Congratulation Aam Aadmi

After lots of ups and down and carefully maneuvering their steps in this knotty race of Indian politics, Aam Aadmi Party against the better judgement of all political analysts has come out to be the faith building instrument of a common man in governance and politics. As rightly said by Mr. Arvind Kejriwal it's not just a win of a Aam Aadmi Party(AAP) but win of Aam Aadmi, who stood up against undesirable practices in governance through a proper mechanism.

The win of 28 seats out of 70 seats with a vote share of 30%  for a party which was formed just a year ago is phenomenal. Now either they will sit in opposition or gear up for re election, they have instilled in common man a faith, and in established party a fear.

The decision of Arvind Kejriwal fighting election against Sheila Dikshit, an incumbent chief minister for 15 years and winning by thumping majority tells us all the story about the motives AAP is build with and support they have.  

The assembly election of Delhi and performance of AAP has changed the political scenario of 2014 general election all together. Now its no more a fight between incapable son of former prime minister and an accuse of mass murder. Thank you AAP for giving us an another option to chose from, rather than making difficult choice of pressing NOTA.

I just want to congratulate Aam Aadmi of Delhi for setting such an example before country that is going to galvanise the Indian democracy in times to come.  

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A Rational Approach To Popular Demands

Since the beginning of 2011 or rather by the end of 2010 when many prevalent corruption and financial irregularities cases in government were surfacing in the public, people's blood were scalding. By the mid of 2011 it took a form of huge movement under the banner India Against Corruption, People were coming out in streets with placards in their hands shouting to stop corruption and to pass Jan Lokpall Bill. Anna Hazare, the leader of this people's open show of discontent, sat on fast for many days. It seemed like whole country erupted in his support.

I was in my fourth year of college and frequent user of social media, so I was updated with the happenings. Lot of people in the campus of IIT Kharagpur also arranged demonstration and fasted in support of India Against Corruption. I too shared the same feeling like any other common Indian at that time, but I was not in support of movements like India Against Corruption in any way. Road blocks, fast, stopping government machinery to function properly never resonate with my conscience. Many people compared Anna Hazare with Mahatma Gandhi and anti-corruption movement with movements of Independence. But what they missed out is, not having power and having power and not executing it, are not the same thing. When the country was British colony there were no way to get your demands implemented through government machinery, there was no universal adult franchise, so intellectuals of that time took way to satyagrah and non-violent protests to get their voice heard and get their demands registered. But situation today is different, we have constitution and we have been practicing democracy for more than sixty glorious years. Now using same method to demand which we used to do in pre-independence era is not only inefficacious but also mockery of all the efforts of our great leaders which brought independence,democracy, constitution and adult franchise.

When India Against corruption website asked for suggestion from the people how to proceed with the movement, I created a account on their website and first thing I wrote was -- make a political party. So finally when Arvind Kejriwal announced to form party on 2nd Oct 2012, and  named it Aam Aadmi Party on 26th Nov 2012 I could't be more happier. But still after one year when Aam Aadmi Party is standing at the juncture of creating history and completely change the political scenario of the country, many people criticise Arvind Kejriwal for betraying Anna and making the movement against corruption weak. To all those people I want to say why Arvind Kejriwal made a right choice.

• Whom are you protesting against? This is your government, you have chose it with your conscience, and you have trusted it with your vote, now if it's not functioning as you wanted, should you not just throw it away rather than sitting on dhrana. What do you do if you hire a domestic help and they started stealing and slacking in work, you fire them, not sit on dhrana. So do the same here too, because you can. 

• You had your excuse of all parties are same whom I should vote for, so lets sit at dhrana instead. Aam Aadmi Party gave you option. They channelised the energy of dharna movement in campaigning for the support of cause in a more constitutional way, in a way our great freedom fighters wanted us to do. 

• If they are the one who are telling the government what to do and how to tackle the problems faced by common people, and we all are agreeing what they are demanding is for the betterment of us, then why not they are one who should go in assembly or parliament. After all it's democracy and no one's manor. 

New born Aam Aadmi party is contesting election for Delhi assembly and with scientifically coordinated campaign, the way they have organised their party and delegated volunteer work, that in just matter of one year they have reached the ears and hearts of people. This has totally proved wrong the hearsay that they are inexperienced and skepticism of how they will deal with the day to day twitch of government functioning.

Now when just one more day is left in campaigning for the election which is due on 4th Dec 2013, my fingers are crossed and I am hoping, people of Delhi, who has got this chance to be able to write this first chapter of this beautiful transformation of Indian political synopsis, would use their vote judiciously. I have trust in people of Delhi, who has against the better judgement of many political analysts have shown tremendous support and enthusiasm for this more rational approach to deal with popular demands in a democracy.  

