જતી નથી, આપણા ઘા ખુલ્લા પડી જતા નથી અને જલદી રુઝાઈ જાય છે.

આગળ વધવા માગનારને ભૂતકાળમાં ખૂંચી જવું પાલવે નહી.

જેણે જીવનમા ચોક્કસ આદર્શો સિધ્ધ કરવા છે, એણે સંસારની માયાજાળમાં લપેટાવું નહીં.

પ્રતિભાશાળી માણસો થોડાક એબ્નોર્મલ તો હોવાના જ.

ફાયર બ્રિક્સ સર્વાધિક તપીને જ તમામ પ્રકારના તાપમાનનો સામનો કરી શકે છે.

માણસમાં પુનર્વિચાર કરવાની શક્તિ ન હોત તો એ શું નું શું કરી બેસત?

જેનામાં ઊંડી સંવેદના હોય એ જ પાગલ થઈ શકે.

જે પ્રવાહમાં વહી ન જાય અને કિનારે ઉભો રહીને વસ્તુસ્થિતી સમજી લે એને તટ-સ્થ કહેવાય.

પતિ-પત્ની વચ્ચે ટૂંકી મુદતના રિસામણા ચાલ્યા કરે.

લગ્ન પછી પ્રણયકલહથી પ્રેમ વધે છે.

એક સમય એવો હોય છે જયારે પ્રેયસીના દર્શન માત્રથી રક્તસન્ચારની ગતિ વધી જાય છે.

સુખી થવા પ્રયત્ન કરવા કરતા અન્તઃકરણને અનુસરીને પ્રવૃત્તિ કર્યા કરવી.

મને માણસમાં પણ અખુટ શ્રધ્ધા છે. ક્યારેક એનામા સન્ગોપાયેલું દૈવી તત્ત્વ માથું ઉચકતું પણ હોય. કોને ખબર?

અનુકૂળ માણસોનો અનુકૂળ માણસો સાથે કોઈ પૂણ્ય બળે જ સંગ થાય છે.

દરેક માને એમ લાગે છે કે દીકરી પિયરમા જેટલી સુખી હતી એટલી સાસરે સુખી નથી.

બીજાના મનોરંજન સિવાય પતિ-પત્નીની લડાઈ કશા કામની નથી.

પતિ-પત્ની જીન્દગીભર નક્કી કરી શકતા નથી કે કોણ કોનાથી વધુ સારુ. છેલ્લે બેમાંથી એકનું અવસાન થાય છે અને બીજાને વિચારવા માટે પૂરતો વખત મળે છે તો એને ખ્યાલ આવી જાય છે કે મરનાર પોતાનાથી વધુ સારુ હતુ. મરણ મરનારના ગુણો ઉપસાવી આપે છે.

માણસનાં ગુણ કરતાં એના રુપની ખબર વહેલી પડે.

બાળકોને બાહ્ય સૌન્દર્ય કરતા આન્તરિક સૌન્દર્યમાં વધુ સમજણ પડે છે કારણ કે એમને સૌન્દર્ય સાથે સ્વાર્થનો સંબંધ નથી હોતો.

માણસો બાધા કેમ રાખતા હશે? પરમાત્માને પ્રાર્થના હોય, શરતી વિનંતી નહીં.

દુનિયામાં સારા માણસો છે તેથી તો જીવવાનુ મન રહે છે, મરવા માટે પૂરતા કારણો હોવા છતાં.

બસમાં કોઈ વૃદ્ધાને જગ્યા આપવા કોઈ યુવાન તૈયાર ન હોય પણ કોઈ સૌન્દર્યવાન વર્ગસખી જો ઊભી હોય તો એને જગ્યા આપવા સ્પર્ધા થઈ જાય!

લોકો મારા વિશે ખરાબ બોલે એમાં મને ગુસ્સો નથી આવતો.જેમના બધા વખાણ કરતા હોય એવા મણસો પણ કયારેક નાલાયક હોય છે.

જે સ્ત્રીઓ ઊન્ઘમાં પણ સપ્રમાણ અને સ્વસ્થ લાગે એને હું સુન્દર કહું.

