The End of Romantics

Who are the people who stand for the oppressed?

noreply@blogger.com (sourav mishra) — Fri, 4 Mar 2016 11:50:00 +0530

There are many people who feel for the oppressed, but there are a few who go out and stand for the oppressed. The ones who really work for the oppressed will never make noise, because there is so less time and there are so many lives to be uplifted. Some of the people who feel for the oppressed do help them through small gestures of spending a day or two with them or sending money to programs working for them. While there are some who just want to remain in a perpetual state of rebellion by taking the name of the oppressed, but doing little to improve the fate of the same people they are talking about.

Now the question is who are the real heroes or sheroes who work at the ground and make a real difference? They are familiar people but we just don’t visualise their great acts, because they don’t make speeches.

She is the primary healthcare worker in a village cut-off by a dam project in Odisha, where medicine supplies come only once in two months, but she has saved thousands of villagers over the last 30 years by just making them aware of malaria menace and ensuring they use mosquito net. He is the Lutheran Church father, who left his art studio life in Paris and is residing in a non-descript plateau valley of Chotnagpur teaching thousands of Oraon and Munda children English. He is the RSS worker who has brought small lift irrigation access to hundreds of villages in the same plateau valley location of Chotnagpur, without government help and has stopped migration of thousands. He is the mystical Muslim old man who sells vegetables on the highway and gives his whole month’s earnings to feed hundreds of orphaned children managed by a temple trust. Interesting all these people –The Church father, The RSS worker and The Muslim vegetable seller -- help each other when there is a drought or disease outbreak to help the oppressed people. They see each other as different people having the same mission, standing for the oppressed.

He is the US educated youngster who left start-up midway and has since helped thousands of Gondi farmers to grow mushrooms for multinational FMCG majors, thereby improving income significantly and stopping migration to brick kilns completely in hundreds of villages. She is the MIT doctorate, who after being raped in her early years in India works for the betterment of the same locality. He is the soldier, who misses all the beautiful years of his child’s life but doesn’t miss a single intruder who wants to bleed India. They are the labourer parents who slog hard to get their children a better life, a life better than theirs.

The people, who really stand for the oppressed, never have time to make speeches or big ideological statements. The people who really work for the upliftment of the oppressed don’t take time to buy faded jeans and Che Guevara T-shirts, because they themselves walk as revolutionaries they wanted to. They don’t grow beard or colour their hair white to look rebellious and intellectual because they earn it by working tirelessly and meticulously for the oppressed.

The people, who really work for the oppressed don’t want awards, don’t want political appointments, or a fellow position in some institute peddling a certain ideology in a large city. The people who really work for the oppressed don’t talk romanticism and blame the whole world while trying to impress the cute girl in the 1^st year of social science department.

The people, who really work for the oppressed don’t need to get drunk and smoke 12 cigarettes to talk romanticism or sometimes give hate speeches. People who work for the oppressed don’t spend their pocket money on old monk and navy-cut cigarettes and later graduate to the finest cigars and wines. They would rather pay that money to a Birhor family of 7 for buying rice and salt for a whole year.

People who feel rebellious and people who bring real changes are two different people. While it is great to feel passionate about standing for the oppressed, it is unfair to perpetually curse the system and not doing anything worthy for the real oppressed.

In a country like India doing something for an oppressed person is easy, because the state is not able uplift the lives of millions and each of us can act for thousands of them, but preferably without making speeches.

People like me who were old monk, faded jeans rebellious and then went to the real ground working for the people we loved, but could not sustain more than a year understand how courageous are the heroes and sheroes who work isolated in non-descript locations without any recognition. Escapists like me how these wonderful would never give up what they are doing because they have become true revolutionary.

WHEN ARNAB GOSWAMI TOOK OVER AMITABH BACHHAN'S FANS

noreply@blogger.com (sourav mishra) — Fri, 6 Feb 2015 20:18:00 +0530

Is Arnab Goswami the next Amitabh Bachhan? It was a quiet February afternoon in central Mumbai's financial hub Lower Parel. Executives from hundreds of companies, mostly in the banking and financial services sector were busy in their offices analysing data and numbers, discussing targets, profits and career opportunities over a cup of coffee/tea post lunch. The afternoon was special at Kamala Mills, an old textile establishment which was closed a few decades ago ruining lives of many workers and is today bustling with thousands of white collar executives, with many of them making millions every year. While the millionaires and wannabe millionaires were engrossed in their glass buildings, there was growing heat outside. A red monstrous vehicle was rolling inside the compound and some of the vendors near the gate and executives strolling around could sense the presence of someone unusual. Kamala City had seen many expensive vehicles and many of the stature of Phantom, Lamborghini etc. roll inside the compound everyday, but there is someone inside this vehicle that shook them. This gentleman was wearing black rimmed glasses and sporting a white French beard.

Photo Caption: AMITABH BACHHAN RESPONDING TO A SWELLING CROWD "Boss this is Big B," some one shouted. People then ran behind the car like children running behind the candyfloss man in distant villages. The car passed through the narrow road crossing by dozens of banks, offices of stock brokers and conglomerates to reach at a relatively smaller office -- A television channel called Times Now, owned by BCCL, which sells world's most circulated newspaper, The Times of India. "What happened? what happened?" the chatter was slowly growing inside Kamala City. Entire offices were emptied as people flocked around the narrow roads in front of the television channel's office. The tall somewhat old and extremely good looking man -- Amitabh Bachhan -- entered the studio and people waited outside. More joined them soon -- Families who had come the Passport office nearby arrived, while unruly kids and stylish teenagers arrived from a nearby amusement and sports center --- even some from outside Kamala Mills. I was privileged as the television channel's office is bang opposite mine. I literally had a balcony view to my privilege. After about half-an-hour, the old man came out, the crowd, which by now had swelled to several hundreds shouted in excitement, "Amitabh, Amitabh...we love you..." The most popular person obliged and waived his hand gently and crowd responded with a synchronized hysterical roar applauding the biggest entertainer in India. Cameras flashed all around, everyone wanted get close to the superstar. But then he had to go. For a moment it seemed the hysteria ended and everybody would go back to work now.

Photo Caption: ARNAB GOSWAMI RESPONDING TO A SWELLING CROWD But wait, the crowd turned their obsession to another entertained named Arnab Goswami, the editor of Times Now and the anchor of India's most watched news show, The News Hour with Arnab. "We love Arnab..we love Arnab." A visibly humbled Arnab then did something which no one expected. He waived his hand just like Amitabh Bachhan did and the hysteria began again. Camera's flashed again, people ran towards him. School kids from the amusement center grabbed him. People in groups started taking selfies with the man. And guess what he obliged many of of them. People confessed of their love for him. Middle aged men praised him for his daring interviews. Many reminded him of a particular interview with a youth leader, who could have become the Prime Minister of India. Young executives praised him for his smart management of Pakistani guests on his show. Then one old man said,"Arnab you know what? I can't sleep if I don't watch your show at the end of the day. Please don't go for holidays. You make me proud of being an Indian." The show ended their Arnab waived his hand again and moved inside the studio to grill another set of panelists for the next show. In the meantime I saw his interaction with Amitabh Bachhan later in the night. Arnab divulged a few details about his passion for Bollywood. Most candid was that he has a poster of Deewar movie in his bedroom and that his favourite dialogue was "Rishte mein hum tumhare baap lagte hain" from Shehenshah movie. The funny moment was when Amitabh Bachhan said he couldn't speak the dialogue as it needs him to be angry on the person he is looking at while who could not get angry with Arnab. Then Arnab replied," You should know I have the habit, you may call it a bad habit, of getting what I want to know." I think the way Arnab touches people across class and communities at least in English speaking India. He is definitely a worthy successor of Big B as one who can connect and entertain the nation, because he is a man who knows, "What the nation wants to know?" :) PS: I also wanted to take a selfie with Arnab but was pushed by two school kids who entered the frame at the last moment :)

Photo Caption: ARNAB GOSWAMI TAKING SELFIE WITH YOUNGSTERS. THIS GROUP OF OVER ENTHUSIASTIC YOUNGSTERS PUSHED ME ASIDE TO ENTER INTO THE SELFIE AT THE LAST MOMENT.

