Joy of Life....

Festive season is on. After "Durga Pooja"  here comes the festival of lights "Diwaali" and if you are from Bihar or Eastern Uttar Pradesh then "Chhath" festival is also not very far away. In fact these festivals give us a break  from the tiring pace of hectic day-to-day life and get ourselves refreshed. Actually the origin of these festivals is from the philosophy of sharing our joyful moments with our friends and relatives.

Few days back I got an invitation card saying, "your presence can change this small occasion into a festival for us", it means that if we share our little joyful moments with each other keeping our heart open, then we can make these small moments of our life as great and joyful as any big festival can be.

The great philosopher Sukrat said "People look for wealth, property, social status etc and struggle to get these through out their life but for me spending some quality time with my dear ones is the most satisfying and joyful"...... but unfortunately today in the rat race of earning name n fame, we don't have time to share our joyful moments with our friends n relatives and even the festivals are being celebrated within the fore walls of our two bed room flats......

In fact, "rising of sun", "blooming of flowers", "fulfillment of our tiny wishes", "meeting with our old lost friends" and "a sip of hot coffee with our loved ones"....these are the moments which can give us joy, happiness and a sense of satisfaction too, provided we share them properly n honestly with our relatives and friends......

Our priorities and their outcome....

There is a common saying........"Change is the law of nature"

And rightly so......Because every thing within us and around us changes with time...with age...and with circumstances.

And so does our priorities.....Yes, our priorities also changes at different stages of our life, for example, when I was a kid , my priority was to have fun with anything or anyone around me. After few years when I raised a little in terms of age(being a five feet giant male, I still need to raise a little in terms of height), I started thinking about my studies and future career....And the moment these thoughts started coming into my idle mind, my priorities started changing and then the priority was to complete my studies with whatever resources I had and have a respectful life.... Once I completed my studies and got settled, my priorities again started changing and  were like getting married, having kids and get them admitted into descent schools....

And now, when things are somewhat smoothly settled into my personal n professional life, I have a feeling that once again my priorities are changing and this time my responsibilities are becoming my priorities......Yes, my personal responsibility like looking after my old aging mother(unfortunately I lost my dear father few years back and I can't even think of losing her), fulfilling the needs of my wife n kids and ensuring an environment for kids which can help them to become a good human being and in turn give them a respectful life too(INSHA ALLAH).... Apart from these personal responsibilities there are certain social responsibilities also which has to be given priority at times, because I personally feel that it is our social responsibility that keeps us bonded-together within the society.

Buttttttt sometimes I do feel that in the process of fulfilling these responsibilities I miss certain things which might have given some more amount of satisfaction to me on personal level...for example, recently one of my blogger friend and a popular blogger Alpana Jaiswal came to Patna and she was kind enough to inform me about her arrival. The moment I came to know about her Patna visit, I was excited to meet a blogger in person and had a plan to spend some nice time with our families together. I did visited her place for very short amount of time to meet her and was really nice meeting her with her daughter and mother. But unfortunately, the very next day of that short meet I had to leave Patna to attend some social get-together at my native village(again a social responsibility turned into priority). And somehow I am still not able to meet her again....Sorry Alpana ji, hopefully we will meet again at some other place if not at Patna(INSHA ALLAH).

Perhaps this is what our life is, that sometimes we are just not able to do what  actually we want to....

Is it because of our pre-defined priorities...???.....OR just  co-incidence...???

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iron Lady....

Well, there is no need to mention that recent 12 days fast by Anna Hazare paralysed Indian political system by capturing the media attention and inspiring hundreds of thousands of people across the country.......But in India where hunger strike is known as a common tool of protest , not all of them capture the public support and media attention in quite the same way as Anna Hazare and Narendra Modi did in recent past, and Irom Sharmila is one of them whose lonely and nonviolent struggle against the disputed Armed Forces Special Power Act(AFSPA)  has endured in obscurity.

Irom Sharmila of Manipur has been on fast for more then 11 years, yes it is more then a decade now that she has not allowed even a drop of water to pass through her lips. The episode that prompted Sharmila to begin her fast took place on 2nd Nov. 2000 in Malom, a village near Imphal, where after an explosion along the main road, the Army men killed 10 people that include a teenager and a 62 year old lady. And in protest of brutal killing by army men, Sharmila started her hunger strike demanding repeal of AFSPA and was arrested shortly after beginning her fast on charges of attempted suicide. She was sent to a prison hospital in Imphal,  where began a daily routine of being force fed via a nasal drip and it is continuing till date. The soldiers claim that they had been fired upon but the judicial inquiry found no evidence of firing by villagers.

I think the only difference between Anna Hazare and Irom Sharmila is that Anna is able to galvanize public support through various means. Most importantly he could get a media glare to reach the mass at a rapid pace, where as Sharmila's battle is so silent and confined to Manipur only. But why can't the media do its part to get Irom Sharmila some attention. I mean you report if Big B sneezes or Katrina coughs....So please do your part for Irom Sharmila too.

But again what has Sharmila got to give to media if it backs her, a little amount of TRP in the North-Eastern region....Well who cares, when they are getting much more TRPs by showing Big B's visit to meet his charge sheeted friend and by covering Narendre Modi's high profile fast......

I personally feel that if there is any true Gandhian at present then it is Sharmila but our authorities as well as society is not even as responsive to her as the imperialist Britishers were to Mahatma Gandhi. I think its time that people of India join hands in convincing her to put an end to misery.....Her life is too precious to be wasted like this.

