tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-324969112024-03-05T12:52:04.253-08:00Mirror Of My MindSpontaneous ramblings, that help me know more about myself, like a clear reflection in a mirror...Mihir Khadilkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847524892490180432noreply@blogger.comBlogger16125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32496911.post-64780113229014464632015-07-24T23:21:00.001-07:002015-07-25T12:59:11.575-07:00अमेरिका - एक प्रवासवर्णन …<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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अमेरिकेत आल्यापासून अनेक वर्षे ऐकत आलो होतो, की या देशाचा पसारा खूप अफाट आहे… पहिल्या काही वर्षातल्या देशांतर्गत प्रवासामुळे तशी थोडी कल्पना होतीच. पण स्वतः रस्त्याने हा देश <i>पादाक्रांत</i> करण्याचा दुर्मिळ अनुभव घ्यायची संधी काही दिवसांपूर्वीच ईशिता व मला मिळाली. त्याचेच हे प्रवासवर्णन…<br />
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PhD नंतरच्या ह्या स्थलांतरासाठी ईशान्येत असलेल्या न्यूयॉर्क राज्यातील इथाका मधून कॅलिफोर्नियात फोल्सम येथे जाण्याचा आमचा प्रवासाचा मार्ग काहीसा या नकाशाप्रमाणे होता :<br />
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या नकाशाबरोबरच आमच्या प्रवासातील काही आकडे बघून अमेरिकेच्या अफाट <i>पसाऱ्याचा</i> अंदाज येईल: एकूण प्रवासाचे अंतर : ३४२६ मैल (~ ५५०० कि. मी.)! १३ राज्यातून प्रवास. आम्ही हा प्रवास ८ दिवसात पुरा केला. त्यात २ दिवस स्थलदर्शन ही होते.<br />
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अमेरिका देशाची १७७६ साली जेव्हा स्थापना झाली, तेव्हा (सध्याच्या) पूर्व व ईशान्य अमेरिकेतील १३ राज्यंच अमेरिकेत होती. पुढच्या सुमारे ७५ वर्षात अमेरिकेने बाकीचा भूप्रदेश संपादित केला. ह्या इतिहासाचा एक परिणाम असा की पूर्व व ईशान्य अमेरिका सोडता बाकीचा संपूर्ण देश अतिशय विरळ वस्ती असलेला आहे. कारण देशाच्या या भागांमधे खूप उशिरा स्थलांतर झाले. शिवाय जे American Indian लोक इथे हजारो वर्षे राहत होते, त्यापैकी बहुतांश लोक मारले गेले. या विरळ वस्तीची जाणीव प्रकर्षाने होते हा प्रदेश रस्त्याने ओलांडूनच… अमेरिकेत अनेक लोक असा प्रवास करतात. तो मुख्यत: शक्य होतो तो अमेरिकेतील अतिशय उत्तम महामार्गांमुळे. या रस्त्यांवरील वेगमर्यादा ताशी ६५ ते ८० मैल (१०० ते १३० कि. मी ) असल्याने एवढी प्रचंड अंतरे मर्यादित वेळेत कापली जातात. अर्थात या उत्तम महामार्ग व्यवस्थेचा तोटा म्हणजे इथे public transport चा अजिबात विकास झाला नाही. त्यामानाने भारताने स्वातंत्र्यानंतर फक्त ६०-७० वर्षात रेल्वे व बसमार्गाचे जाळे देशाच्या अगदी कोपऱ्या-कोपऱ्यापर्यंत पोहोचवले आहे.<br />
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प्रवासाचे ढोबळमानाने नियोजन करून आम्ही इथाकाहून माझ्या सर्व सामानासकट (<i>विंचवाचे बिऱ्हाड पाठीवर घेऊन</i>) प्रयाण केले.<br />
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<b>पहिला दिवस:</b> </h4>
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प्रवास सुरु होण्याआधी लक्षात आले की आपल्या गाडीचा A.C. योग्य पद्धतीने काम करत नाही. उन्हाळ्यातल्या या प्रवासामध्ये सुरुवातीला पूर्वेमध्ये तर जास्त तापमान अपेक्षित नव्हते, पण जसे जसे पश्चिमेकडे जाऊ, तसे तापमान खूप वाढणार त्यामुळे त्याची भीती होती. पण आम्ही तसेच निघायचे ठरविले. पहिल्या दिवशी इथाका ते शिकागो असा प्रवास होता. या मार्गात Pennsylavnia, Ohio, Indiana आणि Illinois या राज्यातून प्रवास होता. जवळ जवळ १००० किमी पेक्षाही जास्त अंतर! सकाळी ८ ला निघून वाटेत नाश्ता, जेवणासाठी breaks घेत घेत, Cleveland वगैरे शहरं ओलांडत रात्री जवळजवळ ९ च्या आसपास आम्ही शिकागो शहरात पोचलो. दिवसभर बराच वेळ पाउस होता. या प्रवासात New York व Pennsylvania सोडले की आपण अमेरिकेच्या तथाकथित Midwest मध्ये प्रवेश करतो. <br />
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हा भाग भौगोलिक दृष्टीने ईशान्य अमेरिकेहून वेगळा व अतिशय सपाट आहे. पुढची अनेक राज्यं मोठे डोंगर नावाला देखील दिसत नाहीत, फक्त मैलोनमैल शेती!<br />
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अजून एक नवीन अनुभव म्हणजे time-zones रस्त्याने ओलांडणे. एरवी विमान प्रवासानंतर घड्याळ पुढे-मागे करायची सवय होती, पण रस्त्याने जाताना घड्याळ adjust करायची वेळ अजून आली नव्हती. त्याचा एक परिणाम असा की आम्ही पश्चिमेला जात असल्याने जेव्हा जेव्हा time-zones ओलांडले, त्या दिवशी प्रवासासाठी एक तास जास्त मिळाला :) शिकागोत रात्रीचे जेवण वगैरे करून विश्रांती घेतली.<br />
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दुसरा दिवस शिकागो शहर भ्रमंतीचासाठी होता. १८३७ मध्ये वसलेले शिकागो शहर औद्योगिक व आर्थिक दृष्टीने महत्त्वाचे आहे. स्वामी विवेकानंदांच्या धर्मापरिषदेचे हेच ते शहर. अमेरिका व कॅनडा देशांमधे असलेल्या ५ विशाल सरोवरांपैकी मिशिगन सरोवराकाठी शिकागो आहे. ह्या शहरातील अनेक स्थळांना भेटी देत, शिकागो नदीतून शहरातील इमारतींचे दर्शन घेत आम्ही दिवस घालवला. </div>
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शिकागोच्या इतिहासाबद्दलही थोडी माहिती मिळाली. १८७१ लागलेली शहरात लागलेली प्रचंड आग, शहराच्या पाणी-पुरवठ्यासाठी शिकागो नदीचा प्रवाह बदलून उलटा करण्याचे काम या सर्वांबद्दल कळले. शिकागो शहर windy city म्हणून प्रसिद्ध आहे. त्याचे कारण जवळच असलेले विशाल सरोवर व उंच इमारतींमधून वाऱ्याला मिळणारी एकसंध दिशा. न्यूयॉर्क नंतर १९ व्या शतकात शिकागोच अमेरिकेतील महत्त्वपूर्ण शहर म्हणून उदयाला आले. शहरातून फिरण्याबरोबरच आम्ही इथल्या प्रसिद्ध Shedd Aquarium मधेही गेलो. तिथे अगणित प्रकारचे सुंदर मासे, डॉल्फिन्स, शार्क्स व इतर जलचर बघायला मिळाले. </div>
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तिसऱ्या दिवशी शिकागोहून निघून Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota ही राज्यं पार करून South Dakota राज्यातील Sioux Falls येथे मुक्काम होता. आजचे ही अंतर जवळजवळ ९५० कि.मी. होते. Wisconsin, Minnesota ही राज्यंदेखील अमेरिकेच्या "grand Midwest" चा भाग आहेत. Wisconsin राज्य America's dairyland म्हणून प्रसिद्ध आहे. इथे दूध व दुधाचे पदार्थ यांचे प्रचंड उत्पादन होते. तर Minnesota राज्य तिथे असलेल्या हजारो लहान-मोठ्या सरोवरांसाठी नावाजलेले आहे. Wisconsin मध्ये जेवण करून आम्ही पुढे निघालो. वाटेत मिसिसिपी नदीही ओलांडली, जी पूर्वीच्या अमेरिकेची सीमा होती.<br />
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आजचे मुक्कामाचे शहर Sioux Falls हे South Dakota राज्यात होते. हे राज्य पूर्वीच्या Native American जातीजमातींसाठी प्रसिद्ध आहे. मुळात राज्याचे नावच Dakota व Lakota या जमातींवरून आले आहे. शिवाय Sioux हे सुद्धा एका जमातीचेच नाव आहे. पूर्वीच्या European वसाहतींनी जेव्हा आपला पसारा वाढवला, तेव्हा अनेक Native American लोकांची कत्तल झाली. जे वाचले, मूळ समाजप्रवाहात (काहीसे) सामावले गेले, त्यांच्या समूहाला संरक्षित क्षेत्रं ("Indian reservations") मिळाली. अशा अनेक reservations ने भरलेले हे राज्य. Wisconsin, Minnesota ही राज्यं पार करून शेवटी आम्ही South Dakota च्या Sioux Falls मध्ये मुक्कामाला पोहोचलो. </div>
