A Cherished Visit.

I and my friend made plan to travel a beautiful mountain city from delhi to mussourie in uttarakand. We took the state transport conveyance in the night around 10pm and reached morning around 6 to the splendid city of mussourie  , we were immensely please looking at sonic beauty, the snow fog surrounded mussourie my first acquaintance to the  people dressed with blazer on Indian kurta appears to be a nepali kind of dress with the similar nepali hat came to us to take charge of our luggage and asking in a gleeful voice (saab hotel chaiye apko) do you need hotel sir, we were visitng the place for the first time and were struck to the grandeur of city that is joy for your eyes to keep looking around. We meet a a robust active gentleman by name bag singh looking after Hotel Minerva at the city who promised us to give best deal and ask us to follow . as we too got tried with our night long journey we thought to chose the services of Baagh singh and started walking behind him to hotel Minerva for our rest of stay.

We reached hotel Minerva with a walk from were the bus drop us barely spending 10-15 minutes walk and took the shelter to take some rest and refresh ourselves to visit the city, we visited mussouire with a purpose to visit the Lal Bhadur shastri national academy for administration, we were anxious to visit the academy before we hang around to other places. We quickly had our breakfast at hotel Minerva; the courtesy at our hotel and the staff was pleasing as they were so friendly with us that they never made us feel we are in a professional relationship. We than started for hotel to academy through the mall road the shops were just started opening their shutters, we were immensely feeling energetic as the day was getting unfurled and we took our way amidst the surrounding fog that gave us feeling like as we were walking in the sky; the city is surrounded with dense fog cloud through the stretch mall road that cut the heart of mountain were the city is located.

The rickshaw pullers at mall roads keep throwing at you invitation to chose them for your trip to company bagh, kempty falls, academy, they chase you to feel standstill but we thought to enjoy the beauty of city by walking our destination, the people at mussourie with pretty faces living in pure environment of mountain little kids cheering at your faces speaks how beautiful life is at mussourie, we were watching the resonance of innocence in the city and people were blossoming in joy. We were cross by tourist who had come to be part of this natural extravaganza to facilitate their lives happiness catching memories in camera and hearts.

We finally reached the academy that is situated in heart of city to train the best personnel and conditioned them to take the reins of executive in serving people, as I was still engrossed in the beauty of mussuorie, I found the climate of the place is paradise for writers to explore their creativity so why eminent writer like Ruskin bond found his home away home from Russia here to endeavor to explore his thoughts. The academy is a beautifully stretched premise that is one of the marvel place centre that stand as catalyst to accommodate different backgrounds and culture to unite in the campus. We got permission to step into the academy with the reference of a friend who was kind enough to bestow upon us the privilege to witness the premier Academy which is also called LABSNAA.

As our friend was engaged in his regular prior occupation we text a message of our surprise arrival and waited for him in waiting hall and later shifted to canteen, I was bit hungry to order a plate of hot samosa while eating the samosa I was looking the canteen that was simple but what titillated my mind was why and how the name as canteen came to this place?

Finally our friend came with a little tinge of surprise to see us at academy he was pleasant to us and we exchange greetings and it was getting noon than he took around to the hostels which are named after the Indian rivers; I thought the place itself like ocean were different culture come and melt similarly all the rivers accommodate members from all parts of country. We had delicious luncheon at the banquet hall and than our friend who had his next class has to depart from us suggested us to must visit the library. The library is temple were books with large volumes making it significant actually words cannot describe the value of library.

The library is a place were knowledge tryst with enlightenment. As I was going through the library carefully I found a special section on Gandhiji (a collection of books worth diamonds were standing proud narrating how instrumentally they speak about the freedom struggle and experiments in truth under Gandhiji. The role of books that reflects the emotions of life is unique and lively epitome invention of mankind. The library was purposeful with a various discipline and an exclusive compartment for magazine and journals. The prestigious assert of LABSNAA. This was unforgettable experience of life as we were over whelmed to watch the statue of LaL Bhaudur shastri in the campus that instantly reminded me the impact of his humility in personality and his solagan of Jai jawan and jai kisan. We than took pictures before the shastriji statue to remember our momentous visit.

