Four of us to the Land of Kings.

Endowed with natural beauty and history, Rajasthan is one of the most exotic destinations, which attracts tourists from all over the globe. It is also sobriqueted as Land of the Kings. Mainly, it is visited on accounts of its culture, art, historical palaces and forts. Anxious to uncover these treasures of ancient history, we four of us decided to explore a few locations in a very limited time frame. We planned for a 4 day trip to Udaipur-Jaipur-MountAbu, while our hectic office schedules, empty workstations and pending backlogs took a back seat.

The escapade began on 6th of february, 2014. Chandan, Sunny and Vishal hopped a train from delhi while I traversed from pune, to the city of lakes. Yes, Udaipur topped our list to begin with. Ironically, Vishal had missed the train (at least to what I had been made to believe after being falling in the trio trap). By the time I reached there, accomodations had been arranged. It was a beautiful 4 bedded room with plush interiors, supported by a 40 inch LED screen. A 4 bedded room for just three of us, I was perplexed. Soon before I could probe any more, there was a knock on the door (to which I was forced to answer), and all the mysteries were unearthed in moments. I was totally breathtaken and we all laughed in unison. Within minutes, food was served and we gulped like the last nibbles were left for us on the planet. Soon, we were ready to dig into the city. We visited City Palace, Lake Pichhola, Dudhtalai and a few more. We also extended to karni mata mandir, which was located at a cliff, connected by ropeway. It was sunset time and almost the entire city was visible to us from there. It was just beautiful.

Breathtaking Marble Carvings, Dilwara Jain Temples,
Mount Abu.

Next day was reserved for Mount Abu. It’s a small and beautiful hill station, a 200 km drive from Udaipur. We visited the most famous Dilwara Jain Temples there. It is one of the finest temples, known for its extraordinary and exemplary marble (precisely ‘sangmarmar’) stone carvings, built in 11th century AD. The temple interiors displayed an inconceivable work of human craftsmanship, delivering delicacies at its best. Nakki Lake and Sunset Point were also popular locations which we hovered through. A 1 hr boating ride in nakki lake left us refreshed for the entire day. Sunset point, one of the popular locations, drew our attention towards the serene way of enjoying the nature. After sunset, we headed for our ultimate location, the pink city. We boarded a city bus, which was as good as dismantling into bits and pieces any minute, gave us an unforgettable journey which will remain confined to ourselves, reasons known to just the four of us.

Early morning, in midst of the cold waves, we arrived at the capital, Jaipur. As we had been invited, we had no option but to park ourselves at Sunny's uncle's place. We freshened ourselves and aunty made us a delicious north indian cuisine. We started our 

Raj Mandir Cinemas, Jaipur.

sightseeing with the forts. Firstly Nahargarh and Jaigarh Forts, and then Amber (pronounced as 'Amer') fort. Amber fort is one of the most ancient and famous forts, as the city gets its name from the ruler of Amber, Maharaja Sawai Jai Singh. Hawa Mahal, Pink City and Jal Mahal were the other attractions which we crossed by. We completed our tour by watching the movie 'hasee to phasee' in the vividly popular ‘Raj Mandir’ Cinemas. Forgive me if I am wrong but even today, this theatre stands a class apart, second to none.

As soon as the dusk covered the city, we left for the national capital, back to our melancholy chambers and logical lives. While everyone resided there, I continued for pune. With a flick of seconds, three days had passed. It was truly an everlasting experience. Thank you guys for making this possible.

Chandan, Sunny (aka ... & .... 'Winners) - You guys totally won in giving me the surprise.  

Vishal (aka Bholu) - Thank you for being with us (I have told you too many times already - If you know what I mean :P ). 

Sunny, Chandan, Myself and Vishal - At Udaipur.

Expecting all of you to plan something somewhere, or lets say, anything anywhere, soon. Till then, Keep Rocking !

“India is not, as people keep calling it, an underdeveloped country, but rather, in the context of its history and cultural heritage, a highly developed one in an advanced state of decay.”    -Anonymous.

The first scream was for Help. The second is for Justice.

As I sit down to write this, the media is reporting that some khap panchayat in west Bengal has ordered a gang rape of a tribal girl who is as young as 20 years old. Soon, announcements about protests, dharnas, probes will follow. And if I am not wrong, we have already been here. These kinds of incidents have been aired way too many times. The only fact that remains is we have listened to it, and got used to it. Now, we don’t find this worthy of our heed, until it comes to haunt one of our loved ones. 

