A modern day Warrior Poet

The following is an excerpt from an article published in the Times of India , "Traffic park as entertainment avenue and khau galli. Why not?"  .

Santosh Pandey, who writes under the pen name of Badal, is a cop with a difference. He wields both, the cane and pen with elan. A head constable at the Kotwali division, Pandey's two latest compilations - 'Priayadarshini' and 'Beti' - is ready for release on the occasion of the International Women's Day and the programmes associated with it.

'Priyadarshini ' is based on the life of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi while 'Beti' is on the evils of the female infanticide. Pandey also has eight other titles published and an equal number ready for publication.

The cop has authored books on myriad subjects ranging from childhood and its innocence to dowry and its evil affects. Among the awards that Pandey has won includes the ministry of environment and forest's 'Medini Puraskar Yojana' in 2008, Maharashtra State Hindi Sahitya Academy's Sohanlal Dwivedi award in 2009 and many others.

Excerpts from an interview:

Q. What made you choose the subjects for 'Priyadarshini' and 'Beti'?

A. Indiraji's life, on which 'Priyadarshini' is based upon, had always intrigued me, especially during my visits to her ancestral place Anand Bhavan in Allahabad. There was an unexplained force that used to always drive me every time I visited the place. 'Beti' was an outcome of a Sadhvi Rithambhara sermon. I had often championed the cause of environment and female infanticide as a social worker. My duty as a policeman also helped me to realize the pain when a female baby is found abandoned or discarded. Also, I am a father of a daughter which also helped me to express my turmoil.

Q. Have you experimented in the new books?

A. They are simple, easy and understandable. I did not have a scholastic approach but rather ensured that message reaches deep within the society. Often a poet is confronted by the challenge of sending his message to the masses cutting across the cross-section of the society and I wanted to achieve just that rather than experiment with forms and patterns.

Q. Is there any controversial episode in 'Priyadarshini'?

A. I have consciously steered clear of any controversies. I do not have any intention of getting entangled in controversies. Healthy debates are OK, but not controversies. One should not drag controversies into literature.

Q. Is there any aspect or episode in the life of Indiraji that left you intrigued?

A. There have been several, each one fascinating. But, there was one period in her life that I feel shaped her into what she was in the later part of life. In her school days, Indiraji had formed an active unit of youngsters, labelling it as 'Monkey Brigade', who would act as couriers between satyagrahis during the Independence struggle and help in exchange of vital information by dodging the information networks of the British. This underlined her intense patriotism and unquestionable leadership quality which reflected in the later part of her life.

Q. How do you balance your job as a cop and poet?

A. My job as a policeman has given me an intriguing opportunity to delve into those arenas of life which I would not have got had I been working elsewhere. Various issues, different facets of our society and human life unfurl before me while I am attending my duty. This department is more of a social organization and government pays us salaries for this noble work which I do dutifully. When I am not a policeman, I am a poet and author. I devote most of my leisure time to literature. There are no other distractions in my life.

Q. When are you planning to write about your colleagues?

A. A collection of 120 poetries 'Police: Ek Kavi' is slated to hit the stands soon. In this book, my 25 years' experience and observations as a cop have been brought out in the form of poetry.

Q. Does being a government employee create any hurdles for you as poet?

A. The creative pursuit of an author or poet finds its expression wherever there is a thrust for it. Police or any other department's disciplinary restrictions cannot bind creative energies which flow despites hurdles. My books have been mostly released by our seniors in the department who have also encouraged me.

Q. What is your motivation?

A. The ambience at home is very crucial for a creative person. It is very important to enjoy support from one's family. My sole inspiration was the Late Mahadevi Verma who was an extraordinary Hindi poet and freedom fighter. I had once composed a parody of her celebrated work and she was impressed with it. It was she who had christened me as 'Badal'.

Becoming Superhuman

"Of all the superheroes in popular culture, I’ve always been most drawn to Batman. While many superheroes come by their superpowers through genetic blessing or freakish accident, Batman is a regular guy who gained his superhuman abilities on his own. He studied science, perfected his body, sharpened his mind and powers of deduction, and utilized technology. He became superhuman through his own effort, adding to his powers element by element"

Seriously. Batman is SO possible.

The Whole Man

Becoming superhuman involves reaching for ever greater heights in all areas of our lives: physical, mental, moral, and spiritual.

The average man spends his days as a sedentary lump; the superhuman man strives to keep himself in peak physical condition.

