A Thousand Splendid Suns………

A good story is something that, when read, makes you feel you are laying on someone’s lap and the web of words is flowing into your ears. It is an effortless process. But the beauty of it is that when it ends you feel mesmerized, deeply moved and in some ways transformed. To Kill a Mocking Bird did it. And now this…….
Khaled Hosseeini’s book takes you on a journey deep into Afghanistan. Two women experience momentous changes in their lives as the world around them trembles and collapses. It shows the things a mother would do to protect her children. She will face disgrace, go hungry, accept violence and even kill.
The book is filled with moments that talk volumes about this love. Leaving her daughter Aziza in an orphanage where she could be fed and clothed, Laila holds her hand and says, “Look at me, Aziza. I‘ll come and see you. I’m your mother. If it kills me, I’ll come and see you.”
It is a story of women wronged by men. It is so full of succinct sentences that I had to stop and appreciate every now and then. Says Nana, “Like a compass needle that points north, a man’s accusing finger always finds a woman. Always.” She even goes on to say, “a man’s heart is a wretched thing. It isn’t like a mother’s womb. It won’t bleed and it won’t stretch to make room for you.”
But don’t be misled into believing that all men are bad. There is Babi who believes in educating his daughter and is patient and loving towards his wife. There is Tariq who comes back to Afghanistan, when every one was leaving it, to rescue his childhood sweetheart. It is endearing how he says, “I’ll follow you to the end of the world, Laila.”
The story ends on a positive note. Even after the ravages caused by warring tribes and the worst possible things done by Taliban, hope floats. People gather bricks and rebuild the once great nation. Flowers sprout in the plants in old rocket shells. Rocket flowers.
The author leaves us with few lines from a ghazal by Hafez……….

Joseph shall return to Canaan, grieve not,
Hovels shall turn to rose gardens, grieve now.
If a flood should arrive, to drown all that’s alive,
Noah is your guide in the typhoon’s eye, grieve not.

After a lot of searching and digging.....from various sources.....here are the complete lyrics of Beru Pako......a Kumaoni folk song.....

Beru Pako.........

beru pako bara maasa...ho narain,

kaphal paako chita,mere chaila....(2)

Runi bhuni din aayo...ho narain,

puja mere maita,mere chila....(2)

Tero khuto kan buro...ho narain,

mero khuto pera,mere chail......(2)

Almara kee nanada devi...ho narain

anar jhakari ko sai ma...mere chaila

teri meri maya dekhi

log khani bhaima....mere chaila!....(2)

Translation---

Bero ripens all around the year.........o Narayan

Kaphal ripens only during chait....my beloved

Hot days are here...O Narayan

take me to my mother's home.....my beloved

If a thorn pierces your foot...O Narayan

I feel the pain.....my beloved

At Almora's Nanda devi,

In the shade of a pomegranade tree,

Seeing our love

people get decieved.......my deloved

Roots.....

Roots by Alex Haley traces back family history down seven generations to...Kunta Kinte....who called the guitar Ho and the river Gamby Bologna.....who grew up in a village in Africa and when he was out one day to cut wood, was captured by white men and forced into slavery.....

An interesting story that made me think about all the stories passed down generations by word of mouth. here are two of my favourites-

Durga Dutt Joshi was a Jhijharian(Jhijar is a famous muhalla near Almora known for joshis who when speak....speak so bitter.....that even the food in ur stomach gets burnt!). His father, the diwaan of Satna ensured that he had a good education. Though DDJ started off as a school teacher, he was soon promoted to the post of 'inspector of schools'. He travelled from one town to another on his white horse Chetak. Legend has it that he was very strict about the level of education imparted. So strict that after a tour his bag contained ears...yes....EARS and chutiaas(a brahmin boy's trademark bunch of hair) of truant schoolboys!!!

After retirement, being the eldest he enforced strict rules in his house as well. His younger brothers, fond of alcohol, never dared to uncork a bottle at home. They hired rickshaws and roamed around town drinking all evening, as far away from home as possible.

His grand children, taught by him, suffered the worst. On getting 95/100 in maths they were asked...in his thunderous voice......" bakee 5 number kahaan gayee??" He did not hesitate in bringing down his whip(yes he has a whip too!!) on their backs if they deviated an inch from studies.

I was shown these whip marks by my father (who, may i mention, has a flare for fiction), one of DD Joshi's grandsons, before exams and i was prompt to hit the books!

Badri Dutt Pande was very young when he lost both his parents. His elder brother supported his education and he became a professor at Chakrata, Garhwaal. But his youth coincided with Gandhi's call for freedom and he was quick to respond. Soon he became a prominent freedom fighter from Kuamon. He led the Coolie Begar Andolan and came to be known as Kurmanchal Kesari.

He was sent to jail often and his family was left to fend for themselves. On one of his jail stays, he got the news that his eldest son ,Tarek Nath(18) had drowned in the Ganga at Banaras. Two days later, more bad news followed. His daughter, on hearing about her brother's death killed herself in grief. Badridutt Pande was so overcome with sadness it threatened to engulf him too. He wrote a book called " Kurmao ka Itihaas" to emerge from the shock of loss. This book is still referred by historians.

He was offered a seat in the parliament after India's independence but he did not like the job. He was a freedom fighter and that is how he retired.

Once when he, along with other freedom fighters, decided to wave the Indian Flag atop Almora's police station, they were joined by hundreds of citizens. From among the crowd peeped a girl no more than 7 years old, with a flag in her hand. He held her up in his arms and she waved the Indian flag!!

