माझे बाबा आणि Happy Father’s Day !

 

लहानपणी कधीही अस्तित्वात नसलेला Father’s Day आज मार्केटिंगच्या युगात मात्र न चूकता माध्यमातून मनावर बिंबविला जातो. आपल्यालासुद्घा काळानुसार बदल स्विकारावाच लागणार कारण अस म्हणतात ना, Change is Constant आणि बाप म्हणुन तर स्वत:ला बदलणं खुप महत्वाचं.

म्हणुन मग म्हटलं अशा खुप व्यक्त, अव्यक्त भावना आपल्या मनांतसुद्धा आहेत मग Father’s Day च्या निमित्ताने आपण पण मनोगत व्यक्त करावे.

सगळ्यांनाच आपला बाप हा जगातील सर्वोत्कृष्ठ बाप वाटतो तसा मलाही वाटायचा, अजुनही वाटतो. डॅडी, डॅड, पॅाप, पप्पा या विशेषणापलीकडचे म्हणजे माझे ‘उत्तम बाबा’.

असं म्हणतात, मुलगा १५ वर्षांचा झाला की वडिल मुलाचे मित्र होतात पण आमच्यासाठी (मी आणि माझा भाऊ डॉ उदय)मात्र बाबा लहनपणीपासुनच घट्ट मित्र. बाबांची भीती किंवा धाक खर तर कधी वाटलाच नाही. लहान असतांना वडिलांच्या खांद्यावर हात ठेवायचे जे freedom होते ती मजा काही औरच.

परीक्षेत कमी मार्क्स मिळाले की पुढच्या परीक्षेत नक्की चांगले मिळतील हा विश्वास ठेवत सही करणारे बाबा 😊 असोत की मला पहिली नोकरी मिळाल्याचा आनंद असो, सगळ्यात आधी कुणाला हे कळणार म्हणजे बाबा. हं, आता मी 10 jobs बदलले तरी माझ्या प्रत्येक निर्णयाचे समर्थन करणारे ते बाबा.

कुठलेही वर्ग असोत वा उन्हाळी शिबिरे, स्वत:ला कितीही कष्ट झालेत तरीही न चुकतां वर्ग सुटायच्या आत बाहेर उभे असणारच याची खात्री असणारे बाबा.

MBBS ची ॲडमिशन न घेणारे बाबा, IAS First attempt मध्ये पास होणारे बाबा, Bank Of Maharashtra मध्ये उच्च पद न स्विकारणारे बाबा आणि पुस्तकांसोबत रममाण होण्यासाठी निवडलेली नोकरी म्हणजेच बाबा.कदाचित म्हणूनच Doctor, Engineer होण्याचे स्वातंत्र्य आम्हा भावंडांचे आणि कुठलाही निर्णय न लादणारे आमचे बाबा.

नोकरी निमित्त सरकार कडुन बाबांना मिळालेला बंगला आणि  बाजुला असलेले मोठे मैदान म्हणजे माझ्यातल्या क्रिकेटवेड्यासाठी  पर्वणी. बरोबरची असलेली सगळी मुलं spinners म्हणून मग मला Fast Bowling चा सराव असावा म्हणुन Outswing आणि Inswing टाकणारे माझे बाबा.

आई शाळेत शिक्षिका, त्यामुळे प्रत्येक शनिवारी घरी बाबा, मी आणि दादा. मग नुकतीच लॉन्च झालेली Maggie 2 minute noodles उत्साहाने बनविणारे ते बाबा.

कुठलेही प्राणिसंग्रहालय, बगीचा असो वा Long Drive असो, आम्हा दोघा भावंडांना न चूकता फिरायला घेऊन जाणारे बाबा.

वयाच्या 13 व्या वर्षी जी डायरी लिहिण्याची सरुवात केली ती अजुनही अखंडित ठेवणारे बाबा. मग, नातेवाइक असोत, सहकारी किंवा शेजारी, कुणाचा कुठलाही milestone असो, तो न विसरतां नोंद करुन ठेवणारे काका म्हणजे आमचे बाबा.

जागतिकी इतिहास किंवा भूगोल.इसविसन पुर्व असो की नंतर, encyclopaedia, Wikipedia पेक्षा मजबुत स्त्रोत बाबा. 

Time, Sportstar, Illustrated Weekly, धर्मयुग, Filmfare किंवा माधुरी, दिवाळी अंक, प्रत्येकाच्या आवडीनुसार आणुन देणारे आणि आमची वाचनाची आवड जपणारे बाबा.

आईला लग्नानंतर सुद्धा डबल ग्रॅज्युएशन करण्यासाठी प्रोत्साहन देणारे बाबा. मग आईच्या परीक्षेत किचन मधे बाबा दिसले नसते तर नवलचं 

नोकरी निमित्त आमची गावं, देश बदलले पण  मनात कुठलाही प्रश्न नाही. आमच्या बरोबर स्वत:चे पण निवासस्थान चुटकीसरशी बदलणारे आणि नव्या गावावर तितकेच प्रेम करणारे बाबा.नातवंडांसोबत स्वत:ला रमवुन घेणारे आजोबा.

बाबांइतकीच आईची तपश्चर्या तितकीच मोठी, प्रत्येक संकटात बाबांसोबत उभी राहणारी आमची आई पण आज Father’s Day म्हणुन मग आईविषयी नंतर कधीतरी. 

Father’s Day ही काही आपली संस्क्रीती नाही पण नवे ते accept करायला शिकविणारे बाबा म्हणूनच या दिवशी बाबांसाठी प्रेम आणि त्यांचा मिळालेला आधार याविषयी व्यक्त केलेले हे आभार 🙏🙏🙏

Image Courtesy: iStock

शिक्षण की शिक्षणाचा धंदा !

अखेर ठरलं आणि 1 अब्ज डॉलर्स (₹ 7,300 कोटी) चा सौदा पक्का झाला. अबब! रक्कम बघुन  कुठलीतरी बहुराष्ट्रीय कंपनी विकली किंवा विकत घेतली असावी असा समज (गैर) होतो पण हा तर चक्क Byju’s ने Aakash Educational Services ताब्यात घेतल्याचा व्यवहार होता. 😳😳

गरिबांसाठी, गरजुंसाठी, योग्य विद्यार्थ्यांसाठी शिक्षण ही संकल्पना हे सगळे ऐकल्यावर कल्पनेपलीकडचेच  नाही तर भयावह सुद्धा वाटते.

