8 pm , 5th June , 2011 .
Howrah railway station .
The platform was overcrowded . Thousands of passengers from Kolkata and nearby have gathered to catch Howrah – Mumbai Mail . The train has not yet been parked at the platform , it shall soon arrive . Sourabh , my nephew has come with his luggage to catch the train to reach Nagpur for some important family event .
Clock struck 8.15 pm , departure time , but the train was no where in sight ! Gradually time ticked away , 1, 2 , 3 hrs , train was not in sight . There was no announcements , the officials said that they do not know about the status of train . Whole night people were stranded in the platform without any proper information about the train . Saurabh , finally got tired , he had a wink of sleep for few minutes . at about 4 am , he was not able to keep himself awake .
At 4.30 am , he opened his eyes , his baggage was no where to be seen . These were stolen . His all belongings , ticket , money and all important documents were all gone . Finally the train arrived in the platform at 4.30 am , and left at 5.30 am without Saurabh , as he did not have ticket and money .
The train was late by over 9 hrs . This was not an isolated event , this is happening day after day , months after months daily since last 8 months . All the trains leaving Howrah station and which pass through so called Naxalite infested areas at night are delayed by over 8 hrs so that the trains pass through these supposedly dangerous terrain only during day time .
We are in a democratic country , where the law of land prevails , an elected government exists . But there is no answer to this situation . The authorities do not declare that the train timings have been changed and the trains will always leave after 8 hrs of the scheduled time of departure .
My daughter aged 11 years asked me , “ Papa , who are naxalites ? How do they look like ? Are they terrible creatures ? ” “ No my dear , they are humans like you and me !” I answered . “ Then who are they papa” , the innocent child asked . “ They are educated but jobless , homeless , poor tribal who create law and order problem .” “ Why is it so , papa ? ” again the simple question .
I looked at the ever inquisitive child .
How can I tell her about land mafia , mining mafias , corruption , government apathy , swiss bank accounts of our beloved leaders whom we have voted to power !
Saturday, June 11, 2011
A tale of two friends
Circumstances change our attitude . What may appear obviously wrong today may seem appropriate tomorrow . The same situation or event may appear proper or may appear totally bizarre depending on which side of the fence are we .
Ramu and Raman are two close friends who studied together in primary school in a village . Ramu was son of a farmer who continued his studies to become a an agricultural graduate and devoted his life in village only . Raman , son of a businessman went on to become an engineer , did MBA and settled in Mumbai . He is a top executive now .
So far so good , the stories differ from now on . Ramu remained a middle class person , earning just sufficient enough for his families’ livelihood . He has a small farm and is happy with it . He walks a lot in his farm , grows plenty of vegetables , the people in the village know him closely and come to him often for any reason . He has many friends to talk to , celebrates various festivals with joy and gusto .
Raman on the other hand is a top executive , earns a lot , strives hard for more and more , has lot many responsibilities , has put money on shares , never gets time to walk but tends to travel by Mercedes to save time on travel and also for social reasons . He attends to night parties . He has professional colleagues but no friends . He has a costly cell phone as company . Drinks and smokes are his compulsion if not a choice . He became irritable , gets bodyache , headache and is constantly under tension .
After a decade , Raman developed diabetes and soon hypertension followed . He had to take eight different tablets to keep his blood pressure and diabetes under control .He soon got frustrated with the chain of events . He remembered his childhood friend Ramu and rushed to his village . Both met each other after three decades .
Ramu was very glad to have his friend Raman after such a long time , he gave a bear hug and after a lot of gossip under the banyan tree , both sat for dinner together .
Raman asked Ramu , “How much do you earn ?”
Ramu replied humbly , “ Just enough to keep me and my family going , few thousands , but its enough for us .”
Raman laughed at him , “ Only thousands ! I pay that much of tax every quarter . Well what do you drive ? ”
Ramu replied ,” I have a bullock cart and also a bicycle , but I prefer to walk ”
Raman gave him a sarcastic look , “ I always travel by Mercedes. You know it costs 22 lacs . And you know Ramu , I have a flat in 13th floor from where I can see Arabian sea all around . That flat costs two crores . ” Raman looked around with pride .
“ Bhai sahib , should I give you some more rice ? ” asked Ramu’s wife .