The average man rarely cracks open a book after college; the superhuman man is dedicated to lifelong learning, constantly feeding his mind with books, magazines, and newspapers and studying a wide variety of topics.

The average man cheats and fudges here and there; the superhuman man makes his word his bond and lives every day with integrity.

The average man is content with surface pleasures and material goods; the superhuman man explores the greater depths of life through meditation or prayer.


Well, the author defined superhuman-ness for a Man . It is my unequivocal belief that this is what a Superman is, and more importantly, through persistence and determination, we can get closer to it every day. Now, Let me define superhuman-ness for a Woman in a different way, albeit what the author says is applicable in its entirety to women as well.

The average woman is NOT a feminist . The Superwoman fights for her soul's right to breathe relentlessly, tirelessly and fearlessly. 

The average women rarely questions why Men are so hell bent upon controlling her, why Societal traditions mostly favor men and why is she perceived more as an object and less as a human . The Superwoman is hell bent upon annihilating anything and everything that challenges her right to be a  free and independent spirit .

The average women adjusts, and compromises and builds up her endurance for abuse . The Superwoman fights , ferociously . Whether it is mental or physical, the battles are long-drawn-out, hard and courageously won by her.  

The average woman lets some spineless, worthless, pseudo-masculine and inherently insecure excuse for a man dominate her. The Superwoman is indomitable.

The average woman probably does not know what balls are . In all likelihood, she has been taught that sex is sinful( unless she gets married ), and that her body should be cloaked modestly because - If an extremely horny man is turned on by looking at her anterior or posterior and decides to molest/rape her, she would be tainted and forever held responsible because she, in the first place should have magically transformed into an ugly, toothless,stinking man before the red-blooded men had a chance to lust at her. 

The Superwoman knows what balls are, and how they can be used as a terrific weapon, against men, bringing down the most masculine and mightiest of them on their knees withing seconds. She also knows that sex is neither sinful nor unnatural, but rather a genuine need which is to be take care of by her in the way she deems fit. And most importantly, she is never ever ashamed of her body, of the way she has been designed by Mother Nature, of the way she talks or walks, and she knows that it is her and her curvaceous body alone, which cradles Life .

The average woman is content to play the roles that the Society imposes upon her. She willingly believes in the virtues of marriage, virginity, motherhood, superiority of males and her own subservience to them . She never questions why she is supposed to be NOT good at Mathematics, Driving or Technology . She favors a life of cloaked security over open rebellion . And she gives beauty much more , than is due to it . 

The Superwoman is openly defiant and rebellious. She is exceedingly difficult to handle or to control, as a child, as a wife, as a sister, a daughter, an employee or as a citizen. She is demanding and vehemently outspoken . She is a die hard feminist. She knows she not inferior to any damn one . She has a beautiful and brilliant mind, and is the master of her own body. She is great at what she wants to be good at. She immensely values the beauty of the mind and the soul ,a lot more than the beauty that is merely skin deep. She loses her virginity because it is her's, in the first place. She marries because she needs a Life partner. She is not vessel for harvesting some capon's seed ! She is a mother because she is so full of Love and affection, that it cannot but manifest into a pristine and lovely child . The Superwoman kicks ass ! The Superwoman lives her Life .

The Superwoman and the Superman, complement each other, make one complete whole . They constitute Life .
 

p.s. The word average here does not imply that most women behave or act that way. Rather, it is just a way to represent the norm, which can be observed in many instances .

The source of the content in italics : Becoming superhuman in 2011

Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels ......

“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules, and they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify and vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as crazy, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.” ( Think Different, Apple)

Anna Hazare, and his A team ,are one such bunch of crazies .And if they fail, they will be the first to acknowledge that, and the first to stand up again, and fight some more. It is easy for some of us to dismiss them. For it is not easy to believe in something to extent, that you are willing to take a Government head on, and fast for so many days. But then, to believe in something that badly, is as good as being mad. That is why, the rest of us have labeled ourselves sane. That is precisely why a Bhagat Singh, a Bose or a Gandhi is not born everyday .

Long live the Revolutionary !

An ode to Life

Death is inevitable.

This journey will end.

Your body will breathe its last and wither,

But not your immortal spirit , never !

But you do die, in your lifetime.

Many a times. Many a deaths.

You die when you are weak.

You die when you are a coward.

You die when you doubt your self.