मला आठवतयं, आणि ही काही कोणे एके काळची गोष्ट नाही, गणिताचा क्लास  ₹ 20 / महिना, १२ वी ₹800 / विषय आणि पैसे देताना शिक्षक आवर्जुन सांगत,” कळत असेल आणि आवडत असेल तरच पैसे दे. उगीच आई बापाचे पैसे खर्च करु नकोस”  आता तर executive चा कॉल येतो आणि educational benefits समजावून सांगीतले जातात.

सर्वांसाठी सुरू झालेला शिक्षणाचा प्रवास, जागोजागी फोफावलेल्या शिक्षण सम्राटांच्या हातात कधी  गेला ते कळलेच नाही. विज्ञान, वाणिज्य महाविद्यालयांपेक्षा अभियांत्रिकी महाविद्यालये जास्त, वैद्यकीय शिक्षण म्हणजे १० वर्षाचा खडतर (कमी पगारातला) प्रवास आणि मग कुणी कुठलेही शिक्षण घ्या आणि IT मध्ये जा. सगळेच अनाकलनीय  🙏

शिक्षण व्यवसायात इतका पैसा की, Byju’s BCCI चा ₹ 1200 कोटी देउन प्रायोजक होतो, Unacademy IPL पार्टनर होते आणि आई वडीलांचा मुलांना “ ब्रेक तो ले ले पार्टनर”  सांगतानाचा आनंद ओसंडुन वाहत जातो.

Benson & Hedges ही  cigarette कंपनी ऑस्ट्रेलियात क्रिकेट sponsor  करायची पण अखेर कंपनीचे प्रायोजकत्व बाद करण्यात आले कारण  जनतेकडून आलेला व्यसनातला पैसा क्रिकेट वर ओतुन कंपनी goodwill कमवत होती. ऑनलाईन शिक्षण सुद्धा आपल्या खिशातला पैसा काढून क्रिकेटचा असाच उपयोग करत आहे.

Online education, demonstrated practicals, 24*7 शिक्षण, आणि हवा तेव्हा अभ्यास ही काळाची गरज आहे पण म्हणुन ₹ 7300कोटी? अशामुळे , एक नाविन्यपुर्ण कल्पना business model मधे भरकटत जाणार हे नक्की 

शिक्षण आई वडिलांच्या कमाईच्या स्त्रोतावर, exposure वर अवलंबुन असुच शकत नाही तर विद्यार्थ्याच्या  बौधीक पातळींवर  अवलंबुन असायला हवे. आधी शिक्षणसम्राट तयार झाले आता ऑनलाइन व्यावसायिक तयार होणारं आणि आपल्यासारखे गरजवंत पालक मुलांच्या भवितव्यासाठी या जाळ्यात गुंतत जाणार 😔 

काळ बदलला, वेळ बदलली, शिक्षण, शिक्षक आणि विद्यार्थी बदलले , Global exposure च्या नावाखाली आता पालक पण बदलतोय. चुक की बरोबर हे भविष्यात दडलयं. तोपर्यंत आपण या takeover ची तारीफ करुया आणि नवीन Business Model ची वाट बघूया 😊

टीपः वरील विचार ऑनलाइन/ ऑफलाइन शिक्षणाच्या विरोधात नाही पण त्यातल्या व्यवसायाच्या आणि गुंतलेला पैसा यावर वैयक्तिक मत आहे.

Image Courtesy: Times of India

राजधराण्याची रीतच न्यारी

 राजघराण्याची रीतच न्यारी ..

एक होती राणी, दिमाख तिचा मोठा

होती पगारी पण तिचे असंख्य दरबारी..

साम्राज्य गेलं, सत्ता गेली

जुनी पुण्याई धावुन आली, राणीला  तारुन नेली..

काळ बदलाला जग बदललं

राजपुत्राचं मन घुसमटल..

राणी सत्ता सोडेना, राजपुत्र राजा होइना

राजगादीवर आले सहा वारसदार, राणी म्हटली  माझाच कारभार..

राजघराण्याची रीतच न्यारी ..

राणीला आली नातसुन, होती ती काळी

तिच्या रंगाची चर्चा मात्र जगात रंगली..

सुनबाईचं मन  रमेना, बडेजाव काही रुचेना

होती मनांत पोकळी, राजवाडा सोडुन झाली मोकळी..

आली मोठी बातमी, सुनबाई होणारं आई

तिच्याबरोबर मीडिया पण डोहाळे देई..

राणीला झाला पणतू, मनांत होते किंतु परंतु

असेल का तो राजबिंडा की दिसेल  सामन्य जनता?..

राजघराण्याची रीतच न्यारी ..

राणीचे नातलग, राणीपेक्षा त्यांनाच चिंता

शोधु लागले सातव्या वारसदारात भीन्नता..

पणतू थोडा बाप, थोडा आईवर

सुनबाई बोलू लागली वर्णभेदावर..

राणीला काही उमजेना, खिन्न होउंन एकांतात बसली

सुनबाई आणी नातू म्हटले , आम्हाला वाळीत टाकली ..

किती ती चर्चा, किती तो खटाटोप

राजघराण्यालासुद्धा नाही सुटत प्रसिद्धीचा लोभ..

राजघराण्याची रीतच न्यारी ..

हे तर सामान्यांच्या घरात रोजच घडतं

सासू सुनेतला वाद समजुन सोडुन दिल्या जातं..

कुणाचे डोळे, कुणाचे कान बघुन आनंद होतो

आपलाच भास समजुन मिरवलं जातं...

शेवटी काय? 

तर 

राजघराण्याची रीतच न्यारी ..

टिप : ही फक्त कविता म्हणुन वाचावी.. हे वर्णभेदावर भाष्य नाही .

