Pouring rain and the desert

The Kolkata connection- Part 1

2008-08-24T07:56:00.000-07:00

Dear Pouring Rain,

Hope you are well. I need you. It’s really very difficult to stay in this humidity. Don’t know how long, I need to wait for you. Well, hope to see you soon.

Well, I always wanted to move on. With this word -move on- I suddenly remember something. During my last visit to Delhi, I met one of my old friends, a senior journalist. By the way, she puzzled me, asking - What are you doing in the most “sadist” city. Sadist- the word strikes. She was clear on her point, saying Kolkata was moving back with the time and there was no scope for anything. I replied, it might be her prejudice, but she cleared - stories about Kolkata always fascinated her in a great way and that was the reason she wanted to be in the city. Once she arrived, it was a nightmare.

There must be sprawling parks all along the park street, she kept thinking, but unfortunately, there was nothing like that. Once again she threw a question, why do people talk about Park Street? What is special there? I remain silent. I never wanted to fell myself into a debate; wanted to be a witness only. That was the reason of my silence.

I’m a little bit introvert too. I wanted to tell her, Bimal Mitra’s Kolkata always lured me. I was born and brought up, in a remote village of North Bihar. I did my schooling and college from there only. It was my childhood days, when I developed penchant for Mitra’s writings. That was the time when I started to read Russian Masters also. Well, while reading Bimal Mitra’s litrerature, I decided it was Kolkata only, where I wanted to live in.

I had in mind a vivid picture of Bengal, thanks to the Hindi translations of Mitra’s novels. I had conjured up a vision of a state full of handsome bhadraloks in spotless white, well-starched dhotis and kurtas, roaming neatly paved streets, mouthing words of wisdom. I had also dreamt that the streets of Kolkata would be like that of Visva-Bharati as described by Kumaran Asan, the famous Malayalam poet. Well, finally when I was in Kolkata, I fell in love with the mysterious lanes of the city.

Dear friend, you loved books, but always kept distance from literatures. Reading engineering and management books would never be helpful, when we talk about society. You need to be in literature. I wanted to tell you about Bimal Mitra. He was a genius writer, who made Bangla and Bengali proud, all over the world. Mitra emerged as one of the foremost Bangla novelist of the post Second World War period. Extremely popular, Bimal Mitra was too prolific, with over five hundred short stories and a hundred novels to his credit.

Bimal Mitra was a common man; he understood the common dilemmas with life and living conditions. I remember a story “Raag Bhairvi” by Mitra. It was written in 70’s. Naxal movement was on rise and it was well portrayed in this story. The story starts with clash of thoughts, between two generations. The protagonist is a lady in early 20’s, working as a school teacher as well as she’s the leader of the Naxal group. Her father is a retired teacher. Discussion about the changing social life was a regular affair. One day he comes to know that his daughter is the chief of Naxal movement the area. Finally he tries to move to the police station, but before reaching there he’s killed.

Now coming to the point, in fact; it was Mitra only, who brought modern Bengali literature to the masses. His piercing analysis of human love, faith and frailties is unparallel. His intimate understanding of the social goings-on and the sympathetic albeit affirmative way he portrayed the unprivileged and the women in his stories testify his paramount love and affection for the deprived. His lovingly and masterfully crafted words, used by ordinary people of the street, and immaculate writing style made him easily one of the world's best loved novelists.

Well, I would love to write something more about Bimal Mitra and his works in my next mail. Hope to see you soon.

Love
The Desert!

Tata threatens to pull out of Singur project

2008-08-22T05:05:00.000-07:00

Dear Pouring Rain.

Hope you are good. I’m very sad to know that your corporate dreams are going to be shattered due to some fickle minded politicians in West Bengal.

I just came across the news that TATA is going to pullout of Singur project. It’s time to packing up the baggage. I won’t say that Mamta Banerjee is a foolish and confused politician. She knows well, what she is going to do. She knows well, that she is driving the state towards an economic blockade from investors. It’s alleged that she’s playing in the hands of evil forces (Maruti) from the corporate world to screw up the project. She and and her party has received crores of rupees for this agitation to delay this project; which if successful will eat up in Maruti's small car segment. Though, I don’t know much about it and don’t want to fell myself into a debate.

Dear friend, I know only one thing, Tata group has always done business with ethics and principals. By using political mileage and unfair means, other business houses have reached or crossed Tata's growth in just 20 years what Tata did in 100 years. We can’t ignore the importance of Maruti in developing Gurgaon, HM in uttarpara and hindmotor. The common people should understand the fact. This is the testing time for West Bengal. IT's now or never. Since 80's when IBM was forced to move out of the state by the Left, the state has been falling behind others.

Dear Pouring Rain, any pullout would put Bengal few decades behind the rest of India. There are other states that can go extra length to accommodate industries. The West Bengal Govt should give some land to the so called "unwilling farmers" by declassifying some classified categories and settle the issue. I would like to get a reply from your side.

I miss you!

Thanks
The Desert!

Beginning of cold war!

2008-08-21T01:27:00.000-07:00

Dear Pouring Rain.

I expected a reply from your end, but may be it was not possible for you. Well, it would be nice if you drop a line, whenever you get time.