This is the most appalling question of the century. Are our girls and women safe in our own country ? And if not, who is responsible for that ? Can we just keep calm and blame the police, parties, people and politics ? Can we rise to the need of the hour to prevent and abolish these heinous crimes against women ? Are we really not concerned for our mothers, sisters, daughters etc. ? Can't we just do something to ensure their safety ? Are we simply incapable of that ? Or are we crippled to the extent of being unable to answer this ? I believe that the question is not about capability or anything similar. It's just that until our own houses are on fire, nothing else bothers us much. I hate to admit it, but the world is just not a safe place anymore. Our country, as much I love it, is not definitely a paradise, at least not for the so-called ‘fair sex’.

We cannot say that men are immune to all the problems but it has been observed that the statistics are aligned to the counterpart of the story. We should be well aware of the fact that safety of women and their empowerment has been on our national agenda since ages, but has it served anything ? No. I advertently say it. I will tell you why. Because our netas and parties are still busy in extracting dollars and rupees from the exchequer, even after massively scoring in swiss banks. What can be more ironic than the fact that West Bengal witnessed the highest number of gender crimes in the country in 2012, a number that is alarmingly increasing and which now stands at more than more than thirty thousand cases, despite having a female chief minister. I will quote a classic example. While everybody (esp. all the parties including INC, BJP, AAP) watched and was aware of this barbarous act against that tribal women in Bengal, no party had the guts to come out, take a stand and say that we will abolish or eradicate or at least take action against these khap panchayats and kangaroo courts. And we know why. Because here comes the vote bank politics and rural votes may get scattered due to this course of action. So why care to venture one ? People in India do care much more for their chairs than the mere life and self-esteem of a poor girl.

Collecting information and consciousness regarding that incident, the woman has been through the heights of brutality, having been raped by 13 men and most awkwardly, it has been acknowledged by almost an entire village. Am I the only one who thinks that this is completely inappropriate ? How can someone approve of such a fatal, brutal and inhumane act ? Definitely, there are a few more than just me. But can we have some voices ? This is just one case which got pushed to the headlines, while there are innumerous others which barely make to the one piece column in the local magazines and dailies, countless go unreported, untold, deeply dug and drown in the heart of the victim.

We have to build an India, which we would like to live in and like our children to inherit. We will have to take responsibility and help people in spreading awareness. Identifying violence should be our first step. Learning to stop it and going by the law should be the next and subsequent steps. Moreover, supporting victims, helping people, not judging someone by her clothes, stricter laws and government policies will help us to grow vertically, leading to a healthy environment and making the world a better place to live in. We mistakenly believe that we are very educated, developing fast as a nation in the 21st century. But we know that the saddest stories have been written here. Some acknowledged. Some unnoticed.

We are yet to multi-directionally develop as a nation where our women are safe and do not conform to the vulnerable and weaker sections of the society. They are to be given enough empowerment to grow and succeed, so that their picturesque worth is realized by the society and mankind. Else, days are about to come when we will envelope more pain and tears than our eyes can barely hold and our hearts can possibly bear. And no one else, but we, ourselves, will be the ones at blame.

“and when all the wars are over, a butterfly will still be beautiful.”  - Ruskin Bond.

Toilets First, Temples Later !!

Words are events when spoken by politicians who are in permanent argument with history. 

"Toilets first, Temples later" – A couple of days ago we heard this new mantra, quoted by some as 'modi mantra'. Narendra Modi invoked this comment during one of his campaigns in the national capital, visibly flaring the masses. This man, sometimes coined as Gujarat's gold digger, is more known as a man who gave a new dimension and redefined politics and development in the name of Gujarat and less as the BJP's prime ministerial candidate, the godhra riots being his weak wicket. His remark bubbled to heights, ending with lesser appreciation and more criticism. But the important question still lies in front of us. Did we get to the actual depth of that remark ? Are we really concerned about our Sanitation and Hygiene ? We are heading towards a sanitation crisis in india, Can we just ignore that ? Or Do we really want to see a different india, an india that at least deserves to have proper sanitation facilities, after settling for more than six decades post independence.