- जयवंत

Manya Singh..The girl power

 

As the nation is engrossed in ‘Hum Do Humare Do’ debate, farmers fighting over identity crisis as political parties are infiltrating their agitation, India gripped in cricket fever with COVID-19 showing signs of exit, a young girl took a silent entry in the world of glamour and grabbed pole position at Miss India 2020.

Manya Singh, daughter of an auto rickshaw driver made headlines as she proudly took runner up crown as Miss India World 2020. 

The girl who starved for food, clothes and studies, overcame challenges through her sheer determination to reach the pinnacle of glory to make her parents, city and nation proud but most importantly made a statement on girl power.

A girl dream can come true but for that to happen, belief in your daughters is the first step, supporting them is the second and empowering them is every parent’s moral responsibility.

Let Manya grab the headlines for now and best wishes to her for tomorrow. 

Image courtsey: Hindustan Times

माझी आजी! माझी ताई!

24 December 1990. आज तिला जाऊन ३० वर्ष झालीत(1 April 1911-24 December 1990). Mrs. Gokhale ह्याच नावाने ती educational field मध्ये ओळखली जायची. आमच्या साठी मात्र ‘ताई’.

आजी असुनसुद्धा ती आम्हा नातवंडांची ताई होती.

आधीची दुर्गा ढवळे आणि लग्नानंतर सुशीला गोखले. दोन्ही नावं तितकीच सार्थ ! प्रचंड दरारा, करारी, पण तितकीच प्रेमळ.

ज्या काळात मुली शाळेतसु्द्घा जात नसतं तेव्हा ही Pune Fergusson ची graduate आणि नंतर डबल-ग्रॅज्युएट. दरवर्षी शाळेत, कॅालेजमध्ये पहिली येणारी दुर्गा BA Honoursला दुसरी आली. शहीद भगतसिंगच्या फाशीमुळे प्रचंड चिडलेली आमची ताई परिक्षेत ब्रिटिश राजवटीविरुद्ध ताशेरे ओढून आली. ब्रिटिश प्रोफेसर्स तिला पहिला नंबर देऊ शकले नाही पण त्यांना तिची हिंमत पण हिराऊन घेतां आली नाही. तिच्यातली दु्र्गा शेवटपर्यंत कायम राहिली ती अशीच! सावरकर आणि टिळक तिचे दैवत.

बालविवाह ही प्रथा असताना ताई मात्र शिकत होती. वयाच्या 26 व्या वर्षी तिचे लग्न आमच्या नानांशी (Anant Ramachandra Gokhale) झाले आणि ती कायमची सेवासदनमयी झाली. एका छोट्या खोलीत सुरु झालेला नागपूर सेवासदनचा कायापालट एका व्यासपीठात रुपांतरीत करण्यात नानांइतकंच ताईचे पण कर्तुत्व अस्मानी होतं! नानांच्या पाठीशी खंबीरपणाने उभी राहीलेली सुशिला.

बालविधवांसाठी शाळा आणि होस्टेल, गरीब मुलींना शिक्षणाबरोबर रोजगार, Montessori Training College ची स्थापना,इतकं सहजतेने करु शकणारी म्हणजे फक्त ताई. वंदनीय Principal Mrs. Gokhale.

संस्क्रीत पंडीत, English म्हणजे हातचा मळ, हिंदुधर्माविषयी प्रचंड आस्था आणि ज्ञानं पण प्रथेप्रमाणे १.५ दिवसाच्या गणपतीमुळे शाळेकडे दुर्लक्ष होते म्हणून घरी १० दिवसांचा गणपती, इतका सहज आणि सोपा निर्णय😊 आजही आमच्या घरी गणपती १० दिवस असतात.

वयाच्या 80 व्या वर्षीसुद्धा उत्साह आणि कणखरपणा कायम. मला आठवतयं, माझा मोठा भाऊ डॅा. उदयची surgery झाल्यावर, डॅाक्टर्सना नववार नेसलेली माझी आजी दिसली आणि म्हातारी समज़ुन ते तिला आधार द्यायला गेले.शांतपणे हीने  डॅाक्टरना सांगितले , “Dont try to confuse or pacify me, Tell me the diagnosis. I am more interested to know what you guys are doing about that”. डॅाक्टरने दंडवतचं घातलं 🙇‍♂️ 

मी स्कुटर शिकल्यावर double seat बसणारी ताई, ‘सिलसिला’ चित्रपट ३ वेळा बघणारी ताई,Science,Maths, Sanskrit, English, History, Geography चे आमचे doubts सोडवणारी आमची ताई किंवा ‘पुलाव स्पेशल’ ताई.

काळ पुढे जातो, आपण आपल्या आयुष्यात गुरफटून जातो,जुनी पीढी नसल्याची सवय करुन घेतो पण त्यांची उणीव मात्र आपल्याला कायम भासत राहते.

ताई जाऊन ३० वर्षे झाली पण आजही तिची आठवण येतांना मन उचंबळुन येतं. असती तर हवीच होती वा अजुनही हवी आहे पण नसली तरी तिचे आशिर्वाद आमच्या पाठीशी कायम आहेत आणि आजही चुकलो तर धाक आणि प्रेम तितकंच आहे याची खात्री आहे.

We miss you Tai .. keep blessing us 🙇‍♂️ 

- Gokhales

TGIF..

As I open my eyes, calendar says Monday 

I just blink, the calendar points Friday !!

Monday and Friday never meet each other

But weekend in between bonds them forever !!

Monday I am lazy , Friday I am crazy 

The work in between makes me edgy !!

Monday I love, for the challenges it pose

Friday ends with the high, the way I rose !!

Weekend is the one, we exploit the most

If it wasn’t there, weekdays would drag !!

Thank God It’s Friday 

There won’t be any other better day !!

Have a great weekend guys  🥳 🎉 

-Jayawant

आज नाही तर उद्या कोरोनावर मात आहे..

टपरीवरचा चहा नाही

अचानक दिसलेला वडा-पाव नाही..

सलोनचा हेड-मसाज नाही

दाढीनंतरचा स्प्रिंकलर नाही..

बारमधे मित्र नाही

शाॅपिंग माॅलचा टाईमपास नाही..

