"....Ma & HER arrival....."

"....Mahasasthi ....".....the air rife with expectations....the system of the average likeminded : spirited now.....the advent of Devi Durga Durgotinashini......its time for total unwind & total recall for many......the wee hrs of Mahalaya...the ethereal voice of Birendra Krishna Bhadro nd his ultimate rendition of Mahishashurmardhini.....the quintessential backdrop to the celebration...the triumph of the Good over Evil...the dew clad fields the aroma of the shiuli nd kanthalichampa.....the warmth of the Home & Hearth.....no other festivity evoked ripples of anticipation nd high spirits.....it still persists .....the settings changed now....the spiritedness same......!!!!.....wud like to wish all frnds & Fmly a Very Happy Festivity week.....!!!!!

......the Celebrity Danseuse & her Pulseless Observation.......!!!!!

.....Can't talk of the world, but surely for our Country steeped in Tradition, Rituals & Practices....ancient India her deep rooted practices......still so very relevant in our social order.....rt frm the time of Ishwar ch Vidyasagar, Raja Ram Mohan Roy,....emancipation for the faceless womanhood of yesteryears had started to roll.....the abolition of Sati, introduction of Widow remarriage nd ban on Polygamy......gr8 writers Sarat Ch chattopadhya, Rishi Bankim Chandra, Rabindranath dwelt upon the subject of Widowhood thru their characters, reflecting their times of social injustices.....losing a husband is one thing & being an outcast is another, both trauma entwined & unleashed on the poor widow of a Woman.....resulting in a tradition of pilgrimages,relocation, & Exodus to most favorably, Kashi, Vrindavan, for a far more traumatic tough conditions for these poor women.....unfortunately though with modernity nd emancipation & liberation, the social stigmata persists in a sizeable section of the society....nd therefore the Exodus & Exile continues......hence, the sweeping remark of our noted celebrity Lady MP frm Mathura of which Vrindaban is a part, tht other state widows r not welcome in Vrindavan due to overcrowding nd there r temples in the Eastern States too, is shocking to say the least..!!!!.....I am aghast to note this.....how insensible the remark is......to issue a blunt statement , without silently working thru various State Govts & their channels into the entire Gamut of the problem...let aside the insensitivity....& poor Statesmanship.....it is against the basic principles of Fundamental Rights......!!!

.....the Shrinking World.....of our Times.....

....massive Border built ups....Divisions of Infantry posted at strategic remote locations......the customary unwarranted across the Border Rattle....the scar marks on the walls of both sides......the vitriolic diatribe.....year after year......such is the routine dosage,yielding an addiction of xenophobia, mass hysteria of animosity amongst the neighbours......retarding a normal growth chart of mutual benefit for both the Nations....a mirror image of each other with commonality which is palpable & natural.....the flood scenario now even grimmer the Marauder common again.....with crores of Rupees lost on both sides & population in penury......leave alone the uncertainty of trouble makers fishing in troubled waters......the pathological intolerance ,so supreme, nurtured carefully over the years for sustenance of Powers that be.....we have not learnt any lesson frm our  tempestous Colonial Past.....the Lust for ownership of every square inch of Fallow Land hv relegated plans of mutual benefit ......power generation, Flood Control.......want to shed our bitter past nd SAARC needs to be more thn just a ritual of conferences & rhetoric......if we want South Asia to prosper & bloom.....must think of the Drawing board now not just for the sake of the Border.....but for our progeny....for the thriving civilisation tht we were ...... must think on people to people lines of exchanges of common benefit, robust trade & identifying & thwarting the common Marauder ,......say.......currently the Flood....& those fishermen fishing in Troubled waters for their destructive selfish ends....!!!....to prevent us from Grieving on either side......!!!......for a better Robust tomorrow for the Region.....!!!!

.....the Mangoes frm Pakistan......!!!!