This girl grew up to become a beautiful woman who married his youngest son Shakti Prasaad Pande. She was also his ardent supporter and companion in old age. She had lotsa children and later lotsa grandchildren. And whenever these grandchildren stepped the line or did something wrong they were told about the man who was their great grand father, a man with upright morals and undwindling determination. And given my affinity for misadventure i guess i have heard about him much more that any of my cousins.

Confluence of Alakhnanda and Mandakini at Rudrapryaag

many beautiful pics of Chopta trek still lost in the formatted memory card. Please help!

Habit- That easy way out......taking a motored vehicle to even the nearest of places.....and public transport just won't do...it has to be my own car...my own scooter......or my reserved auto!
Solution- something Doordarshan propagated many years ago.....start paddling.....or walking...as the case may be.....or get on that train or bus!!
Extreme- my first solar car!!
Did ya hear about- walkways in malls that generate energy from the foot pressure of people walking on it??

Habit- a very plastic life.......dat bag followes me everywhere.....while shopping for veggies, in the clothes' store....even wayyyy up in the Himalayas....and itz wide spread influence is not the only problem. It's gonna be around even when my third generation would look out of their old age home!!!!!

Solution- dig out that old sling bag.......cloth,jute....anything....and learn to say NO THANK YOU I HAVE MY OWN BAG everytime the shopkeeper carelessly packs all the merchandize in innumerable poly bags.

Extreme- what to do about the tonnes of polythene all around us?? Some people have started using it in railroad construction and some as a filler element in buildings......go discover!

Habit- giving pointless gifts to friends like photo frames, stuffed toys, cards. Eeeeh....too big a crbon footprint and no real feelings.

solution- gift plants( potted!!!), seeds........

Extreme- no gifts dude. i love you...u love me......bas ho gaya!!!

Habit- Extra lights, fan, computer on stand-by......hmm.........
Remedy- 1. Absolutely no-waste policy......task lighting while working, using day light when possible, switching off devices when not in use.
2. CFL.......sare ghar ke badal dallonga!
Extreme - 1.switch off the fan every alternate hour and enjoy the sauna-like environment!
2.switch off the fan while working or watching TV......the brain is too busy to notice!

WORLD ENVIRONMENT DAY, 5th JUNE, 2008

The 'Inconvenient Truth' is beginning to sink in. Our ice caps are melting, costal towns are flooding and the temperature is rising. The nightmare of our geography books is turning into reality!!

'The Amusing Truth', however, is that the solution to solving these grave problems is very simple. Turning off the extra light switch, turning off the tap tightly and making intelligent green and environmently friendly choices. We, who are addicted to over consumption and wasteful means.....it's time to KICK THE HABIT!!!!

For one month, I dedicate this blog to these choices.........let's GO GREEN........

There is a sufficiency in the world for man's need but not for man's greed. ~Mohandas K. Gandhi

This has become an annual affair for me. An otherwise productive human being thrust into an utterly jobless vacation where the most ‘happening’ thing is Mia’s nail cutting ceremony…..here is the best of what happened last year

Memories of Third Year

We experienced a major change in the way we lived (ref. to earlier reports on the pitiful life of prisoners in Jail no. 9) with the LAN and internet around. DC++ brought about end to ‘real’ social interaction in an otherwise united girls’ hostel. Telecom providers suffered heavy losses b’cuz Net Meeting took care of all the koocheekoo. My sleep pattern altered as the best time to download anything from an otherwise excruciatingly slow internet is 2 AM. Our projects and presentations improved drastically b’cuz of all the information around as did our game-playing and movie watching. We were now ‘connected’

More about the individual now…..

So your academic life also goes ‘hi-tech’ as they now accept CAD submissions. The Sarkar-Sandy duo makes Design something to look forward to each week. The big drafting board sits dejectedly in the lobby while the laptop becomes your new pet. Sletchup and itz brethren now occupy your time.

As for the ‘kya parha aur kya dekha’ section--- this was the year dedicated to meaningful movies. Dharma, Khuda ke liye, the Daniel Pearl story, Pother Panchali,Namesake, Kite Runner etc. Books were galore too… Shantaram, Clockwork Orange, Mud…….

Then one fine day you watch ‘the inconvenient truth’. That green seed, lying dormant after that ‘say no to crackers’ campaign’ in class 11, begins to wiggle again till all you can see or do is GREEN. No more drinking coffee in a plastic mug or eating anything packed or processed. Switching off every light and turning off every tap and delving deeper and deeper into this ‘ECO FRIENDLY’ pit!!

You were your ghanchakkar self again this year. Rajasthan and Ahmedabad with 2K5 & 2K6 was the best ‘academic’ holiday you had. IIT-Kgp is a must on the unwritten B.IT itinerary and you had to go there. From living in the dingiest lodge to extreme loose motions….all happened in a span of 2 days. The all-girl Kolkatta trip was magical. From Ms. Das’s Shosher Maach to College Street…..made you an even more ardent supporter of the ‘ I love bengalis’ club.

The 14 new people from MGR were a very pleasant change in the class of 21 who had by now drawn swords and wanted to taste blood at the drop of a hat!

BITOTSAV was the high point and the win unforgettable. You even got to see and feel the OBSA events up-close b’cuz of wearing the Khancheez hat. The quiz was a beginning and Reflections a great initiative but the bickering and enemy-like attitudes of class mates was two steps back when we had just taken one forward.

It was also the semester of realizing that change was afoot. Your fellow earthworm eater, the lazy evening walker, Mini animal planet, pleasing like a cool breeze and more addictive than a daily dose of nicotine was to pack his back and go. A beti shaped hole in your life!?!

So what palns now? Decluttering it shall be this sem……removing the essential from the chaff……in words…..thoughts…..and actions……

Allaha hafiz