City of dreamers and city of achievers

noreply@blogger.com (sourav mishra) — Tue, 9 Sep 2014 19:15:00 +0530

(Bandra-Worli Sealink, picture courtesy DNA newspaper)

It is a tale of two cities

Two cities that breathe different air, two cities that sleep at different hours

One city has dreamers, the other has achievers

The dreamers are happy because they live in imagination of a better tomorrow

The achievers are unhappy because they have stopped dreaming

A few years ago the achievers also came from the city that dreamt, only to lose their dreams forever

The city of dreamers believe in the city of achievers

But the city of achievers yearn to imagine like the city of dreamers

The only problem is that the city of dreamers get to sleep at night while the city of achievers don’t

Two cities crave for each other, hoping to become like the other

The mirage continues in the tale of two cities

Two cities that breathe different air, two cities that sleep at different hours

One is Mumbai, the other is Bhubaneswar

(Mumbai musings developed during a midnight journey to home in a Dombivli slow local train)

We stray again, every now and then

noreply@blogger.com (sourav mishra) — Sat, 22 Jun 2013 15:07:00 +0530

Mountains and rivers are grand and mysterious.

They are silent with humility and trust.

Gigantic power they hold underneath.

In winter and rains they stay sensitive.

They are not to be messed with, when we know what destruction they can unleash upon us.

But we men of lower intelligence do not learn.

But we men of unfathomable greed do not learn.

We alter the course of nature with our shortsighted vision.

Every now and then we stray.

We rape the innocence of nature.

We challenge the fury of the Goddess mother.

We cry with her, in our eyes we see the fear.

But we wait again till comes back the silence of nature.

We forget the past.

We stray again, every now and then.

We rape the innocence of nature.

We challenge the fury of the Goddess mother.

My story: Thanks to IIMC Alumni Association

noreply@blogger.com (sourav mishra) — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 16:09:00 +0530

Five months ago I was working as a senior editorial member at a large media group, responsible for their fixed income and Reserve Bank of India coverage in Mumbai. One winter afternoon, when I rushed into my South Mumbai-based office in one of the two-hundred-year old heritage buildings to file the first take of an important assignment at the central bank, I saw my usually cheerful boss lost in thoughts. I kept quiet till my story was published and then over a cup of coffee asked, what was bothering him? He said he is struggling to find the right kind of people for editorial operations and has little time left (not more than a month). I understood the gravity of the situation, for our newswire, which is at its inflection point fighting two international behemoths in India. Manpower is the biggest strength as well concern. We have to be quick.

I proposed we should try recruiting students from IIMC. My firm primarily recruited freshers from a Mumbai based institute run by a reputed Jesuit society, that has produced giants in journalism, cinema and advertisement world. He agreed to my suggestion purely from the belief that the few IIMCIans who work with him are the best in the industry. But there was another issue, he wanted experienced people as well as those who will be excellent reporters, writers and with analytical skills and passion for journalism. I again proposed that we should take help from the IIMC Alumni Association.

He entrusted me with the job of finding the right talent. I sought help from IIMC Alumni Association. Fellow alumnus Ritesh Verma, Harshendra Verdhan in Delhi and Suryakant Mishra, Krishna Pophale in Mumbai supported the idea and Ritesh posted the recruitment advertisement in the various alumni channels immediately despite his busy schedule.

Within a week I had 220 applications in my mail box, which I carefully sent to the editorial and human resources team. Each one was screened by the editor himself and the HR head. Many were selected for an editorial test followed by an interview. Finally 18 people were selected. Eighteen is a large number if someone understands the current media scenario. Most of them were from IIMC.

The whole operation finished in about a month.

My boss told me that IIMCians are really talented and focussed and he would love to recruit them from campus and this year as I understand they have called people from the current batch in Delhi. I have proposed such activity for Dhenkanal and Amravati branches as well.

I therefore would like extend my sincere gratitude to the alumni association for helping my company in finding the right talent. I want to tell you that young IIMCians have a great opportunity to connect with their seniors on this platform and benefit from the opportunities.

In the CVs I had received, there were many IIMCIans whom I knew-- my batch-mates, seniors, juniors and even freshers. I want to disclose that there were two IIMCIans who were related to me as well. But as we understand in the professional world, the competition and quality is what keeps you going. Both my relatives were not selected-- one was rejected in the written test and other in interview.

The point I want to make is that while IIMC Alumni Association as an umbrella body can help people get contacts, inform about opportunities but it cannot guarantee anything. Even our parents don’t guarantee our professional life unless they are billionaires and own industries.

I would request young alumni members to have faith in themselves and journalism if they really believe this is their call. Because journalism like movie industry is not meant for everyone. There is a bit of luck, competition, talent and relationship management that lands you the big job.

The alumni association will give you the desired strength and right guidance. It will tell what’s happening where. It will also provide you with some exclusive opportunities, but yet there will be competition. So have faith in yourself and the system. If one would understand the reality then one must know that the media scene in India is not at all rosy. Many businesses have shut in the recent past, the ones up are on their toes and the ones that have survived the cascading effects of the Lehman Brothers-triggered-financial crisis of 2008, are not recruiting big time. Yet the supply of fresh graduates is always there, which has painted a dark picture for many journalism aspirants in the recent years.

And I am sure every senior member on this alumni association can tell harrowing stories of their own struggle. Many of us are at very senior positions in different segments of the media industry, yet we have not got it easily. Everyone has struggled, has been humiliated and yet has kept that belief. Even today no one is ever sure about how the economy is going to do. But as true Indians we must have the enormous hope which has helped us to survive as a civilisation, sustain our multicultural society and produce unmatchable philosophy.

Cheers,

Sourav

Mumbai

Conversation with truth

noreply@blogger.com (sourav mishra) — Sun, 28 Oct 2012 00:44:00 +0530

We can be the finest of individuals ourselves, but live in a world which resists phenotypes. Too bad when we don’t find enough sensitive people to look at the world’s problems, but too good if we also don’t find monster-like people in abundance. There are good people and there are bad people, there will always be a mix of both at the end of the day we can only get over our own weaknesses and decide for ourselves what we want to become. It might be foolish but not weak to be honest. It might be hard but not impossible to achieve our dreams. It may not be true man’s world, but truth exists in parts in each of us. In the layers of lies and deceits, we know where the truth resides. It is most important to find the truth and nothing else. Because at the end of everything nothing else matters, but truth in its purest form. It may or may not help to practice truth with everyone, but with self only truth matters. Truth might be ugly, devious and unfathomable. But that’s what we are. A bundle of irrational aspiratons constantly trying to be rational and we end up being confused and behaving what we don’t believe in and on top of that being understood by others in what never wanted to think about us. We are bad communicators despite our clear communication, because all of us are irrational. It is fine if we don’t make it. It’s fine if we fail. Because we don’t know what is right, but we definitely know what truth is. Truth is only thing we know.