While getting back to our hotel we thought of booking our tickets to return delhi through train and reached the railway booking office at mussourie that was another attraction to visiting the sets of malgudi days, a impervious old structure under two officers sitting and booking reservations. We got our tickets to bid our cherished visit to mussourie bye.

Mussourie is a beautiful place that has many attractions which we visited among which I have highlighted the academy that stands prominent may not be a tourist attraction but a centre for national importance. Everyone should take the time out to visit mussourie and if you can visit LABSNAA your visit is more than a recreation trip to a historic visit.

The Number Rush

The pictures of rush and long cues of students in newspapers before universities entrance test making headlines with percentages varying marginally and students yearning to get their choice to make career at best. The scenario no one wants to learn but everybody desire to be educated. In a civilized society we got growing literacy with more numbers than less knowledge. The educative masses are looking for a numerical knowledge than sustainable form of education.

Education has turned into a rush to get seat for acquiring more numbers than knowledge to discover a livelihood on the basis of arithmetical knowledge than actual understanding; everywhere in schools, colleges, and universities. We watch today the rush by parent child in long cues sweating to find a seat in the distinguished institution to catch up with the number game by the numbers, and for the numbers. The phenomenon reminds me Ranchor das of 3 idiots’ movie who energize the class in the scene of a movie to look for excellence in subject than success in numbers. The students, guardians and teachers are in a synchronize endeavor to distribute numbers than involve in the interactive process in disseminating knowledge among the wards; the mushroom growth of educational institutions from kinder garden to post graduate courses has unfurl the competitive spirit nothing but adding fuel to the fire against the rush not to forget the lure of foreign universities that attracts more numbers on academic sheet and bank account. 

The one important factor missing in the whole extravaganza is the purpose of education; if we peep into the past the gurukul or madrasa method of teaching was vital in imparting education with the paramount motive for the growth of child’s delinquency in learning the prerequisites of subject to acquire intelligence than success, however education has traveled a long journey to undergo  a populist experimentation by the policy makers against the stakeholders to put it into different methods at different time nevertheless the modern format of education has shrunk the purpose of education in both teaching and learning ways of schooling in understanding the knowledge more in amount of passing percentage than learning factor; another growing craze of learning with the help of technology is also minimizing the role of books and teachers and introducing the concept of self tutoring which is taking the digital shape with concerns of ethics and plagiarism among students creating  yawning gap.

The cut throat competition with superficial pride and comparison by guardians to compare and evaluate their wards with others in terms of merit numbers  has buckle the tiny toddlers to undergo surmount pressure to fetch more numbers to match their genius. However this growing trend has given rise in unhealthy development of child hood that cannot have his tryst with growing before his exercise in getting numbers through a continuous effort. This addiction has not left the institution and teachers who are in a contest to attract more number of revenue than to teach the subject with integrity to convey the understanding than tailor the subject to gain more marks to students which result in sub standard profit and sever loss. This is unfair to blame only students or teachers or parents but the need is collective effort should facilitate the change to remove the nomadic number affliction from the canon of education.

The learning institution functioning as government and private has to undergo tremendous transformation to adapt and abreast their learning methodologies to the changing needs, it is essential to make learning more qualitative, interesting and meaningful to acquire intelligence and recruit proper talents as teachers with proper teaching aids, and alternative teaching methods like to exploring creativity among students to acquaint with the subject to achieve success in knowledge than numbers in success. Imagine a doctor who has achieved a certificate to perform a surgery through the help of numbers, cramming, skimming, and other methods and imagine the doctor who has acquired knowledge and learn the prerequisites of surgery; who among two will fare better in the operation absolutely the later but the former is part of the profession who can do considerable damage if we do not endeavor to deliver a paradigm shift in stopping from the production of number products before knowledge products.