એક પક્ષીય પ્રેમ વધુ પ્રબળ હોય છે.

પ્રેમનો અનુભવ થયા પછી પ્રેમ વિના જીવવુ કેટલુ અઘરુ છે એ તો એ જ જાણે.

બીજવર પરણી મહાસુખ પામે એ કહેવત અમસ્તી જ પડી નથી.એકવાર છૂટાછેડા લેવા પડયા હોય એ પતિ નિષ્ફળ દામ્પત્યના કારણો બરાબર જાણતો હોય છે.

બે હૃદયનો સમ્બન્ધ કોઈ ત્રીજી વ્યક્તિનુ અહિત ન કરે એમાં જ એની સાર્થકતા છે.

આપણે જેનું કલ્યાણ કરી શક્યા ન હોઈએ એનું બીજા દ્વારા કલ્યાણ કરી આપવાની વાસના રહી જતી હોય છે.

પુરુષોના અભિપ્રાયની યુવાન સ્ત્રીઓ પર વધુ પડતી અસર થાય છે.

માફ કરવામા આવે એ તો એક જ વખત.ભૂલ બેવડાતી રહે તો ગુનો બની જાય છે.

મરનારનો કોઈ વિકલ્પ નથી.

ઘાતકી અનુભવોના સ્મરણો પણ જીવલેણ રોગની જેમ પીછો છોડતા નથી.

તટસ્થ થયા વિના વિશ્લેષણ ન થઈ શકે.

પ્રેમનો અનુભવ જીન્દગીભરની મૂડી બની રહે છે.

અગવડ-સગવડના અડધા મૂળ માણસના મનમાં હોય છે.

ફોન પર આંસું લૂછી શકાતા નથી.

વધતી જતી ફાન્દને લોકો સુખની નિશાની ગણે છે.

પુરુષો કરતા સ્ત્રીઓને સાધુ સંતો વધુ ગમતા હોય છે.

આજીવન કુવારા રહેવાની જાહેરાત કરનાર પણ નિર્ણય બદલતા હોય છે.

સ્ત્રી હાથ લંબાવતી નથી; એ પ્રતિભાવ દાખવે.અર્પણ થાય.

ઝગડો કરવા કરતાં મૂંગાં રહેવું સારું.

પ્રક્રુતિનુ સાહચર્ય માણસને એકાન્ગી થવા દેતુ નથી, જીવન્ત રખે છે.

સમજવાથી અન્તર વધે, ચાહવાથી ઘટે.

લાગણીની વિમળતા એ જ સારપનુ પ્રમાણ છે.

અમલમા ન મુકાયેલો આદર્શ દમ્ભ છે.

સયમ એ પણ તપનો ભાગ ગણાય છે.

કેટલાક લોકો આખી જિન્દગી સુન્દર રહેવા માટે જ સર્જાયા હોય છે.

પ્રિયજનની વિમુખતા પછીની એકલતા પણ એક જાતનુ મ્રુત્યુ જ છે.

બાળલગ્નનો સૌથી મોટો ફાયદો એ છે કે લાગણીઓને ચોક્કસ દિશા મળી જાય છે, મન ભટકતુ નથી, પસન્દગીની વિમાસણ રહેતી નથી.

કળાકાર થવા પહેલા ભાવકની કક્ષા પ્રાપ્ત કરવાની હોય છે.

માણસ પોતાના માટે વેઠે એ તાપ, બીજાના માટે વેઠે એ તપ.તપ એ જ સેવા.

સમાધાન વિના સહજીવન શક્ય નથી.

માણસને જે ન મળે એનુ મહત્વ મળેલા કરતા વધુ છે.

બાળપણની પ્રીત ભૂલાતી નથી, એ ભલે એક પક્ષીય હોય.

જે પ્રેમ ફલિત નથી થતો એ પણ એળે નથી જતો.

જે વ્યક્તિ કોઇને ચાહી શકે છે એનામા સચ્ચાઈ હોય છે.

ક્રુષ્ણ, ઈશુ, બુધ્ધ, કે ગાન્ધીએ નવા ધર્મનો નહી, નવા જીવનનો ઉપદેશ આપ્યો હતો.