The Most Admired Writer Is Also The Best Marketer

noreply@blogger.com (sourav mishra) — Wed, 7 Dec 2011 18:38:00 +0530

Random, strange fiction is what I desire to write the most, but the more I read from the world of books, I find almost nothing is left uncovered, unexplored. There are reams of paper filled by zealous, creative people across the world, though most of the books published are hidden in the corners of dusty libraries without any recognition. This probably is a reason, why despite all the good work, a little marketing is almost always needed for your book to be on the bed, or table of readers, than jostling for space in some non-descript district library. While it will take years for any publisher or marketer to decide on which book will be a bestseller, they surely can decide to make a mediocre scripted submission into a larger than life book, and whether the reader will like it or not, sizeable sales will happen around that event. So you can't decide who is a good or bad writer these days, or couldn't have even years before, because while you admired George Orwell, you never knew, there was someone better who remained unpublished, or unsold? Today when you read a book, you read it because it grabs your eye in the book store, on the online sellers' discount panel or is advertised via news publications. So the act of writing has to be dreamt with the vision of a marketer. It is a necessary truth and trust me all those who succeed in the market today, will become the most admired tomorrow, because people will adopt an idea wholeheartedly, when it trounces everyother competitor and stays larger-than-life forever. Books are as much a part of glamour business as the film and fashion industry do. (I ream = 500 sheets of paper)

We Are Better As A Nation Of Cricket Fanatics

noreply@blogger.com (sourav mishra) — Sun, 3 Apr 2011 02:06:00 +0530

In the past decade or so I had lost that passion for Cricket. Though statistically I read a lot and love to discuss cricket at social gathering it never entered into the intimate corners of my heart. I clearly remember those days of waking up early during India-Australia cricket series in early 90s to watch ball-by-ball updates, and then there was this particular world cup match where India lost to Australia and Pakistan own the world cup ultimately.

Then there was this sad dismissal of India world cup semifinal against Sri Lanka in 1996 at Kolkatta. Those were the days of passion. But then it eroded gradually with the infamous match fixing scandal in late 90s and early part of this decade. Sourav Ganguly with his attitude and aggression revived the passion amongst many Indians including me. Premier League and 20-20 brought the love back for cricket but the as a form of entertainment.

In the past decade as a human being my perspective towards life has also changed significantly which means cricket was losing its priority in life.

The only man who has kept cricket alive for this 1.2 billion strong nation for the past two decades is Sachin Tendulkar, who is getting widely known as the God of Cricket.

This world cup offered a different side of India. The day India beat Pakistan or Australia or for that matter even West Indies, it was mostly a psychological win. We have survived almost every match but ultimately have won.

Largely because we always played till the end and as they say you have to be in the game to win it.

This time cricket touched the corners of my heart. It has shook me. It has given me goose bumps. It has made me feel like a fanatic of cricket. I have discovered how easily we melt as a nation of cricket lovers. We understand each others' needs of knowing the score, watching the cricket match, or celebrating after each win.

I live in Mumbai, which is a multi-cultured metropolis, but at heart people are loyal only to two things —-their profession and the sub-urban train lines -– they travel in.

But every night India won. The city had a commonality. East or west side of the sub-urban train line, it didn’t matter. Mumbaiah or Jaunpuria it didn’t matter. Investment banker or panwalla it didn’t matter. Hindi or Marathi, the language didn’t matter. Muslim or Hindu, the religion didn't matter. Cricket is the only religion and it does matter. We are better as a nation of cricket fanatics. Because as cricket fanatics we understand each other. We have only one Team India to pray for, we have only colour (blue) to be loyal with. And we have only one prayer – Indiaaah…Indiaaah – to recite.

Note: While the whole Indian win is shadowed by 20-year old Poonam Pandey's going nude challenge. Though it opened the average lecherous Indian man to think of a nude woman and talk loosely about her, we must admit her patriotism and her ability to unite many for the sake of the country. But I wish she doesn't actually go nude and make the World Cup victory a shallow event. God bless her and she deserves more dignity than being just remembered as a stripper.
(Photo Courtesy: Poonam Pandey in Cricket gears by Vasant Sawant, Sachin Tendulkar as a child)
Trivia: The author of this post has grown a moustache after India's win against Pakistan to meet a prior commitment.

A Small Story About A Brave Sardarni

noreply@blogger.com (sourav mishra) — Mon, 21 Mar 2011 01:54:00 +0530

Almost twenty-months ago I met a brave Sardarni who taught me something about honour, I never thought of telling her story till I met her again, today.
The event goes back to a July monsoon morning in Mumbai.

Without an umbrella, rain soaked, I was waiting in a long cue, trying to find a taxi to my workplace from the Cotton Green suburban station. Anyone who knows the station must know how difficult it is to find a cab in rainy season.

There were fewer taxis and at a time everyone in the cue got a cab, except me and a tall, fair young woman in pink Patiala trousers and green cotton kurti and well covered under the spread of a white umbrella. After waiting for about 15 minutes in the rain, came a taxi which zipped past me, though I was ahead in the line, and asked for the lady to get in. I, despite my belief in chivalry was furious for a moment but sustained my calm.

The taxi moves for about fifty meters and takes a reverse course and stops next to me. The lady says,” sir if you are going to Lower Parel, then please get in and in case you are going in some other direction then you take this taxi as legally it is yours.” I will wait for another, she added.

I was stunned and couldn’t speak a word immediately. After a momentary pause I said I will join you to Lower Parel. I was soaked in rain and she offered me a clean white hand towel to wipe up, and I gently turn down the offer. But, my sense of gratitude was weighing on me, and was nudging to say thanks.

But I realised a thanks will be obvious, so it is better to ask the reason for her kindness. And I did ask to which she replied with her calm eyes and slow moving lips,”sir I am a Sardarni and I will never let anything corrupt me. The events that happened a while ago was a breach of rules. If I would have let them happen I would have never felt like a Sardarni. Besides I know how painful it is to stand drenched in rain.“

I had no words, except utter respect for her beliefs. She dropped me at my office in Peninsula Corporate Park and headed for hers. I gently thanked her and blessed her from my heart.

Today I met her again while she was feeding kids at the Vashi station. We recognised each other. She still was as bright and graceful. She called out,”sir, hope you remember me,” with an open smile on her lips. I said off course you always remain as a positive thought with me. We spoke a while about why she is here and where do we work and stay. We shared pleasantries and parted our ways.

While walking in the opposite direction I turned back for a while and discovered she was walking unusually slow. After a close watch I discovered one of her legs is Polio stricken. Our eyes met again she gave me a bigger smile and in her convincing eyes probably said,” don’t worry for me I know what is happiness.” She stunned me again, but this time saddened. Yet, I know she will remain as a positive thought with me forever.

We indeed meet wonderful people every day in life, but mostly fail to recognise them.

(Picture courtesy: From Romanticism Era)

The ideological crisis: The hunger in the eyes of the baby

noreply@blogger.com (sourav mishra) — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 00:05:00 +0530

I was alone and was going through a phase of ideological crisis in life. And it is widely know when you are exhausted in a mega-city battle; the heart craves for small town social ideologies and niceties. Though Utopian they make you feel good about yourself.