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<b><br class="Apple-interchange-newline" />चौथा दिवस:</b></h4>
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चौथ्या दिवशीचे प्रवासाचे अंतर त्यामानाने कमी होते. त्याचे कारण म्हणजे आम्ही दिवसाचा काही वेळ Badlands National Park या उद्यानाला, व संध्याकाळचा वेळ Mount Rushmore या राष्ट्रीय स्मारकाला देणार होतो. Sioux Falls हून निघून Badlands व Mount Rushmore मधे जाऊन South Dakota च्याच Rapid City या शहरात मुक्काम करणार होतो. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieG9bAYA0rQgDz2QnJsCYIM9GqcWEcctOdqXLZK_0_B5Vkn4zeTvEYe95Dje6IjhLc8YVWbCbcA21V52Z6DQA_9xj22JueNgZZ3Co89Cu7cTWKdxF0McbShG8PDDoEbVqFOt10ug/s1600/IMG_20150630_113409103_HDR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieG9bAYA0rQgDz2QnJsCYIM9GqcWEcctOdqXLZK_0_B5Vkn4zeTvEYe95Dje6IjhLc8YVWbCbcA21V52Z6DQA_9xj22JueNgZZ3Co89Cu7cTWKdxF0McbShG8PDDoEbVqFOt10ug/s320/IMG_20150630_113409103_HDR.jpg" width="320" /></a>South Dakota चे अजून एक वैशिष्ट्य म्हणजे मका! कालच्या व आजच्या संपूर्ण प्रवासात मक्याची इतकी शेती दिसली की विचारता सोय नाही. अमेरिका मक्याचा सर्वात मोठा उत्पादक देश. २०व्या शतकात मक्या मुळेच हा भाग आर्थिक दृष्ट्या समृद्ध झाला. मैलोनमैल जिथे नजर जाईल तिथे मक्याची शेती होती. त्याबद्दल आम्हाला अजून माहिती मिळाली वाटेतल्या Mitchell गावात, जिथे आम्ही असेच लहरीने घुसलो, एक पाटी बघून : "World's only Corn Palace". </div>
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मका व त्याच्या उत्पादनांची लोकप्रियता वाढविण्यासाठी २० व्या शतकाच्या सुरुवातीला बनविलेली ही इमारत. Corn Palace दिसायला सामान्यच आहे, पण लक्ष वेधून घेतात ती मक्याच्या कणसांनी बनविलेली भित्तिचित्रे. मक्याच्या अनेकविध रंगाच्या जाती वापरून ही भित्तिचित्रं सजवतात. ही चित्रे दर वर्षीच्या कापणीच्या वेळी बदलतात, जेव्हा "मका महोत्सव" सुद्धा आयोजित केला जातो. Corn Palace च्या आत मक्याच्या विविध जाती, त्यांचे वेगवेगळे उपयोग, या शहराचा इतिहास याबद्दल बरीच माहिती मिळाली. यानंतरचा आमचा थांबा Badlands National Park. हा भाग sedimentary rocks (गाळीव खडका) ने बनलेला असल्याने अनेक विलाक्षण दृश्ये बघायला मिळाली. भारतात चंबळच्या खोऱ्यात असलेल्या टेकाडांच्या भागासारखा दिसणारा हा प्रदेश. </div>
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इथे अनेक प्रकारचे वन्यजीवनही आहे. त्यातील सर्वात common म्हणजे Bison, म्हणजे रानरेडा. हा प्राणी इथेच नव्हे तर पुढे आम्ही गेलेल्या Yellowstone national park मध्ये ही सर्वत्र होता. सर्व प्राकृतिक सौंदर्याचा आनंद घेऊन आम्ही आमच्या मुक्कामाकडे, Rapid city कडे निघालो. </div>
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पण Rapid City ला पोहोचायच्या आधी आमचे शेवटचे गंतव्य स्थान होते Mount Rushmore चे स्मारक, जिथे डोंगरातील बोडक्या खडकात अमेरिकेच्या चार प्रमुख राष्ट्राध्यक्षांचे चेहरे कोरले आहेत. २० व्या शतकाच्या सुरुवातीला बनविलेले हे स्मारक जॉर्ज वॉशिंग्टन, थॉमस जेफर्सन, टेड रुसवेल्ट आणि अब्राहम लिंकन यांच्या स्मृतीप्रीत्यर्थ बनविले गेले. </div>
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अमेरिकेची स्थापना, पायाभरणी, एकसंधता व विकास या एकेका पैलू कडे यातील एकेका राष्ट्राध्यक्षाने विशेष लक्ष दिले. त्यांची महती सांगणारी एक चित्रफीत ही तिथे दाखवतात. अमेरिकेत आलेल्या प्रत्येक राज्याचे नाव सामील होण्याच्या तारखेसकट इथल्या स्तंभांवर कोरले आहे. हे सर्व बघून आम्ही Rapid City त मुक्कामासाठी पोहोचलो. </div>
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<b>पाचवा दिवस:</b></h4>
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पाचव्या दिवशी आम्ही Rapid City हून निघून South Dakota व थोड्या अंतरासाठी Wyoming हि राज्ये पार करून Montana या राज्यात पोहोचलो. अमेरिकच्या उत्तरेला आणि थोडे पश्चिमेला असलेल्या या राज्यात माणसे कमी (अमेरिकेच्या मानाने देखील <span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; text-align: -webkit-center;"><span style="font-size: large;">☺</span></span>) व क्षेत्रफळ खूप जास्त. मुख्यतः या राज्यात राष्ट्रीय उद्यानेच जास्त आहेत. भौगोलिक दृष्ट्या सर्वात मोठा बदल म्हणजे South Dakota सोडता-सोडताच पूर्ण मैदानी प्रदेश संपून आजूबाजूला अधूनमधून डोंगर दिसणे सुरु झाले होते (अगदी Mount Rushmore पासूनच, जे South Dakota च्या एका टोकाला आहेत).<br />
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या भागात उन्हाळा जास्तच जाणवत होता आणि A.C. काम करत नसल्याने तापमान अजूनच त्रासदायक होत होते. तोपर्यंत जरी तापमान ठीक असले तरी पुढे Nevada व California च्या त्रासदायक गर्मीचा धसका घेऊन आम्ही याच दिवशी वाटेत गाडीचा A.C. शक्यतो repair करण्याचे ठरविले. सुदैवाने वाटेत Montana च्या Billings शहरात एक mechanic मिळाला ज्याने A.C. तात्पुरता rapair करून दिला आणि आमची पुढच्या प्रवासाची सोय केली… <span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: large; text-align: -webkit-center;">☺ </span> त्या दिवशी आम्ही जवळजवळ ८०० कि. मी. प्रवास करून Montana-Wyoming सीमेवरील Gardiner या डोंगराळ गावी पोचलो. Gardiner हे गाव प्रसिद्ध Yellowstone National Park या उद्यानाच्या सीमेवरच आहे. पुढच्या दिवशीच्या Yellowstone भ्रमंतीची चौकशी करून आम्ही विश्रांती घेतली. त्यादिवशी hotel room मधून दिसणारे Yellowstone नदीचे दृश्य अप्रतिमच होते.<br />
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<b>सहावा दिवस:</b></h4>
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सहावा दिवस हा पूर्णपणे Yellowstone फिरण्यासाठी होता. Yellowstone national park हे अमेरिकेच्या असंख्य राष्ट्रीय उद्यानांपैकी काही सर्वात मोठ्या उद्यानांमधे आहे. एवढेच नव्हे तर हे अमेरिकेतील <b>पहिले </b>राष्ट्रीय उद्यान आहे. याच्या लोकप्रियतेचे सर्वात मोठे कारण म्हणजे हे उद्यान एका "महाज्वालामुखी"च्या क्षेत्रात आहे. ह्या ज्वालामुखीच्या ६,४०,००० वर्षापूर्वी झालेल्या उद्रेकाने पूर्ण अमेरिका व मेक्सिको चे भूगर्भशास्त्रच बदलून टाकले आहे. हे उद्यान अनेक उष्ण पाण्याचे झरे, वन्य प्राणी ,पक्षी, मासे, साप यांच्या हजारो प्रजाती या सर्वांसाठी प्रसिद्ध आहे.<br />
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या उद्यानाची सफर आम्ही सुरु केली "Mammoth hot springs" पासून. इथल्या भूगर्भामध्ये magma (द्रवरूप खडक) <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Grand Prismatic Spring</td></tr>
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जमिनीच्या पृष्ठभागापासून खूप कमी अंतरावर असल्याने त्याच्या उष्णतेने भूजल त्वरित गरम होऊन बाहेर फेकले जाते ज्यामुळे उष्ण पाण्याचे झरे यत्रतत्र दिसतात. असेच दुसरे उदाहरण म्हणजे "Grand prismatic spring". या झऱ्यांचे वैशिष्ट्य म्हणजे यांच्या आसपास भूजलाबरोबर बाहेर येणाऱ्या Sulphur व इतर द्रव्यांमुळे विशिष्ट प्रकारचे Micro-organisms (सूक्ष्म-सजीव) वस्ती करून राहतात ज्यामुळे लाल, पिवळा, नारंगी, हिरवा असे विविध रंगही या पाण्यात तुम्हाला दिसतात.<br />