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Truth Beyond The Canvas

Hanging in the gallery were those paintings

They saw a mirthful girl, with wavy silky hair
playing with the wind as she was marching ahead,
I could see the fear of femicide in her eyes
entrenched since before she was even born.

They saw a boy playing in park
trying to jump to catch a ball,
I could see the weight of expectations
loaded on his back pulling him down.

They saw leafless trees in barren region
standing timidly as silhouette,
I could see the hope of spring
on the those skinny branches.

They saw the resplendent scattered light of
glorious morning sun from undulating river water,
I could see the bitter and sanguinary thoughts
hatched in the darkness before dawn.

They saw a  perennial tree by the side
of a small hut and a old man sitting on ground,
I could see his wife sitting inside that hutch
beside broken utensils and cold stove.


-Chanchal Prakasham

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मिनरल वाटर

कच्ची सड़क से धूल उड़ाते हुए गुजरते
कार के शीशे से बाहर फेंके जाने पर
उसे अहसास हुआ कितनी गर्मी है बाहर,
शायद वातानुकूलित पिंजड़े के अंदर
सूरज की भी मर्ज़ी नहीं चलती |

कारों का काफिला गुजरने और
धूल का गुबार पसरने के बाद उसे दिखा
सुखतीं फसलें , फसलों को आशाहीन नजरों
से देखते किसानो के सपाट चेहरे के पीछे
छिपा हुआ दर्द और उनके मुरझाए हुए सपने  |

उसने अनुमान लगाया शायद यही है
ड्राउट प्रोन कंट्रीसाइड,
जिसके बारे में कार के अन्दर के लोग बात कर रहे थे
घिन आने लगी थी उसे अपने बोतल में कैद जिंदगी से  |

कुछ कर गुजरने की तमन्ना लिए
कर दिया खुद को समर्पण
सूरज की किरणों के सम्मुख |

भाप बन उड़ चला था गगन को चूमने
ठंडक और सुकून था ऊपर की हवावों में
बस अगर कुछ नहीं था, तो वो थी संवेदना  |

बादलों के बीच पहुच कर सुना दिया उसने दर्द भरा वृत्तांत
कहानी की वेदना से धधक उठी थी चिंगारी आकाश में
उमड़ पड़ी बादलों की सारी फ़ौज उसके आह्वान पर

अगले दिन खबर आई, सूखा ग्रस्त इलाके में जम कर हुई बारिस
सैकड़ो गाँव बाढ़ में तबाह |



- चंचल प्रकाशम्

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Babies Born Behind Bars

Once upon a time, there was a king who feared
his death from babies of next generation,
apparently some astrologer told him so.

His life was dear to him, so he issued an order
to put behind bars all the gravid ladies of his kingdom.
He could have killed those women but sadly
that would have lowered the "human rights index".

Women were arrested and kept in possible farthest jail.
They delivered babies, took care of them for few months,
babies were chained and mothers were forced out. 
Babies started growing in the darkest jail of that time.

As they were human babies they maneuvered themselves
in the darkness  and started aging happily,
dark was their god, dark were their thoughts
They even dreamed darkly.

The only ornament they had, was their chains
They took care of it as their vital body parts.
They used it for music they used it for war
even organized  competition to determine mightiest so far. 

During competition, chain of a puny man broke,
He was labeled challenged and was out-casted.
He started spending his time in other things, at other corner,
with the broken piece of his chain he started scratching the wall

While scratching, the chain got hot and he got brunt finger
He unleashed his frustration on the wall,
hit repeatedly with his hot chain until it sparked
He told his few friends about this new blinding thing.

Words got out and mightiest of them came
and crushed him with their mightiest chain
for discovering something blinding and unfaithful.
He was thrown back in the same distant corner.

Forgetting his pain he again started scratching and hitting the wall
really the wall was not too strong and not too thick
it started cracking, he kept on scratching and hitting,
Finally a stone came out and prison was filled with blazing light.

People came running towards it covering their eyes
they were scared, they were terrified, puny man was leaping,
as he had seen the outside world with his watery eyes.

Mightiest of them came all frowned on this light of disbeliever 
They killed the puny man with their mightiest chain and
stuffed his bones in the vent, again there was darkness all around.