I dreamt of equality for everyone, while enjoying the comforts my education brought to me, I cherished the dreams of no slums, good education and income for everyone, while deciding on which income funds to invest in to get maximum returns for funding my early retirement.

I knew I was the paradoxical educated Indian young man that fruits of economic liberalization have produced. Men and women like me have tasted the fruit and in their heart wish to give back, but in a free economy which churns out constant growth and social changes, equality is the last word. It makes everyone wealthy, but the magnitude varies and it never lets you unwind, because the constant asset bubble and inflationary pressure keeps you on tenterhooks.

These thoughts were crossing my mind every day, when something was going to happen in my life.

It was a dark, rainy night in Mumbai. Trains were late. After two hours of drudgery between Mumbai and Navi Mumbai, I reached the station of this satellite town, where I live. It was about eleven in the night; I was hungry and feeling a little feverish and had no intention to cook at home.

Hence I went to one of the Udupi inspired south Indian restaurants inside the station compound to have Masla Dosa, Vada-pav and cutting chai. Engrossed in the ideological crisis I was sipping the sambhar soup, when suddenly I discovered a tiny, chubby baby doused in dirt and rain caressing my feet. That sudden moment I felt a rush emotions in my faltering body and picked her up with all compassion. I looked around and found no one claiming the baby.

Not older than two years, this baby was weeping silently and had hunger in her eyes. She wanted the food and I was more than happy to see her having the food. My chest was swelling with motherly affection and everything seemed so superhuman at that moment. Just when all seemed at peace, the trouble began.

A group of restaurant employees came charging and took the baby away from me and threw the Bada-pav from her hands. While I fought with the employees, she licked her hands furiously to have the last trace of food in her tiny fingers. I was angry and frustrated and wanted to see the baby having her food.

But they took her outside the restaurant premises and threw her to a dilapidated young woman who seems to be in her late teens, may be her mother. I ran after them wishing to buy them food and forget the hunger in their eyes. But the woman ran faster with her kid. And soon they slipped into the labyrinth of the nearest slum to the station in the dark of night.

I was exhausted and lost. I looked back at the restaurant with a wish of burning it down. Not possible. I laughed at my naïve citybred socialism. But my heart cried loudly for the helplessness.

I walked three kilometers back to home with utter discomfort; getting drenched and being barked at by dogs on the way seemed a perfect way to punish my discontented heart. I couldn’t sleep and tried to watch ‘The Simpsons’ and 'How I Met Your Mother', expecting to lighten my mood. But that didn’t work.

I read Emily Bronte’s ‘Wuthering Heights’ to get into further depression with the lonely, dark and windy moors of English countryside. I listened to the supposedly hilarious and foot tapping number ‘ni woofer tu meri main tera amplifier’, just to get over the sadness, but it also sounded so melancholic this time. The hunger in the child’s eyes haunted me and it still haunts, whenever I eat good food alone in a restaurant.

(Photo courtesy: Sandeep Malkania, Delhi)

Unseen colours of life

noreply@blogger.com (sourav mishra) — Fri, 26 Nov 2010 00:14:00 +0530

Two years ago I survived an attack on my life at Leopold Cafe. Within a span of three days I discovered the finest people in my life and an angel. Saw humanity, friendship and hope in action. It changed my whole perspective of life. I realised life is indeed beautiful if you want it to be. There is nothing in your control except your own mind. You can travel in a jam-packed train while immersed in beautiful thoughts or fight with the pushy co-passenger.

You may enjoy the small cutting chai with absolute strangers in the hackneyed by-lanes of Parel and may not like the finest liquor in the unreal atmosphere of an expensive Lower Parel restaurant. It’s all about the state of your mind. Life is kaleidoscopic with beauty lurking at every other corner. You just need to have the time and interest to observe it. Life is not fast as many say. It gives you time to understand yourself and others. It is we who run away from the wisdom and openness for what even we don’t know.

We think we compete with the world, with others. We struggle day and night for little niceties of life. The truth is we miss millions of niceties every other moment by putting ourselves under an undue pressure psychology. We must respect time and the power of the unknown, because we don’t have any control over them. But our mind is our own. Our thought process is our own. Our dreams are our own. People who love us are our own. And there is no perfect day or way to start life in the best way.

The very next moment is the best moment of ours.

After two years of the 26/11 attacks I feel wealthier for I have real friends and I can own millions of little good things in life just by smiling, writing, painting talking and listening to others.

Following is a quote I have always tried to remember after 26/11.
“We should all start to live before we get too old. Fear is stupid. So are regrets." - Marilyn Monroe

Let's pray for very innocent human being who have lost their lives and every angel who has tried to keep hopes of humanity alive across the world. Amen....

(*PICTURE: I made this acrylic-on-canvas work named "The Sorrow of Mumbai" in September 2009.
I want to portray the pain and grief of this mega-city accompanied by tranquility indicating hope and stability. The work was presented to the organisation I was working with and is presently at the Reuters News Room in Mumbai)

RAJU TEA STALL

noreply@blogger.com (sourav mishra) — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 01:08:00 +0530

DREAMS DO COME TRUE

noreply@blogger.com (sourav mishra) — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 00:49:00 +0530

When I was in school, college I would read of this man as the father of green revolution. And he was as important as Mahatma to me. And one day in July, 2006, I of all my wildest dreams, got to co-chair an event with the God himself. I was dumbfounded and not in my senses. Look at my face and that of his greatness.
(Thanks to Samrat Mukherjee for this picture)

On a spirited October Monday I reported, danced and got drenched

noreply@blogger.com (sourav mishra) — Tue, 19 Oct 2010 00:07:00 +0530

Today was like a good old Monday, when you plan for the week and get every story you wanted on day one. There was no blue feeling about the day. It was all bright and cheerful. Your sources call you early in the morning, when you are still in a jam packed train. You get your first quote while inside the cab and when you reach office your other source confirms. You feel that adrenalin rushing.

You stop for a while, look around, walk like James Bond on the arched corridors of your swanky office, chew the coffee stirrer in a rustic Hindustani style and sip the coffee, again with English sophistication.

You are on a roll and think you can do things the way you like. You quit a relaxed discussion on the canteen table and suddenly rush to your desk. "I have to file the story soon." Just another confirmation needed. And yeah! You get the story.

Too much on my plate, but good it’s ready to be eaten. These are happy days for a good reporter. Years of source building, meandering in the dilapidated alleys, where most of your sources lived and still do. And it’s only on days like this you get a big, breaking story at the comfort of your air-conditioned surroundings and a few phone calls.

The story that you live through the day is like a movie, where you are the chief character. Its box office success depends on the follow-ups the competitors do, the publications that carry it. When you know you are being chased. It’s a very good feeling. Very celebrity feeling.

The good day ended. Time to go through the travel travails. You come out of the palm tree planted neat multi-storied office campus to meet eyes with the revelers of a couple of Durga Puja processions through Parel village.

No taxis to be found you have to walk fifteen minutes change two trains to reach home. What you do? I joined the revelers. Danced to the tune of popular Hindi numbers like bidi jalaile, munni badnaam hui.

I drank some buttermilk supposed to be laced with bhang. I danced for a while and felt melting into the sea of people, who actively led me to the Currey Road station, which always sounds like an Oxymoron to me.

The dhol-beats, genuine excitement and prayers it seems invited the Rain Gods at a short notice and look at me I was completely drenched before reaching station. I, however, discovered I was walking properly and was in my senses. Seems the buttermilk was pure.