Yellowstone चे दुसरे आकर्षण म्हणजे इथले वन्यजीवन. ते आम्हाला इथे अगदी भरभरून दिसले. उद्यानाच्या पर्यटक केंद्राच्या बाहेरदेखील Mule deer चा कळप होता. Bison (रानरेडे) तर अगदी सर्वत्र. अधून मधून हरणं, लांडगा (इथला Coyote) ह्यांचे ही दर्शन झाले. एवढेच नव्हे तर एक अस्वल ही तळ्यातून आंघोळ करून बाहेर पडताना दिसले.<br />
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पण दिवसाचा शेवट होता Yellowstone मधील Old faithful हा गरम पाण्याचा फवारा बघणे. इतर कुठल्याही उष्ण पाण्याच्या झऱ्याप्रमाणे असलेल्या या Old Faithful मधे मात्र आत निमुळती जागा तयार होते, ज्यामुळे पाणी काही काळ रोखले जाउन त्याची वाफच बाहेर फवाऱ्यासारखी फेकली जाते. दर दीड तासाने होणारा हा फवारा जवळजवळ २ मिनिटे चालतो व जवळ जवळ १०० ते १५० फूट उंच उडतो.<br />
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सातवा दिवस Yelllowstone पार करून, जाता जाता जवळच्याच Grand Teton National park या उद्यानाला धावती भेट देऊन Idaho राज्यात जाण्याचा होता. पण या धावत्या भेटीतच आम्हाला अजून काही अप्रतिम सुंदर दृश्ये (Grand Teton डोंगररांगेची ) आणि अजून काही वन्यजीवन बघायला मिळाले.<br />
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Elk या हरिणासारख्या पण घोड्याएवढ्या मोठ्या प्राण्याचेही दर्शन झले. नर Elk ची एवढी मोठी शिंगं पहिल्यांदाच बघितली. आदल्या दिवशीप्रमाणेच खूप रानरेडे ही दिसले.<br />
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निसर्गसौंदर्याने गच्च भरलेल्या या प्रदेशात वेळ असेल तर आठवडा देखील कमी पडेल. पण वेळेअभावी शेवटी या सुंदर जागेचा निरोप घेऊन आम्ही Idaho राज्याकडे कूच केले. Yellowstone व Grand Teton चा बराचसा भाग Wyoming राज्यात आहे. तो मागे सोडून एक खिंड पार करून आम्ही पुन्हा एकदा मैदानी प्रदेशात Idaho मध्ये प्रवेश केला. एकूण सुमारे ५०० कि. मी. प्रवास करून आम्ही Pocatello नावाच्या गावात मुक्कामाला पोहोचलो .<br />
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<b>आठवा दिवस:</b></h4>
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आजचा आठवा आणि शेवटचा दिवस आम्ही Idaho, Nevada व California या राज्यांमधून प्रवास करणार होतो. आजच्या प्रवासात तसे Touristic ठिकाण काही आमच्या plan मध्ये नव्हते. मधे कुठे Detour घ्यावासा वाटेल तिथे भटकूया असे ठरवून Pocatello हून निघालो. Idaho हे राज्य बटाट्यासाठी प्रसिद्ध आहे. South Dakota मधे जशी मक्याची शेती तशी इथे बटाट्याची शेतं दिसत होती. त्यामुळेच Idaho la कधीकधी "Potato State" असेही संबोधले जाते.<br />
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बाकी काही plan नसल्याने असाच लहरी detour घेऊन आम्ही Idaho च्या Twin Falls शहराजवळ पोचलो. नावाप्रमाणेच हे शहर धबधब्यासाठी प्रसिद्ध आहे. इथल्या Shoshone Falls ला Niagara of the west असे संबोधले जाते. या Shoshone Falls ला भेट देऊन आम्ही तिथल्या सृष्टी सौंदर्याचा आस्वाद घेतला. उन्हाळ्यामुळे पाणी जरी कमी असले तरी त्याच्या विशाल आकाराची कल्पना तरी नक्कीच आली.</div>
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यानंतर मात्र आमच्या प्रवासातील बाकीचे अंतरात गाडीतूनच बाहेरचे दृश्य बघितले. त्याचे कारण गाठायचा पल्ला ही मोठा होता, व मधल्या नेवाडा राज्यात अफाट मोकळ्या जमिनीपेक्षा अक्षरशः काहीही दिसत नाही. अशाच वेळी देशाच्या त्या "पसाऱ्या"चा आणखी चांगला अनुभव येतो. नेवाडा पार करून आम्ही California राज्यात प्रवेश केला तो पुन्हा Sierra Nevada डोंगररांगेतून. आमचे शेवटचे गंतव्य स्थान फोल्सम इथून फार लांब नव्हते व संध्याकाळी ८. ३० च्या सुमारास जवळ जवळ ११०० कि.मी. अंतर पार करून आम्ही आमचा प्रवास संपविला.<br />
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या आठ दिवसात अमेरिकेच्या विविध भौगोलिक प्रदेशांची, हवामानाची, खाण्याची, संस्कृतीची, राहणीमानाची, वन्यजीवनाची वेगळ्या प्रकारे ओळख झाली. आधी म्हणल्याप्रमाणे देशाच्या <i>पसाऱ्याचा</i> अंदाज आला. भारतात जम्मू तवी ते कन्याकुमारी (हिमसागर एक्स्प्रेस) हा प्रवास मला कितीतरी दिवस करायचा असूनदेखील संधी मिळाली नव्हती. तो प्रवास कसा असेल याची कल्पना मला या प्रवासाने आली. यापुढे अशा प्रकारच्या कुठल्याही प्रवासाची संधी (भारतात किंवा बाहेरही) मिळाली तर मी एका पायावर तयार असीन! <span style="font-family: 'Arial Unicode MS', 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: large; text-align: -webkit-center;">☺</span><br />
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- मिहीर </div>
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Mihir Khadilkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847524892490180432noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32496911.post-15640759147839957602011-08-21T21:21:00.000-07:002011-08-21T21:38:05.540-07:00Clearing the cobwebs..Ever get a feeling that all day you are sitting at your office working, or spent a Sunday just doing random things, and near the end of the day, you feel like you have umpteen things to think about.. Not just about the impending work in the coming week, or some errands you have to run, or some things you planned and forgot.. Its not like you have a list ready in your head of all such things, but you know that there are a bunch of them like these somewhere inside your head.. like some <span style="font-style: italic;">cobwebs</span> hanging in some corner ?
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<br />Well, for some, that’s a classic Sunday evening feeling.. You procrastinate through the weekend, not really thinking about those things to do, until you absolutely have to. Well, at these times, something that often helps clear those cobwebs from one’s mind is to take a walk..
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<br />Thankfully for me, the hilly landscapes around provide ample opportunities of just walking aimlessly in those scenic places, as I did today. With the twilight sun shining once in a while through the clouds, painting the quaint little buildings in the campus yellow, I walk right down the slopes. As I reach one of the waterfalls from the gorge, it welcomes me with a deafening roar. The shade of the water ranges from a milky white at the noisiest places to a calm and transparent brown (showing the land beneath) as it passes the rocks forming a nice little stream. Sun continues to play hide-and-seek as the water gleams golden at places..
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<br />Walking further down, I reach the lakeside to a view of a beautiful cloudy evening. Clouds are like the magical curtains of this play, with the sun behind these clouds mustering all the colors that it could: shades of red, purple and yellow. The clouds are reflected on a virtually motionless water surface, only to be disturbed a little at times, by the ripples created by ducks somewhere far down. A white streak of an airplane trail also adds its beauty to the sky. A light breeze keeping the evening alive..