ગમ્ભીરતાપૂર્વક લાદેલી નહી, પણ સ્વયમ્ભુ શિષ્ત જ વિકાસમા ઉપકારક થઈ શકે.

પોતાના સ્મરણોની હત્યા કરવી એ પણ એક પ્રકારની આત્મહત્યા જ છે.

http://rangdwar.com/web/?option=com_content&task=view&id=18&Itemid=36


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Thursday 7 July 2011

The First Rain








I took these photos on my way to Jetpur last Saturday. Every one was expecting rain. Yesterday Lord Indra relented and there was a all-of-sudden downpour of rain. I was taking a stroll after finishing my tuition at around 8.45 and big drops started falling without any warning. It was followed by the thunder and lighting. I had to take shelter in a nearby complex. Withing few minutes the road was flooded with water.I was stranded there for around half an hour and could go only when the rain lost its vigour.

Tuesday 21 June 2011

On M F Husain with Jay Vasavda

20 June, 2011

Dear Jaybhai,

The analogy vis-a-vis Amitabh Bachchan movies and M F Husain's contovertial painting in your article didn't sound convincing...People may be great as human beings or artist, the whimsical streak in them sometimes takes the upper hand and make them do crazy things...Ameen Sayani, well-known radio announcer, has rightly said that the person of his stature should have exercised a little restraint while painting nude figures of goddesses...


20 June, 2011



hiteshbhai,
for u it may not sound convincing, that doesnt mean it is not convincing. current indian mentality is just reflection of Victorian n jehadi mentality about art- n its not indian at all. in my all four articles i have given point... by point answers with facts (not opinions ) without considering single of dem...hussain bashers just in hurry to present thier repeatably programmed response (not of theirs, as tyhey cant sustain in single argument but its smart 'inception' of a so called hindutva propaganda. as i respect u as lover of the language, beyond amitabh's example point was absolutly clear. as i mentioned yday-comman ppl's perception in name of faith (?) may favored satipratha too in past-but it took time (n firm progressive governance) to change mindset. but freedom of expression don't need laymen opinion as it is clearly defined by high court n supreme court of india...n my explanation was nothing but extension of supreme court's verdict on hussain. now if ur not convinced with supreme court of india, than its fine



The following convesation happened today online:
 
Dear Jaybhai...oh! thanks for the response...yes, u r right. If something doesn't sound convincing to us, it doesn't mean it is not convincing at all. We at best can give our perceptions, the final judgement comes out from the discussions... . Apart from those paintings which I see as blunders that even men with logical mind sometimes commit in their life, I have no problem with M F Husain or his other paintings, rather it is difficult not to get impressed by whatever is being written about him in newspapers and magazines. He was the man who didn't only live his life fully but also savoured it to the fullest... I firmly believe in Supreme court's verdict on freedom of expression, but, at the same time I must say an artist can not do everything that pleases his whims and fancies. Do you believe an artists' work is above the people and the scrutiny of supreme court esp when it hurts the sentiments of an entire community? I hope you don't.

dear hitesh, as i already explianed in detail many times-if in creativity n truth community sentiments are considered-mankind cant have railway engine, porinting press, medical science, rocket science too...n we cud hav continued satipratha... , ashprushtya, vidhvagruh at kaashi etc on name of so called religious sentiments. its upon we- if we want to seat besides pakistan, afghanistan in mindset, or france, usa. that wil decide future of a nation. community which is not hurt by selling of 'tulsi' (scared plant in india, wife of shaligram -vishnu) brand gutka in REAL life, n make fuss about VIRTUAL art-itself have double standards-n ignorance towards its own ancient scriptures n sculptures. it seems u didnt take care to read all past articles in detail. being a man of literature u must dear.


u reply so fast!! well thanks again...i will read those four articles u mentioned....Satipratha, and all those things are fine and can be understood...but not this...no problem...