Well, in my last mail, I told you Author Arundhati Roy's controversial statement regarding Kashmir, that people of Kashmir want freedom atany cost. In this mail I would like to tell you about Russia-Georgia conflict, which has almost ruined the Caucasus area. Russian president Dmitry Medvedev has announced, Russian troops would begin pulling out of Georgia, after his military issued a flurry of conflicting reports about whether or not a withdrawal had begun.

Dear friend, I'm coming to the point now. When observing the opening ceremonies of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, one almost had the impression that the world had united into one huge celebration of athletics and humanity -perhaps signalling the dawning of a new era for the many nations of the world, but the fact was different. Russian leadership was busy in Olympics at the same Georgia was planning to attack Ossetia, knowing the fact, Putin was not in Kremlin office, and it was the right time to take action.

Georgian tanks, artillery and fighter planes, self-assured of American support, attacked the city of Tskhinvali, the capital of South Ossetia, the majority ofwhose residents are Russian and several years ago- in 1992- hadunilaterally announced their autonomy. This attack resulted inapproximately 1500 deaths. However, after some hours of Georgian army's attack, Russia entered the battlefield in support of Ossetia. The intensity of Russian strength which was carried out from ground,air and few hours later from the sea, was so severe and the casualties so high that the Georgian army had no choice, but to retreat and at the same time the Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili officially requested for America's interference and help. But Bush administration could do nothing. It's not possible for US to help Georgia due to many reasons. Strategically, badly injured in Afghanistan and Iraq, US is not in a position to take any step in this reason.

Now I would like to give you some more background information. Relations between the Kremlin and Georgia deteriorated sharply after the election of President Mikheil Saakashvili in the "Rose revolution" of 2003. The enmity between Georgia's pro-Western leader, who was born and brought up in US, whose ambition is to take his country into the European Union and NATO, and Russian leadership became personal. The US-trained Saakashvili upset Kremlin with his election pledge to bring the territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia back under Georgian rule. The truth is, almost 90 percent population of the area use Russian passport and they have voting rights in the territory.

Dear Pouring Rain, It's being said that oil resources are the route cause of the conflict. For the Russian government, petroleum is a tool that can be used to launch the country as a renewed great power, allowing it to acquire considerable authority in the regions. While the US power play in the region was stepped up by the administration of President Bush in the aftermath of the terror attacks on New York and Washington. Ostensibly to aid in its invasion of Afghanistan, Washington sent US forces to Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. But when the Taliban government in Afghanistan was driven from power — much to the annoyance of Kremlin — the US decided to keep forces in these countries indefinitely. In addition, the United States provided military instructors to Georgia. These moves helped tighten the American grip on the oil-rich Caspian Sea region and worsened the diplomatic situation.

The fighting in recent days between Russian and Georgian forces, for control of the Georgian province of South Ossetia takes place against the backdrop of the geo-strategic struggle for control of the petroleum resources of Central Asia only. Americans are deeply involved in it. The Caspian Sea region is home to major petroleum reserves. Kazakhstan has proven reserves of 30 billion barrels of oil and Azerbaijan has reserves of 7 billion barrels. Georgia is crucially placed for the shipment of oil to world markets.

At the same time, The EU had been trying to wean itself off energy dependence on Moscow by developing a network of energy routes through Georgia. It's no wonder that the Russians turned their attention in that direction.

Dear friend, it's a beginning of the cold war era, in a new way. I'm sure; it'll affect the world politics in coming days. Let's look to the future.

Hope to get your reply soon.

Thanks
The Desert.

Biharis are not beggars

2008-08-20T10:33:00.000-07:00

Dear Pouring Rain,

I didn't write you another mail today, but couldn't stop myself. Biharis are target once again. It's very sad to see all this. At the same time, I am kind of getting sick of too much of abuse of freedom of speech in India. Yesterday it was Arundhati Roy and today Naik, and who knows who will be the next tommorrow?

With such people, we dont need external enemies to break our country. Well, it was a very poor show from Mr. Naik in calling the people from the state of Bihar as beggars. Uttering such atrocious comments on some underdeveloped state, community or ethnic group is not a new phenomenon. But I can't understand, when someone talks about Bihar, why do we become defensive? Why can't we face the fact?

Well, I'm not going to be defensive here. I can understand the fact, in Bihar; all of India's longtime problems are plain to see: destitution, illiteracy and lack of basic infrastructure and healthcare. Add to that the venal politics and rampant corruption. One of the great problems is migration too. Instead all of these issues, I always wanted to say clearly, that Biharis are quite nice people to handle.

I won't talk about the golden history of Bihar, or the superior Bihari IAS, IPS lobby, but want to let know some facts to Mr. Naik. Bihar's situation started to deteriorate in the English Raj only. The East India Company started its business in Kolkta and set up three presidencies. Kolkata presidency, Bombay presidency and Chennai presidency respectively. They always tried to concentrate on these reasons, though later they started to take interests in Delhi too, so the region could be developed. This is the fact only, when British started Jute mills, they managed to get laborers from Bihar and Uttar Pradesh, because Bengali intellectuals were not ready do work.

