Dinesh: I am proud of who I am

                     

New Delhi: It was 5.30 by the clock, Dinesh who got up half an hour before is on a rush to the nearby LohaMandi bus stand from where he will be collecting copies of a host of newspapers that will be distributed in the Naraina Area. “I wake up every day much before I should, but still somewhere or the other I get late and I have to speed up my cycle”, said a tired Dinesh, after the day’s work was over.

A tall dark Dinesh Pal Singh, who is just nineteen or twenty, is the local “newspaperwala” of the NarainaGaon area, but that is not what he only does. Dinesh is also a second year political science student at the Sri Venkateshwara College and as he says “a keen lover of music”.

By the time he reached home, it was almost 8“O”clock and he has to get ready to reach the college by 8.45. Taking a quick bath, Dinesh dresses up in jeans and T-shirt and grabs a Banana from the kitchen before going out. “I have never missed a class, unless it’s too urgent, hope today also I reach in time”, said he while walking down to the bus stop, where from he boards a 442.

Dinesh has three sisters and a younger brother and belongs from a family where the word “impoverished” stands to be perfect. Dinesh’s father Ram Pal was a worker at a metal casting factory in the Naraina Industrial Area, but a few years back lost his job when the factory was sold. “Our hard times started since then, it was early 2008, all my children were small and I was clueless what to do.Dinesh was only in class eight then, but the way he supported me, which a father could never expect from such a young boy”, said Rampal who now owns a small shop selling paan, cigarette, gutkha adjacent to his house. “I made this house, joining every bits and pieces of my income, and it was Dinesh’s idea of renting parts of this house, which at least saved us from running out of food. Slowly I set up this shop, got my elder daughter married, and Dinesh also started working after giving his class ten final. I feel bad when I see him running early in the morning just to make our life a bit more comfortable, but nothing more I can do rather than feeling helpless”, he added.

The doorbell rang; it was Dinesh who came back with his brother and sisters. “Rishi, is in class ten and Sangita, the elder one is in twelfth whereas Smita is in 8. Every day they come back alone, but today my classes ended a bit early so I thought of accompanying them”, said he.

It was lunch time for the Singh family, all sitting together in that seven by nine feet room (the only room they have which houses an adjacent kitchen and a bathroom), exhibits the bond they share out of all odds. Pouring in a gulp of bhindikisabzi and rice, Dinesh says “I never mind working. You know the cost of living over here, I need to support my family, but I really feel bad the way people in my college looks upon me from the time they came to know that I am a newspaper vendor, it really hurts, but I feel proud when I give the money which I get at the end of the month to my father”.

The lunch was over; Dinesh washed his hands and dragged out a drawing book from a shelf and showcased the masterpiece he created last weekend. It was a painting of men running after a naked woman on a dark road. “This is what our society is all about today”, he asserted. May be he is right in describing his painting, but for others he is a creator par excellence.

The ailing tale of Indian rail

New Delhi: Blood stained railway tracks, tumbled bogies lying apart and people running here there, this has become a quite often scene throughout the country over the last few years and the latest being the Rajya Rani Express mishap in Bihar.

The Indian Railway has recorded an all time high of forty six major accidents over the past three years killing at least 500 hundred people. The statistics raises a serious question about the passenger safety and security.

“The fair of the trains has not increased for the past ten years, so where from the money will come for taking adequate steps regarding security”, asks Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, the Minister of State for the railways.

The railway ministry has been in the hands of several regional parties, which at a certain point time became a major instrument for wooing the public to gain votes. Starting from Nitish Kumar led JD(U) to the Trinamool Congress, over the years it was used for playing the card of votes in the regional arena. “You know, it has been a trend that whoever becomes a railway minister will at some time or the other becomes a prominent political character, whether it was Mamata Bannerji or Nitish Kumar, they sort of take this ministry to gain profit and lure voters only by regional developments”, says political commentator Manjushree Chowdhury.

Thus with allegations of playing to the gallery, the railway fare remains unchanged for the last ten years as a result of which the security remains compromised for the lack of funds.

The fare of a 4km ride in Kolkata Metro Rail (under the India Railways) is Rs 4 whereas the same ride costs at least Rs 12 in Delhi. This resulted badly with metros often facing snags in peak hours and suffering badly due to lack of modernization in the city of joy.

The same is the story with other divisions of the railways with the working capital ratio hitting as low as 95%.

With a nationalist party like congress gaining back the ministry it is expected to make moves much beyond just regional politics and taking serious steps to rake up the security. The fare prices were hiked this year by almost 10%.

Rajnish Guha, a regular local train passenger in Mumbai explains how paying more won’t hurt the pockets if it is worth. “The thing is, we aren’t afraid of paying more if we get value and worth of what we are spending”, he says.