 that shows exactly the mental block..as i told, virtua;l creative things r inacceptable in name of faith, but real things r digestable :D its coz since centuries india has been affected by jehadi / victorian effect...n lost what creativity ...or artistic sense is all about :P btw, if u cant accept these things-its gud that u dont read sanskrit or travel in india-as u will noyt going to acceepte many scared texts n temples too

kher let me tell u I am reading 'Yuva hava' second time. Am Enjoying it. Enjoyed the artcles on Sabir and Kabir, shri krishna, Gandhi and particularly the one on E. I. emotional intelligence...your articles do make readers think..that is what I like and the other thing is that it seems words are always at your service like true friends....It is always pleasure to read u...

arey arey...aqam to hu pachho jadiyo padiyo thai jaish FULAAI NE

No, Jaybhai, i mean what i say. I never say anything that i don't believe in...i have always appreciated ur commitment with writing.
   23-06-2011
 
I read the articles on M F Husain u suggested on your blog. After having read all you have written there what remains is just the final note from me on our discussion on M F Husain’s paintings controvercy. I request you to form you answer, ...if you think answer is necessary, after completing the entire note

After reading those articles I have concluded that your forceful support to M F Husain over this controversy comes basically from the fact that M F Husain was a pure artist. And that there was no malicious bone in his mind when he was drawing those paintings. Apart from this, you have your evidences from the history to support your arguments. These are enough reasons to support anyone we think needs to be vindicated.

If you read my earlier arguments, you will notice that I didn’t write anything that writes off Husain as a human being or as an artist. I just said I see such paintings or in fact any such artistic work as rash blunders made by artists which mars their own prestige and goals. When I say I can’t appreciate those paintings, my point quite simple which is: Why attach nudity to god and goddesses or any person we revere for no rhyme or reason? At least exclude them. Here you will interrupt me with proofs from history: the 50 feet tall nude idol of Bahubali in Shrvanbelgoda , Kalidas’ narration of love-making of Shiva and Parvati in Kumarsambhavam....Now which sculture will make an idol of Bahubali in clothes after reading his history? and who knows whether people of that era criticized Kalidas or not when there is but little information on Kalidas himself in this 21st century?

People may not like nudity attached to their idea of God and goddesses whom they revere but it seems artists are keen on that!! What artistic pleasure will any Christian get from picture of nude Mary or any Indian from the pictures of nude Saraswati or Bharat mata whom we have always seen in clothes? This is the question that common people are asking. Not all who don’t like such painting are hooligans….Common people are not members of Bajarang dal, or any RSS linked dals nor will they stage violent attack on Husain or his paintings. Will any whim and fancy of the artist be tolerated on the name of Freedom of Expression? A lot many things can be done under that title, but centruries after centruries such controversies will comes to fore. A lot of fuss resulting from the writer’s keen desire not to follow the emotions of the people? What to do? When Husain thought he should apologize, he said: I apologize if my paintings hurt the sentiments of people… humanbeings comes first …Arts comes next…

What happened with M F husain is no doubt a matter of concern. A creative artist is always in possession of multi-faceted personality and that’s we can’t afford to judge them with one aspect of their personality( and for that matter can’t be justified for his negative aspect just because rest is good in them). If that happens, it shows that something is wrong with particular artistic fraternity which failed to explain people the worth of the artist. That’s why I have been able to revere artist like Amitabh Bachchan, Chandrakant Bakshi or for that matter you.

You may ask me to broaden the horizon of my thoughts and be more tolerant. But the main thing is not the problem, the problem is boundry line. How much liberal can/should a person be? When you protested against the fact that we can’t unfurl national flag, I had agreed with that. But when you say national flag bikini show patriotism, I differ. Now I can’t dictate those who show their patriotism wearing bikini, but we have to stick to our guns if we think we are right.