So migration of sons of soil, is a chronic problem of this poor state. Even after British Raj, its migration wound was not cured and nobody cared for it. The state has been cursed with no development. Thanks to some caste based politics leading to poverty, poor literacy rates and no job opportunities. This has over the years forced Bihari people to leave their home and seeking it elsewhere.

In 60's it was Punjab, which lured Bihari laborers a lot. The so called green revolution in Punjab and Haryana took place due to Biharis only. I remember a sweet and heart touching meloncholy song by Sharda Sihna, in Bhojpuri-

Paniya ke jahaj se paltaniya bani aiha piya

lele ai ha ho…Piya jhumka Punjab se..!

After 70’s, Biharis started to move Delhi, Mumbai and even Southern states and it was routine and till date, they tend to leave their place. I know the fact, the truth and experienced the agony of being separated from my birthplace.

Someone said, “Jan-ni janm bhumischa, swargadapi gariyasi.” I strongly believe in this line.

I would like to stop now. Hope you reply soon.

Thanks
The Desert!

We need freedom from so called intellectuals

2008-08-20T01:18:00.000-07:00

Dear Pouring Rain,

Hope you are well. Though it’s raining in Kolkata, but still those drops are not touching my heart, in fact they are not for me. Don’t know how long I need to wait for you. Well, leave it.

Time is tough for us. Activist and author Arundhati Roy, who was present at the massive rally in Srinagar, said that the people of Kashmir want freedom. Not only Arundhati, a number of so called intellectuals like Vir Singhvi and Swaminathan Aiyyar have thrown their gauntlet, saying India cannot continue holding Kashmir -by force-. There should be a referendum, a plebiscite.

According to our history; the rulers of princely states were given the choice to freely accede to either India or Pakistan, or to remain independent. They were, however, advised to accede to the contiguous dominion, taking into consideration the geographical and ethnic issues. In Kashmir, the Maharaja, fearing tribal warfare, agreed to join India by signing the Instrument of Accession on 26 October 1947. Kashmir was provisionally accepted into the Indian Union pending a free and impartial plebiscite.

It’s clear that Maharaja was not pressurized. He took the decision of his own, for the sake of Kashmir. This was spelled out in a letter from the Governor General of India, Lord Mountbatten, to the Maharaja on 27 October 1947. In the letter, accepting the accession, Mountbatten made it clear that the State would only be incorporated into the Indian Union after a reference had been made to the people of Kashmir.

Dear friend, while talking about Kashmir, one of friends told me, rest of India is very emotional about Kashmir remain a part of India because it is so north, that it looks like head in the map, at the same time he was rigid that it can be saved at any cost.

By the way, I never expected such statement from Arundhati Roy. Just by participating in few rallies, she can't pass judgmental statements like this. It’s an useless talk in the name freedom of expression. Right now I tend to think, may be she’s facing some psycho problem. If you go through her book “The God of small things”, you’ll find an elated personality in her, as she has been neglected during her childhood days. In the mean time, she found out that she could get fame by opposing authority, she started doing that. In 2000, she raised slogans against Supreme Court. Time has come again to get united against anti-national people and avoid them.

Dear friend, I would like to ask Arundhati, that where was she, when people in Jammu were fighting for justice? Because of traitor like her, people in Srinagar are trying to bully over rest of the nation. When something happens to other states, like recent blasts in Jaipur, Bangalore, Ahemadabad, they don’t utter a single word.

We know clearly, Nation's territories are not for bargain or sale. If some people are discontent living in India, better they flee to the countries, they think have better prospects and life. It should be made very clear. Any anti-national activities let should be flushed out meticulously and ruthlessly.

At last, I'll put a big question mark on media too. I think media should stay away from publishing such mindless statements by someone who does not deserve to be quoted. What right has Ms. Roy got to speak on behalf of billions of people in this country. We need freedom from people like Arundhati Roy..

Dear friend, we are passing through bad phase. I remember some lines of a poem by National poet Ramdhari Singh Dinkar. Just go through it.

Dhudhlee huyee dishaaye, Chaane laga kuhasa!

Kuchli huyee shikha se aane laga dhuaa saa!

Koi mujhe bata de, kya aaj ho raha hai??

Muh ko chhipa timir me, kyon tej ro raha hai??

Nirwaak hai himalay, Ganga dari huyee hai!

Nishtabdhta nishaa ki din me bhari huyee hai!

Panchasyanaad bheeshan vikraal mangta hoon!

Jadta vinaash ko fir, bhoochal mangta hoon!

I would like to get a reply from your end.

Thanks
The Desert!

Train to Delhi via Allahabad- Part 2

2008-08-16T10:00:00.000-07:00

Dear Pouring Rain,

I was waiting for your mail, but you didn't turn up till date. Atleast let me know that you are living a good life somewhere. Be happy,wherever you stay. Whenever you have time, drop a line. Well, yesterday I couldn't complete the mail.

