.....A Date with The Great Mahratthha Land....

......Mountains, Hills, Hillocks , Plateau, undulating terrain.....frm Rao Jodha's Mehran Garh  to Shivaji Maharaj's Sinhgadh....the sounds of a cavalry & a trot....the Guns now silent ,overlooking the Vista of a modern City, perched frm a height...& cool hilly breeze & Lush Green Forest yonder, respectively......its time to unravel the mystery , the Myths & Mysticism associated with these Structures dotting the landscape of  India.....the more Gud Lord  provides an allowance called  'Life' .....the more I fall in Luv with my Country.....the impending Holidays nd our footfalls now in Homeland imminent......thr will be a constant strain on the Ears to trap & listen to the Cavalry trots of yesteryrs in these deserted Forts , the ramparts cold wall igniting the Minds eye.....of stories of exemplary valour, the Vanquisher & the vanquished, of sounds of a rivulet , a stream like Lively inhabitants behind the facade of these Cold walls.....thr wil be a constant strain now on the Eyes, incessantly, boomeranging frm the Present to Past....thr wil be a Glade of Butterflies doing the Rounds....of a thrill ....of a  rediscovery....of our Own people......Civilization.....History ....& Evolution......as, Plans r afoot visiting this time the Great Mahrathha Land exclusively.....its time to drum up a Crescendo for the Children whose holidays hv just Begun......!!!.....its time to meet our fmlys nd frnds in  Mumbai, Pune & Nasik.....its Sahyadris & West India time for the Children Now....!!!!....as the Maps already projected  for a wk now , the stories told , the Dec Clime.....momentary bow yet again frm the Deep Blu Yonder : the Collossus holding us tight......!!!!!

....of Edgar Rice Burroughs & J K Rowling...!!!

....the school Hols r on....a distant trip on the anvil....a momentary delay....wht best thn Edgar Rice Burroughs...!!!...for those who r unaware of the Creator of "TarZan", its time to catch up on him & his epic Vols on Tarzan & other stories....lucky the bug bit me in mid seventies  wherein the Carmel Convent library had most of the vols & Edgar Rice Burroughs permanently imprinted on Memory....though a span of 40 yrs til date cud let me see the lite of his biography of this Great Adventure novelist of America...a Rancher, soldier, trader & war reporter & above all Novelist is the credential of this Great American whose Epic novels on Tarzan immortalized thru decades....U can't feel the essence of this write up if U hv not tasted Edgar Rice Burroughs....a must read for Children & adult alike....had to explain & motivate the children especially Doel tht books r always superior to its movie counterpart on the same subject, in tht it will be more exhaustive, impressive, food for thought, nd a thrill of reading further after a pause of a day...."Tarzan" never looked impressive, in cartoons, movies nd was a shade of wht its traced by Burroughs in  Volumes....the modern day kid need to be guided as a Gud Habit is Eternal....!!!!

....Whn Old Frnds come Calling.....!!!

.....Anand & Sangita r here....as I dashed to the Airport on 15th instant curtailing & adjusting the  morn clinic....for a vvip called a Classmate & his Wife; anything can be curtailed, anything can be adjusted ; any extent can be trudged for the Gr8 Re union .....I never knew whn, I last met him in Patna ,some may be, 23 yrs ago.....tht I wud meet him again in an Island some 23 yrs later......as both Fmlys meet in Joyous abundance....a sense of contentment & fulfillment engulfs us.....as he trotted out frm the Arrival gate thr cud be no doubt tht unmistakbly its him , the same buoyant , supremely confident & infectious comradeship he emanated as always.....it was as if I felt he had not parted at all , he was always thr, tucked away in one corner of the heart , always on mind as is all other dear frnds.....thr cud be only one frndship , nd thr cud Exist only one frndship, un polluted , undeterred , withstanding the ravages of time.... : ....tht of the Dear Classmate.....!!!!...Happy tht our professional course duration lingered a trifle more...Happy tht we spent time more with each other.....!!!...Happy tht our frndship is parked on a solid foundation as is evident with his arrival.....Archana made everything possible.....Children  seeing a 'Papa' Classmate for the first time.....nd thr were lot of queries frm thm.....Room No 2 G /SM hostel & first Room mate, tht was my answer....!!!....whn frnds come calling ur gait is more sprightly nd u pick up phones even more alertly....this was Archana's observation.....!!!!....Wish thm Gud Luck & a safe Journey tomorrow.....thr footprints registered on the sparkling white sands of the Tropical Isles on a "Friendly" territory....thts part of PMCH.....!!!!

.....The Festival Of Lite....Deepavali....!!!!

.....Sultan  Mahmud Gaznavi invaded thru the NW he was more interested in looting the people of India of its wealth so as to reconstruct his own Capital in a Fabulous manner as of Baghdad, Samarkand & Bukhara....focused nd fairly successful ,he was.......18 th Century Nadir Shah &  later Ahmed Shah Durrani despite their grisly campaign over Delhi & Amritsar could not snuff out the Festival of Lite "Deepavali", which still the people celebrated despite being under seige ....thus a spate of Invasions over the Centuries establishes a Foreign rule after rule, the majority of  Foreign Rulers amalgamated , adapted & adopted their New Home, such was the strength of the Civilization....the Britishers could not...so they Colonised...& finally Overthrown....freed in 1947 AD....a 5000 yr old Civilization couldn't be mowed & trampled, dismembered frm her hoary Ancient past.........with a huge skillset of Surviving the Onslaught, adapting, adopting , altering to an extent to come out unscathed...its Spirit of Tolerance getting the better of the Foe.....nd finally subjugating it...by assimilation of a mutually Respectful co existence.....of all Faiths, Caste & Creed ...with the passage of time a New Vibrant, Freed India emerged.....!!!!.....This is the Strength of India...not acquired overnite or by military might ....just by evolution Of her Faith & Spirit....the Flagbearer of Many a Civilization....thts why we survived & continue to survive. , deeply Rooted, Well entrenched......Whr is the unfounded Fear?....nd in whose mind it is Lurking ...?...it is the Ignorant mind which is out of Pulse of The DNA of The Nation & its Evolution....Ignorance can be a bane....but being ignorant knowingly can be disastrous & Harakiri....& False Pride Hath a Fall....In India thr is no 1st Class or 2nd Class Citizenship....The Concept of India is in a Melting pot....forte of the massively Proud Indian  populace.....The Great Land Of Faith : Bihar hv shown us the Way....as always..!!!! 