होम डिलीव्हरी म्हणजे रेस्टाॅरंट नाही

नेटफ्लिक्स म्हणजे थिएटर नाही..

ऑफिसची धमाल नाही

सुटी घेतल्याची मजा नाही..

दिल्लीतले पिताश्री, मुंबईतल्या मातोश्री 

एकाची धडपड, दुसरीकडे पडझड बघवत नाही..

टिव्हीवर बातमी नाही

कंगना की कोरोना समजत नाही..

कोरोनाचं काही खर नाही

तो तुमचा आमचा कुणाचा नाही..

विश्वासावर जग आहे

सामान्य माणूस सजग आहे

सायंटिस्ट्सची साथ आहे

आज नाही तर उद्या कोरोनावर मात आहे..

-जयवंत

Nepotism ! As it unwinds..

Nepotism is the new buzzword which has triggered a war of words on social media with some defending and some going extra mile to let the world know how have they suffered. 

Nepotism is an age old tradition going across cultures, geographies, monarchies and in modern world even inflicting the corporate world.

Nepotism, as bad as it sounds, there’s always an unknown side to it and no human is spared without using it. The important factor to understand that whether it is a harmful nepotism or harmless. 

Nepotism knowingly or unknowingly begins in the childhood. Whether it’s schools, your neighbourhood, one will find a parent promoting his or her own child unknowingly   (/sometimes knowingly) hampering the talent of other kids. As parent or as a child, one fights it’s out and either proves a point or moves away to different avenues. Nepotism continues!

Nepotism need not originate from an individual and can be socially driven. A normal child of a talented parent sometimes will find it hard to come to terms with own potential. If one goes back into history of sports, an interesting story of Sir Donald Bradman’s son makes us realise that, we as a society stretch ourselves too far. His son chose to change his surname to Bradson dumping the legacy of the greatest ever or someone like Liam Botham who retired in early twenties to move to Rugby from Cricket. Many such examples in  normal walks of life can be quoted wherein the next generation has chosen its own path. But, Nepotism continues!

Nepotism, if it was the way our ancient nobleman propagated, the same has not changed in today’s corporate. What has changed, is its course and now it goes beyond family roots. Favouritism can be the new synonym to keep the control under your own pedestal. Survival of the fittest is still the rule and the one who copes up, stays back or can choose to move out. Nepotism continues! 

Nepotism, the word turns foul when it starts impacting the very existence of other individual. Promoting your own progeny or chosen one is fine but postering them without an iota of credibility and that too at the cost of others is harmful. Kingdoms were replaced with democracies, caste based professions made its own way towards skill based society. However, those who haven’t understood these ethos of life, still suffer with agenda of own and many a time we come across leaders with no credibility pushed on the society. Nepotism continues! 

Nepotism, as it means will keep coming at you and one has to find own means to survive with it. What matters is the fact, that it should not come at a cost of spoiling a childhood, snatching a promising life or most importantly compromising nation’s interest. As like ages, Nepotism continues!

Nepotism, as it means is here to stay. Harmful or harmless is our choice.

Image Courtesy: CEO World

Disclaimer: The article is a personal observation about nepotism and does not talk about any individual or a family.

Dragon will come ! Pushback is the way forward!

छोटा भाई पाकिस्तान तो बडा भाई हिंदुस्थान !

हिंदी चीनी भाई-भाई !

रोटी-बेटीका रिश्ता !

Sounds so much like a family saga ‘ये रिश्ता क्या कहलाता है’, but surprisingly it’s a tagline for two countries.

If the first statement cut the Indian exchequer amid partition in 1947, second made us realise that brother can turn out to be Kaurava then the latest shocker opened the eyes to a new reality that no relationship is permanent.

End of the day, we were dealing with 3 independent countries and with supremacy in Asia at stake, it was bit obvious that Dragon will have its own push when the world is engrossed in COVID pandemic.

Dragon is not used to see India having its eyes, ears and arms open, so it will come out with all its aggression, economic penetration and entice all Indian neighbours to speak its own language.

Gone are the days when the country accepted a treaty to end war of 1965 or when Aksai-Chin landed up in Chinese map even without any objection or dialogue.

The test has began now and one who blinks will be caught unaware. Till now, it was all about economics but going forward it’s going to be muscle, money, influence, unified people and sustained leadership.

The aspirations of young India are on all time high, it wants an eye-to-eye connect with the world, is not afraid and knows its rights fully well. Snatching without confrontation won’t work anymore and the political will has to understand that they are dealing with ‘New India’.

Happy to see that India is finally dealing boundary as boundary rather than finding families across the border!

Salute to Indian Soldiers and their sacrifice🙏🙏

Image Courtesy: Shutterstock

Disclaimer: The article is a personal viewpoint on the current standoff at the border and does not intend to comment on any political decision or take sides of any political party.

वाघ आणि सिंहाची गोष्ट !

Marathi poem on the status of jungle, written by me 🙏🙏

होतं एक आटपाट जंगल, खुप तिथे प्राणी..

प्राण्यांची लागली शर्यत, झाली मोठी गंमत !

वाघ झाला राजा, मागे त्याच्या वझीर 

वझीर होता खंबीर, मात्र हातात त्याच्या खंजीर !

वाघ लागला भिऊ, झाला जणु मनिमाऊ..

करू लागला म्यॅवम्यॅव, झाली नुसती ट्यॅंवट्यॅंव !

आली एकदा रोगराई, वाघाला काही सुचे नाही..

वझीर म्हटला माझ्याकडे बघ, तोंड ठेव एकदम गप !

जंगलात होता एक सिंह, वाघ झाला पुर्ण ढिम्म..

वझीराला सुचली एक युक्ती, शोधून काढली नवी क्लृप्ति !

सल्ला त्याचा वाघाला, कर सिंहाची नक्कल..

सिंहांचं कुठलेही सत्कर्म, म्हण ही तर माझीच शक्कल !

सारखा दिसु लागला वाघ, वाटलं त्याला आता आपलाच राज..

प्रजा होती मोठी हुषार, त्यांना दिसला नुसताच साज !