By writing this post here I am not saying that in response to Sharmila's hunger strike government should have withdrawn AFSPA from that region, in fact Govt. knows better about merits and demerits of the disputed act. But what I want to say here is that the Govt should not give an impression that it succumbs to the pressure of rabble rousers only. In my view it should listen to Irom Sharmila and pay her due regards and if rules of the game can be twisted for Anna Hazare, why should the Govt not heed the demand of a silent sufferer. We must note here that she is suffering in silence only and not blackmailing anyone....

i wish.......

i want to go back to the time........


when "innocence" was "Natural"....
when "getting high" meant "one swing"....
when "drinking" meant  "Rasna"....
when "dad" was the only "hero"....
when "love" was "Mom's hug"....
when "Dad's shoulder" was "the highest place on earth"....
when my  "worst enemies" were "siblings"....
when the only thing that could "Hurt" were "bleeding knees"...
when the only thing "broken" were "toys"....
and....
when "good bye" only meant "till tomorrow"....


"Life has changed a lot"......... isn't it.....????

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PS: hello friends, i am  sharing these lines  just to show my presence here.... i know it has been too long to post something new here and to read all those new posts written by you all..... A big thank to all of you for your massages and e-mails asking about if there is something wrong with me......it really means a lot to me....Thank you so much to all of you for your mails and massages... i am just fine and little busy with some personal things, will be back soon here(INSHA ALLAH)........THANK YOU....!!!

Take Care....
irfan.

unfortunately, I am not Anna....

Thank you Blogjunta

Undoubtedly he has brought nation on a crossroad where you can see almost everyone claiming to be ANNA by wearing a T-shirt  or a cap written "MAIN ANNA HOON".....they are doing every thing to show their hatred for corruption....Of course its a good sign for any nation and all credit goes to Anna Hazaare.

No doubt each and every individual should come forward to support Anna's cause for eradicating corruption. Even I want to be there, shouting those patriotic slogans while facing a TV camera, wearing a T-shirt stating "Main Anna Hoon" and holding a tri-clour ...But unfortunately my day to day run for earning bread n butter is just not allowing me to be there and do all those patriotic acts......But does that mean I am supporting corruption or I am no more an honest citizen???.... well, perhaps this is what most of the people want to prove that whoever is not supporting Anna visibly by being present at their respective cities chowks, or whoever having his own view for fighting corruption which is little different from what the "civil society people" actually think, is not supporting the very cause of opposing corruption and in turn he is a corrupt.

But I personally believe that everyone in India is not corrupt whether he shows his sentiments against it or not.... or even the so called Jan-Lokpal bill is not a magic stick, that will eradicate  corruption overnight. In fact its going to be just another law with some added provisions which ultimately requires people's will to be implemented and used honestly.

Moreover honesty is not something that can be forced on people by merely making some law, in fact it is something which comes from within..and after all its a matter of being honest to ourselves first.....but I doubt on being honest to myself because I know that tomorrow when time will come to admit my son in the best school of the city, I will try all means(fair and unfair) to get him admitted there...I know there are plenty of school teachers in that crowd shouting all those slogans of patriotism, they will guide me(for known reasons) to use all those unfair means to get my son admitted and I will be glad doing that because after all its a matter of my son's career and life.....and that LPG dealer standing in the crowd with tri-colour in his hand, is he going to oblige me with a new gas connection with his folded hands, just because i genuinely deserve one........well, I doubt......

Bharat Varsh

'Main  BHARATVARSH  hoon'

'The united India of pre-independence period'

'The nation which had no boarders in between'

  'Ek Dil..........Ek Jism.......Ek Jaan'

(One heart....One Body....One Soul)

But thanks to our great national leaders, who divided me into two by drawing a line over my body, without even bothering that how painful it was for me.... I still feel that pain....but who cares....and the irony is, they are still trying to divide me in the name of region, language and culture.

They divided me in the name of peace, but poor me, still looking for the peace....

They divided me physically by creating a line over my body but could not divide my soul, as you can see, still our culture is same...our language is common...and even the colour of the blood being shaded after each and every blast is same.

I still remember those days when patriotism for my citizens was "Love for their nation"... but those great leaders made them to believe that one can be patriot even if he hate others in the name of language, region and religion.

I am sure, all those great souls who were responsible for my partition, must be realising now that disputes between humans can't be resolved by simply dividing them through a thin line, rather division made situation more grim and the disputes took a new face which is much more ugly....and in the long run its humanity that suffered.

OK..whatever happened is happened....I know, nothing can be done now and I can't change my past but you all can make my future, so now on the eve of Independence day, I request all my citizens to stop fighting in the name of language, region and religion....start working hand in hand for some good causes and give me some reason to feel proud of you.

Sense of Smell....

Ever wondered what the world would be like if we couldn't smell anything?

You may think why I am asking it here now....Well, believe me , there is nothing like suffering from a bad cold to make one realize how much we would miss having a clear sense of smell....Yaa, you got it right, I am suffering from cold and missing my sense of smell these days.

I am just not able to feel the aroma of the variety of dishes being made in kitchen at ”iftar time” during Ramadan....and the smell of wet earth after a good shower is something I am not able to enjoy these days....Aah, how can i forget the whiff of those Jasmines when I pass a woman who wears it in her hair.

I remember when I was a kid and used to travel with my father in the general compartment. The train journey would not complete without my father having consumed several cups of tea from the Chai-wallahs(Tea vendors)...And even today while traveling, the aroma of tea takes me back to those crowded compartments and I can almost see my dad holding that little plastic cup in his hands and enjoying every sip of it.

The scent of talcum powder reminds me of my dad getting ready for office....and the fragrance of Kastoori attar, my uncle's favourite, reminds me, when me and my cousin used to sprinkle that attar on our dusty T-shirts and take deep breath to feel its fragrance.

hhhhmmm....Each of those smell evokes a sense of comfort and nostalgia.