At the end of the blog you have said you might lose a few of your readers..I say you will lose any real reader because they like not because you say what they believe or dislike you because you say what they don’t believe.. they like because of your commitment to writing and to the readers…such controversies most of the time are non-issues. The main thing is the contribution of the artist which should be saluted…
sorry buddy, i adice u to read it asgain as ur points raised are anwerted in it too. u tend to pick up few lines from it n tends to leave others coz of strong mental bias while reading...ek ek shabd chavi chavi ne vachva ni salah hu varmvar amasti j nathi aapto...
I know that the point I have raised is already answered in those three articles, but somewhere we have to stop ourselves and say that here we differ...
but i do agree n apriciate ur balanced writing here n views on art in general..thnx for that...u hav triede to discuss it wth dignity n genuine honesty n i respect dat. :)
Thanks for nice words...dignity and honesty ...they r the quality that attracts two people and sustains the relationship


there can be difference of opinion in viewpoints dear-just hrs befor i wrote abt at under ranmal sindhav's comment on my wall. but in name of difference of opinion wrong facts can not be accepted by me. it may look bit stubborn - but its m...y nature. :P

what few doubts abt bharatmata u hav raised is already answered by court -n i mentioned that. bharatmata is just century old concept potrayed in bankimchsandra's aanandmath when coutry has been given a female form of worshipped idol. at that time (19th century) our gods n goodessess had calander art in printing so laxmi to sarswati hasd south indian to gujarati sarees etc. in same form bharatmata had been visulised..now an artist can play wth the form n color...dats wat creative imagination is all about (n wat endorsed by d court too)...regarding objection against kalidas or sculptures in ancinet times- point is across d things all such things remain intact-means voice raised against them clearly thrown out by authorities then.

india by nature was against censorship wth religious mindset on art in sexyality..its impact aftr radical islam..(taalibani mindset created in india-exported to [pakistan) n victroian british catholic culture...so aftr middle time oyer defination of culture n values changed...rather, influenced...moreover, ppl who just stuck to ancient india forget dat its not about photografic image...one has to understand whole movement of modern art too at d same time as hussain had tried to create fusion of ancient heritage wth modern art. most ppl r unaware of basics of evolution of paintings across d globe-n opine just as religious person.

regarding jesus arguement i had already mentioned da vinci code..n movies too. any creative person has basic choice of subject..its all abt what is inpirationl to him/her...u cant force narsinh or meera to sing song on ram n blame him to just write abt krishna...islamic -christian heritage r nt so colorful as art subject(great christian painters turned themselves to paint pagan gods n visual form itself is suppressed under radical islam)- but u need to catch good paintings first to understand all this.


You go back to ancient India to support your point of view and the value system of that time and I am more concerned about the value system of the current era!!! which you don't take into account because you think it is the older one is better .. You say the artist can play with the form and colour...I say they cant play with the feelings of people you talk about creative imagination want me to catch good paintings to have better understanding of ....so now the discussion can move ahead only after I do that....in the mean time we will keep in touch...i wud much like chat with you like this but my only fear is that it will take so much of ur valuable time...

i am more concerned for real life value system n not artistic space value system..

Rea life value system...That is the best choice, as the artistic space value system falls under it..


Thursday 9 June 2011

I, me, myself

The end of the vacation



Vacation will end on 13th this month and schools will start. Teachers will go back to their respective schools in cities and villages and that will end the honeymoon period for them and for us too. Though we don't have vacation at DCE(DIET), we organise no training programmes during the vacations. Now as school will be open from next Monday, we would be busy scheduling training programmes for them.

I am eagerly waiting for the monsoon. The first rain usually comes around the second week of June every year. That is the time when schools open. Many a time I have found myself drenched to the skin in the first rain while going to the schools on the very first day. Surprisingly that happens most often.

As renovation work is going on at home, I hope the onslaught of rain waits for at least a week this year for selfish reasons. The front room at our home needed some renovations and masons are at work. Once it is over, it would give a better look to the home.


Monday 6 June 2011

Good Friday - the holiday

Thursday, 21 April 2011

 

The campus looked a bit deserted when I entered the college today. There were some girls at the hostel stairs, some others were walking round the main building in their casuals as a morning exercise and still others were trying to drop mulberries from the tree near parking stand. I thought they were given time for reading as their exam is due on 26th of April and so they are idling away time like this. The parking stand was devoid of vehicles and I wondered: How come I am the first to arrive today? I parked my bike, adjusted the bag and started towards the main door. Students started laughing at me the moment they show me. When I took a turn, a bevy of walkers met me and greeted : Jay shree Krishn, sir" I Repeated the same. Then they exchanged some gleeful glances. After a hearty laugh they asked in the chorus:

"Why have you come today? Didn't you consult the calender? Today is holiday"

"Holiday? For what?" I asked.