I wanted to tell you about Allahabad, the holy city. Though Allahabadis well known through out the country for its purity, but it's very hard to see any cleanliness. In real sense, people come here to wash their sins and I'm not surprised to see the dirt around. It's a holy and religious place and the meeting point of pious rivers Ganga and Yamuna. According to Hindu mythology the River Saraswati also keeps coming to the point, but we are yet to trace the pious river. I was sharing the truth with my mother, she got furious, questioning me "are you sure, Saraswati is vanished?" This type of argument is a regular affair. She always keeps saying, "You people are talking about Sputnik and Missiles…. You know they were created centuries before and used by our Gods." To make her statement strong, she reads a few lines of Devi Kavach -

Prathmam Sailputri cha, dyutiyam Brahmcharini!
Tritiyam Chandraghanteti, Kushmandeti chaturthkam!
Panchmam Skand mateti, Khashtham Satyayni cha!
Saptam Kaal ratri, Ashtam Mahagauri!
Navam Sidhhi datri, Dasham Nav Durga Prakirtitah!

She tries to relate all the ten names of Durga with Sputnik and Missiles. I fail to make her understand my views. I remain silent.

Dear friend, I'm coming back to Allahabad once again. In our society, it's very easy to kill our own dreams, wish and become a monk or sanyasi. That's the reason; we have an old tradition of naga sadhus. They are escapist, but I'm not. In fact, our social structure teaches us to escape from the very beginning. I lived in a big joint family and when I was three years old, they used to teach me these lines-

Balo ham jagdanand, name wala saraswati
Apurne panchme varshe, varnyam jagatryam!

If someone is able to understand the world at 5 years of age, why should he stay in the normal family? This is the first lesson to escape. I remember when you left me in 2006, I went to Allahabad in search of mental peace, roaming here and there on the sangam beach. I was searching for spiritual discipline best suited to my temperament. This indicates the state of proximity or 'Samipya' in my spirituallife, which is an essential ingredient of the 'Bhakti Marga' of the dualistic school of Philosophy. I tried to concentrate on 'Om' and wrote this seed syllable, symbolizing the crux of the Vedas by my own hand. Those days I was trying to get authentic accounts of knowledge of various 'Stotras' and devotional texts. But soon after realized, the monk tradition was not for me. I wished to live my life, in a greatway. I came to know, nobody is always happy, and it is our pain that we remember most clearly. Nirvana or moksha isn't Heaven, Nirvana is everywhere, in everything, absent of individual thought and greed. At last I would like to write this poem for you-

Khojne jab chala main tumhe viswha me
Mandiro ne bahot kucch bhulawa diya
Khair yeh par huyee umar ki daud me
Khayal maine na kucch pathharo ka kiya
Parwato ne jhuka sheesh chume charan
Baanh daali kali ne gale me machal
Ek tasweer teri liye kintu main
Saaf daaman bacha kar gaya hi nikal.

Waiting for your reply.

Your's
The Desert!

Train to Delhi via Allahabad- Part 1

2008-08-15T10:47:00.000-07:00

Dear Pouring Rain,

Greetings! Well, I’m back in the city, hence decided to drop you some lines. The Delhi trip was quite hectic and things are changing rapidly in the Capital. Before I move ahead, I would like to wish you, Happy Independence Day! There are two reasons to celebrate the day. First of all, it’s Indian Independence and second - my birthday today. There’s an another reason to remember the day. You left me on the same day, two years back. It was a huge blow to me and a surprise birthday gift. Well, now I’m strong enough to face such a blow.

Coming to the point, I’m a common Indian face, so I always keep thinking for the independence event only. Birthday and detachment take a backseat. My birthday is less important for me, when I talk about the nation. That’s the reason I never celebrate my birthday. By the way, I’m now 29 and it’s time for you to bless me. It’s time to cheer up.

My friend, I wanted to stay in Delhi to be a witness of the 62nd Independence ceremony at Red Fort, which was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan between 1638-1648 and has been witness to the long road traveled since, the palace intrigues and the battles of succession in the Mughal era, the fight against the British when the last Mughal emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar II presided over a fading empire, and now as a connect between the past and India's modern present, but time didn’t allow me to see all this. The Red Fort, a world heritage site, was the battle frontline of a fast-changing political milieu of the 19th century. It is this monumental fort that braved the onslaught of the marauding British army when it stormed the fort and unseated the last Mughal emperor. Bahadur Shah Zafar. The fort became a garrison for the British army and remained so for till Independence, when it was handed over the Indian Army in 1947.

Dear friend, I should move out from the history now. In last 3 days, I realized that Delhi is changing rapidly. Metro Rail is going to connect the all part of the city with quite efficiency. The Commonwealth Games are round the corner, and with development on various fronts having been expedited in the past few years, the city can finally be said to have taken its place among the great metropolises of the world.

Where there were once elevated heaps of rubble that you had to manoeuvre your way around, there are now completed flyovers. A new high-capacity bus service ensures that buses stay in their own lane, segregated from the rest of the road. Even they are going to start a bicycle lane, so people could use this, and at the same time, Load shedding is a term - youngsters have to look up in the dictionary.

One of my friends told me, Delhi is going to be a traffic signal free city by 2010. There’ll be no traffic lights and each and every lane will be one way. The truth is, road congestion is on boiling point and the Metro is a convenient option for upper-middle class office-goers." Thanks to The Commonwealth Games, which is going to be held in 2010, Delhi is ready to get a makeover. At the other hand the international sports event is proved to be a big challenge, as Delhi has to make extensive preparation for the Games. But Delhi would definitely become a world-class city in the run-up to the games, I guess.