When the issues like 'sanitation' or 'toilets' are debated, believe me, any kind of comment from any person is far more tolerant than it can be conceived of. Atleast the statistics refuse to disagree with my statement. The bigger question is rather more painful, excrutiatingly dismal i will say.

Nobody likes the smell of truth. Surveys and statistics continue to raise a stink suggesting that less than one-third of our rural population have toilets. Lack of public toilets lead the multitude to defecate in the open, thereby degrading the lives of the already impoverished villages. I agree that the urban masses are equipped with considerably more public toilets but nevertheless they are still crippled with poor sanitation and disposal facilities. As much as 65% of the indian population is suffering from scarcity of toilets while more than half of the population is equipped with mobiles, indicates a latest 2011 census. Ironically, this is the truth behind the curtain. More people in India have mobile phones than toilets.

It is an unargueable fact that in india you can't find a single village devoid of temples. Meanwhile, toilets have been far left off. History illustrates that religion has always been used in our country as a weapon to deceive people. Now, it depends on us to decide whether to prioritize temples ahead of toilets or vice versa. Whether to remark this as insulting or awakening, is an individual's personal freedom of choice or opinion.

I will try not to justify any statement here. The Aam aadmi, perhaps, knows much better than me. I, personally, believe that india desperately needs far more toilets than it needs temples. I just wonder and hope that before we finish another decade, 1.23 billion souls should persist with better lives towards a brighter future, even if it costs them a fortune.

Incredible India. Really ??

We have always believed that we live in an Incredible India. A country that has so much to give for. Accounting for various rich cultures, traditions, heritage etc. to being called the "Golden Bird", we profoundly enunciate these things whenever we get the time or occasion, staging our patriotism to the apex. Sometimes I wonder, are we really that great ? Just close your eyes for a while and ask yourself the same question. Thrice. 

Obviously there are no easy answers. In some ways, we truly are but in others we aren't. I am sorry but we will have to accept that.

Sometimes, I personally believe that we have always strived to live as hypocrites though out our lives, since ages. This is just my personal opinion and has been written with no intention to hurt anyone in any way. In fact, hypocrisy is all revolving around us. We make some ground rules and undoubtedly some of them are good ones indeed. The same ethics and values do stand correct for a set of people but ironically some fall apart and go invalid in case we (supposedly) consider a different set of homo sapiens. People change and so do their beliefs. We make our pain and sufferings rise to heights, enunciating the misery of life just to embrace the so-called social status in the face of society. A whopping dowry ensures the status, while no one cares if one crumbles to accumulate bread and butter afterwards. Parents want to imbibe the entire oxford dictionary into their kids and typically every kid in the country is expected to turn out to become the greatest of engineers and doctors. On the other hand, they can't afford letting their kids to see some of hollywood movies as they are just believed to be sexual emoticons and thereby try to dogmatise the child's beliefs as well.

I totally agree that the entire world cannot be summarised on a single point of view. People need to grow, open up, especially the kids as they are the future of society and country. Apart from a few exceptions, I can confidently argue that most of the kids in our country are not allowed to pick a career of their own choice. I mean what more of an ironical side can you expect ? Sadly, this is our tragic lifestyle. We always do things affirmatively to impress others, those others who can hardly pronounce our existence on the planet. One is allowed to stab another in front of an entire mob and no one utters a word, while a kiss to your loved ones can be more shameful, offensive and dangerous to your health considering the same grounds of society, people etc.

We believe that western culture is destroying us but fail to see that even our eastern culture didn't turn out to be great as well. We always blame the west for eroding our culture. Which western culture are we talking about ? The same culture which provided us telephones, electricity and much more ? I will try not to sound biased but we really need to give some second thoughts before passing judgements on something.

These are some serious questions being posed to our society, our India. I will not attempt an answer here as this is not my place to do so. The answer has to come from the society and the people themselves. Where do we want our Indian society to go ? Do we want to progress vertically and help ourselves build a nation where our youth can meet their aspirations ? I hope that one day our country will emerge as a nation that it is contemplated of. We expect of the golden days to come when one will get the complete freedom, freedom to live one's own way, freedom to choose careers, freedom to wear whatever one wishes to, without any fear of being judged by any other individual.

Hope for a Shining India !! Incredible India !!

P.S.: This blog has been written with no intention to hurt or offend anyone. This is totally a blogger's personal opinion. I love my country and am totally proud of it.