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<br />Things like these, although quite engrossing in themselves, help clear that thinking process in your head. List out all those unfinished tasks in your mind, cleaning those cobwebs one by one, slowly but surely. Giving time for some introspection.. some planning..
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<br />Suddenly the breeze turns into a gusting wind, and the clouds have taken it upon themselves to make sure that I don’t go back home ‘high and dry’.. Sudden refreshing showers don’t last long.. They are quickly replaced within minutes by a clearer sky and an ever more stronger and fresher breeze..
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<br />As I return home after the walk, its not just the skies that are clear, but my mind too.. The <span style="font-style: italic;">cobwebs</span> are no more...
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<br />Mihir Khadilkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847524892490180432noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32496911.post-89613444322470567762011-02-06T21:55:00.000-08:002011-02-06T22:04:50.749-08:00Musings on music<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: left;"> These days, music has taken an important role in our daily routines. May it be on our desktops, laptops, phones or iPods. While working, relaxing, working <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">out</i>, traveling, driving and what not… But how often have you felt like you have been transferred by music to a land where all around you is nothing but raw and unadulterated beauty of nature? Many times I bet!</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> A green ravine studded with trees and marked by gorges and waterfalls. Scenes like those of Rivendell. Calm and peaceful. It may not be quiet in the strictest sense of the word. There might even be a roar of the wind around, or that of falling water. But when it comes to clearing your mind of cluttered thoughts, the atmosphere is as quiet as it should be.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> A clearing in a rainforest: A small window to the sky and the world outside the forest. Leaves from the trees all around dripping with water from incessant rains… Slow continuous sound of water streams flowing through rocks and pebbles. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> An <span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>edge of a cliff, with thousand stars and their twinkling glow in your eyes… deep white snow shimmering around you, each and every white speckle of it making you contemplate: about your past, present and future. The usual emptiness of the night is nowhere to be seen. Instead, all you have is a feeling very deep and poetic.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> For me, it has been quite often! A single piece is enough to take you into a trance of nothingness. It changes your mood, changes your outlook, and changes your state of mind. I have had music pieces give me goosebumps, ecstasy, excitement, anguish, euphoria, despondence and what not!</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> But the connection is far from over just with this. Do you remember those tags they attach these days to articles, blogs and images across internet? These tags help you and search engines search a relevant article based on a keyword one searches. It is similar with music and memories. What does our mind usually tag our memories by? Probably the setup, the people around, the place, the time of the year, the weather... But along with it, if present, a particular piece of music that you might have heard also gets added to the ‘tags’ we have for our feelings, emotions and memories. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> Try to recall any distinct childhood memory: your mornings to school, or your birthday, or your trip with family or just hang-out with friends. I’m sure you’ll find many of them with these musical ‘tags’ attached to them, perhaps a song that you were hearing that time, or a song that you use to hear all the time during those days. And like in case of tags for the blogs, if you come across these keywords independently, there’s a good chance that you’ll immediately remember the memories that were tagged by those musical pieces. I’ve seen it happen to me ALL the time. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> In a way, music becomes integral part of those memories, our daily experience and thus our lives, not just through our gadgets and actions, but deep in the fathoms of our minds…</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p>Mihir Khadilkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847524892490180432noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32496911.post-86143794710230074612010-10-02T20:07:00.000-07:002010-10-02T20:21:39.411-07:00Ayodhya verdict<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">In recent past, I had in general avoided having vehement discussions related to social issues, religion and so on. But I was recently asked by a friend of mine about ‘what I felt about the Ayodhya verdict’. Although I had so much to say, (or in fact, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">because </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I had too much to say) I couldn’t put it all in a single sentence. So even though I gave some short version of my opinion then and there, I felt it to be apt to pen down the whole of my thought process.</span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">OK, on the face of it, as far as the actual verdict of the Ayodhya issue was concerned, I honestly didn’t mind the result going either way (a temple or a mosque at the disputed site). But it was not out of apathy, it was because of my own personal position on the matters related to religion, or more specifically, the social or </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">public </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">face of religion.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">I had penned down my thoughts on religion </span><b><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://mihirkhadilkar.blogspot.com/2006/10/religion-and-its-problems-these-dayswe_03.html">here</a> </span></i></b><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">a long time ago, where I had stated that while I am all for religion being a very private affair for every individual human being, it’s the ‘communization’ of religion that I hate most. This social, public aspect of religion creates a lot of problems. When a religion is ‘communized’ (as most of the common religions these days are) it becomes way too rigid in its practices and that is where many social problems usually arise. This is because, most of the religions, in the process of setting their norms on ‘appropriate practices’ usually tend to cross some sort social borders that need to be respected for social harmony. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Communization or giving ‘public’ or ‘social’ face to religious practices is not </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">always </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">bad. It worked wonders when Lokmanya Tilak introduced public celebration of Ganesh Festival about a century back. It gave a platform for the society to unite in a common cause, and helped our struggle for the Indian independence in a definite and positive way. That was the right choice for the given time and situation.<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">But often, communization of religion gives way to rifts in society. May it be the celebration of “Chhath Puja” in Mumbai, or building a temple or a mosque at a given site, it is mostly used by opportunist politicians and public figures (this includes people at important positions in so called ‘religious hierarchy’ too, which again, is an outcome of communization of religion) to increase their popularity and their hold on the community they supposedly want to ‘lead’. While in fact, the reality is that common man is just used as a pawn. Each of those who were incited by some politician to vehemently fight for their right to celebrate ‘Chhath Puja’ , could in principle , have celebrated it anyway in a calm manner. But the politicians wanted to make a noise as loud as possible about the issue and religion is their biggest weapon. With the current social, public structure of religion, it is a soft spot for most of the communities while the core idea of religion, as just a ‘</span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">way of life’ </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">has lost its meaning completely. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">Does this mean that I absolutely hate social side of religion? Of course not. I get really emotional and nostalgic remembering the Ganesh festival celebrations back in Pune (which, for a fact, I haven’t been able to attend for last 6-7 years) . Man has always been a social animal and often religious festivities are always a good excuse to come together and just have a good time. I can safely bet that thousands of people that throng the streets of Pune during a Ganesh procession would not just come there otherwise just for the sake of a social gathering, had it not been for a religious festival that ties everyone together with zeal and fervor. But we have to keep in mind the ill-effects too (which, I believe are currently outweighing the advantages).<o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">So coming back to Ayodhya issue again, the current verdict was quite balanced when we take in to account the volatility and intolerance of certain sections of Indian society in religious matters. I wouldn’t mind any place of worship there whatsoever, in so far as it brings together the people from across communities. Communization of religion often comes in its way and that’s what I am against. That, </span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">in short, </span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">was what I wanted to say when asked about my opinion on the matter. <o:p></o:p></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""><o:p><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></o:p></span></p>Mihir Khadilkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847524892490180432noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32496911.post-21392862370665000172010-08-26T19:12:00.001-07:002010-08-26T19:27:44.118-07:00Media Monster...<p class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Recently saw “Peepli Live” and that revived an old issue in my mind that was bubbling to come out: Social irresponsibility of Media.</span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">There used to be a time in my early childhood, when Doordarshan was the only practical source of news from all over India and the world. It being a government enterprise, the news there used to be pretty serious, more or less authentic information.