Travelogue: The Heavenly Road to Doditaal Continues

noreply@blogger.com (sourav mishra) — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 19:36:00 +0530

(Continued from the Heavenly Road to Doditaal)
The illumination was complementing the rhythmical sound of hundreds of rivulets and rainy season streams flowing in the near and distant mountains. It seemed as if this is heaven or at least a utopian world. It was not a dream but a hitherto unseen reality.

The night charmed us and suddenly escaped without answering my very Utopian questions.

The dawn was fascinating again; crystal-like dew drops on a vivid landscape were enticing. I was up early and while sipping tea served in a stained tin cup, met with the unassuming kids and women folk in the village.

The trust building process was quick and the conversation was fluid despite the language barrier.

Around eight in the morning we decided to start for the eighteen kilometre stretch and a 800 metre elevation, through some steep passes to reach our destination, Doditaal.

Our guide, a twenty something young man from the hills, moved swiftly on the slippery roads and made us move as faster.

First two hours seemed easy, it rained and there were plentiful of wild and fresh shrubs that literally paved our path with flowers. At places we came across the majestic white waters of Assi Ganga flowing down the mountains.

This beautiful walk reminded me of the fascinating landscape depicted in the ‘Lord of The Rings’ movies.

The loveliness of the first five kilometres was broken by a series of guerrilla attacks by thousands of impoverished leeches, who had suddenly sprung into life after rains touched the ground.

They were literally piercing into our legs, 10-20 at a moment on each foot.
We had to stretch them and throw every five minutes, or walk for an hour and then pluck them out.

In either case our skin was cut and legs were red with blood.

But locals taught us not to mind the blood and enjoy the nature. This was bad blood that moved out and now the circulation improves with this, they said. We obliged and moved ahead, stopping twice for tea and food.

At few instances the trek path was caved-in or there was no path at all and you could see the gorges down 2,000 feet. We managed with tree branches and ingenious footwork to jump over the space that never existed.

Every time we managed to cross over, it gave us a thrill and we looked back to gauge the width and depth. It was very much like the Indian Jones movie adventures. On the way we encountered no human habitation except a small congregation of makeshift huts where herdsmen from villages at lower elevation had come grazing their cattle the abundant green grass as the monsoon season was on.

Like any hill trek on the Himalayas we come across few aggressive wild Bhotia dogs who often attack you then become your friends after licking your feet and finally follow you for small stretches as long as their territory is marked.

We discovered a small ancient Hindu temple on the path, on the walls of which the name of JJ Irani and his wife were engraved.

We wondered if this is the legendary head of Tata Steel, who steered the company into the new millennium. But obviously, our querry couldn’t have been answered and we left the thought to ourselves.
After seven long hours we finally reached a place where we had to climb down on a moss-laden rickety path and we were told that the lake is almost there.

But we could see nothing for five more minutes. And suddenly there came up a flat piece of land and a small climb. And oh my God what we see! A painting of Monet! Yes it was like that only. A placid, transparent, silent, emerald green lake, the source of Assi Ganga and our ultimate destination was reached.

We were bedazzled and tranquilised and without words. I can't write the experience of that moment but can say my imagination of a heavenly land was similar to Doditaal, thanks to the childhood Chandamama reading. Heaven was like this misty lake, falling clouds and silence....

(The final part will be posted soon)

For the earlier part of the travel visit Travelogue: The Heavenly Road to Doditaal
(Photographs: Sourav Mishra/Arshad Hussain and special thanks to Tanzeem Patankar for the Assi Ganga and Doditaal photographs)
To see more of the travel visit Tanzeem's blog at http://tazzo-dodital.blogspot.com/

Travelogue: The Heavenly Road to Doditaal

noreply@blogger.com (sourav mishra) — Mon, 11 Oct 2010 22:40:00 +0530

I think I am a traveller of simpler means and presumably tougher destinations. Though it is difficult to make simpler means match tougher locales I do try, nevertheless. The Himalayas remain my destination number one and in the past six years I been to the mountain range 15 times to be precise. Being in Delhi till 2006, most Himalayan hill stations or treks were an overnight journey but Mumbai increases the time without reducing the interest.

Earlier this year I already had my annual trip to Kumaon in general and Kausani in specific. Somehow I always land-up in that part of the world almost every year.

In August all of sudden I decided to take another break and I didn’t want to go home. I thought of going to Amarkantak in Chhattisgarh to experience the monsoon mud and greenery and roots of majestic rivers. But couldn’t workout at such a short notice.

I felt back on Himalayas again.

It was an unplanned and bad timed trek, but nevertheless I decided to go ahead. My journalism school batch mates and yesteryear Delhi apartment mates joined me. We have bonded as trekkers since a small trek in December 2003 to the obscure Meghaohala forests in Orissa’s Dhenkanal.

Arshad and Sumit are tough trekkers never minding the time or location. In fact the harsh conditions give them more reasons to move forward. I obliged to their decision of going to a lake at 3000 metres on the fragile Shiwalik ranges in Uttarakhand.

We chose a trek leading to Doditaal Lake, an obscure, yet one of the most beautiful treks and more so when it rains. The distance from Delhi and a treacherous road made it longer to reach Uttarkashi, the closest town ahead of the base camp. The city on the banks of Bhagirathi River is of immense religious importance for Hindus. Dotted with ancient Hindu temples and monasteries of different sects, the quaint, saffron coloured town was warm to our arrival, despite the incessant rains.

On the way our car had to stop at a number of places due to damaged roads and falling stones. The falling mist on the road was exiting as well as fearful. A single wrong turn was not affordable. After an arduous long drive, we immediately proceeded to Sangamchetti, the base for the trek to overcome some of the lost time.

After a Maggi masala noodles treat and tea we proceeded on our first phase of the trek, a five kilometre stretch between Sangamchetti and Agora, the last village on the way. We old boys have always preferred treks on our own without porter assistance and exceptional kits. We prefer it raw, though there are some terrains where one has to be with special equipments. This trek was simpler in those terms and we had a guide.

But it rained and streams of water flowed on the precariously narrow roads making it unusually slippery. We were suddenly in the midst of misty rain soaked surrounding by the time we reached the little hamlet of Agora. Generous villagers offered us to sit in their neat manicured courtyards and offered us cream tea prepared from buffalo milk. That gave us an opportunity to relish the breathtaking beauty around.

There were five mountains changing colour every moment, while intense snowy clouds were caressing them with untold passion. The path on the village had bright red and blue flowers intertwined continuously in small patches with fresh rain drops on them, giving the 270 degree view a picture perfect frame. We savoured the beauty for three hours without realising it is already dark out there. Before the unspeakable beauty slipped into the dark night’s veil, we chanced to see a rare rainbow formation.

We could not have more natural beauty for our eyes. End of the day we entered into a house-cum-hotel sort of arrangement by a local woman. It cost us about 300 rupees per person for the food and the stay. In turn we had amazing mountain vegetable, ghee paraontha and achar and everything served with abundant honesty and humility.

We were covered in thick local made cotton blankets imagining the night to be dark and cold. But it wasn’t. After a while bold, white moon soaked through the silent mountains and invited everyone to have a look at her. It was beautiful outside, blue and white like the nights in the Twilight movies. It was a young full moon night.

(Read the next part at The Heavenly Road to Doditaal Continues)
(Pictures taken by Sourav Mishra and Arshad Hussain)

Mr Roy and 'Front-page Journalist' syndrome

noreply@blogger.com (sourav mishra) — Fri, 1 Oct 2010 20:16:00 +0530

Mr Roy was not a journalist, he was the journalist. Mumbai media world swore by his news gathering capabilities. He was bespectacled not for an eye disorder, but to spot news from a distance, he had an extra long nose just to smell news ahead of others.