“ Oh no , my blood sugar will shoot up ”.
“ Then will you like to have jhunka bhakar , bhai sahib , and also have some baingan bharta . It tastes delicious if you mix it with nimbu-achar ( lemon-pickle ) ” , she asked again .
“ What are you offering me bhabhi , my blood pressure will go up , already I am on 5 different drugs to control it . And pickle ! My doctor will go mad if he comes to know about nimbu achar . I am on antacids round the clock you know . ” said Raman .
After the dinner , Ramu offered him rus malai . Again the Laxman rekha of diabetes came in the way .
While departing , Raman invited Ramu and family to Mumbai . “ Why don’t you come and settle in Mumbai , Ramu ? I shall help you in starting a business there . There is lot of money in Mumbai , you know . ”
“ Yah , there is , but you get diabetes , hypertension and acidity free with that money . What is the use of such money which prevents one from enjoying jhunka bhakar , nimbu achar , baigan bharta and rus malai ?” said bhabhi innocently .
Raman thought that how foolish these villagers are , while Ramu felt lucky that he did not settle in Mumbai !
Ramu and Raman are two close friends who studied together in primary school in a village . Ramu was son of a farmer who continued his studies to become a an agricultural graduate and devoted his life in village only . Raman , son of a businessman went on to become an engineer , did MBA and settled in Mumbai . He is a top executive now .
So far so good , the stories differ from now on . Ramu remained a middle class person , earning just sufficient enough for his families’ livelihood . He has a small farm and is happy with it . He walks a lot in his farm , grows plenty of vegetables , the people in the village know him closely and come to him often for any reason . He has many friends to talk to , celebrates various festivals with joy and gusto .
Raman on the other hand is a top executive , earns a lot , strives hard for more and more , has lot many responsibilities , has put money on shares , never gets time to walk but tends to travel by Mercedes to save time on travel and also for social reasons . He attends to night parties . He has professional colleagues but no friends . He has a costly cell phone as company . Drinks and smokes are his compulsion if not a choice . He became irritable , gets bodyache , headache and is constantly under tension .
After a decade , Raman developed diabetes and soon hypertension followed . He had to take eight different tablets to keep his blood pressure and diabetes under control .He soon got frustrated with the chain of events . He remembered his childhood friend Ramu and rushed to his village . Both met each other after three decades .
Ramu was very glad to have his friend Raman after such a long time , he gave a bear hug and after a lot of gossip under the banyan tree , both sat for dinner together .
Raman asked Ramu , “How much do you earn ?”
Ramu replied humbly , “ Just enough to keep me and my family going , few thousands , but its enough for us .”
Raman laughed at him , “ Only thousands ! I pay that much of tax every quarter . Well what do you drive ? ”
Ramu replied ,” I have a bullock cart and also a bicycle , but I prefer to walk ”
Raman gave him a sarcastic look , “ I always travel by Mercedes. You know it costs 22 lacs . And you know Ramu , I have a flat in 13th floor from where I can see Arabian sea all around . That flat costs two crores . ” Raman looked around with pride .
“ Bhai sahib , should I give you some more rice ? ” asked Ramu’s wife .
“ Oh no , my blood sugar will shoot up ”.
“ Then will you like to have jhunka bhakar , bhai sahib , and also have some baingan bharta . It tastes delicious if you mix it with nimbu-achar ( lemon-pickle ) ” , she asked again .
“ What are you offering me bhabhi , my blood pressure will go up , already I am on 5 different drugs to control it . And pickle ! My doctor will go mad if he comes to know about nimbu achar . I am on antacids round the clock you know . ” said Raman .
After the dinner , Ramu offered him rus malai . Again the Laxman rekha of diabetes came in the way .
While departing , Raman invited Ramu and family to Mumbai . “ Why don’t you come and settle in Mumbai , Ramu ? I shall help you in starting a business there . There is lot of money in Mumbai , you know . ”
“ Yah , there is , but you get diabetes , hypertension and acidity free with that money . What is the use of such money which prevents one from enjoying jhunka bhakar , nimbu achar , baigan bharta and rus malai ?” said bhabhi innocently .
Raman thought that how foolish these villagers are , while Ramu felt lucky that he did not settle in Mumbai !
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