प्रजेने पारखलं वाघाला, सलाम त्याचा वझीराला..

वाघ म्हण की मनीमाऊ, आहे नुसताच दिखाऊ !

एकदा तरी वाघासारखं वाग, मनीमाऊचं रूप त्याग..

वाघ-सिंहासारखी जोडी नाही, वझीर तर आमच्या ध्यानीमनीपण नाही !

आटपाट जंगल कंटाळल, गपचुप घरीचं बसलं..

वाट बघुं लागलं अच्छे दिनची, म्हटलं कुणीतरी पुन्हा येईल !

-जयवंत 

Image Courtesy: Wild Trails

Disclaimer: This is a story of a beautiful jungle and any resemblance to any human is purely coincidental and unintentional .

Mahabharata! Then and Now ..

Mahabharata as a serial concluded it’s last episode after blind king Dhrutarashtra handed over the kingdom to young blood and honest successor Yudhisthira, an able administrator.

Thousands of years ago, the story ended with Bhishma leaving for heavenly abode believing his ‘Bharatvarsha’ was safe and prosperity was there to stay.

After hundreds of years of Mughal dynasty and British monarchy, 1947 saw ‘Bharatvarsha’ rejuvenating in the hope for Pandavas to return ending years of suppression.

If Hastinapur was the dream then Dhritarashtra was the symbol of greed but even after thousands of years, Mahabharata still runs in our society, politics and nepotism has not left its clutches on today’s Bharat(India).

Dhritarashtra is part of our culture. Blind leader is now replaced by blindfolded Chieftain.

1947 saw partition of Unified India exactly on the lines of Hastinapur and Indraprastha. It was never meant for welfare of the people, it somewhere satisfied the ambitions of the then leadership.

The leaders then and now, know that their offsprings are incompetent, are aware that their nephews/nieces are capable and they do understand the real potential of common people. However, when it comes to identifying the worthy successor for the throne, they have ensured that it remains in the family.

Mahabharata was by all means a story about coterie of people surrounding the leaders who mattered and unfortunately the equation of power has still remained the same with common public out of the scheme, as always.

In today’s Kalyuga, Kauravas and Pandavas may have changed the way they exist. They could be media, leaders or common people but the strength the Kauravas carry has the potential to overshadow the goodwill of Pandavas.

One wonders whether Bhishmacharya miscalculated the safety of Hastinapur and left very early. Whether Bhagwan Shrikrishna underestimated the spread of Kaurava mentality and assumed that the war was over.

The fact remains that Mahabharata is here to stay and the characters will keep on changing their names and faces. The Bharatvarsha will keep praying in hope for a modern day Shrikrishna to arrive in different forms and make a difference to our lives.

Image Courtesy: Jansatta

Disclaimer: The blog is personal observation and comparison between Mahabharata era with today’s world and doesn’t point out to any political party or a leader.

Ramayana: A Management Perspective

When DD announced re-telecast of Ramayana and Mahabharata and with the new IN thing WFH, I could manage to pip in for few episodes which as a child, I had watched with a religious mind, as a war story and to learn ethics.

The re-telecast gave me an opportunity to look at these serials from a management perspective, especially Rama’s management skills.

King Rama is still revered and will always be in our hearts as an ideal son, true brother and a role model husband. However Rama also possessed excellent management skills which stand true even to date.

The first glimpse of the real prowess were realised at the time of ‘Sita-Swayamvar’. Rama did not rush towards the bow( till his guru ordered). He observed others, understood the challenge and when it mattered, won over the challenge posed.Wait for the right moment is an important aspect of management.

When Raja Dashratha, asked Rama to go to Vanvasa, without blinking his eyes Rama accepted the verdict. By no means, it’s on the lines of following the commitment given by the management to its stakeholders. A real management representative will adhere to the organisation expectations and goals.

As the time to confront Ravana was a reality, it was by all means a Big Bang opportunity. But, ShreeRam chose an agile approach to arrive at the final result. Rama first focused on team building to have King Sugreeva(and his army) on his side. Then he had his due-diligence completed through Hanumana who got a details of Lanka, in short, ‘Scope’ in today’s world. A real management person will never take up any project or an assignment without understanding the deliverables in hands.

For Ramasetu, Rama chose Nal and Neel as architects. A real manager will handover the task to a competent person rather than going to his favorite follower. Skillset is more important than favoritism.

Rama ensured that the good performers like Sugreeva, Vibhishan were rewarded for their hardwork and given their dues when the time was appropriate.

Mythology might look at Ramayana as a battle between Rama and Ravana, but when one observes Rama, it seems to be a team effort. During the journey to Lanka, Rama let his team drive the goals and when it mattered most, himself took the pole position as leader.

As the war erupted, Rama chose to lead from the front. He was visible to his team all throughout. A typical management principle tells that morale of team is high when the leader is visible.

Sita and Laxmana were true believers of Rama’s capabilities. Trusting abilities of each other is a key to success and if either of them had faltered, Ramayana might had a different story unfolded.

Ravana on his part was a warrior par excellence but did not work on his shortcomings. A leader has to know the loopholes and lacunae for the task in hand. Even after repeatedly being told to revisit his strategy, he chose his own path and failed. A good leader is one who has good listening capacity and abilities.

End of the day, a leader who works on his plan succeeds and the one who drives it on his gut feel fails. A real management will work according its plan, goals and strategy and the one which doesn’t, is bound to bite dust.

King Rama, our beloved ShreeRam has so many qualities to be imbibed but in this 21st century, probably his management skills are the most desired ones which we should try to learn.

Image Courtesy: Naiduniya

Disclaimer: The article is written from management perspective and does not look at Ramayana from religious angle.

Corona: An eye opener !

No Restaurants ! No Movies ! No Entertainment ! No Outing !

Human evolution has come a long way since  Charles Darwin gave his insightful theory for the first time.

From jungles, the humans moved to small towns, to cities, to metros and bridged the international borders.

Scientists like Newtons, Galileos, Watts and Edisons made humans worth ‘Being’ as it brought meaning to a standstill life.

In parallel, the borders and being supreme became the norm for the nations and then the very battle for power and control changed the lifestyle adoption.