He loved the sweet, intelligent bird like chattering psychiatrist Chirpy Bose, just in order to understand how an investment banker can reveal the biggest trans-national deal by committing some Freudian slip over an extended drinking session in some exorbitant Bandra pub.

Roy had developed a punch after guzzling hundreds of glasses of alcohol and overeating chicken platters every other day in the company of investment bankers. Mumbai media didn’t consider his sagging punch as an ordinary 'beer belly' but adorably termed it as the 'Roy belly'. The belly of dedication and journalistic excellence. The hundreds of alcohol glasses produced thousands of breaking stories on the number one financial daily that Roy worked with.

Mr Roy was courted by the editors of all top media houses with lucrative offers every weekend at the quaint, overcrowded Press Club near Azad Maidan, while the management of all top corporations wooed him with fancy dinners and other recreations at the finest luxury hotels and spas in and around Mumbai.

Roy stood like a granite rock, unfazed, not corrugated by any of the temptations. His only aim was to be on the front page of the number one pink newspaper. The pretty, bubbly Chirpy Bose sensed Roy is near the last leg of ‘Front-page Journalist’ syndrome, a thesis on which she did her post doctoral research and won many accolades across the world.

As Roy was close to insanity he found solace in football and as the world cup was on, he ignored Chirpy to such an extent that Chirpy stopped loving him and called him a nikamma old rooster. Roy, the rooster became a lonely man. His only friend was the front-page of the number one newspaper he worked for. As time passed, loneliness and alcohol consumed his passion, he missed his name on front-pages.

He still was considered the king of reportage by most of the media, but his happiness lied on the front-page appearance only.

After disappearing on the front-page for a consecutive five days Roy lost it. Roy tore all the fond photographs of Chirpy and David Beckham and also the numerous front-page cutouts he had pasted on his spacious bedroom wall. Roy was defeated, dejected and all very sad.

The blank looking Roy one day discovered a poster on the first-class train compartment he was travelling. It read, “108 times Chamatkari Baba Bangali Benareswale”..Mahayogi, mahagyani sare kaam sambhale. Pyar mein dhokha, bibika bhagna, jamin ka jhagda ho ya souten, chhudel ki samasya..baba sabarega bhag tumhara... kya stock market mein maal dubaya ya padosan ko dil de dia....sare uljhan ka haal jhatpat baba dega...chamatkari baba bangali...aaj hi ao taklif se niklo. To chup kyun ho aaj hin ao ya phir call karo 022-22222XXX , 10 lines. Credit card suvidha bhi uplabdh hai, milne ki dakshina sirf 1000 rupaye.

Milne ka pata Suite No 1001, Hotel Super, Kurla (East), near Champa Original Desi Bar, Police station ke baju mein.

Roy, though hesitant about confiding his problems of insanity and frontpage syndrome with such a hindustani speaking baba, but nevertheless he managed to call and take an appointment from Monika, baba’s personal secretary.

Food security mission for rats successful in India

noreply@blogger.com (sourav mishra) — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 14:06:00 +0530

In India only rats enjoy the luxury of food security despite inflation and perceived food shortage. It seems authorities had taken a secrete pledge decades ago to ensure food security at any cost for the billions of rodents inhabiting this country. When rains fail farmers commit suicide, consumers feel the heat, but not for the rats. They have biometric access cards issued by the authorities to enter the network of exclusive warehouses across the nation to plunder the millions of tonnes of grains stored supposedly for the poor. In a year when the supplies are scarce they get to taste the imported Russian and Australian grains. Rats expect more such years when international food is available, but that unfortunately happens only once or twice in a decade, when rains go really bad or some scam happens. In recent times they also get to taste alcoholic beverages, which are stored along side grains, or some times instead of grains by their local benefactors.

The secret pledge that the authorities had taken years ago also promises rodents the liberty of devouring the policy papers at government offices, which contains carbohydrates in a diet format and keeps the small animals in great shape and agile. It also helps the unwanted policy papers to escape ‘mysteriously’ and save the process of embarssing truth being made public.

So while there is debate whether to make access to food a fundamental right for human beings, the right is already exercised by rats successfuly.

THE BRIDGE AT NAUKUCHIATAL

noreply@blogger.com (sourav mishra) — Thu, 5 Aug 2010 01:19:00 +0530

Besotted with Claude Monet's impressionist art I started doing some of my own version. This one is based on Monet's 'Bridge at Giverny' but my feeling for the work is derived from a bridge at Naukuchiatal, or the nine cornered lake in Uttarakhand. The Bridge at Naukachiatal has more shades of green during early monsoon, when I visited the place. Monet's work has more shades of yellow. It's such a pleasure to learn from the master.

Mr Roy loses his love Chirpy Bose to Paul Oktopus

noreply@blogger.com (sourav mishra) — Thu, 8 Jul 2010 23:33:00 +0530

Mr Roy is dejected and a feeling of helplessness has taken over his luminous personality. His glowing eyes are pale; teeth needs an immediate polishing session at Dr Prashant Rao Bhatodekar, the dentist. He is no more the animated man thumping his belly whenever he comes up with some secretive news. He infact no more comes up with any secretive news except price hike plans by cement companies and fare hike plans by airlines.

What is spelling doom for the rising star of Indian financial journalism? The shameful exit of Argentina that too beaten convincingly by no team other than Germany. Yes the loss of Argentina has given him the shock of his life. After the irritation with Vuvuzela last week, Roy saw his favourite team crashing to a 4-0 defeat.

Roy’s girlfriend Chirpy, who dislikes football, had booked two seats at a posh Bandra club just to give his lover a sense of joy when the Argentine players would have taken off their shirts after thrashing Germany. But destiny and Paul, the Oktopus had other plans. Shit happened and Roy had to handle it. And the sad thing is that he is handling it alone. Why?

Well Chirpy has left Roy for the Oktopus. Not quite literally but it happened. Chirpy who is studying psychology at a Chembur institute is an avid animal lover. Her name itself was comes from an animal function. Chirping or twittering of birds. Since her childhood the cute roly-poly girl would talk incessantly in a birdy manner whether any one listens or not. And so the name Chirpy.

Roy was the only one who would listen to her like an old quiet lazy rooster and that was the point of her attraction for Mr Roy. But after Argentina lost Roy also lost his temper and the first incomplete sentence he murmured was, “kill that Paul Oktopus.”

That’s was it. Chirpy also lost it and slapped Mr Roy in front all the Argentina fans. Chirpy cried and said you and Argentina deserved it. You guys have been talking of killing and frying that poor voiceless animal throughout the match. Paul eto cute. It’s poetic justice. You all are products of shameless capitalism. You talk about ideas, wear Che Guevara t-shirts and hail Argentina. May I know the reason?

Do you have any idea of what is happening to the globe? Climate change, greenhouse gas emission, endangered tigers only 1411 left in India and not to speak of shrinking marine animal pool. Poor Paul may not be there tomorrow because of you men. You all are the same always think of war, killing etc. This chirpy is not your game Mr Roy, you crouching tiger in the disguise of a rooster. I abhor you and declare my relationship with you null and void from this very moment.