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Then came the age of a plethora of news channels: Aaj Tak, CNN-IBN, Star News, NDTV, Zee news, India TV, TimesNow and so on. With it, came crazy competition and thus a mad rat race to get the tiniest chunk of TRP they can possibly get, and thus, a complete disregard for any kind of work ethics this profession demands. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">First, scrambling to get enough material for a 24-hour news channel, these channels filled up their programs with ridiculously stupid, insignificant news, unnecessarily dramatizing it. Showing same old reports every 10 minutes (with possibly a 20 second video clip which they would show at least a 100 times) was yet another ploy. If you watched them more than a few times during 2-3 hour duration, you could possibly recite the whole of their news report, as by that time you would basically remember every line. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">As if this was not irritating enough, they started sensationalizing every tiny bit of unimportant news details. Then came an age of </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Live </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">or </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">breaking news</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">. The worst part was that the common people actually </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">liked</span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"> watching them! <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Until this point, whatever News channels did could be rationalized by their popularity. They can surely ask the question: “</span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Who are you to question us if people in general are liking what we are showing?”. </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Fine! I do not have any grounds except for a mature idea about what is worthwhile to be shown as news. But if market forces are stronger than a sane mind, nobody can do much.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">But then, it slowly enters a grey category. And depiction in Peepli live, which falls into this, was what primarily made me coherently write my thoughts here. Media, being ignorant or just greedy, sometimes helps increase social problems. Initially, I had thought this was only present in Indian media until my ignorance about American politics was recently brushed away by controversies about Fox news and its bias against democrats. This made me realize that this problem is, if not universal, definitely not restricted to India. Political bias (it being just one of the examples of things in this grey category) by media is common in many other countries too. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Still, if one does that within legal limitations (something Fox News apparently has not achieved doing, as far as I know), it is probably off the hook, except for allegations of breach of moral responsibilities of a media entity. Surely, they won’t be following work ethics as expected from a news channel, newspaper, magazine or any media source, but they won’t be punishable legally.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Then come the worst in the lot! And this made my blood boil (and I am sure tons of people like me were equally disturbed): November 26, 2008: Mumbai and the whole of country were in utter shock of terror attacks. While the operation was still going on, with terrorists still under siege, hundreds of innocent people still waiting in terror inside those buildings, many brave officers and soldiers trying to save those innocent lives, and Indian media showed utter disregard for their social responsibilities, capturing each and every tiny bit of movement of Indian soldiers, practically helping the terrorists in their plan. Of course, it was stupid on the part of government to even allow any media within 100 meters of the site, but news channels proved that they are hungry for every tiny bit of TRP they get, that they care shit about lives of those innocent people inside, and those trying to fight for their country’s security. Any person sitting in front of TV that day could have known the exact information about how many Indian soldiers were trying to attack those buildings, from where, when and with what weapon and a school-going child could have guessed that this might actually hurt our efforts to save innocent people and fight those terrorists. And those holding masters and Ph.D.s in journalism and probably decades of experience in the field did not have a clue (or acted as if they did not have a clue) that they were actually helping terrorists.<o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">This, in my opinion, is the worst ever example of lack of social responsibility. Before this, the stakes were low. All of what they were doing, at least the most of it, was within legal limitations. But then you see utterly disgusting examples like </span></span><a href="http://wearethebest.wordpress.com/2010/08/21/for-a-few-tv-rating-points-more-a-life-was-lost/"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">these</span></span></a><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">, and you really start worrying about the future of media and its ill-effects on contemporary society. <o:p></o:p></span></span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style="line-height: 115%; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">Coming to what triggered all these thoughts in my mind, Peepli Live did an excellent job of taking a satirical view on things, making the contradiction </span></span><i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">very </span></span></i><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;">clear, and that too really effectively. It touches up a serious issue in a mockingly funny manner, making one realize the existence of a monster we’ve created. Definitely worth a watch, and makes one contemplate for sure...</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></p>Mihir Khadilkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847524892490180432noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32496911.post-76537370384266168822010-06-03T21:12:00.000-07:002010-06-04T06:08:22.763-07:00कोकणमेवा<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">परवाच गोनीदांचं ‘शितू’ वाचत होतो.. त्यातले कोकणाचे रम्य वर्णन वाचता-वाचता माझा मीच भूतकाळात शिरत होतो.. कॅमे</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; line-height: 25px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">ऱ्याच्या </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> फ्रेम सारखी आठवणींच्या </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: arial; line-height: 25px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">ढिगाऱ्यातली </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> अस्पष्ट, अंधुक चित्रे माझ्या डोळ्यासमोर येत होती.. </span><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 25px; font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">शाळेत असताना प्रत्येक उन्हाळ्याच्या सुट्टीत माझा व आईचा बेत ठरलेला असायचा.. मे महिन्यामधील सोयीचे १५-२० दिवस हेरायचे आणि मामा-मावशीकडे </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 25px; font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">कोकणात </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 25px; font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">तेवढे दिवस नुसता मजेत आराम करायचा.. पुण्यासारख्या शहरी वातावरणात बाकीचे पूर्ण वर्ष घालवता-घालवता माझ्या मनोरंजनाच्या जागा, करमणुकीची कल्पना, खेळ, गमती-जमती हे सर्व माझ्या कोकणातल्या भावंडांपेक्षा खूपच वेगळे झाले होते.. </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 25px; font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 25px; font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">म्हणूनच की काय कुणास ठाउक, पण मी वर्षातले ते १५-२० दिवस अगदी वेगळ्या विश्वात असायचो.. तिथल्या छोट्या-</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 25px; font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">छोट्या </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 25px; font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">गोष्टींचे </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 25px; font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">मला फार नवल आणि कौतुकही वाटायचे.. शहराकडल्या अनेक गोष्टी नसतानाही आपापल्या ठिकाणी इथली घरे कशी स्वयंपूर्ण असायची.. लाल मातीच्या चि-यांचे गडगे, त्यावरुन कधी-मधी उड्या टाकताना आमची ढोपरं ब-याचदा फुटायची. पडवीतून शेजारच्या रस्त्याने मागच्या दारी गेले की न्हाणीघर लागायचे. त्याजवळील चुलीवर सकाळी एक भलेमोठे तपेले तापत असायचे. वर्षानुवर्षे पाणी तापवून ते काळे-कुळकुळीत झालेले असायचे. त्याशेजारी ब-याचदा आयांचे </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">आपल्या कच्च्या-बच्च्यांना </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">आंघोळ घालणे चालू असायचे . आंघोळीचे पाणी जायलाही अगदी नैसर्गिक उतार असायचा..घरामागे नेहमी फणस सोलणे किंवा आमसुले वाळवणे वगैरे चालू असायचे..जर अधेमधे मांजर व्याली असेल तर ती व तिच्या पिल्लांसाठी कोनाड्यात एक टोपली असायची ज्यात एखाद्या जुन्या साडीचा तुकडा घालून त्यांच्यासाठी अगदी मऊशार गादीसमान पृष्ठभाग तयार केलेला असायचा.. नवीन झालेली पिल्ले म्हणजे पोरा-टोरांपासून अगदी आजीपर्यंत सगळ्यांचा कौतुकाचा विषय असे.. मागे वाडीत गेले, की एक छोटासा आड, त्यातील पाणी मोटरने बाहेर येऊन लगेच चिऱ्याच्या पन्हाळयांमधून </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">खालच्या माडांपर्यंत जायचे. माड संपले की मधे थोडी रेती , थोडी झाडे, आणि मग समुद्रच..</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 25px; font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 25px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: normal; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">नुसते घर आणि परसच नव्हे, तर इथल्या रीती, सण, पूर्ण विश्वच वेगळे होते.. माझ्या भावंडांबरोबर भटकताना मला गावातल्या अनेक गोष्टी कळायच्या..होळीच्या वेळी इथे लोक (अगदी मोठे लोक ही ) कसे नाचतात, मागच्या वर्षी होळीच्या वेळी त्या गुरवाने भांग पिऊन कसा गोंधळ घातला होता.. गावदेवीच्या जत्रेत कोणाच्या अंगात देवी येते.. पावसाळ्यात शंकराच्या मंदिराबाहेरील बावीवर पोहायला कशी मजा येते, भोपळी बांधून पोहताना कुणाची कशी भंबेरी उडाली होती..गावच्या एका बाजूला असलेल्या पाताळेश्वराच्या मंदिरात लोक अंधाऱ्या रात्री जायला कसे घाबरतात, मागच्या वर्षी ज्येष्ठात कलमांच्या बाजूला बिबळ्याने कुळवाड्यास कसे धरले होते.. एक ना दोन..</span></span></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 25px; font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 25px; font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 25px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">जसा जसा मोठा होत गेलो तसे या ना त्या कारणाने कोकणात जाणे दुर्लभ होऊ लागले.. शेवटचा जेव्हा मी मागच्या वर्षी कोकणात गेलो होतो, तेव्हा भावंडांबरोबर फिरताना माझ्या मनात सतत येत होते, की सध्या मी exactly "लहान" व "मोठा" च्या हद्दीवर आहे .. यानंतर जेव्हा केव्हा येईन तेव्हा "लहान" नक्की नसणार.. म्हणून मी आपले माझ्या लहान भावंडांबरोबर "डबडा-इस्पैस" खेळून घेतले..