You die, slowly and painfully,

When you are inert and full of sloth,

Motionless, lifeless, afraid to go forth. 
When you say I can't, I can't, I can't !

But each such death must lead,

To a new life, 
A new beginning where,

Courage is Life! 
Strength is Life ! 
Self-belief is Life !

And you, bustling and brimming with energy,

Thundering ahead with the all the might your spirit can muster,

Are the embodiment of Life,

And in this lifetime,

Avow, to never ever give up, to never ever say die !

“Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent.”  - Eleanor Roosevelt

“Stand up, be bold, be strong. Take the whole responsibility on your own shoulders, and know that you are the creator of your own destiny” – Swami Vivekananda

Dedicated to the Butterfly. I wait for it to spread its wings, and fly. 

Humara Nayak Nitish

Humara Nayak jeet gaya.

Our hero won. I am not sure about this claim of mine, but I think he won like no one has ever before. I , like millions of other Indians, am ecstatic. I say Indians, and not Biharis, for I truly believe that his Victory is not only hailed by the Indians from Bihar, but from all over India. For a change, the right man won, for the right reasons and at the right time [ Don't misinterpret the use of the word right here ;) ] . For me, it is akin to the Victory of Good over Evil,  like the radiant and resplendent Sun dispelling the clouds of darkness and doom. It is as if our Nayak borrowed Shri Ram’s bow, and chopped off not ten, but multi-headed Raavan’s in Bihar. I see the hand of the Divine Mother, blessing our Nayak with her Shakti, to gore all the Mahishasur’s to death. The Raavan’s are still there, fewer in number though, the Mahishasur’s have not been annihilated to oblivion, but the Battle is on, and you know who is gaining. It feels like Holi, Dusshera and Diwali, all rolled into one. You can say that today, I am on cloud nine, with a rainbow around my shoulders.

One might wonder that what is the big deal about Nitish jee’s re-election. He won in 2005 with a good majority, didn’t he? He worked for the development of the State, didn’t he? Logically speaking, he would have won anyways. And that is where being a Bihari, and having lived in the Dark Ages, gives you the insight that how Logic and Reason had been condemned to hell for 15 years. Unless, you have seen it, heard about it, and experienced it from a close range, you cannot imagine the fear that gripped us all. The perpetual state of disarray that we all lived in, the despair and gloom that had become a part of Life, the notion that one had to leave this damned state for a better Life, and the further you went, the better it was. 

When he held the reins in 2005, it was the proverbial sliver lining. But that fear did not go away completely even when he came into Power. Every now and then, the dark thought of his losing in the upcoming elections troubled me. An irrational fear, that nothing good can ever happen in Bihar, that we are doomed forever, that no matter what, the Dark forces will employ diabolical means to usurp power once again. I wonder whether there are others who thought on the same lines, but I had this nagging doubt. It always lurked in my mind, and sent shivers down my spine. Today, his victory has brought with it, the hope and promise for a change that will be lasting and persistent. The landslide is like the proverbial nail in the coffin of the Lords of Misrule. This victory is also a sign of a desperately needed Social change. A change in the mindset of the populace, to rise above caste and religion, to value development and peace over anything else. I do not claim that Biharis are done with caste and religion, or that this change will take place overnight. It a long and arduous process. But with Nitish jee as the Captain, the ship will sail through, and be a shining example of a Nav Bharat.

Our Nayak was not backed by MY or Your people. He was backed by the forward and the backward, by the Hindus and the Muslims, by the hope and trust of the once doomed, who now have a chance to experience Progress for a considerable period.

Today is a great day for India, and for our democratic system. This victory, and the previous one, are in the annals now, and they will be quoted as an example of a turnaround for many years to come. When a state as large and populous as Bihar gets a push in the right direction, it cannot just benefit the people from that state alone. I am no social scientist or a student of economics, but yet, I know and I am so sure of this belief, that the benefits reaped off from the leadership of our Nayak, will affect a lot more people than the 10 crore Biharis.

As Bob Dylan said, the times, they are indeed a changing.

Jai Hind.  


p.s. Did any one of you laugh out loud when the Gandhi clan tried hard to impress the Junta, and claim that there has been no development in Bihar, completely ignoring the fact that it was their beloved ally who was responsible for that?