............as Archana served a Holiday Lunch which bore an Undivided India stamp, I thought......with Mangoes frm Pakistan, India gate Basmati rice, & Rui Maach(fish) frm Bangladesh, decorating the Lunch Thali.....the sumptuous fare generating a deep sense of satisfaction & reflection......the morning session of visuals thru GeoTv(Pak), I channel (Bangladesh) ,nd NDTVx24(India), depicting the grim flood situation in the region unleashed by heavy rainfall, in the catchment area nd Rivers in spate & which knows no boundary.....the story of the undivided Topography.......still so relevant as the gushing rivers proved it to be........with floods al around & grim situation in the Northern reaches of the subcontinent......united in grief by the common marauder.......this time the natural calamity........much contrast to the Common Ruler who ruled the region for 200yrs, dismembering it upon departure, with unhealed permanent scar across the divide....how an Expat, with no semblance whatsoever to  the land he captured by force can be a ruler in a foreign land is beyond my comprehension, nd how we were subjugated for centuries is hard to comprehend either......the diametrically opposite clime.....the tropical diseases......the ultimate waterloo for the Sahibs......yet they held on with blemishes far exceeding whatever Gud, ruthlessly colonising the 'lesser mortals'......it was also a gud news today tht Few of India's Antique r being repatriated by the Govt. Of Australia....a welcome gesture......Loot cannot be justified, be it in any form.....the rightful owners must get back their National treasures, scattered thru out the Globe......!!!!!

........Tornado across the Border.....!!!!

......the Tornado across the border have swept  & generated a feeling of Deja Vu......2012-2013, whn, Anna, AAP, Ramdev spectacle all unfolded..... only the setting & Land changed......neighbouring Pakistan was our Land until the British chose otherwise exploiting the disunity & Communal divide amongst the 'siyasatdaans' of those times the stakeholders of the emerging free polity.........'Qaid E Azam': Jinnah was too suave & shrewd a leader to lead his community & ilk, browbeating his Indian counterparts, having been slighted & upstaged a number of times whn he was in Congress, by the so called Brahmnical ,prejudiced Congress colleagues as he alleged.....finally he had his way as he believed nd conducted as "The First among Equals"....!!!....chiselling out a well strategised Muslim League, first which culminated in Pakistan......the First Governor General in him as Pakistan's sole guide to her destiny was the highest point ever as I feel for our neighbour......with Feudal Punjab dominating the Aristocracy, it was a land of stark disparity amongst its plebs....the Rich very rich & the poor very Poor.....tht was wht Jinnah inherited after the divide.....alas, he was alone in the herculean task of rebuilding a Modern ,Vibrant,Economically viable Pakistan.....& Fate wouldn't allow him further as his ill health truncated a Future of his Dream for Pakistan......his legacy was a cropper as greed for Power & Wealth a heady cocktail for the already entrenched Aristocracy of a strong Feudal set up of the Indus valley got the better of the Vaccum thus created & seized the opportunity of crass oppression & subjugation......the situation never changed & as her Eminent neighbour despite shortcomings & shortfalls of a fledgling Democracy with a huge burden of populace grew steadily with strengthening of all its Institutions as Enshrined in the Constitution.....but,winds of changes blowing thru the Great Indian plain couldn't possibly have kept Pakistan aloof...as infectious is 'Inquilab' & as similar are we as possibly a mirror image.....it was a matter of time for a section there to pick up the cudgels.....no matter the methods are now besmirched with violence but tht has shaken the foundation of the State & a clarion call to wake up......& as the 'Khwatins' & Kids also playing a major role it looks like as if the Sleepy Slumberous Society is fast moving towards a change which was long due which has a long tradition of oppression, & robbery of people's Right......Tahirul Quadri & Imran Khan's "Container " warfare against the state is Unique in tht it was unheard of before in a land of Dictators.....however or whatever misplaced are their efforts must say the Oratory of well informed learned Tahirul Quadri & the Fighting Captains spirit of Imran khan to win at any cost is an interesting development, with the act of "Anarchy"enacted in another part of the subcontinent , fuelled by the winds of change which blew thru the Great Indian Plain , in not so far memory.......!!!!!