ना जाणो, परत कधी </span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 25px; font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">यायला </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 25px; font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">मिळेल किंवा नाही, काहीच माहित नाही..अगदी मी गेलो जरी, तरी "डबडा-इस्पैस" खेळायच्या वयाचा नक्की नसणार.. मनातून बालपण संपत असल्याचे दुःख होत होते .. पण काय करणार..मी आपली सगळी मजा एकदाची शेवटची अनुभवून घेतली..</span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 25px; font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 25px; font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 25px; "><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: small;">आणि आज, "शितू" मुळे पुन्हा ते सर्व डोळ्यात उभे राहिले..या कोकणमेव्याची चव काही तोंडातून जायला तयार नाही...</span></div></span></span></div><div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 25px; font-family:arial;"></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" line-height: 25px; font-family:arial;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:medium;"> </span></span></div>Mihir Khadilkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847524892490180432noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32496911.post-17928298320931852742010-03-09T20:09:00.000-08:002010-03-10T05:07:34.595-08:00Natural, unconventional, enchanting...<p class="MsoNormal">When you think about movies these days, all that you get to see is a horde of movies with not-so-original plots, same old love-hate-revenge kind of stories, stereotypical melodrama and a painful overdose of the likes of "Himeshs-Salmans-Emran Hashmis" ! So naturally, it was utterly refreshing to get a sweet surprise with a masterpiece, with a fresh storyline and a powerful screenplay underlining nuances of unconventional human relationships.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">I am not talking of a brand-new movie or anything but a fairly old one that I chose to see a couple of days back: “Mr. and Mrs. Ayyar”. I am guessing many must have seen it long back but here I explain what <i style="mso-bidi-font-style:normal">I </i>found incredibly exciting about the movie.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">These days when they show relationships in movies, we get to see only the usual, mundane boy-meets-girl kind of romantic relationships, or father-son, mother-son relationships, or the ones of a platonic friendship between colleagues, or just a plain villainous hate between enemies.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>But life is so much more complex. Real life does not stick to these stereotypical relations.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Many books often bring out such unusual, delicate, complex relationships which cannot be labeled by a particular name. But movies rarely make an effort in this direction.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">This was the most appealing thing about the movie for me. Well, two strangers brought together by a situation is not a new thing, neither for movies, nor for books. What is original about the plot is the complicated relationship between the two. A married Tamil Brahmin woman with a child and a young Bengali muslim man. Situation forces them to pretend to be a married couple. This is not a story with artificial twists and turns trying to make things interesting. It’s a story wherein the very situation and the way the two react to it make it enthralling. </p> <p class="MsoNormal">Apart from this most important factor, a lot of the film’s aura is also due to the way it is made.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes"> </span>Niceties of various situations and that of human nature are really well brought out. Things seem to be well thought out (to the smallest detail) while making the film. For example the pronunciation of a certain words as it should be from a woman of Tamil background is strikingly effective. Often, it is a convention that the central characters get the most of the screen presence at all times. But while describing a situation to the detail that is intended in the story, the film-maker makes sure that the aforementioned usual convention does not hinder the storytelling itself. Acting, dialogues, diction only add to the overall enchanting experience and at the ending scene of the movie, you are left spellbound by the overall impression that it creates on your mind... </p>Mihir Khadilkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847524892490180432noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32496911.post-66153264748142384212010-02-18T21:18:00.000-08:002010-02-18T21:38:22.860-08:00And that’s why I love the snow !<p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 55px; font-size:-webkit-xxx-large;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;">For the past few days, it has been snowing rather steadily and continuously here in Ithaca… and I heard a lot of complaining voices and troubles faces, which was rather surprising for me… I realized soon that popular opinion about this constant snowfall is not similar to what I feel, and I made a list of reasons behind my complete adoration for the snow…</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:small;">1. Snowfall ( at least for a first-timer like me) is a heavenly feeling. You always see those mythological TV shows wherein gods float on clouds and everything around is white and fluffy. The nature of the landscape in steady snowfall is as close to that as it can get.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:small;">2. Snowfall (as against the rains) is SO damn quiet! There is no deafening roar that you have to endure. Instead, you have a gentle caress of feather-light snowflakes, as if mother nature is showering you with happiness.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:small;">3. Your belongings and clothes don’t get wet at all ! People living in places like Mumbai would totally understand this point when everytime during monsoons you have to put in painstaking efforts to protect every tiny bit of your backpack and clothes. And yet, invariably, you reach everywhere ( that includes classes, hostel-mess and your own room) with clothes half-drenched and ink in your notebooks doing a randomwalk…</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:small;">4. Snowfall gives you tons of opportunities to play around, have fun! Having snow-fights, building snow-man, making your firm footprints in nice, thick and clean snowbed, observing beautiful tiny snowflakes and their fractal nature, disturbing beautiful snow-patterns on bushes, looking at huge icicles formed in the vallies and gorges and enjoying the view of frozen water-bodies are just few of the luxuries that this weather offers.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:small;">5. Unlike rains, the snow dries out fast. Of course, the snow on the grass (at the sides) doesn’t melt easily, but the walkways and the footpaths are dry the next day after the snowfall. This means that while walking, you don’t have to worry about ditches as puddles ( at least not as much as in the rains) and shoes getting completely wet .</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:small;">6. Usually snowfall means comparitively milder version of cold. This makes the weather much more favorable when it’s snowing…</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:small;">7. While walking at night, it’s so beautiful to watch the snow on the sides of the walkways shimmering in the dim glow of streetlights…</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:small;">Of course, there are some downsides to snowfall like slush and slippery surfaces. It’s unpleasant when it’s windy.. but things like these are too feeble to match any of the perks that it offers…</span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:small;">And </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size:small;"><i>that’s</i></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style=" ;font-size:small;"> why I love the snow !</span></p><p></p><p></p>Mihir Khadilkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847524892490180432noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32496911.post-70617525284403386112010-02-14T01:14:00.000-08:002010-02-14T01:53:21.935-08:00प्राची<div>(पहाटेच्या शांत वेळी सुचलेल्या काही ओळी..) </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div>गर्द भीषण तिमिरातून <div>कळी प्राचीची उमलली </div><div>उजळल्या आशा जणू </div><div>पुनवेच्या क्षितिजापरी </div><div><br /></div><div>धीर गंभीर तो रवी </div><div>आणि त्याची ती प्रभा </div><div>सृष्टीचे ते नवे रूप </div><div>आणि ती नवी शोभा</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>- मिहीर </div>Mihir Khadilkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847524892490180432noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32496911.post-83230093098119709462010-02-07T21:54:00.000-08:002010-02-08T18:13:55.589-08:00Do we need the “Days” ?<p class="MsoNormal">Well, I have had this thought picking my head several times before… But I never really got down organizing my thoughts..But recently, I was reminded of that again, by someone’s facebook status..it said : (on India’s republic day):<span> </span>“Do we need a special day to show our patriotism?” (the comment was referring to fervid status messages that people had kept on facebook that day)</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span> </span>As I said, that started a train of thought in my mind: the same kind of objection had been raised in past against valentines day too, when many (self-proclaimed) “protectors of Indian culture” had taken it on themselves to vandalize whatever there was, that was related to this day. There were other instances too..</p><p class="MsoNormal">Do we really need the “Days” ? Of course, on the face of it, acts do look really shallow. Take the facebook example for instance.<span> </span>Many would argue that all those fervid fanatics keeping those status messages on republic day would forget everything about it the very next day. Isn’t it better instead that they keep that “spirit” in their minds throughout the year, without having to show it fervently to everybody?</p><p class="MsoNormal">Well, my answer to that is: I wish it were that simple…YES, <i>ideally</i>, we would like everybody to keep that spirit alive all through the year, making them take steps accordingly in their everyday lives: following civic rules, coming out clean, making their locality a better place to live..</p><p class="MsoNormal"><i>Ideally</i>, we wouldn’t want a single women’s day in the year.. we would definitely like to have people bear in their minds all throughout the year the place of a woman in a society, her aura, her importance…</p><p class="MsoNormal"><i>Ideally</i>, we wouldn’t want a single world environment day in a year.. Ideally, we would undoubtedly want people to categorically inculcate green practices in their lifestyle and help fight the problems that the earth, and in turn, we are facing..