Show them no fear

A violent method constitutes the act of inflicting or the threat to inflict physical harm to a person, a larger group or some inanimate object of use or importance to those people. There are times, when committing such an act, becomes unavoidable, given the circumstances. The need for peace in a longer term sometimes warrants that we have a war, now. This is not a bad method. In fact, in the human history , this has been used many a times, and good results have come of it. But, there has been a man, whose approach was as courageous as the violent and life endangering one, yet it differs so much that it is the other end of the spectrum . I need not mention his name; we all know who he was. What struck me now is that even his non-violent method had the intent to attack, destroy or break the enemy. But the object of destruction here is not the body but the mind. It is the spirit of the enemy that needs to be crushed, and if you crush that, you crush the enmity in him, not the enemy. It is very simple, yet profound. It is very human, and at the same time very divine.

Go back a few decades. Imagine a situation where a gora is threatening you with a big fat stick. He is visibly belligerent, itching to use his baton on your brown behind. But you still don’t budge. The gora sniggers, “Wait, till I land a juicy one on the spot”, says he. And his hand comes down. Wham! You are hit, and hurt. You are bleeding. It knocked the living daylights out of you. You almost peed. But deep down, you know that you cannot let go. The enemy must go down. You muster all the strength you can, and you get up. And when you stand on your feet again, look at the gora, defiant, rebellious , proud and indefatigable, not at all vanquish able , what do you think will happen? The gora might strike again. In fact, he might descend on you with untold savagery, a few more times. And if you come back up, like a hit-me-doll, resilient as the phoenix, every time, his spirit will be crushed. He will give up.

“What is going on? What the bloody hell is going on? I hit, and I give it to him hard, and he still doesn’t run away, like he is supposed to do. He should either run away with his tail between his legs, or he should fight back. He doesn’t run, but he doesn’t retaliate as well. What kind of bravery is this? I am so bloody confused. Bloody hell! This guy has got some bollocks. “ I think some similar thoughts will run through his mind . :)

That is true victory. He might still wave the baton at you, threateningly, every now and then. He will curse and spit at you, for that is all he can do. But he dare not hit you again. He is mentally weak, exhausted. His mind is panting. He is afraid, and confused. You are almost invincible to him. That is what a non-violent struggle is all about , the way I see it .

That is the brilliance of a great man. The first one of his kind. And a kind nobody has ever come close to. That is why the World knows him. And if a few, or rather quite a few of Indians swear at him or his methods, it is not because it didn’t or won’t work. It is more because they do not understand it. The same can be said for those, who utter his name at the drop of a hat, and pretend to follow his ways. They do not understand his methods as well. And I cannot start on how his name is being cashed these days.

No matter what happens, you have to fight back, injustice, inequality, persecution, aggression, whatever may it be. But you have to fight it. Neither do you wear the badge of belligerence, and be bellicose all the time, nor do you cloak it under cowardice, and label it as peaceful and non-violent . You fight back, the way you can. The natural urge, being the animals we are, is to resort to brute force. But if your spirit and intelligence is human, you will know what to do. As any method, it has its pros and cons. The pro is that it is the best, in terms of human suffering. The person, suffering the violence will get stronger if he survives. The person inflicting the suffering, will resist or completely stop it. And look at how, even here, there is an act of violence involved. The con here is that, it is slow, it involves patience on your part, and the strength to bear the pain you experience.

Imagine a virtual world , where two warriors are battling against each other, using mental and not physical force . Picture that their light sabers are powered and maneuvered not by the muscles but by their spirits .

It is that simple. The both have certain flaws, they both work, but one, is better than the other, given how humane it is.

I must add, that had I been born in 1914, I would have hitched myself to Bose or Bhagat Singh & Azad. That is what I want. It doesn’t imply that I do understand what “Satyagraha” is all about. And Bhagat Singh and his gang of brave men, did practice the non-violent method, before and after Saunder’s death and the assembly blast incidents, when they were protesting with Lalajee and when they went on a 114 day hunger strike. Do not curse Him, because you love Bhagat Singh, and his kind of revolutionaries. Do not look down upon these young men or dismiss their struggle as a lesser one, just because you worship Him. It saddens me so much, when people compare them with the intent of labeling one as a better or greater one. It breaks my heart that Bhagat Singh jee’s birthday went unnoticed.

We must fight, whenever life puts in such a situation. We must engage the enemy, whenever or however he strikes at us. But we must do it the way we deem fit.

To the Great Man . It took me a while to understand his method.