"It is Good Friday today!!" Again they shouted in chorus.

I looked at the gate. It was close.I remembered Nayana told me about the holiday on the Good Friday before two days when I called her, but today I totally forgot. So careless of me! How couldn't I remember that it is Good Friday today and it is a public holiday.I put my fingers on my forehead, feeling embarrased. They giggled! How would they miss such a chance to make fun of their nutty English teacher!!!

I asked them:

"Do you know why it is holiday? What happened today?"

A chorus "No"

"Becasue Jesus was crudified today"

"But there is nothing GOOD in it!"

I took some time to explain them why it was a Good Friday.

" Now what will you do, sir?"

" Even I am considering that question: What shall I do now?...If I knew this, I would have gone to Jetpur"

" Why?"

" To meet one of my recent kin"

My answer was followed by a barrage of queries regarding the kin. I avoided the queries tactfully and left. I didn't want to return home, so I loitered in the market, did some shopping, bought some magazines and the newspaper and came to cyber cafe to take this opportunity to talk to the readers of this blog.

We exist, because there are some people who imagine that we do

Wednesday, 13 April 2011

 

One news story on CNN IBN I saw yesterday evoked both poignant and creepy feelings in me. It was about two sisters, Anuradha and Sonali, in their early forties, who cut off all their contact with the world outside seven months ago and locked themselves in their home in a small colony in Noida. For a few months they ordered for groceries at the grocery shop, but before a month or so that too stopped. The girls never came out of their home and ultimately yesterday police had to intervene. The condition of the elder sister Anuradha was severely bad. She had virtually turned into a skeleton with a thin layer of skin on her bones. As she had lapsed into coma, she had to be carried out in the stretcher. Sonali, younger sister, could barely walk her way to the vehicle. She was starved and dehydrated and had turned into a zombie. She was wearing pull-overs even in this hot summer. When asked why, she said she lost track of time. Summer or winter doesn’t make much difference to her or her sister. Entire house reeked with foul smell just as the two sisters and their clothes did. The visuals of this story were shocking and disturbing to the eyes and mind as well. According to the news in the morning today Anuradha died.

What made these two well-educated sisters, daughters of a colonel, take such a drastic step in their life? Neighbours said the death of their father in 1992 came as a mental shock to them (Mother had died much before that) and after a property disputes their brother left the sisters to fend for themselves. With no one around, these sisters attached their feelings to a dog, which died before seven months after which they locked themselves in the house. What were the neighbours doing when they were dying? Neighbours say they tried their best to contact them, continuously knocked at their door. The sisters answered, but never opened the door. Once police came, but they didn’t open the door. The police told the neighbours not to bother about them (the sisters). If they want to remain so, let them live that way.

Psychiatrists say these sisters were suffering from some mental disorder. (Aren’t we all suffering from one or the other form ofmental disorder? We think a person is suffering from mental disorder when he or she becomes violent ot abusive. We forget that a person may be looking cool and calm and yet be suffering from a mental disorder)Sometimes our physical conditions cause mental disorders and sometimes the conditions in life causes mental disorder in human beings. We normally lose our interest in life in two situations : When are not happy with our physical conditions(Our body pain kills us every moment and doesn’t let us enjoy the life) or when we are not happy with the conditions of life in which we are living and we think that there is no remedy for or escape from it.


The news of these sisters disturbed my mind. In the evening when I accompanied mom to Jwellery market, I was observing people, young and old. I just wanted to see how many of them looked happy and satisfied. And the conclusions of my research was quite positive. There were beautiful wives moving in the market wearing blissful smile accompanied by their healthy-handsome husbands. I again started thinking about the sisters. Their story makes us realise that our existence is not independent. It is linked with the people whom we love. When I was observing the cheerful faces of men and women in the market, I realized that our desires, hopes and the love of the people around us keep us happy and healthy. It makes us take care of our body, it makes look beautiful for them and it makes us take interest in life despite our physical conditions. With every death of our near and dear ones, a part of us dies within us. And we keep dying so many times before we ultimately die.