The race from being supreme to being normal first, has reached an interesting state today.

Borders are closed, Humans remain restricted to their own shelters, Travels are banned and exodus from international cities to native countries, cities and back to village is the latest normal. It sems that the cycle is coming full circle as humans rush to safe walls called ‘Home’.

Being at ‘Home’ has reestablished the importance of science and technology and after many years, you start thanking the greats of Edisons, Marconis and Bose(s) for what they invented and then the nextgen technocrats for how they changed the way we deal our daily lives.

The science and technology has made us survive with our routine in current situation as we realise that intelligence is artificial, office is virtual, learning is digital and family is the supreme.

Corona has made us sit back and reassess the ‘Lessons Learnt’. It’s just a glimpse of what is in store for the future. It’s upto us as humans, how to evolve further or Darwin’s theory might just continue its run in a reverse mode.

Image Courtesy: Tata Steel

Disclaimer: The article merely looks into the current status post Corona and is an individual opinion.

Corona ! A new way of life..

Corona!

What a beautiful name?
Simply put, it’s the crown everyone would want to possess but not anymore 😀

It came, it conquered, it destroyed !!

One always wonders why such beautiful names are synonymous with natural disasters? Scientists will have their own analogy, but common man would never understand Katarina hurricanes , Bulbul cyclone, Abu volcano and now this Corona virus.

Virus!
By all means it’s an agent which can multiply it’s negativity manifold and can impact human beings when they get in contact with each other. Antibodies then come to rescue to get rid of such virus and we simply say antibiotics worked. But the fact of the matter remains, it’s negativity which is thrown out by the antibodies.

The struggle with Corona has just began. With no remedy in sight, the ‘Corona’ has made the world divided and united at the same time !!

It has made people quarantined to stay away from their families, society as they are looked upon with all the suspicion and on the other hand they have been made famous with their names being circulated on the social media.

If Corona brought cheer to sluggish pharmaceutical shops as mask is no more the proprietary of 2 wheeler drivers, then those in tourism feel hidden faces have impacted their survival, at least in short term.

Movies, Bars, IPLs and get togethers are no more a reality but online shopping, Netflix and Hotstar are the new way for family bonding.

If work kept people away from home, Corona brought families closer with the new ‘IN’ thing WFH (work from home).

Corona has brought some fundamental changes to our lives.

Namastes are no longer orthodox, NEWS are beyond any religion, Vegetarians are respected for their lifestyle and the world has moved closer. But the virus will remain stronger, till it meets its antibody or till the humans figure out a way to fight it out.

Corona as it’s called is the name of the new disaster and we will feel it’s anxiety till it’s not out of our minds and the biological system. Till then, be safe,be alert, meet each other positively keeping ‘Corona’ out of your minds and take care of yourself.

Disclaimer: The views about Corona are personal and do not comment on any individual or any official.

Image Courtesy: CNN

Nirbhaya and Priyanka are not alone !

In recent past ,the country has faced a huge furore in terms of shameless crime against women and the talk is all around.The media, the hashtags, speeches, the candlelight march have immensely mobilised the youth and hope this continues till we find a stable and long term solution to these regressive and repeatative instances.

However, the past instances prove that all such focus hasn’t ideally been converted into a robust system. Many a times such protests turn out to be politicised ones aimed at targeting the law and order control of the current establishment, whoever is at the helm.

If Nirbhaya case was an eye opener, Kathua confirmed the facts that there is no fear amongst perverts and the unfortunate incidence of Priyanka Reddy reestablished the fact that a section of society will neither improve nor be afraid to commit the heinous act or crimes.

We need to have the guilty pronounced and have them face rigorous punishment through fast track justice but will it suffice for a strong, educated, cultured and law abiding society ? The answer doesn’t look too much of positive if the fight for the cause is not sustained and eradication of root cause is not addressed with will, unity aimed at stringent laws and an aim for constructive nation building.

India has grown leaps and bounds since independence. The growth and social reforms need to go hand in hand but the lack of political will and huge imbalance in terms of socio-economic structure across the nation,could never allow the nation to ditch the oppression and embrace the progression.

The link between literacy/education, culture, wealth and power is extremely vital for any society.  Education is the key to eradicate illiteracy and control self proclaimed chauvinism. Power and wealth is normally reciprocated with the literacy or education but we as a country, has a huge inverse of it when it comes to reality.

We need to go back to basics of our culture , imbibe sense of belongingness, educate the kids, let the wealth be through the route of wisdom and power be through social rights and not through the muscle power.

Whenever such cases stand in the court, the law has always taken its own course.It has never come out of its boundaries and made it open to public kind of judiciary. It is necessary that justice is highlighted and shouted to every nook and corner of the remotest places.

‘Fear for GOD’ irrespective of the community was an age old belief which has become fearless and if we fail to bring it to ‘FEAR for Law’ mode , we will always see someone above the law twisting it or even if punished not ashamed of his deeds.

If law abiding is a scarcity then the law binding needs to improve . A society which believes in ‘Freedom is its right’, also needs to understand that freedom without integrity, freedom without responsibility, freedom without social reforms will always take the country backwards and not towards a path of cohesive socio-stable nation.

It’s not only about Nirbhaya, Priyanka but it’s also about the future of daughters of the nation who not only are pride of their families but who also have a capability to take our country on path of progression. What they need is nothing more that bit of affection, appreciation and a rightful protection from the society.

P.S. This is a personal viewpoint about the current recurring instances in the country and, it does not refer to any individual or any political affiliation.

Image Courtesy: Zee News

- Jayawant

Chandrayaan -II Mission so close and yet bit far 🙏

We Indians have always been fascinated by that astronomical body that orbits the planet and even the distance of 384,400 km from earth never made us feel that its an alien to us. It was always so close yet so far.

If mythology tells us Chand as one of the young and most good looking deities worshipped all over, the aura and love for it, has remained throughout ages even today.

चंदा मामा दूर के, पुए पकाए बूर के
आप खाए थाली मे, मुन्ने को दे प्याली मे !

The beautiful words made us connect instantly with that soothing Chandamama and the child in us could stop crying, eat instantly and could just spend many nights staring at him.