I have added Paul Oktopus to my Facebook friends list and he has accepted it. I will rather romance an intelligent creature like him. We will play FarmVille, we will build barns and houses that will adopt cute little animals and not dirty old roosters like you. Chirpy ended her twittering while Roy was yawning and wiping his (-10) powered thick glasses.

Now Roy realized Chirpy Bose has made enough of a scene and the whole Argentina fan club has forgotten the loss of their team and is making fun of him in hushed tones.

Roy in his inimitable style stood up put his hands on his t-shirt just over the eyes of Che Guevara printed on it and said. “See I stand for what I think and don’t bring Che into your Octopus love. And as much biology I remember let me tell you, ‘These Octopuses are invertebrates, shapeless, boneless.’ They are just the kind of men you hate the most.”

Roy despite his immediate disaster management speech actually lost two things in life. His love for football and Chirpy, his cute little bird.

Roy hates everyone these days and doesn’t catch anyone on Gmail chat. He doesn’t have a status message anymore after he removed, ‘Waka waka tis time for Argentina’ last Saturday.

I have been trying to help him coping with the disaster. I found a nervous Roy checking Chirpy's profile everyday on Facebook to find out if she has changed her relationship status from single to be with Paul Oktopus.

I asked Roy what is the future plan action. Roy said, "I will create a group in Facebook called - If 1 million people join this Facebook will remove Paul Oktopus's profile."

I just checked and found one group with the bizarre name of '101 Ways to kill Oktopus Paul / 101 Reasons We hate Oktopus Paul'
What's happening? Who's playing the ball those men or the Octopus?
Photo courtesy: Google image search and funnylifeblog

A Vuvuzela for Mr Roy

noreply@blogger.com (sourav mishra) — Thu, 1 Jul 2010 15:42:00 +0530

He is the most popular creature in Mumbai’s media world. He’s like the superhero of journalism roaming incognito in the streets of India’s financial capital. He’s got that extra long nose for news. He pokes into everyone’s affair. When everything seems alright he spots an inconspicuous anomaly and probes deeper.

When Mumbai sleeps he stays awake and files the biggest breaking stories that shake the Sensex the next morning.

Corporates respect him, peers envy him and women love him. He is for you the inimitable MITH*****. Sorry for the unexpected five stars after MITH. It’s his towering personality that has forced me settle for the stars. Let’s call him Mr Roy (name intentionally changed to protect identity).

Mr Roy, besides news sniffing has two interests in life – football and travelling from Vashi to Andheri in Mumbai’s suburban trains on Sundays -- which invariably fits into his chock-a-bloc schedule.

For football lover Roy, FIFA world cup is like the best time in his life and he makes it a point to watch every match live. Roy comes home early in the evening and jogs around in his three-by-three feet balcony overlooking a mosquito breeding pond and a proposed mango orchard, where the mango trees are yet to be planted.

Roy claims the run between kitchen and balcony melts his extra kilos.

Well, enough of jogging. Now Mr Roy switches on his television to watch the match between Uruguay and France.

All excited, tea sipping Mr Roy jumps, laughs and bites his nail in excitement whenever the ball reached near the goal post on either side. Roy says he doesn’t support any team and every team which plays world cup football is worth supporting.

The excitement increases further in the match but Roy suddenly looks silent. Vuuun…vuuunn..vuuun..vuun..vun..vun the sound continues. Roy know there is something missing here.

No one of his neighbors, mostly nuclear scientists, would be playing something so stupid that too during a football match. But the sound continued vuun …vuun..un..un…He went to the balcony and found no movement outside. Children in the newly built shanties at the proposed mango orchard were playing cricket, while their parents were playing cards.

He then thought may be the mosquitoes in the adjacent pond which is being filled for building a new luxury tower, are to be blamed but his intelligence told mosquitoes do not have such a strong voice and to create such audible sound you need all the mosquitoes in Mumbai jamming in a studio.

The picture outside was serene. But the voice grew louder and the pattern more frequent. In his detective style he walked silently and put his large ears near the television. Suddenly there was loud vuuu which almost damaged his ear drum. Now he knows it. The poor five year old television has lost it. It’s sick now and is expressing with cough and coarse voice during the football match.

Roy suffered the match and got up early in the morning. Before even brushing his teeth, he called Atif Aslam, the namesake of the Pakistani pop singer and the plumber-cum-electrician-cum watchman and much more to the housing society. At one call Aslam was at his tenth floor apartment.

He opened the television and claimed there was some problem with internal speakers. Roy shelled five hundred rupees and went with his daily schedule. Today is an important match. Argentine vs Nigeria. Roy though claims all teams are equal, has actually secretly been endorsing the Latin American country by making his permanent Gmail status as Waka waka tis time for Argentina and has already been beaten by two English and Brazilian fans in his office for such brazen support.

Anyways now on day two Roy switches the TV set no noise. Match starts noise starts. He loses his patience and calls Aslam immediately, who cuts his call five times. Roy is furious. Bugger is this time to cut calls the real match is on and this TV is shouting. Disappointed he mutes the TV and watches. Aslam in the meantime messages back in Hindi saying, “boss samjha karo ek din to chhuti milti hai Bandstand pe baitha hun baad mein baat karte hain.”

Roy fumes in anger and decides to buy a new television the other day. Unable to sleep he watches Ram Gopal Varma directed James movie, his all time favourite, on his Acer laptop. Whenever Roy fails in life he draws inspiration from the hero in James who beats all odds to achieve his target. Others however don’t understand the inspiration part; anyways most have not seen the movie.

While watching James for the third time nonstop, the newspaper boy throws the Times of India newspaper into his balcony. He runs to get the paper while thinking about the hawker. “This is the problem with this country… everyone can throw it like a cricketer but no one can bend it like Beckham.” “How can people breathe so easily without playing football in this country?

Then in his mind he blamed it on Neheruvian socialism which destroyed teamwork and promoted a individualistic game like Cricket. Suddenly he stops and what he reads. "People want to ban irritating noise at world cup soccer." He read the noisy instrument is called Vuvuzela. He sighs and laughs at him and falls asleep while James was still playing on his laptop.

(Mr Roy thought of keeping this secret to himself till he had two small pegs of whiskey. This story is fictional and doesn’t resemble to any character except Mr Roy in real life.)

Indian soccer in tennis ball and flip-flops

noreply@blogger.com (sourav mishra) — Sun, 27 Jun 2010 23:35:00 +0530

The football fever is on across the world. Like many Indians I feel and act confused by the utter ignorance about the game, the trends, the players and the buzz around. I am well present on the social networking arena, read as widely as possible for a journalist, yet I miss everything on this game. Sometimes the genuine passion and knowledge people around me display I feel threatened about my indifference. I simply can’t communicate on this subject except a confessional script like this.

The social and cultural environment I was brought up in had Cricket and Gilli-danda as the most dominating games, in primary school and neighborhood playgrounds. So football was out of question till I reached high school. Mine was a large class with more than 400 students, while the school had more than 2,000 students and we had two playgrounds. We had to play everything in the same space and time, the one hour recess in the afternoon. If you stand on the top-arch of the school building you can see upto five teams playing football in two playgrounds, while upto ten teams sharing space in between to play cricket, handball or Gilli-danda.

As everyone wants to be a batsman in cricket, everyone wanted to be forward in the kind of football we were playing. Though I was kind of a leader in my batch after running for class monitor elections twice and losing by a margin of two and five votes, I had little say in the football team selection. Like the national game and sports associations ruled by certain people, our school football team was designed, choreographed and even decimated by a small group of people who never wore the jersey but played bets on it in multiples of ten rupees.