Politics Now & Then

A few days ago I had been to Sunderbans, the largest delta region in the world. The visit was a part of my college documentary on sanctuaries and a initiative taken to save them. The scenic beauty around was a pleasure for eyes with species of so many kind and types all around.
But the main purpose to write this blog is not to praise the place or to promote tourism over there but to share the concern which is haunting me till now. The sociopolitical scenario which exists over there.
A few years back I was a part of a student political movement.Those days of my political fantasies and  unrestrained fancy of classless society taught me the ideologies of Independence, Democracy and Socialism. In those days these words to me were just like any other term used in the rule book of a political party, but I was happy of the fact that I was doing something for the poor and the laid backs though the ideology was foggy to me. Rallies and slogans moved each and every life on the campus but less we did understand what all these actually means. I still remember that top level rally in Dharmtolla where my leaders were shouting about "Chamakta hua Bharat" & "Tarapta hua Bharat" and I was busy wanting that last counter from a fellow comrade or shouting slogans at every galore in the crowd. Those lines were so irrelevant to my sense or i didn't bother to give a damnation. But today it bothers me. Bothers me to that extent which compelled me to concern about what I have seen.
A village. Maheshpur. 70km from Kolkata. No electricity, no drinking water facilities as such, 1 deep tube well for the whole village, 1 health clinic, well painted in white and blue (as per government beautification project) but no doctor. Now do I need to say more to give the example of Tarapta hua Bharat? But just 70km away, shopping malls, high rises, lazy Sunday evenings, time pass over a cup of coffee in CCD or just enjoying a bucket of fried chicken at KFC.
But those people who have an equal amount of share in the happiness we deserve are starving in the dark with nothing to have. Yes I am speaking of a land where a glass of lemon water is fifty paisa, a stick of ice cream is two rupees, and starvation for food comes free. We say a lot of things, politicians in public meetings, intellectuals (a new breed) in television channels, and we, the common man everywhere (like I writing this blog). But do we really care about how our counter parts are a few kilometers away? Leading a life of luxury which has become our need, but still we are lonely alone and disheartened. A life at another's cost but still we search for more, may be that is what we are born for. Born to enjoy every moment of life spend and shed tears every time we see those in huts.
Right has said the man of two nations in one. A nation who enjoys luxury and the other starving to death. But still my master says he is not poverted if he spends 22rupees a day and I enjoy my coffee sitting in my drawing room, clapping and cheering when your starvation wins an Oscar (Slumdog Millionaire). True you are to your lines Celucus.

Swami Vivekananda: Relevance of contributions.

Swami Vivekananda is described by various persons in various different ways for his versatile works and contributions to the society. A lot is read about his life and his ideologies but his contribution to the world and culture is still not talked about which it should have been for its role in reforming the world and the way it looks towards different religions and other beliefs. According to Swamiji different religions and science had a unique relation between themselves. He said that science and religion are not contradictory, but are complementary to each other. He was the man who took Hindu religion to different parts of the world and preached new ways of discovering it. His famous speech in Chicago on September 11, 1893 was one of those ways in which he wanted the world to see and belief the ideologies of Hindu religion. Like this he also tried to bridge the gap between eastern and western culture which is thought to be his another great contribution. He did it by taking India and its culture to the western world in the form of an idiom which would be easily acceptable over there. He showed that, in spite of her poverty and backwardness, India had a great contribution to make to world with its rich culture and heritage. On other hand he interpreted the emergence of learning western science and technology among Indians. Thus he brought the cultures together and interpreted the need of developing both spiritually and technically.

Swamiji also tried to inculcate true moral and ethics among man. Moral is generally based on fear, fear of police, fear of public ridicule, fear of god and so on but according to him moral should be based on truth, truth of a soul, truth of a life and ethics should follow the course of moral. So Swamiji gave new theory of ethics and new principle of morality based on the intrinsic purity and oneness of the soul. He also spoke about the ‘potential divinity of a soul’ which shows the way to the ennobling concept of man. Thus enriching man in every possible way.

Through science and technology man has reached great heights. With innovations and modern methods of communication the world has now become a global village. But the degradation of human societies has also taken a pace with all advancements. Immorality, violence, crime, wars may be some of the examples of such acts. But Vivekananda’s concept of potential divinity of the soul tries to prevent this degradation by divinizing human relationships and making life meaningful and worth living. Thus Swamiji has laid the foundation for ‘spiritual humanism’, which is manifesting itself through several neo-humanistic movements and the current interest in meditation.

So in the current society the relevance of Swamiji increases manifold with every passing day. He may be seen as a source of inspiration or a ray of light in the in the dark world of irregularities and immoralities, guiding man through his path in reaching the goal he is destined to.