Dear Pouring Rain, I traveled to Delhi via Allahabad. The holy city is located at the confluence of Ganges, Yamuna and Saraswati, popularly known as Triveni Sangam. The city is famous for its rich cultural heritage and religious importance. The pious nature of Allahabad always attracted me….. I’m a little bit tired and need to stop now. I’ll let you know my Allahabad experiences in my next mail tomorrow.

Thanks
The Desert!

Lost love, Monsoon & Tagore

2008-08-08T10:17:00.000-07:00

My Dear Pouring Rain,

Greetings! Hope you all are well. I'll be leaving for Delhi tomorrow, so it won't be possible for me to stay on the keyboard for a couple of days. Most probably, I'll be back in the city, by next week. Clouds are hovering over the sky. They look teasingly at me and I don't see anychance from your end, to touch me. Can you let me know, my faults? Each and every time my questions are unanswered. Still, I don't know, why am I being punished, like this? At least let me know the reason. I'm waiting for you only.

A ghazal, sung by Ghulam Ali, is being played here. Some beautiful immortal words are in the air, with a lovely tune to go along, "Roj Kehta hoon kebhool jaaaun use, roj ye baat bhool jata hoon main.” I tell myself daily that I will forget her … but unfortunately I forget this everyday. You better be the judge of the situation. I promise myself to forget you, at the sametime I break it, and thus it's a daily routine. By the way, I spent a wholeday with the living legend Ghulam Ali, when I was in Nagpur. It was really marvelous and God’s gift to me. I'll share my experiences with Ghulam Ali some time later, in the coming mails.

Dear friend, I wanted to talk to you about rain, about poems, about rhythms and off course about Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore. Rabindranath read the universe and its nature profusely. His has penned vast literary works that speak of it. He put his every single word of thought in rhymes ofreason whether it is in prose or in poetry.

You must be surprised, why am I talking about him? By the way, when we talk about rain, we can't escape the truth. It was only Rabindranath Tagore and Kalidasa, who heard the songs of its various measures,when it rained. I have mentioned about Kalidasa, in one of my earlier mails. You already know the fact, Tagore's poems are heart touching. The composition of the light of love and beauty in his works enlightens us immeasurable. His meters of metaphors are absolutely effusive, where the depiction of nature, with diction is narrative that edifiesour mental horizon far and wide. I remember, one day, you sang a song from the collection of Rabindra Sangeet for me. The song meant, "You were waiting for me at the window, when it was raining." You are good at singing too, I must say. Go through these beautiful lines written by Tagore:

The grey-black clouds rolled in the sky

the monsoon had come.

Rain fell thick and lightning flashed,

with thunder-beating drums.

Harvested was my paddy,

bundled up neat and tidy.

The streams swelled strong

and mighty looking awesome.
As I cropped my paddy field

the monsoon had come.

Dear friend, I just wanted to say, the rain is the source of most of the creations of Tagore. Ours is an unfathomable desire. Our romance and desire play together. The more we get, the more we want and thisis the route cause of all the problems. Your desires were endless, you always wanted to get more, but still I was there to shower my love and affection. My love has no boundary. I always wanted to give, in fact I was happy and wanted to sacrifice, but never demanded anything from you. You were enough matured to understand the relationship, the world. I expected, only some respect from your side, but it was never possible for you. I'm missing something. Let's move to my poems, which I penned for you. I'm not comparing my lines to anyone, but want to say only, "do not ask me which song had I sung for whom. I shall stay ever on the dusty way for that person who pays due respect to my song."

In the mean time, I remember a sweet poem dedicated to Padma River byTagore. Just go through it."

O my Padma,

we meet each other a hundred times.
One day in your lonesome sandy beach

between the month of October and November.

At the twilight of the setting sun on the west

I put my heart and soul abreast you.

On the fall of dusk that day

your face was shyly downward

but calm and speechless like the bride.

An evening star smiles at you with loving humor.

Since that day onward

we meet each other a hundred times.''

Dear Pouring Rain, you must know the fact, human sufferings are caused absolutely by the human all over the globe. We fail to tap the naturalresources properly for we often court disaster creating troubles forourselves and others encountering nature. Tagore has mentioned all theissues, in his poems. Well, while summing up the letter, I would like to say that's eating me inside.

Rabindranath's rare books and manuscripts have gone missing from National Library, based at Kolkata, in mysterious circumstances. Though, the management of the organization has set up a five-member committee to look into charges and we are trying to get back the great things, but the fact is black and white. If you move down to your memory lanes, you'll find me right, when we lost the noble medal andother things from Shantiniketan, but still waiting for them. We peopledo politics and never respect our legends. Really, it's shame on us.

It’s time to leave now. See you soon.

Missing you!

Thanks & Regards!
The Desert.

Hussein, Taslima and the fanatic forces!