My lecture on “Violence and Non-violence is over”. If you still can not figure out who is He, please , for the love of Mother India and Humanity, end your life, as non-violently as possible.

Param Veer

Vivek Pradhan was not a happy man. Even the plush comfort of the air conditioned compartment of the Shatabdi express could not cool his frayed nerves. He was the Project Manager and still not entitled to air travel. It was not the prestige he sought; he had tried to reason with the admin person, it was the savings in time. As PM, he had so many things to do!! He opened his case and took out the laptop, determined to put the time to some good use."Are you from the software industry sir," the man beside him was staring appreciatively at the laptop.Vivek glanced briefly and mumbled in affirmation, handling the laptop now with exaggerated care and importance as if it were an expensive car. "You people have brought so much advancement to the country, Sir. Today everything is getting computerized.""Thanks," smiled Vivek, turning around to give the man a look. He always found it difficult to resist appreciation. The man was young and well built like a sportsman. He looked simple and strangely out of place in that little lap of luxury like a small town boy in a prep school.He probably was a railway sportsman making the most of his free traveling pass.

"You people always amaze me," the man continued, "You sit in an office and write something on a computer and it does so many big things outside." Vivek smiled deprecatingly. Naivety demanded reasoning not anger. "It is not as simple as that my friend. It is not just a question of writing a few lines. There is a lot of process that goes behind it." For a moment, he was tempted to explain the entire Software Development Lifecycle but restrained himself to a single statement. "It is complex, very complex." "It has to be. No wonder you people are so highly paid," came the reply.

This was not turning out as Vivek had thought. A hint of belligerence crept into his so far affable, persuasive tone. " Everyone just sees the money. No one sees the amount of hard work we have to put in. Indians have such a narrow concept of hard work. Just because we sit in an air-conditioned office, does not mean our brows do not sweat. You exercise the muscle; we exercise the mind and believe me that is no less taxing." He could see, he had the man where he wanted, and it was time to drive home the point."Let me give you an example. Take this train. The entire railway reservation system is computerized. You can book a train ticket between any two stations from any of the hundreds of computerized booking centres across the country.Thousands of transactions accessing a single database, at a time concurrently; data integrity, locking, data security. Do you understand the complexity in designing and coding such a system?"The man was awestruck; quite like a child at a planetarium.This was something big and beyond his imagination. "You design and code such things.""I used to," Vivek paused for effect, "but now I am the Project Manager." "Oh!" sighed the man, as if the storm had passed over, "so your life is easy now." This was like the last straw for Vivek. He retorted, "Oh come on, does life ever get easy as you go up the ladder. Responsibility only brings more work.Design and coding! That is the easier part. Now I do not do it, but I am responsible for it and believe me, that is far more stressful. My job is to get the work done in time and with the highest quality. To tell you about the pressures, there is the customer at one end, always changing his requirements, the user at the other, wanting something else, and your boss, always expecting you to have finished it yesterday."Vivek paused in his diatribe, his belligerence fading with self-realization.What he had said, was not merely the outburst of a wronged man, it was the truth. And one need not get angry while defending the truth. "My friend," he concluded triumphantly, "you don't know what it is to be in the Line of Fire".

The man sat back in his chair, his eyes closed as if in realization. When he spoke after sometime, it was with a calm certainty that surprised Vivek.

"I know sir, I know what it is to be in the Line of Fire." He was staring blankly, as if no passenger, no train existed, just a vast expanse of time."There were 30 of us when we were ordered to capture Point 4875 in the cover of the night. The enemy was firing from the top. There was no knowing where the next bullet was going to come from and for whom. In the morning when we finally hoisted the Tricolour at the top only 4 of us were alive."

"You are a...?"

"I am Subedar Sushant from the 13 J&K Rifles on duty at Peak 4875 in Kargil.They tell me I have completed my term and can opt for a soft assignment.But, tell me sir, can one give up duty just because it makes life easier. On the dawn of that capture, one of my colleagues lay injured in the snow, open to enemy fire while we were hiding behind a bunker. It was my job to go and fetch that soldier to safety. But my captain sahib (Captain Batra) refused me permission and went ahead himself. He said that the first pledge he had taken as a Gentleman Cadet was to put the safety and welfare of the nation foremost followed by the safety and welfare of the men he commanded,his own personal safety came last, always and every time."




"He was killed as he shielded and brought that injured soldier into the bunker. Every morning thereafter, as we stood guard, I could see him taking all those bullets, which were actually meant for me. I know sir....I know,what it is to be in the Line of Fire."