If the child in us slept instantly, Chand had an exactly opposite effect when it came to youngsters. It became a reason for them to keep awake the whole night as

रात का समा, झूमे चंद्रमा, तन मोरा नाचे रे, जैसे बिजुरियाँ
रात का समा !

to an extreme of

एक बात मान लो तुम, जो कहूँ मैं वो करो तुम
जो करो तो मेरा वादा, मैं करूँगी जो कहो तुम, तुम
तुम मुझको चाँद लाके दो !

All through the childhood to young romantic minds or religious old age, we never lost our love for that eternal Chand.

But there was one entity called ISRO, which never lost its focus on looking at Chand as an imapctful body which has capabilities to change the way mankind has lived so far. The belief by them made an attempt, what no one had done so far.

If Chandrayaan-I was about designing, developing and launching a mission to conduct scientific experiments. Chandrayaan-II was far more ambitious as it was about to demonstrate the ability to soft-land on the lunar surface and operate a robotic rover on the surface. The robot then would have studied and made us aware about the surface of the moon, minerals or test ice or water.

The moment of success was almost there and for a change 😊 kids, youngsters or oldies had the same goal for looking at that Chand and prayed for the 100% success of the mission. It was not to be ☹️. Nevertheless, being almost there has brought many success stories as well. Only 2.1 km remained out of those humongous 384,400 km.

As ISRO says, mission is 95% success and the Orbiter is already in its place which will keep the scientists continue their studies of the beloved Chand, though the communication is lost as of now. ‘Never Give Up’ mantra will keep ISRO on the job and hope they find a way to bridge that communication gap.

As they say, sometimes bad luck is more important than smooth sailing as it teaches us to be grounded, brings people closer, gives an opportunity to do better and the success what follows is always far larger than one anticipates in the first attempt.

As an Indian, let’s not forget that ISRO is those special ones amongst us who had the same childhood memories, young crush and respecting those age old customs or traditions and they will keep working hard till they achieve that eluded 5% success to be back on track.

Soon, the ISRO will make the those words real for us 🙏🙏

चौदहवीं का चाँद हो, या आफ़ताब हो
जो भी हो तुम खुदा कि क़सम, लाजवाब हो !

Image Courtesy: Geek

Disclaimer: The blog is a personal way of looking at the Chandryaan-II mission from common man’s perspective and salutes those extraordinaries amongst us. It does not comment on the mission, the technology or any individual.

26th July ! A standstill Mumbai !

ओ …ओ … शामे मलंग सी... |

...is Mumbai, but

........वो शाम कुछ अजीब थी..|

It was not a normal evening and day . It was 26th July 2005.

It’s been 14 years since then, but every year on 2607, it takes me back to those memories which made all of us realize that we are humans and don’t have any control on our lives whatsoever. 

Many amongst us might have witnessed the fury of the nature that day and I relive my story here.

The morning of 2607 was as usual refreshing but cloudy. I was back from a year long hiatus from Mumbai and had no reason to be in the office especially considering the fact that my project was just over and next assignment was to start in 15 days (100% compliance to company policy 😊) However, in a zeal to meet old friends and colleagues, I landed up in my office at Worli and for unknown reasons chose not to take my own vehicle.

Day well spent and friends met, I thought it wise to make a move at 4 pm considering Mumbai clouds which had started to gather together. The taxis were scarce and I made my mind to stay with my relatives place at Dadar. As I was about to enter their complex, a bus honked and I changed my decision to enter the bus. Then began the most unique journey and fight with the fury of the nature which is still vivid in my heart, my thoughts and my memories.

The bus started to move with a speed of inches per minute and the wise driver decided to take us to Kalanagar flyover to avoid water logging in the bus. The journey which started at 4:30 pm made us reach Kalanagar in the night. Many thoughts of getting down from the bus were thwarted by unknown Mumbaikar friends who stopped each other’s rush of blood and kept us safe.

I had that utterly non reachable BPL mobile which to everyone’s surprise was the only network working on the bus. I don’t even recollect how my handset was moving from one hand to other and getting people connected to their homes to convey their safety.

The night in the bus was all about chitchat and keeping ourselves awake. As it dawned at 6 am, we got down from the bus to witness one of the goriest sights of the city of Mumbai. There were no visible slums, no small buildings and no roads except a confusion whether we were on the bridge over sea or on the road. People especially female passengers panicked and left the bus and only god knows what happened to them or whether they remained safe.

They say GOD is the biggest script writer and out of nowhere, I heard a female voice which sounded so familiar but I hadn’t heard it for at least last 20 years. To my utter surprise, the old lady was none other than my class teacher from school. After spending night in the taxi, the driver suggested her (and her husband) to board the bus, as it was safest destination in watery Mumbai.

Water began to recede and the bus started moving. Many families were helping people on roads and I had the option of getting down for my destination. However I chose to stay back with my teacher and finally, the bus driver drove us to SV road, Khar where hundreds of buses were brought together by BEST on 27th July. Ultimately, I stayed in a hotel in Khar till the next day with my teacher and her husband and once their family members picked them up, I went my home on 28th July. I was lucky that I could make it to home after the ghastly rains 🙂

I am yet to figure out, what made me travel on 26th July ? Whether it was my zeal to meet my friends, or help unknown friends through my BPL mobile, or to be with my teacher or just to make me witness and realize how the nature can go against mankind.

Many lives were lost and many stories remained untold . Thankfully, my near ones who took the risk of being on roads, in the railway bogies, or stayed in hotels or offices remained safe 😊🙏

The story still remain fresh in mind and the fear of rain fury still brings that extra caution whenever rain gods get angry.

You guys may also share your part if you have witnessed it too !!

Disclaimer: This is neither a blog nor an article. This one is my way of thanking the almighty who kept me and many others safe on that once in a lifetime day and for all those wise decisions I took on that panicky day.