</p><p class="MsoNormal"><i>Ideally</i> , we wouldn’t want a single world health day in a year.. same goes for world labour day, world AIDS day and the list is limitless..</p><p class="MsoNormal">But, we still need them. Because we, as a community, have a very short memory and need to be constantly reminded of what we believe in, and to discipline ourselves into doing what we set out to do.. May be those people on facebook would soon forget about republic day. But without it, they would not give it a thought even for a brief span of days that they remembered it instead. And the same goes for all other days.</p><p class="MsoNormal">Days serve their purpose. A select few do take up something that they would continue for the rest of the year. Few at least remember it for a few days around that occasion. Other ignorants at least know about it, and may be, some time in future might take it up. An apparently shallow practice, but a must for a community.</p>Mihir Khadilkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847524892490180432noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32496911.post-22530455282779482962009-07-04T02:05:00.000-07:002010-02-08T18:14:25.564-08:00वास..परवा एका मित्राशी बोलताना विषय निघाला होता, की आपल्या ज्ञानेंद्रियांमधे डोळ्यांचे महत्त्व किती अनन्यसाधारण आहे... डोळॆ नसतील तर आपले सर्व अनुभव किती मोकळे, पोकळ वाटतील...<br /> मग माझ्या डोक्यात विचाराचा किडा फ़िरू लागला -`खरंच असे आहे का ?' . . . कान . . . काही विशिष्ट आवाज सोडले तर त्यातून आपल्याला ढिगानी अशी माहिती मिळत नाही. . . जीभ . . . आपण काही जे मिळेल ते चाखून बघायला जात नाही . . . त्यामुळे एखादा फ़लंदाज मैदानात यायच्या आधीच जखमी व्हावा तसे जीभ आधीच बाद ! त्वचा . . . हो, तसं म्हणलं तर आजूबाजूच्या वातावरणाची - गरम, थंड, वारा, पाऊस, पाणी, गर्दी या सर्वाची माहिती तर मिळते . . . पण जात्याच त्वचेचा टप्पा फ़क्त अगदी लगतच्या गोष्टींपर्यंत असतो . . . त्यामुळे तीही तशी कमकुवतच !<br /> मग मात्र माझी गाडी आली वासावर . . . नेहमीच्या आयुष्यात वासांना बरंच महत्त्व असतं. आपले अनेक चांगले-वाईट अनुभव वासावरच अवलंबून असतात . . .<br /> चुकुन मासळी-बाजाराजवळून जायची वेळ आली, तर त्यावेळी नाकातले केस जळून तर गेले नाहीत ना अशी शंका येते...नासलेल्या नारळाचा, रेल्वे स्थानकावरच्या स्वच्हतागृहाच्या बाहेरचा, जळक्या प्लास्टिकचा, कुठे ट्रेकला गेले असता तिथे कुणीतरी अनवधानाने कापलेल्या `केक' चा . . हे सर्व वास न विसरता येण्याइतके असह्य असतात . . . आपण दिवसभर उंडारुन घरी यावं आणि बूट काढल्यानंतर आपले मोजे बाहेर येताच, मोठ्या भावाने आपल्याला शिव्यांची लाखोली वाहावी, हे बहुतांना काही नवीन नाही . . .<br />हे वाईट वास जसे त्या अनुभवांचा अविभाज्य घटक होतात, तसेच चांगले वास ही आपला ठसा उमटवून जातात. फ़ेसाळत्या कॉफ़ीचा वास, पहिल्या पावसाच्या वेळी मातीचा वास, खरपूस भाजलेल्या ब्रेडचा वास, कढवलेल्या तुपाचा वास, रातराणीचा मंद सुगंध, गरम वडापावचा वास... हे सर्वच त्या-त्या अनुभवाला जिवंत करतात... <br /> पण चांगले व वाईट अशी वासांची साधी विभागणी होत नाही.. काही वास नुसतेच विचित्र, एकमेवाद्वितिय असतात . . .दुधाच्या डेअरीत गेल्यानंतर येणारा वास, मसाले किंवा कांडप केंद्राजवळ येणारा वास, चित्रपटगृहात मध्यंतरात बाहेर पडले की येणारा पॉपकॉर्न, कॉफ़ी इत्यादीचा संमिश्र वास हे सर्व त्यात मोडतात. कुठ्ल्याही सरकारी कार्यालयात गेले, की तिथल्या फ़ायली, कागद, जुनी स्टेशनरी, या सर्वांचा मिळून एक एकत्रित वास असतो . . नवीन वह्या-पुस्तकं घेतली की त्यांच्या पानांना येणारा वास तर सर्वपरिचित आहेच...काही फ़र्निचरच्या दुकानांच्या जवळून गेले की तिथल्या लाकूड, फ़्रेम्स, वॉर्निश या सर्वांचा एक विचित्र वास येत असतो..<br /> ह्या सर्वांवरून माझे तर मत असेच पडले की जरी , तरी घ्राणेंद्रियेही आपल्या अनुभवात मोलाची भर घालत असतात . त्यामुळे त्यांच्याकडे काणाडोळा (की वाकडे नाक? :D) करून चालणार नाही . . .Mihir Khadilkarhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08847524892490180432noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32496911.post-44087301184741110422007-08-12T03:09:00.000-07:002010-02-08T18:14:43.353-08:00TRAIN ! TRAIN OF LIFE!!<span style="font-size:130%;"><span style="font-size:85%;">Well it took me several months to post again on my blog..but here it goes....<br />For a lot of time now, I have been thinking about this...Whenever I travel by a train, it dawns on to me again and again that I want to really write something about this in my blog..so I decide... but as soon as I get out of the train...I forget about it...<br />Ohh..well,in fact <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">that's</span> what I want to write about..Small-small things that we get connected to ,while we are on train,journeying..and we feel we would never really forget them..or atleast we wont forget them easily..But ,hell NO! We forget them as soon as the train disappears from the station we alight at.<br />Well,let me give an example..the other day..I met a guy on my way to Mumbai from Pune..he was working in Mumbai,and was originally from Jabalpur.Actually we met at the ticket queue and then again in the train where we were standing near the door of the general compartment.We talked about many topics including cricket,railways,studies,IITs etc.etc. I thought I would not so easily forget him..but yes I did..and that too very easily.There were other things to worth remembering too.On the way,there was a queer incident of our train hitting a bull who strayed on the rails,and obviously got killed.It took about half an hour's delay ,first to locate the caracass, then to clear the rails and then resuming the journey.Throughout this time I was observing the general junta's behavior very closely..and it was really amusing..people felt important when they had some information about the problem caused and were eager to tell that to anybody who asked(or to anybody who didn't ask too!!) Every person ,being from a different background had a different take on it...The point is,traveling on a train does really involves things worth remembering...<br />Each time I board the train, I meet a new set of people,from a completely different background than that I had met till now...I forget them almost as soon as I leave the train.That reminds me of a similar experience that we have when we go to a new place and spend a reasonable amount of time there..That happened to me recently when I went to a university for a project.While leaving the place, I distinctly thought of many people,who I had met here and was quite sure that I won't meet them ever again.And well,isn't this true about life in general ,too ? I mean, at every juncture of life,we meet a whole lot of new people,enjoy their company,learn a lot of things from them,may be sometimes dont like them..do crazy,weird things with them and what not !<br />That made me think of the train as nothing but life,just <span style="font-style: italic;">FAST FORWARD</span> !It's like a short trailer of a long movie...Thats what it is...TRAIN ! <span style="font-style: italic;">TRAIN OF LIFE</span> !!<br /></span></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32496911.post-30081323739104723032007-03-05T09:37:00.000-08:002010-02-08T18:14:56.784-08:00Optimistic......Am I ?<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family:'times new roman';"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span> This is about something which has been weighing on my mind for ages...often I used to talk with some of my friends, my relatives,and get this same feeling...It's like this..Every time when I talk with people, and issue cropping up for discussion is "current situation in India" ,the discussion would take a mighty turn to the same old cribbings about<br />corruption,powerty,population,rural (un)development, poor health scene,child labour etc etc etc...<br /> Then I used to take a back seat int the discussion and think myself...is India in that bad a situation?I used to think on this many times...Due to this, there were periods of time when I used to look at each nook and corner of a newspaper to really know whats happening out there....There are murders, there are thefts.there are scams,rapes. bomb-blasts and what not...<br /> But then there are other things too...There are reports about some village in rajasthan ,which was (in)-famous for suicides now becoming completely independent in terms water for drinking and irrigation.Then ,there is a report of a senior IAS officer taking chief-minister head-on for his mis-deeds..Then there are stories about some youth in uttar pradesh who starts school for freed-child labourers.Then there is some news about tremendous growth observed in exports from india of text-tiles and handlooms.<br /> That made me think and come to the question again and again: Is it all too bad?surely not..Its just the way we look at it..people who compare india with other developed nations and frown should note that these developed nations were free and developing for last hundreds of years, and they too must have faced many road-blocks.The fact of the matter is India is developing faster than the growth of other countries in the similar conditions.<br /> Then what do I worry about? I worry about the attitude due to which we worry when its not necessary ,and itself becomes a reason for worry.Another thing I worry about is the mindset..Let me give an example..I was looking at the newspaper one day, on a page everywhere I saw some or the other reports, some about new social programmes that some people have voluntarily taken up, then a report describing the story of a physically-challenged girl appearing for and getting selected for CAT, and all such stories of grit, determination, social empowerment and ....there!- I see the news of some state political party raging a havoc by demonstrations about whether the school childern in government-run schools should be given an egg or just milk-bread? That left me really exasparated...I fail to understand how can these parties take up such petty issues and fight over them? I mean, how DARE they, when all around, they see a huge pile of serious problems (and with they, being the ones who can really make a huge difference..) They should really have just a smallest glance over the newspapers, and I'm sure they will feel ashamed in their heart about what they are fighting about..<br /> It is these things that I worry about the most ! Surely,this is something like that story of an elephant and 5 blind men..Each one touches a different part of elephant and concludes differently about what this creature would be like...Similarly, here noone knows the complete situation and relies on what all HE/SHE has heard ! Not that I feel that is the end of the story (as I see atleasts a handful of people taking those responsibilities), but still the process would require much less time if these parties decide for themselves...In any case, I am not one of those who feel the situation has got out of our hands..Surely Not!!