Vivek looked at him in disbelief not sure of how to respond. Abruptly, he switched off the laptop. It seemed trivial, even insulting to edit a Word document in the presence of a man for whom valour and duty was a daily part of life; valour and sense of duty which he had so far attributed only to epical heroes.

The train slowed down as it pulled into the station, and Subedar Sushant picked up his bags to alight. "It was nice meeting you sir."

Vivek fumbled with the handshake. This hand... had climbed mountains,pressed the trigger, and hoisted the Tricolour. Suddenly, as if by impulse, he stood up at attention and his right hand went up in an impromptu salute.It was the least he felt he could do for the country.

Source - A forwarded email
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Captain Vikram Batra was awarded the Param Vir Chakra, India's highest military honor on 15 August 1999, the 52nd anniversary of India's independence. His father Mr. G.L. Batra received the honor for his deceased son from the President of India, the late K.R. Narayanan. Captain Vikram Batra, 13 JAK Rifles, and his Delta Company was given the task of recapturing Point 5140. Nicknamed Sher Shah ('Lion King' in Hindi) for his unstinting courage, he decided to lead the rear, as an element of surprise would help stupefy the enemy. He and his men ascended the sheer rock-cliff, but as the group neared the top, the enemy pinned them on the face of the bare cliff with machine gun fire. Captain Batra, along with five of his men, climbed up regardless and after reaching the top, hurled two grenades at the machine gun post. He single-handedly killed three enemy soldiers in close combat. He was seriously injured during this, but insisted on regrouping his men to continue with the mission. Inspired by the courage displayed by Captain Batra, the soldiers of 13 JAK Rifles charged the enemy position and captured Point 5140 at 3:30 a.m. on 20 June 1999. His company is credited with killing at least eight Pakistani soldiers and recovering a heavy machine gun.The capture of Point 5140 set in motion a string of successes, such as Point 5100, Point 4700, Junction Peak and Three Pimples. Along with fellow Captain Anuj Nayyar, Batra led his men to victory with the recapture of Point 4750 and Point 4875. He was killed when he tried to rescue an injured officer during an enemy counterattack against Point 4875 in the early morning hours of 7 July 1999. His last words were, "Jai Mata Di." ('Hail the Divine Mother'). For his sustained display of the most conspicuous personal bravery and leadership of the highest order in the face of the enemy, Captain Vikram Batra was awarded the Param Vir Chakra.


Batra's Yeh Dil Maange More! (My heart asks for more!), erstwhile a popular slogan for a Pepsi commercial, became an iconic battle cry that swept across the country and remains popular with millions of Indians, invoked at patriotic public events, in memory of the war and the soldiers, and as a symbol of the indomitable spirit of Indian patriotism and valor in face of future attacks.

Upon reaching Point 5140, he got into a cheeky radio exchange with an enemy commander, who challenged him by saying, "Why have you come Sher Shah (Vikram’s nick name given by his commanding officer)? You will not go back." Captain Vikram Batra is said to have replied, "We shall see within one hour, who remains on the top."

While dragging Lt. Naveen back under cover, Naveen pleaded to Captain Batra to let him continue the fight in spite the injuries to which Captain Batra replied "Tu baal bachedaar hai!! Hatt jaa peeche," ("You have kids and wife to look after! Get back!").

Batra's last words were the battle-cry "Jai Mata Di!" ("Victory to Mother Durga!")

"Ya toh Tiranga lehrake awunga, ya fir Tirange mein lipta huwa awunga, lekin awunga" (Either I will come back after hoisting the Indian flag, or I will come back wrapped in it, but i will be back for sure).


Source - Wikipedia
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He was 25 when he sacrificed his life , 10 years ago . I am 25 now . I cannot but only dream of making such a sacrifice and dying such an honourable death .