I was interested in the game for the sheer fun of running and hitting the ball. But I was rather chosen for the event-less goalie’s position, where I failed miserably because of the ball’s size. After all we were playing soccer with a lemon yellow coloured tennis ball on green grass and mud (The school had few balls which were out only during annual sports). Almost no goalkeeper of an international repute could have stopped such a tiny ball.

One day out of frustration I ran ahead and tried my legs at snatching the ball from the opposition player who was just about to hit the tiny lemon into our side of the post. You must have watched the scene. The opponent fell flat with my one stroke. I couldn’t understand why? Later the big boys who were putting money on our teams told me that I have the strongest legs in the school.

I was asked to play as a forward from the next day. It was thrilling! I realized I was no great player with techniques; I couldn’t even roll the ball between my legs or hit it in the desired direction. But as I told earlier, the kind of football we were playing in our flip-flops was mostly mud wrestling with the objective to keep the tiny ball at your legs.

When it rained, as it did for a large part of the year we loved the game. I was called the ‘danger man’, a local coinage for the ferocious one on field. If I had the ball people avoided body contact and stayed clearly away from the legs. I had those unusually powerful, green muscles showing legs thanks to the 16 kilometers of cycling I had to do besides some early morning Yoga aasanas with dad helped.

I became the bully on the field, though I rarely scored. Drenched in rain I remember many conflicts on the mud, putting fear into the eyes of the smaller looking opponents. But every hero or tyrant has a final day. So did come my day on the field. One of the newer entrants recruited by the non playing gamblers had a spiked shoe. One with sharp spikes that can peel flesh of your succulent legs and tear your ligaments. It happened to me though I didn’t let the pain show on the face but decided to hang-up my flip-flops forever.

I briefly played football at University again mostly to track the most powerful opponent and offer fierce resistance. But nowhere did I fell in love with the game or get to learn anything.

It was an unfortunate thing that I missed the game the world loves. It seems despite the entire hullabaloo, it still has not caught my attention or fancy. It is like mathematics. If it doesn’t interest you it doesn’t click. So I give a miss to the Jabulanis, Vuvujelas, Messis a miss. But I still very much connect with the gorgeous Shakira doing waka waka.
this time for Afrika.
(Photograph Kids playing mud-football Photograph)

The quaint city of Allahabad

noreply@blogger.com (sourav mishra) — Tue, 15 Jun 2010 00:06:00 +0530

(Magh mela Dec-Jan, Circa 1888 (Courtesy Allahabad University Library)
Quaint...the only word that comes to my mind whenever I think about the city of Allahabad. The city is populous yet silent; the city is charming yet queer. It's so political that eighty percent of our prime ministers come from here, yet most don't understand double dealing here.

It is so dramatic that Amitabh Bachhan comes from here. Yet the city looks sepia toned, fragile and historical to me. It belongs to another age.

The age of our favourite past time. The time leisurely spent on the branches of guava trees, the time spent of the banks of Yamuna, the time spent at the narrow lanes of Rambagh and wide corridors of the University; the time spent at Alfred Park imagining the sacrifice of Chandrsekhar Azad, , the time spent at the book shops in Katra. The time has freezed! The time was good. It still lives in the nostalgia but never brightens up to its maximum colours.
The video below is a nice portrayal of the Saher Illahabad..
Saher hai khoob kya hai yeh saher amrud ka hai yeh..Saher hai yeh Illahabad

Computer in Allahabad

noreply@blogger.com (sourav mishra) — Mon, 31 May 2010 19:43:00 +0530

My first brush with computers was in Allahabad, during the first year of my graduation in the late 90s. The exposure to a giant, greasy pale yellow machine at that time seemed to be a delight.
At the agriculture university where most classes discussed lifecycle of crops, primary constituents of milk or best practices of feeding piglets, computer classes were like a picnic.
The powerful moving visuals, air-conditioned ambience and the excitement of checking your Yahoo mail in the lone desktop powered by mostly dysfunctional dial-up connection, it was fun.
Most of us never got more than a few minutes to touch the black, almost broken key boards, but it was pleasure anyways. The computer session also saw the unlikely pairing of people who were desperate to share a computer overcoming all earthly distinctness.
Like the always fighting conservative Malayali Christian boy and equally conservative Bihari Brahmin, the sophisticated chiffon clad Lucknowi girl and the rustic paan chewing Jaunpuri boy.
Years of differentiation, cultural egos and heartfelt irritation melted for a short while every Saturday at 12 P.M Indian Standard Time, when the computer classes began. The vivid memories of the computer classes come back as I discover more of my graduation tribe on the Facebook or Twitter.

Bhuvan Yadav's case against Barkha Rani

noreply@blogger.com (sourav mishra) — Thu, 20 May 2010 00:36:00 +0530

Monsoon rain is the key word today. Not only the farmers for whom it is the lifeline, but almost every individual across villages, cities, chawls, skyscrapers, schools and Parliament talk about it, after experiencing the worst monsoon in four decades, last year. They now know it for being responsible for a good harvest, lower price regime, better rural income, faster growing economy and absence of hunger. This understanding has brought it into popular culture within no time. Yesterday I was watching this creative sarcastic drama ‘Bhuvan Yadav’s case against Barkha Rani’.

The case begins with appearance of frail and visibly shaken Bhuvan Yadav, a poor farmer from some arid region in India, whose crops have failed due to the complete absence monsoon or ‘Barkha Rani’ as we call her from now onwards. Bhuvan has filed a case against ‘Barkha Rani’ for being directly responsible for crop washout and driving him and other farmers into utter poverty, indebtedness and to the verge of hunger death. Bhuvan represents the case for half of India’s population.
The judge then calls for ‘Barkha Rani’ who originally lives in the hilly Cherrapunji in the northeastern India and visits other hills, mountains and beaches whenever she feels like. She however is rarely seen in the vast stretches of arid lands passing through the length and breadth of the interiors of the country.

Now ‘Barkha Rani’ comes to the court all dressed in glitzy white saree and holding a large empty bowl. When questioned why Barkha Rani was absent last year and how it has affected not only Bhuvans of Indian villages but also Dr Manmohan of the Delhi.

Barkha Rani says she has not enough water in her bowl to fulfill the needs everywhere. To which Bhuvan’s lawyer says if she has not enough water why she disburses so much water in the Himalayas. Barkha says that’s because that’s from where water flows across the country through her first cousins like the Ganges, but faulty irrigation schemes and absence of river linking wastes all her purpose.

Barkha further said it’s her husband Badal like most extravagant men lives a high carbon footprint creating lifestyle and uses very large fuel-inefficient vehicles like Hummer which wastes a lot of the water in the process of transportation before reaching the desired destinations.

Also her cousins like Laila and Aila waste a lot of water in a pub called Cyclone every year, before Barkha could do her annual tour of the country. “I am left with very little to sprinkle in the fields of people like Bhuvan, though I really want to.” Barkha further blamed every human being for emission driven global warming which is resulting higher-than-normal temperature and parched farmlands, needing more water than ever.

The judge in the case reaslises the situation, human folly involved and feels sorry for Bhuvan and millions other who bear the brunt. He orders for rectification of all the human created errors and assurance of farm water to Bhuvans of India.
(The storyline in the drama is suitably twisted as per the writer’s imagination)
(The painting above is a reproduction of the famous Vincent Van Gogh 1889 oil painting 'Wheat Field in Rain')