....One Life is Enough....!!!!

9th Nov....to be born in 'Bharatvarsha', in the cradle of Civilization, in the Holy Land of Baba Baidyanath(Baidyanathdham), in the lap of parents whose Love knew no bounds, amidst siblings who always like a bedrock foundation, .....growing up in education  with the Carmelite order, followed by Jesuits, subsequently the  Haloed Institutions &  Company , in the making of the Service Provider.....!!!!....Can't ask for more....Good Lord has been too kind, too liberal & truly Forgiving....!!!!.....in a distant land across the seas....sparkling white sand  of  countless lagoon & reef....with the Little ones....in desolate Coves, Virgin beach.... & gusts of Wind.....Winds so Cool & Serene....!!!!....the thundering menacing Clouds .....bursting....drenching , soothening , throwing all of us in a Spin.....!!!!...the Evaluation  ....so dear now....of  things  not so near, not so accessible & not so for Guaranteed......here again Morn & Eve , Day in & Day out the service continues ....of a touch of innumerable people ....of  a Face of countless Misery ....of being a human...of being alone....of being harassed....of being in Penury....of a Smile , so thus , as generated.....of a Camaraderie so Just as needed.....of a healing touch , so thus  as felt........so much ,so wanted.....!!!!!....of treasure  trove of a memory , a contentment , a Discovery.....!!!!.....as if One Life is enough....!!!!.....Thanking all frnds & Fmly for all their Good Wishes for another innings of Life....!!!! 

....The Experiment of an Alliance...

........Grand Alliance Wins in Native State....an Experiment : nd its awaited fruition......this quote, courtesy TOI, is Frm Kalyan Bigha the native 'Gaon'(village) of Bihar CM .......Having served in these areas in late Nineties, with Rly Stns & codes as  viz; Bakhthiyarpur  (BKP), Nawada(NWD), Rajgir(RGD) & Biharsharif(BEHS)....can feel the Pulse of the people......Bihar is his who knows her pulse nd who is deeply rooted to its soil....identity matters in Bihar, Uniqueness matters in Bihar, for tht reason Caste also matters in Bihar ....Quote"........Panchayat member Rajnish Kumar says Kalyan Bigha has a population of 6,000 and 1,665 voters. Kurmis are the single-most numerical caste, followed by kahars and manjhis. "Samucha gaon teer hai (The entire village has voted for arrow, JD-U's poll symbol)," says Diku Ram, a 26-year-old kahar who ferries people in a makeshift auto to Harnaut, the nearest bazaar. He is a direct beneficiary of the newly-tarred roads connecting Kalyan Bigha from several directions that were laid out during Nitish's reign. Unlike the doubters, Diku is still betting 16 annas (100 per cent) on the gathbandhan that includes Lalu Prasad's RJD and Congress....."Unquote....I wish the Grand alliance a Success of a heady mixture of their Pride of a Caste & Development....This is going to be an Experiment of sorts....it will be a turning point in Bihar's history if these Pride is wel taken care off.....Long Live The People Of Bihar...!!!!

......Untouchability & Politics.......!!!

....Bihar is known for Democracy since the inception of Civilization.....as she goes to the final rounds of Polls tomorrow, to elect a new legislature....thr is an undercurrent of a thrill as to wht the electorate hv decided......the Roads r gud now, but the power situation still grim.....much to be desired nd Job opp. for its teeming youth, need much needed attention.....no longer the formidable Bihar of our childhood : a truncated state after the creation of Jharkhand....baffling though is lack of Newer Leadership in such a Politically conscious State as  for the last 30 yrs the Political Players r still the same....all greyed....thr is no Untouchability in Bihar now : I mean Political.....thr r alliances of hitherto opposite formations to thwart Mr Modi & his Juggernaut.....for the very first time Direct Contests will be witnessed nd the mandate definitely will be decisive......Human Memory is short.....the destruction of a Resourceful State having being effected after Independence ,gradually.....must salute the People for philosophical forbearance as it is the Land of Great faiths , Civilization & a Chequered History.....to spk ill of Biharis is speaking ill of the Indian Civilization as Bihar was the Spearhead of the vibrant civilization called India.....thr is something in the soil of Bihar, something in her  air, something in its water flowing as Rivers.....something very Philosophical.....something steeped in History......something as Resilience....something as Contentment.....something whr Time stops....something whr the Mind is freed.....something as abundantly laid back......& something as a Deep Rootedness to the Soil......Can't but help salute her people....for whtevr dispensation is let in, it has to be for the good.....for their is too much Goodness abundant in her air , sufficient to Overcome & Overwhelm as she has often done in millennia aft millennia in the Cycle of her Evolution.......Wishing her all the V Best for Wresting her Rightful Place under The Sun....!!!!....Long Live My Native State....!!!!