Image Source - Google Image Search

A Tribute to Greatness

It was through chance that I stumbled upon this blog, and eventually came across a blog dedicated to Dr. Chandrakant Patil, a resident doctor from King Edward Memorial Hospital, Mumbai. Dr. Patil, who was born and brought up in Maharashtra, volunteered to go to Bihar to help the flood victims. He was present at one the worst affected areas, where he tragically died due to electrocution from a lightning strike in a freak storm, on September 24th, 2008. He was a part of a team of 45 student doctors from Mumbai who traveled all the way to Bihar to help out their fellow Indians. In times like these, when relations between Marathis and Biharis is at an ebb, this was like a breath of fresh air. His sacrifice is a resounding slap on the face of all the regionalists and is a reminder that we are Indians, first and foremost. This great man undid in a flash what the “son-of-soil” leader of all Manoos’s did to me over a few months. I am heart-broken at the loss of this true son-of-the-soil and a genuine patriot. I am happy because he restored my faith in my fellow Indians from Maharashtra. I am incensed because I did not get to hear about him through the media. He was only 24 years of age.

I noticed a very disturbing change in me, over the past few months. The mere mention of Maharashtra or Marathi made me uncomfortable. While buying a product, I have a habit of checking the expiry date, and in doing so often, one comes across the place where the product was manufactured. For instance, I bought a pack of Lays, saw that it was made in Gurgaon, shrugged nonchalantly and went ahead with whatever I was doing. Of lately, whenever that place was in Maharashtra, that nonchalance disappeared. It made me think twice. And though it did not deter me and never will from buying such a product, but the very fact that I was deliberate was bad enough. A few days ago, my friends and I ordered a bucketful of chicken from KFC. When the delivery boy came, one of my friends started chatting with him. I was all smiles, a silent observer of the innocuous banter, but it vanished as soon as I learned that he was from Kolhapur. It was an awkward moment for me. But all that angst is going away, and the credit goes to Dr. Patil. The healing process is initiated, and all I have to do is think about him, if I start losing it again.

This country does not need leaders who unveil statues of themselves at the state’s expense, but we do need a memorial for heroes like him. Amidst all the chaos of divisiveness contributed by regionalism, religion and caste, this man’s sacrifice is the proverbial silver lining. The media should splash his face all over, let the 1.12 billion people know, that there was a Giant like him amongst all the pygmies that we usually catch on TV. But, I guess it’s overly optimistic of me to expect something like the aforementioned in a nation whose rulers could not spare time to pay homage to a legend like Field Marshall Sam Maneckshaw. When Dr. Patil’s image could have been used as to tool for national integration, I almost missed out on hearing about him. Thank you One Bihar. And Long Live Dr. Chandrakant Patil.

For those who would like to help out his family, here’s the link to do so.

Edited to add : Another ray of Hope , Dr Manasee Palshikar . May her tribe increase .

I am a Feynman Fan

Richard Phillips Feynman

Nobel laureate, got one for Physics, for his work on Quantum Electrodynamics. Legendary physics teacher ,wrote the world famous and very widely read The Feynman Lectures on Physics. All genius – all buffoon. I chanced upon a documentary in which Feynman is talking about himself, it’s like an interview, and came to know what a wonderful and wondrous man he was. And I must admit that I feel sad that somebody like me could never ever get to attend his “legendary” physics class. He was so curious, so madly into science. He pursued it with such a zeal and fervor, it’s like every fragment of his DNA had been coded for the passionate pursuit of science. And I mean Science, not just Physics. He got a Nobel for physics, but he worked as a chemist for some time, did research in biology with some top-notch people for a year, not to mention that he was a mathematician as well. Feynman’s father had a monumental role in shaping his mind. Right from his childhood, he was encouraged by his father never to take things at their face value, to think, to ponder over problems, to question things. He sowed the seeds of curiosity in him. It made me realize how a parent can shape up the future of his child. I doubt whether Feynman would have been the Great Nobel Laureate Feynman, had his father not been there. He played pranks, he loved dancing, he learnt to sketch, and he was a fearless thinker when it came to Physics. Once, when Neils Bohr and his son came to America, they asked him to come and have a discussion with them. And why him, because Bohr observed that this guy was not afraid of him, not afraid of the Great Bohr. He spoke his mind, if he thought something was crazy, he spat it right out. If he thought it was great, he said it with his heart. In his own words, when he was thinking about Physics, he could not think about anything else, and so came out the words without any hesitation. His language, it was pure American that his spoke. No fancy words. He did not want the Nobel Prize , and when he was woken up in the middle of the night and told about it , he answered the phone as if it was just another call , and went back to sleep . He did NOT want the Nobel Prize! According to him, the joy of discovery, the pleasure of finding things out and the fact that people found his discovery useful and were using it, was the real prize for him. He did want any accolade for that. Once again, the credit goes to his father for inculcating such strong values in him. What a man!