My birthday

Wednesday, 6 April 2011

 

It was 5th April yesterday – my birthday. My mom often tells me that when I was born 32 years ago,my grandma, Pankunvarba, was particularly more happy because it was the day of Ram Navami ( Birthday of Lord Ram) .She believed that Lord Ram himself has taken avatar in the family. ( When I told this to Mita, she giggled at first and then said, “ What she believed is right. You are just like Ram!!” How nice she is!)

I don’t remember having celebrated any of my birthday in childhood. In fact birthday celebrations never took place in my family. Birthday parties and exchange of gifts etc were far away things. Where was the wherewithal for allthat? But still my birthday was given a bit more importance I being the youngest member of the family. Father bought some gift, toys or spiderman books etc, elders gave some extra money which made my day and mom made sure that she includes Shrikhand and Puri along with other items in the lunch because she knew Shrikhand was my favourite item.(it is so even now) Many years passed, but still she follows that ritual without change.

I don’t celebrate my birthday even now, at least not publicly. I hide my birthday at my work-place, so that there is no fuss about it. Sometimes they – colleagues and students – catch me red-handed on this day and I follow their command without uttering a word in protest. At the most I go out with my childhood friends Anil, Arvind, their wives (Kajalbhabhi, Divyabhabhi) and kids and eat out. When we(Anil, Arvind and I) were kids we used to invite each other on our birthdays, offered snacks and pendas and gave gifts( mostly pens, for we couldn’t think of any other item!!). After two-three years, we lost interest in that and that tradition came to and end. Now we don’t remember each other’s birthdays and hardly we wish each other on these days. Sometimes I try to remember their birthdays the whole year with the hope that I will wish them, but I forget on their birthdays and then I promise myself that I won't repeat the same the next year. In fact, living in the same area, we meet each other so many times that there is no need to meet and greet on any special days. But I am happy that so many other people do send me their wishes on my birthdays.

This year the flow of wishes was unprecedented and so overwhelming that entire day was spent on calls from relatives, friends, colleagues, students et al . Besides calls, wishes poured in thorough net. (orkut, facebook and emails). I had a holiday at job because of Chetichand ( Birthday of Jhulelal celebrated as the New Year by Sindhi community) which helped me carry out the tête-à-tête with each and everyone at leisure.


Starting, Stimulating and Sustaining English Language Teacher Education and Development

Thursday, 27 January 2011

The British Council and the EFL-U (English and Foreign Languages University) co-hosted a three-day conference on ‘Starting, Stimulating and Sustaining English Language Teacher Education and Development’ for the English Language Teacher Educators from 22-24 January 2011 in Hyderabad.

As a part of District Centre scheme(DCS) I took part in it as a delegate. I was a tad reluctant to go and attend this conference as I was there for three months very recently. But second thoughts persuaded me into taking part. It was indeed the most wonderful of all conferences I have attended so far. Because it was an international conference for English teacher educators, it had the presence of heterogeneous group of people as delegates and speakers mostly from Asian countries like Nepal, Bangladesh, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Uzbekistan snd Kazhakhstan. There were people from the countries like Russia, Spain and UK too.

The venue for the conference was famous and magnificent Novotel & HICC Complex, near Hitech city. The total no of delegates was a whopping 700. From DCS there were around 30 R.P.s and C.T.s and we all were given accomodation ( no, not in Novotel hotel but) in Dr.Y.S.R. National Institute of Tourism and Hospitality Management (NITHM)which is adjacent to Maulana Azad National Urdu University ( MANU) in Gachibowli.

There were more than 100 speakers and distinguish experts on the subject. And because the conference was only for three days parallel sessions were held and audience thus was divided. However there were plenary sessions which, obviously, were more enriching than the sessions by the rest of the speakers.