Ultimately the standard of education system should evolve to participate and promote learning in creating a productive future for the country, we need a adaptable fixed term policy to continue in facilitating the world class brains by distributing knowledge than numbers or grades, we can bring this reform by culling the rush through making learning a interactive activity, we can make it easy by accommodating students to have the privilege to learn and gain.  The learning institution, guardian and student should espouse the mantra to understand knowledge than adjust knowledge in constituting a civil society that is out of number  rush.

Being lonely.

One of my friend just text me that she is feeling lonely today and gave me the thought to write this piece by taking a pause to think why do we feel lonely in life? Being in self or missing someone between others or looking to be with some one for togetherness, insecurity, fear, and unsolicited solitude. Or it’s just a temporary pause we go in search of recognizing self in our inner self. The quest is limitless to find reasons for our loneliness which can be driven by our thinking, happening, and upbringing in different surroundings. This thought creates dilemma in my mind to figure out is being lonely is good or bad to human health, in ancient time the saints, Sufis, and kings went into their isolation to meditate and discover enlightenment, the solitary confinement that gave them power to control over their will mentions loneliness  as  strength against evil to meditate and master our senses; the other side of the story when I learn about the experiences of loneliness in empathy with Dr. Nelson Mandela and Aung Sui Kyi who  spent their considerable amount life in imprisonment of loneliness may put loneliness as curse against freedom. What I am endeavoring is here not to find a contradiction between the two sides   but what is the actual reason to feel lonely or what is loneliness? Some of us are better at dealing loneliness than other people than others for them loneliness is cutting them across society; for others loneliness is a curse  a shadow that follows them all the time, that rears its ugly head at every human contact, that surrounds them in their waking and in their dreams.

These feeling started pricking me I am lonely unless I wish to make my loneliness meet companionship; may it be joy, sadness or something unspoken. I wish to be myself; Loneliness is part of human life at the end of the day we all are alone. Do we ever truly introspect what it is to be being in self and experience and remember things you have gone by the day to recall the joys and happiness, your pains and distress absolutely we can talk to people about how we feel, we can draw our boundless imagination, pictures, we can play music, but this entire effort to communicate ultimately leaves something behind. We cannot always get our feelings, ideas or experiences across exactly. There is a painful reality that ultimately we are alone in our inner selves and ultimately alone. 

Loneliness is a universal observable fact it exist in every human soul at some time in every culture, every class, every age, and at all times in human history. It is inevitable and has been expressed throughout the ages in music, literature and art. To experience loneliness is to cut oneself from society to distinguish how fundamentally separated from each other, fated to speak and yet never fully understood. Not only is loneliness so pervasive, but it has been associated with a variety of different emotions.  People who feel lonely describe it as painful, and it is associated very strongly with feelings of depression, suicide, low self-esteem and aggression.  Being lonely for too long may not be a good thing.  And while we suffer a monadic existence, we are social animals, needing each other, to bond, to connect, to love.  It is the paradox of human existence to seek to fill a need that can never be satisfied, to fill the vortex of loneliness in our lives.

So what is loneliness?  Is it a feeling? A condition? For different people, it means different things.  It is hard to describe exactly what it is, or how come we feel this way.  Perhaps a better question is "what is loneliness for you?"  being lonely is not absolutely good may be it is not perfectly bad too.

Better equals.

It is overwhelming to watch for history to add another charismatic chapter in her change movements for with one word SLUT defining the red letter walk to recognize that we are women born with freedom. The slut walk has brought the women fraternity together in pushing the international movement and walking together to express their foot prints in heralding understanding to know women with love than rupture her in rape. The increasing violence and crime on women has lead unappreciated illustrations in defaming the dignity of better equals in past and present hopefully this has to stop for future. The time is to change the equations that are leading to harm the womanhood; the growing importance of women in world equal to men is viewed in contrast to different standards regarding woman has to be reoriented with respect and equal treatment. It is indisputably affirmative reality that employed or unemployed women play an instrumental role with her job in making the house or marketing the house, she is leading with the principle of management in global world today.