 - Chanchal Prakasham

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Conscience Vs Legality

After the hectic scheduled first three weeks of December, finally I was going home to spend remaining days of the year with my parents. There was sudden surge in chill and I had to catch train from Howrah. From Kharagpur I boarded a 2:30 PM local which was bound to reach Howrah at 5:00 PM, and my train to home was to leave Howrah at 5:45 PM. I have unflinching faith on the local trains which are famous for their strict commute time, that's why I had kept a buffer time of just 45 minutes. The train reached close to the station at 5 O' clock but stopped few hundreds of meters away from the platform. After my lot of praying it again started and finally I reached the station at 5:30 PM.

Now I had to take something to eat and catch the train. If you have ever been at Howrah station you must be aware of its atmosphere. Around 23 platforms and that's too divided in old and new station, and thousands of people on the station at all time like there is some mela going on. My first task was to search from which platform my train was scheduled to start, luckily that wasn't tough, thanks to continuously updating electronic boards. Since failing to catch train is one of my nightmare so I had to drop my idea of eating egg roll and vada pav at the store by the side of Food Plaza, which is by the way one of the perks of catching train to home from Howrah and not from kharagpur directly.(though there are two trains daily from Kharagpur to Dehri-on-Sone). I hastily reached to my coach walking briskly 200m, put my bag on seat and came out looking for some vendors. 3 min was still left, luckily I found a vendor very close to my coach, bought chocolate chip cookies and bottle of water, ordered tea, but train had blown its horn so after canceling the order, I returned to my seat. 

It was already dark outside but the coach was glowing in its numerous tube-lights. As the train started moving, cold wind gushed in, first I found it refreshing may be because I was feeling warm, owe it to my brisk walk, but suddenly I felt the chill. People hurriedly started lowering the window pan, in a couple of minutes the coach was almost sealed. After seating for about 20 min on the side lower seat as no one had yet arrived at that seat, I went on to my seat, ate cookies, drank water, set alarm and went in deep sleep lulled in the lap of train.

Around 8 O' clock the TTE came, wake me up and asked for ticket and ID card which I showed, then he moved on. I tried again to go back to sleep then I heard some noise, when listened carefully it was the discussion going on between TTE and some passenger in my next compartment. There were two ladies one around 30-35 and other around 60 years. The TTE was asking to produce photo ID card along with ticket and the both women were saying vote photo nahi hai humare pass kaha se dikhaye, station par bas ticket hi diya (We don't have photo identity card, we got only ticket at the ticket counter.) The TTE said "without photo identity card your ticket is invalid and either you pay fine or Rs. 1100 or get off the train". I was kind of getting impressed with his honesty. The elder woman said "sahab pahli bar reservation bogi me chadhe hain humko pata nahi tha ki vote photo bhi chahiye hota hai ticket ke sath aur humko koi bataya bhi nahi aur humare pass itna paisa nahi hai fine dene ke liye" (Sir for the first time I am traveling in reservation coach and I didn't know that we need photo identity card along with ticket and no one even told me so and I don't have that much money to pay fine). The TTE said look, this is not my fault that no one told you, you don't waste my time pack your bag and get ready to get down the train. The younger woman said almost crying kaha jayenge shahab hum itni raat ko? (Where we will go sir, in this night?) The TTE said it's none of my business, you get ready with your bags, I will come when the train stops. His voice seemed as icy as was the gushing wind when train had started moving.

When TTE left the coach the old woman came to me sobbing and said "babu tohra pass vote id hai? dekha na humara pass ticket hai phir bhi ye TTE bol raha ki itni raat ko train se phek dega".(Babu do you have the photo identity card? See I have proper ticket but TTE is saying he will throw me out of train.) She told me she was from some village near Mirzapur and the lady accompanying her was her daughter-in-law, and her husband was traveling in general coach in the same train. I told her since 1st of December 2012 its a rule that you must carry identification card otherwise you ticket will be considered invalid. She hopelessly asked other passengers too. Many of them were not aware of this rule but since they had ID card so they had been spared from TTE's " harassment". Just to console her I along with other passengers said "theek hai aap jaiye soiye apne seat par, phek kaise dega humlog hain na, chinta mat kijiye" (you go and sleep on your seat, we are here how can he throw you away ? Don't worry, we will talk to him.) Of course that pacified her a little bit, she went to her seat and sat there.

Now it got me thinking what would I say to TTE when he would finally come.  He was not wrong but surely he was being inconsiderate. No way a rule enforced just 20-25 days back would be known to a village woman. Who was at fault?  The women? The TTE? Ticket-teller? Or the railway authority? The ignorance because of illiteracy is not a crime or is it?


P.S:- Finally when TTE came, we requested him and said that her husband is in general coach and he might be having the ration card. After lot of persuasion he left after giving them warning to be careful from next time.  I told her to spread the word in her village so that next time no other person from her village get in trouble.
       

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