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32496911.post-1164821314189461222006-11-29T08:33:00.000-08:002010-02-08T18:15:12.355-08:00Backpackers - lone travellers<span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;"><br /></span></span> Do you know about this species?You must have seen them if you have ever visited any of the tourist spots nestled in western himalayan vallies...You must have noticed them if you have ever gone to any of the sacred places of worship on the banks of the great Ganges...Surely you won't miss them if you ever happen to visit places like pushkar(Rajasthan), or Bodhgaya (Bihar) or Varanasi...<br /> Meet this new breed of travellers..The Backpackers....The name explains all.. They carry everthing they possess on their backpack and go on travelling places..They set out from their place..travel from one place to another,from this region to that..from this country to that...and this could be months or years long...<br /> So what makes them do this? Many of these are in their late twenties.They have passion to see the world and experience it closely.They dont want to be bound by time..They dont believe in usual 15-days,20-days tour organised by tourist companies,which just show a drop of a gigantic sea of experiences visiting a place can give you..They plan their own tour,they decide destinations,dates,mode of transport,duration and almost everything....<br /> Many of them do this for so long that they may sometimes have to take a break,meaning that they have to stop midway at some place,earn some money somehow doing some job ,and then continue the journey.Many of them travel with their spouses,others are single.They are almost cut off from rest of their acquaintances for this period.They experience their excursion almost completely,in the sense that that they sometimes travel by air ,train,bus,sometimes cycling,even hiking,living in a 5-star hotel sometimes and on other occasions camping in a tent.<br /> I recently met a chap from Australia in Himalayas,who was away from his house,country for around 5 months ,travelling all of South-east Asia , and then India.He was further planning to travel whole of Europe ,UK ,and then North and South America.It gives a totally new aspect of looking at the world.It's like this--you are alone,making new acquaintances every instant ,visiting new places, experiencing a whole new set-up each day,seeing newer and newer terrain,new climate,experienceing a new face of nature and people.<br /> According to me ,its <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">these</span> people who truly accomplish what "knowing" about a country means.They actually "know" it.They actually live there , wander as they wish,see not only what appears from overt observation,but also that which can only be experienced with proximity.<br /> Generally ,these backpackers earn money for a period of yearsin their homeland,earn enough money,and then set out to their destination.Its not even such a planned an excursion.Usually these people plan for only about next month..thats it! They dont even know where will they be,after that!<br /> Each of such new experience enriches your thought process,and broadens your mind.It gives you new horizons to think of,expanding your knowledge about the world,about the people.You are ,by far,much much much better person after such an experience.You confront the world directly,with no strings attached.The reason why some people still dont prefer it is because of the insecurity involved,the instablity involved which,for some reason ,is unbearble for some.<br /> But ,surely, still even meeting one of such backpackers is a life-enriching experience in itself....Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32496911.post-1159908079776541532006-10-03T13:40:00.000-07:002010-02-08T18:15:23.145-08:00Religion and its problems<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: large;"><br /></span> These days,we often hear communalization,communal riots,communal tension etc.etc. Our newspapers are often filled<br />with all kinds of news regarding these problems.Inter-religional problems are not even limited to problems within<br />a country only.They often manifest themselves the main reasons of tension between the countries.Often,there are<br />wars based on the differences different communities/countries have.<br /> In essence ,these problems have an alarmingly large percentage among all problems faced by humanity.And this fact<br />forces me to take a look at our current structure and foundations of religion ,as there definitely ought to be a<br />problem here.<br /> Let us delve into the origin of the concept of religion in order to understand it.In the early stages of spiritual<br />development of humans ,a normal human always had a system regarding how she/he spends her/his life.There were certain<br />rules that were adhered to,regarding leading everyday-life.These rules were formed by common agreement among the<br />people who lived together.People started calling this "Way of life" as religion.Mind you ,at this point of time ,<br />this set of rules was not at all very rigid,In fact the rules were just some guidelines regarding everyday life.<br /> Then ,slowly different concepts of spirituality started sinking in each religion.Many beliefs started attaching<br />themselves to each religion.Slowly the structure beacme rigid (may be unknowingly). And now,they stand as they are<br />today,with all religions being as diverse in their nature as they possibly could be.<br /> And the single-most important transition that came about ,was "communization" of religion.That is, the social<br />platform ,each religion got.Each religion formed a "commune" of its people.<br /> Having understood and analysed the origin and development of religion,we now delve into what exactly is the<br />cause of all these problems we see around us,regarding religion.<br /> After formation of these "communes" ,it was natural ,that these communes would have an "opinion" of their own,<br />regarding certain issues ,in fact almost all issues.And this "opinion" got much importance,as it was supposedly,<br />the opinion of ALL people in that community.The problem arose here.When a perticular person doesn't like a<br />perticular rule or guideline set by this commune,a conflict was indispensable...Further ,as the "commune" gets<br />too much of an importance ,there are always clashes between different communes.This makes the situation completely<br />problematic.Further,due to psychological reasons,people change their mind about a perticular problem just beacuse<br />the commune thinks otherwise.This discourages independent thought and right actions.<br /><br /><br /> According to me,religion ,is a very private affair for a person.As said earlier ,as this is a set of guidelines<br />a person sets for himself/herself ,it is purely personal.This sets a definite boundary between ,the private life<br />of a person and that of a commune.As each person,in principle ,can have very different set of assumptions regarding,<br />the way he/she wants to lead his/her life ,including his understanding of spirituality and his view on<br />theism/atheism.I think,if we understand that ,then most of our confusion melts away.<br /> In such a case,then,the definite boundary ,which I talked about, works perfectly and nobody has any confusions about<br />exactly what part of a person's life is decided by a commune.Only those parts which cross the boundary of the<br />individuality of a person ,and affect the commune in a prominent way (for eg. a person cannot,in principle go on<br />committing murders,arguing that its his/her part of religion) ,should be checked by the commune.<br /> I have broadly commented on what I felt was the problem with current structure of religion.And though I do not<br />claim that the solutions I suggested are completely feasible/plausible in current circumstances,even the basic<br />understanding of the problem,is ,I think,very benificial.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-32496911.post-1155740890815777102006-08-16T07:50:00.000-07:002010-02-08T18:15:35.577-08:00The Concept Of "Reason"<span style="font-size:180%;"><br /></span><span style="font-size:180%;"></span> In this article I wish to explore the idea of "Reason" of an event ,what do people mean by it and its interpretations.We first delve into the origin of "reason".<br /><br /> The concept of reason arises ,as the people search for a question "Why?". Its like this :- The stone man observed a set of events happening regularly in front of him.These events were the ones which we now call ,"normal","regular" or "day-to-day" events, - like falling of a tree, flowing of a river, flowing of wind, light coming from fire etc.<br /><br /> As the humans progressed ,they became more and more watchful.So they observed more complex events.Each time they faced such an event, they were puzzled and it was natural for human nature to break-down these events into some simpler events which they had experienced in past.This helped them to connect simpler events to get an idea of the complex event.Here lied the birth of the concept - "Reason".<br /><br /> Let us take a simple example.Suppose somebody has a flask containing some water in it ,which has a small fish.He keeps this flask under hot sun.After some time he observes that the water inside has dried and the fish has died.He is puzzled,and in his thoughts he tries to connect this experience to the events he has seen happening a million times.He connects this to his past experiences that,<br />1.a fish dies without water , and<br />2.the water dries out in hot conditions.<br /> So he says ,"ohh ,ok,as the water dried "due" to heat ,there was no water,and "hence",the fish died..." Thus ,the "reason" is nothing but just a connection between the events that are commonly observed by all and never questioned by anyone.Another example - I release a stone from a height.It falls. WHY ? What is the REASON ? Then people say its because of gravity.But "gravity " is just a name given to collective experiences of all bodies being pulled towards each other.So,in real sense ,its just a connection with events that are taken for granted.<br />So,in a way,this whole analysis of ours banks upon our assumption that nature behaves "normally".By this , I mean ,there are no abrupt changes in the way things work in nature.(For eg. we neglect the cases like: getting up one fine morning and seeing all things floating in the air without so-called "gravity" -we ASSUME its not possible.)<br /><br /> But ,this assumption of ours is practically very important.The whole field of science and technology has this assumption as its starting point.So ,this assumption should not be looked down upon,in real sense.But ,we should ofcourse be aware of such an assumption being existent.And I am stressing this point as I see many people around me ,having this confusion.This creates many problems and wrong ideas.Thus,it was not the purpose of this article to criticise this assumption in any way,but ,as I said ,make people aware about this truth. This reduces confusion in our mind about the concept of reason.And thats what was the whole point of this article.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com3