2008-08-07T10:01:00.000-07:00

Dear Pouring Rain,

I'm back on the keyboard. I couldn't write you a letter yesterday, dueto lack of time. These days are quite hectic, as the political scenario of the state is changing in a peculiar way. And in this situation we keep always looking for exclusive, breaking news and views. When I came back to Kolkata in the month of February this year,I was thinking that it would be better to work here, as there won't bea pressure, but it was not like that. From Singur to Nandigram, everywhere there's a political crisis and we people need to move. Anyway... it's my duty to run to and fro, meeting people, collecting news and writing reports.

In the mean time, two news are in the air. Painter Maqbool Fida Hussein and writer Taslima Nasreen are coming back to India by the first week of September. Bangladeshi writer Taslima is not only being back; but also theManmohan Singh government is allowing her to stay in Kolkata. Atthe same time it's said, M F Hussein will land, anytime by next month.

Taslima Nasreen is an exiled writer from her own country, Bangladesh. In addition, she was expelled by Marxist leadership from her adopted home Kolkata, after Muslim protests in November last year, the writer has been forced into another exile in Europe. I remember people saying, the West Bengal government wanted to remove her forcibly, from the state, when some Islamist groups resorted toviolence against her writings. Obliging the state, the central government hurriedly took Taslima out of Kolkata and she was virtually under house arrest in New Delhi. Although, Nasreen pleaded with the Centre to allow her to go back to Kolkata, her 'second home', she was refused permission as the Buddhadeb Bhattacharya government and the Left were uneasy about welcoming her back. It's now the climax of the story, but one question is unanswered, why's she punished like this? Is't so, as she is critic of a particular religion, God? Is it votebank politics? We can guess only, we don't have appropriate reply.

Dear Pouring Rain, still there is a question mark. Going down the memory lane, I remember, I wanted a version of eminent writer Mahashweta Devi over phone, regarding Taslima's exile. She was furious, telling me, whyshould Taslima Nasreen or anyone else have to apologize forcriticizing someone's god? So long as India has a secular government, and is governed by laws — specifically, secular laws — rather than mobs of religious thugs, then people like Nasreen should be more than welcome to stay. Mahashweta blamed the Indian Foreign Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya for the whole episode. She was clear on her view; the Government is willing to sooth Nandigram, in the name of Taslima.

Well, dear Pouring Rain, I'm coming to the point, If India were a theocracy, where it were against the law to criticize religion and religious beliefs, then there would be a case for prosecuting Taslima Nasreen. It would still be immoral, but at least it would be formally legal. As it is, Taslima Nasreen hasn't done anything illegal in India. No one should have to fear that threats of faith-based violence from religious mobs will cause theocratic standards to be imposed retroactively on what they have already done. No one should be killed, threatened, or deported simply because they have hurt another's feelings — whether it's in the context of religion, politics, philosophy, sports or anything else.

Dear friend, M F Hussein's case is the same. Hussein, India's best-known artist is returning home from the exile, he was forced into by people protesting his offensive depiction of Hindu goddesses. Now a day, he's working on a new series of paintings, Indian civilization. The Indian angle to the European cartoon controversy had its resonanceon a similar offense committed by ninety-year-old noted painter M F Hussein who portrayed the Hindu goddess of knowledge Saraswati in nude. The right wing Hindu organizations took up the issue criticizing the Muslims that while they protest the outrageous cartoons, nonecondemn the painter who shelter under the cloak of freedom ofexpression. The Indian liberals accuse Muslims of not daring to stand up to the extremists within their community. Seldom Muslim voices are heard when their community resort to extremism, whereas the liberal Hindus voices are heard loudest in condemnation of such acts by the Hindu extremism. It points that Muslims silence paints the negative image of the community and the Hindu zealots cash on these sentiments. It feels that, if the liberal Muslim voices remain silent, Hindu liberals may take up positions on the Muslims issues.

I remember, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh gave public statement expressing "deep concern" over the publication of the offensive cartoons. He said; "The Government of India is deeply concerned aboutthe growing controversy over the publication of cartoons on Prophet Mohammad that offend the Muslim community worldwide and any suchattempt that hurt the religious sentiments of the people should beavoided."

My dear friend, we are passing through a very difficult phase. It's a clash of civilization. We are swinging between what to do and what not to do. I should stop now, before I could write a book.

I'm waiting for your reply.

Regards!

The Desert!

Death of a comrade writer

2008-08-06T00:22:00.000-07:00

Dear Pouring Rain,

I didn’t want to come on the keyboard today, but couldn’t stop myself. Hope you are well, living happy and a prosperous life. I kept waiting for a reply from your end, and it’s routine now, but you are not turned up.

I just came across the news Great Russian writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn is no more. There are many reasons for me to remember Mr. Solzhenitsyn. Long time back, while rummaging book shelves in a library, in Kolkata, I was a lucky chap to get “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich”. I was glad to read it. Before that, I didn’t know about Solzhenitsyn. It was a novel about the grisly realities in Soviet prisons and labor camps. It was Solzhenitsyn only, who brought the world attention and this affair brought him fame.