However the thread that led to such big movement bringing once again question on distinctiveness of women apparel by law enforcing officer suggesting women students not to wear clothes like sluts reflects that the world is at one side spiraling in innovative progress with the rapid pace of development, where as on the other side it is yet lagging in realizing the virtues of freedom and equality in right perspective to think broad than compartmentalizing the women’s’ liberty in cloth, veil and prejudices. The confrontation between culture and modernity has made the rights of women into martyr with help hounding laws for women in saving against exploitation are more than less multiplies the agony against being her self. The sad irony is that the defense to such discrimination to women is her silence which keeps leading to her tolerance attitude for saving her promises, family and husband which gives her to take life in suffering and sacrifice. The pre-conceived notions of society against girl child add more misery to her woes.

Nevertheless the civilizing and changing society keep looking women at different times in different roles which need to accommodate her fashion of competence than cloths which is par excellence to later. The mindset asks for a change to watch women above her seductive charms to her intellectual ingenuity. The women themselves are better judge to draw a line which is best for themselves about good and bad may be there are different cultural society with different taste and comforts complimenting the camaraderie between community, culture, and modernity. We should accept this in universality to allow women herself reason to judge to choose what is decent and aesthetic for her self.

The need is to consider them for respect than rape; we should recognize them as equals to empower to walk together for success march than slut walks.

Wrong feat

The wrong feat by UPA  against Baba Ramdev is going to cost dearly as the consequences led in  amalgamating  the force in convergence against the issue that Baba Ramdev was leading; it is equally significant tryst for history to watch the relaunch of Gandhi’s weapon of stayagarah that is gathering momentum for social change in society.

The UPA government has blundered with Baba Ramdev eviction and now in serious damage control for miscalculating Baba Ramdev mission steering the process to ship back black money hidden in Swiss bank and other financial institutions abroad. The prime minister apparently regretting the decision in press conference as unfortunate which is his true self style to evade responsibility from his head every time but he is admitting that their was no alternative to the operation appears to be the statement that was taken under tinge of frustration unable to progress the dialogue with the camp of Baba Ramdev, the growing momentum in favor of Baba Ramdev and his crusade amounting to serious ramifications that perturbed the government which has to go submissive before the demands of Anna Hazare and left UPA in no man’s land to take a wise step than a aggressive stand of violence. 

The brutal atrocities on men, women, children, does not deserve any legitimacy in the democratic structure to inflict injures on the common man against no crime or without any danger to attack than take preventive action is condemnable. the eviction has been criticized by the cross sections of society rising into a debate of favor and against but amidst the arguments the issue seems to be in the backseat Baba Ramdev explicitly put his life responsibility on Sonia Gandhi against the issue neither the congress nor the BJP have categorically spoke for concrete steps to find solution for the issue than to justify their stands against the attack however the political equations are looking for alliances for future but may be not for solutions to bring justice to nation against the black money holders who are enjoying the patronage and privilege for their amass of wealth and deceit to the country. 

However the UPA government hypocrisy has come to the picture for her romanticism with common man which his only for cashing vote in polls than giving any due respect to the aam aadmi’s dignity who chose the UPA government for two terms; the alliance should be ashamed for her absolute misdeeds and double standards humiliating common man and their manifesto. However the achievement for UPA2 regime is that our prime minister has got an international image and our national image holds little significance before the world. The Indian internal affairs are in state of flux with missing values, economic crisis, political instability, scams, and corruption have resulted in systemic failure and brought great disrepute to the principle of pluralism; this also reflects that the UPA under Prime minister Dr Singh is aheading towards a downfall perhaps the congress under UPA will now have to brainstorm in search for new face to replace Dr Manmohan Singh as prime minister for future nevertheless the great economist has got little success as good politician amidst in the present crisis the journey is not going to be easy for UPA to regain the power for third consecutive in 2014.

The Indian voter has to reflect the sign of maturity from being gullible and helpless to becoming a force pushing for change and development in bringing responsible and accountable government which should stand with democratic values and deliver administration in transparency and good governance for empowerment and stability in country.