I'd love to write more and in detail of the ambience and experience there and the wonderful people I came across, but time shackles my hands. So I just give below some of the objective of the coneference:

• to provide an opportunity for English Language pre and in-service teacher educators from across South Asia to meet and share best practice and experiences
• to provide English Language pre and in-service teacher educators an opportunity for professional development and updating which will enable them to become more effective
• to establish and build a sustainable community and network of English language teacher educators

26th Gnansatra of Gujarati Sahitya Parishad, Ahmedabad

Tuesday, 28 December 2010

Gujarati Sahitya Parishad, Ahmedabd organises Gnansatra in different regions of Gujarat every two years. There are many objectives for organising Gnansatra, the chief one being: to bring literature to the interior part of Gujarat where people are less prone to education or literature. And to serve this purpose, they deliberately choose, not cities, but villages as the venue of the Gnansatra every time. This time it was in Modasa (Sabarkantha) for three days(24-12-2010 to 26-12-2010) at M.L Gandhi Higher Education Association.

I had always wished to take part in it ever since I came to know about it, but it is only now that I got chance to do that. Soon after I read about it in “Parab”, I sent the registration fee and reserved my entry. On 24th of this month I was busy with official duty of visiting schools for classroom observation, so I couldn’t take part on the very first day. It was already 4.00 pm when I was free to leave for Modasa. As I couldn’t catch a direct bus to Modasa, I had to go to Ahmedabad first.I reached Ahmedabad at 10.00 pm. The night was getting colder and no travel was available for Modasa! I went to Geeta Mandir from where I boarded the ST bus for Modasa. When I ultimately reached there, it was already 12.30 and I was freezed with the cold wind that easily pierced through my body to the soul because I forgot my pullover and shawl at home. I cursed my forgetfulness while facing the music in the bus. There was not a single soul to be seen at the venue who could tell me whom to meet.There were cooks and some others who were preparing for food for the next day, but they were more stranger than I. I made two rounds of Shree M.L. Gandhi Higher Education Association campus and at the end of the second one, fortunately, I found an angel who advised me to spend the night in any of the rooms whose door was open. The formalities could be done in the morning

The next morning a boy’s voice awoke me: “Kaka, you won’t get hot water if you don’t get up at this time.” I opened my sleepy eyes and looked out of the door. It was still dark. Cold wind rushed through the open door. I would have preferred sleeping, but I shivered at the thought of taking a bath with cold water. I jumped out of the bed, went to the corridor and looked down. Two- three boys were igniting fire under a big vessel full of water in the compound. I finished my morning routine, along with exercise. And water was ready for me.
There were 8 sittings in all during these three days. I had already missed 3. The fourth was to start at 9.oo am that morning. I reached the auditorium much before the time after finishing my tea- and snacks. Soon audience started coming followed by the great authors of Gujarati literature. Raghuvir Chaudhari, Bholabhai Patel, Ratilal Borisagar, Bhagavatikumar Sharma, Chandrakant Sheth,Vinesh Antani( “Priyajan” fame), Narottam Palan, Varsha Adalaja, Dhirubahen Patel, Bindu Bhatt( “Meera Yagnik ni Diary” and “ “Akhepatar” fame), Sarifa Vijaliwala, Manilal H Patel, Nitin Vadgama, Harshad Trivedi, Shirish Panchal and many more whose faces I was not familiar with. I wasted no time in photographing them all.
The fourth sitting started on time. It is on any particular writer and his/her works. Speakers deliver their speech based on their study. This time it was Umashankar Joshi and rightly so because he(Umashankar Joshi) belonged to Sabarkantha. The subject was : “The Ctiticism and Research work of Shree Umashankar Joshi”. And the speakers were : Bholabhai Patel, Chandrakant Sheth, Narottam Palan, Ashwin Desai and Usha Upadhyaya and Shirish Panchal. Each speaker was given half an hour to discuss the different aspect of the subject.
After a two-hour break for lunch the fifth sitting started at 3.00 pm in which eight young writers gave their critiques of the books published during the two years: 2008-2009. And the literary genres were : Poetry, drama, novel, short story, essays, criticism, research, compilation, children literature and translation. Most of them complained about the lack of satisfactory output in these two years.

to be continued