Dear friend, we can’t deny the fact that Solzhenitsyn was initially a loyal communist, before turning into a full time writer. He was sentenced to eight years in the Gulag, in 1945 for criticizing Stalin in a letter, to a friend. He managed to write this experience in his first book and became a famous figure in world literature overnight. Solzhenitsyn was a comrade in the true sense, so I gave the headline “Death of a comrade writer”, instead of “Death of a writer” or any other headline.

In “One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich”, Solzhenitsyn is the protagonist in the guise of Ivan Denisovich Shukhov. He has been sentenced to a camp in the Soviet gulag system, accused of becoming a spy, after being captured by the Germans as a prisoner of war during World War II. He is innocent, but is nonetheless punished by the government for being a spy.

Dear Pouring Rain, Mr. Solzhenitsyn was a father figure. He was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1970, but refused to travel to receive it for fear of not being allowed to return home. His another book, "The Gulag Archipelago” created a lot of hue and cry and he was expelled from the Soviet Union in 1974 after the authorities discovered manuscripts of the book, from his home. In exile for nearly two decades, he became an icon of resistance to the totalitarian system that expelled him from his homeland. Most of the time he lived in US. He could return home in 1994 only. In Russia, Mr. Solzhenitsyn was remembered for his unwavering convictions, his fierce patriotism and the self-imposed isolation of his final years. But outside the country he is viewed as a writer who destroyed the myth of Stalin's Communist society and exposed the tyranny of the Soviet system.

My dear friend, I mentioned in my last post, I’m an ardent fan of Russian masters. They always lured me to read their creations. From Lev Tolstoy to Alexander Solzhenitsyn, there are number names, for them I would like to bow down. Death of a great writer has disturbed me. It’s a great loss of the world literature; we would be never ever able to fill up.

Now I’m going to sum up things. Need to leave now. Need to take some rest. Hope to see you soon.
Miss you!
Thanks & Regards
The Desert.

Blooming Love and Fading Love

2008-08-05T00:31:00.000-07:00

Dear Pouring Rain,

I'm still waiting for you, for your mails. My all attempts went futile, to get you back, till date. I'm a little bit tired now. It's going to be 2 years, when you choose to tread on a different path. I'll celebrate my 29th birthday on coming 15th August. You left me on the same day, 2 years back, I remember. Each and everything, each and every word exchanged between us, I remember.

How can I forget them? You were the world for me and I just wanted to care you, wanted to adore you. It was something like religion for me and I always mentioned it, when you were close to me. I wanted to sacrifice myself. I took the relationship as my duty only.

Dear Pouring Rain, I've not read Bhagawad Gita but I learnt it from my mother. She always use to chant shlokas in Sanskrit and sometime in Hindi. Lord Krisha has said in Bhagawad Gita, Actions based on performance of sacrifice, charity and austerity should never be renounced; they certainly must be enacted; performance of sacrifice, charity and austerities are purifying for those in wisdom. Moreover, these activities should be performed as duty, renouncing attachment to fruitful results. You must be surprised, why I'm talking about Bhagawad Gita. I just want to let you know, I kept doing all the things for you in the name of Karma only. This is the reason, I'm not harassed.

Anyways…! Your departure from my life is a beginning of a new era. I felt it, in last two years. Love is blooming day by day and won't come to an end till my last breath, I'm sure.

It's possible, I could have lost you, after getting you. I'm talking about fading love. I was reading a story yesterday, "The death of Ivan Ilyich", by Lev Tolstoy. The story covers life of Ivan, his affair with a pretty, sweet and well breed girl, following the marriage and repeated quarrels, after the birth of their first baby. When you get your love, it fades away with a cruel smile and you just keep moving to a certain distance from your beloved one. Ivan Ilyich was the victim of his own love. Only one year after his marriage Ivan realized that conjugal life, while offering certain conveniences, was actually a very complicated and difficult matter. In the mean time his wife grew more querulous and ill-tempered. Dear friend, let me explain the last scene. Ivan is shown on the death bed, lying on his back, groaning and staring. His wife Praskovya Fyodorovna began to speak to him about his medicine. Ivan turns his eyes upon her. She didn't finish what she was saying, so great was the hatred- the hatred of her- that she read in his eyes. "For God's sake, let me die in peace," he said.

The story in nicely woven with great words. The phenomenon of the Russian writer Tolstoy can hardly be compared to any other figure in world literature. His writings, a heritage of truly Herculean proportions cover a variety of genres of literature; novels, novellas, short stories, plays etc. I'm a great lover of Russian literature from very beginning. I'll talk about more Russian masters in my next letters.

Well, dear friend. Sometimes, I think…It's better to stay at safe distance to keep the love blooming. Well.. Past is past…It's a new dawn and we should proceed further now. Proceed to reach to a new horizon. Go and get married, have children and manage your world. Love will be keep blooming at my end, I promise. Just go through this poem. It may be looking melancholy, but contains great meaning.

I dreamt a thousand dreams

But they twinkle like stars

Love and pain becomes same to me

As I have a smile on my face

That tells the story of sorrow and death

In the realm of my loneliness Again I am dreaming

If I could see a star is rushing towards me

To give me the message of life

Then what should I do?

Live, die or wait for the another tragedy?

It would be nice, if you reply.

Thanks

The Desert.