Image : Mumbai my love

 - Jayawant

Story of Reincarnation of Frog and the Bull

Once upon a time, there lived a frog who was intelligent , strong and ambitious. He was considered best among  frogs and this made the street-smart frog think he was the best and capable to do anything. One fine day, the frog came across a bull who was intelligent, strong and ambitious. The frog felt, the only difference between the bull and him was the size and then it was immaterial as all the other qualities were same. The frog decided to be as big as bull in size and started pumping air in his body. Size increased and frog got happy and kept pumping air. Alas ! Some point of time the energy was lost and frog could not become the full grown bull.

Few centuries later, reincarnation happened. This time the frog was born as a sportsman and started playing at early age. God was kind enough to give him all the qualities of strength, ambitions and talent too. The sportsman started believing he is the best. He had teammates who were big bulls of the game and were way ahead in caliber than our frog turned Sportsman. However, being sportsmen and having huge team spirit , the big bulls never underestimated their team mate and always made the froggy sportsman believe, he was BULL like them.

Time doesn’t wait for anyone. Big bulls and froggy sportsman had to move away from the game. They retired, settled in life with tag of  ‘Former bulls’. Our froggy sportsman knowing his psyche, thought he deserved much more in life, and started dreaming big. He thought he can become a big time politician and can solve international problems. Unfortunately, there was another froggy bull on the other side of international border too and both froggy bulls came together to solve the age old problem of  deciding who is the real bull or who is the frog ?

Life has come full circle for the frog !

P.S. Time has withstood the notion, no frog can ever become a bull. It will decide and find out the real bull on its own. Till then if you come across any frog whom you might see around behaving like a bull is merely coincidental.

- Jayawant

ReplyForward

Raghu in a domestic cricket tournament

Raghu’s story ...continued !!

Raghu and his team was participating in a domestic cricket tournament. 

Raghu was depending on his team to score and beat the opposition. For a change, his team had some homework and groundwork in place and appeared to be in good form but somewhere stayed in their own smug. Raghu had full confidence to win the tournament due their capabilities so this time he didn’t go to worship much and tell everyone how simpleton he was ! He in the meanwhile also picked up few fights with other schools and teams.

Few of the other schools knew their limitations well in advance, so they practiced day in day out and when they realized they can’t win the tournament on their own potential, they called upon current inter school group captain Naru to guide, mentor and teach them few of the nuisances of the game.

One of old schools had lost its sheen completely but they still had capabilities to win few matches and their aim was only to upset Raghu’s and Naru's teams to make a point or two. They were depending on their coach more than their current captain and was known as Ajja's (Dadaji) team.

Tournament started and complacent Raghu was enjoying his summer vacations and what appeared to be a straightforward win started to get converted in a big loss for Raghu’s team but his team somehow managed to reach finals. Ajja’s team lost the semifinals and thought they will have to wait for next tournament.

Tournament finals began as if it was a tough one but suddenly pinch hitting began from Naru’s team and they performed way beyond Raghu’s team. Naru’s team started celebrating and thought they have won the tournament.

As Naru’s team started to celebrate, Raghu and Ajja’s team added the scores of Raghu’s team in finals and semifinal score of Ajja’s team and started to claim that they have won the tournament and are the domestic champions.

The spectators are now in a complete mess of thoughts as they neither understand the new rules of the game nor they know who is the champion. Surprisingly the organisers will tell them the result and the spectators will have to believe them and accept the identified domestic champion, till then they have to watch all the drama

P.S. This is just a story of an imaginary character Raghu’s current status and any resemblance to reality is purely unintentional and coincidental.

- Jayawant

Story of Raghu and inter school competition

Once upon a time there lived a boy named Raghu who was born to rich parents and had all the luxuries of life at his pedestal. He was always the best student, cultured child and the most obedient kid but the only difference between him and others was that his school had no other students apart from him.

The boy started to grow up, and though his family had all the amenities and wealth to make Raghu a top notcher, they realised he was not picking up any skills. Raghu started cribbing, avoiding responsibilities so his family brought few teachers, close family friends and obedient servants whose only job was to praise Raghu and make him feel good. His mom told him he would soon become the captain of school and then in all probability will be the inter-school group captain .Everyone around told him the same thing so Raghu started to live in a self made world believing himself to be the best and a potential Group Captain material.

Other schools in the meanwhile had students from all the sections of the society and progressed as per their calibers. Some were good at studies, some were good at sports and one amongst them having flavour for most of the skills though not a Master surprisingly went past other students and made it to the inter school group captain position.

Raghu’s mom got very angry , she brought all the teachers of Raghu together and started scolding them for why was Raghu not doing good when he had all the potential. Though they were aware that Raghu doesn’t study, always goes on vacation, doesn’t like to give others a credit for success but blames them for failures, they didn’t have the guts to say anything. Instead they started telling the mom that the new group captain of other school  is not good. He doesn’t play the game they want him to play. He doesn’t get boys from all schools together and has his own way of dealing all the nuances of the game and infact some of his own schoolmates also don’t agree to him many times. Mom was quite happy to find such excuses and told them to search for Raghu who was on vacation and also bring all those other students together who don’t like the group captain and make friendship with Raghu.

Now Raghu had all the friends who praised him and made him believe in his potential. Having realised blaming group captain makes Mom happy, all of them together started taking new tasks in hands and put blame on anything and everything on the Group Captain.Raghu started to feel that he was right, people loved him and was now equipped to be the inter school group captain.

As times progressed, new friends of Raghu started to feel getting ignored and thought they were better than him and started to pick up small fights with him.

The current Group captain also realised that if all students of other schools came together then though not beatable along with Raghu, will have nuisance value in future, so he also started making few friends and dumping friends whom he believed will not support him in future.

Raghu in the meanwhile took the challenge to prove himself, started meeting and visiting all schools and for a change reduced his vacations. He started playing different types of sports which are taught to him.He was made the school captain by his mom and now wanted to fulfil his mom’s dreams of making it to inter school leader.

Nonetheless the rules of the school have a mandate to conduct inter school competition and choose a new inter school group captain at a regular frequency so all the schools and its students have begun their preparations and only time will tell who and from which school will become the new inter school Group Captain.

P.S. This is an inter school process depiction for choosing the group captain and Raghu is an imaginary character. Resemblance to any political or non political Raghu is unintentional and coincidental.

- Jayawant