Kolkata, City of Joy and The Untouchable

2008-08-03T23:20:00.000-07:00

Dear Pouring Rain,

Hope you are well! Once again I’m here on the keyboard. Clouds are hovering on Kolkata’s indigo sky, stretched over my head. You must be surprised that how could I see the indigo, when there are dark clouds. Yes..! I can..! Actually, I can perceive. My sixth sense is sharp enough. It’s like water permeating through soil, I guess. Well, leave it, we’ll talk about the sixth sense sometime later. You must be planning to touch the earth, now. It’s need of the hour. In fact, all are waiting for you here.

It’s now 7th month, since I’m in Kolkata, the so called "City of Joy". By the way, Dominique Lapierre’s City of Joy is not a reality, I must say. It’s an illusion only and we all are happy. Actually we are habituated to sing on the tune of praise and we don’t have enough courage to accept the truth, the criticism. When someone comes forward with the truth, we just show him the gate. You must be aware about the controversy, the than Prime Minister of India, Late Mr. Rajeev Gandhi once named kolkata as a dying city. We people made a lot of hue and cry. Mr. Gandhi was true, but it’s not possible for us to digest the criticism.

Well, dear friend, now let’s talk about City of Joy written by Mr. Lapierre. In fact this book is a failed attempt to understand Indian society. Its story concerns a French priest living in Kolkata. Paul Lambert, who is trying to help and understand life in a slum, called Anand Nagar (City of Joy). Among its various protagonists is the rickshaw puller, Hasari Pal who becomes a central figure in the novel later. Despite the poverty and injustice, the inhabitants of Anand Nagar display an inscrutable acceptance and celebration of life — an attitude that humbles fate and dignifies life. But still something is lacking.

Now I’m coming to “Untouchable”. Look, I’m trying to compare “The City of Joy” with Mulk Raj Anand’s “Untouchable”. Mr. Anand was a master story teller. He crafted the plot very well and the story moves smoothly. Bakha is an untouchable, a member of the lowest caste in India. The action of book occupies one day in Bakha’s life. A likeable, strangely graceful, thwarted young sweeper, accidentally he touches a caste Hindu. This catastrophe and its repercussions poison all the happens subsequently, even such pleasant episodes as a hockey match, a country walk and a wedding.

In this sensitive portrayal of an individual, Mulk Raj Anand displays his penetrating thought and humane attitude in understanding the grim realities of one of the aspects of the social life in India. Even E.M. Foster once said about Untouchable “It’s an excellent work and I’m delighted to read it. I hope it’ll be favorably received.”

Apparently, “Untouchable” could only have been written by an Indian and by an Indian who observed from the outside. No European, however sympathetic, could have created the character of Bakha, because he would not have known enough about his troubles. At the same time no untouchable could have written the book, because he would have been involved in indignation and self-pity.

Dear Pouring Rain, now coming to the point. Lapierre’s novel lacks this type of reality. It’s said, truth is far bitter. How could Dominique Lapierre judge Kolkata, as the City of Joy? Dear friend, I remember the quote of a senior journalist and writer Madhuker Upadhyay. “Someone who doesn’t know Sanskrit and Urdu, can’t understand the India, in a better way. He’ll never ever understand the sentiment of the nation. When you go through the both novels, you’ll find Mr. Upadhyay right.

Once again…once again I’m going to fell into debate. The problem is, I don’t want to be a part of any debate. I want to be a witness only. It’s called SAKSHI BHAW in Hindi. I just simply want to let you know about the happenings around me. Well, dear friend, it’s too late and I need to work for my Roji-Roti. Once again, I would like to say.. I miss you. Come soon and drench me. Waiting for you.

Regards!
The Desert.

Happy friendship day!

2008-08-03T01:40:00.000-07:00

Dear pouring rain,

Greetings! First of all, I would like to wish you HAPPY FRIENDSHIP DAY. Though I'm not very much interested in such type of -show off- affairs, but after your sudden decision of parting away- I've changed my view. And now I understand, this type of show off affair is necessary to keep relationship alive. The air of Friendship Day has engulfed the atmosphere with excitement. This year the day is celebrated on the 3rd day of August instead of 5th. It is 2 days before. It's sunday today and one of my friend commented that corporate sector wants to reap the benefit on sunday only, so the date is changed now.

Whatever might be, I don't want to fell into the debate. It's time for friends to come forward and make their presence felt with warmth and affection. I remember... four or five years back a story was published in the supplement of a leading Bangla daily, in Kolkata with the headline…Kolkata e jhapiye utheche prem- Love is in the Kolkata’s air. It was a nice story indeed.

Well, I must move forward now. In this rainy season, I’m enjoying both rain and pain at the same time. Pain of being alone, as you are not here. Rain is must for the good harvest and sometimes for poets too. This is the fact; great poet Kalidasa was able to write Meghdootam and Abhigyan Shakuntalam in these rainy days only. But dear pouring rain, it’s not possible for me to write such an epic for you. I’m a common man, passing days … one by one. I wanted to send you these lines into your mail box only, but I was forced to stop doing so, as it was a cause of disturbance for you. Now in coming days, I’ll write in this diary only. Hope to see you soon.

Regards!
Desert!