Rural vs urban

I think India must not sing in the tune of west. India urban-rural divide is seen in the light of infrastructure development and economic prosperity. And on those parameters rural India can be lagging behind.

There is another method of doing comparision. That is comparision with the index of happiness and satisfaction level. Rural folks are light years ahead in these index to their urban counterpart.
we should not measure happiness with the luxury stuff that prople accumulate in their entire life...but with the state of mind that produce happyness and bliss. Recently, people are gaga about the stock market boom and then fall into the gloom once sensex dips 1000 points.

They feel robbed and reduced to begger. This is all mind game. People in rural areas are only bothered about their crops and cattles , which is basic requirement for survival. Their loss can traslate into loss of life. But what they have to do if BSE or NSE sensex is crashed? Once a wise man said that sensex is not even affecting 3 percent of India's population and still media is frenzy about it. Larger issue are put at bay and the stock market talks and analysis is beamed at primetime and even live telecast is done.

What a farmer in Dhar has to do with the sensex's rise and fall. He is unaware of such things. Does that mean that he is not happy....hello.... he is much contended than the people who are making millions or billons through stock markets. So what is the magnet that pull people towards such futile worldly game.

Desire for misery ...yes true.... this is as real as craving for pleasure and happiness. So every desire has two sides.... if you have lust for wealth ...then there is also desire to give up all your money and assets. That is why many rich people abondoned wealth and property to pursue the spiritual or religious life. So beware,... growing prosperity in urban india may fuel desire for destruction and poverty and misery.

so blessed are those who have no desires...

enough for now

ahha..

ahha... finally i have got an opportunity to meet my friends who are stationed at baroda. I will meet them after a long time. This will be a brief vacation for me but I am going to enjoy the stay. Now since i have to leave tonight i do not feel like working now. (That i always feel so). I also want to see my old buddy who has been detached from me for a long time. Vikash is his name and i want to see him. Baroda is a place where i grew matured spending nearly one decade and got a bachelor and a master degree.

Mehul bhai is a regular visiter there and he comes to baroda twice in a year and stays for one month each time. He is happy and contended with his job and vacations. He says he can sustain only if he gets regular breaks...he is a bachelor and would remain so. He has vouched not to loose his freedom by getting hitched. He is Bhismapitama of our clan. He is revered by all of us. sabu is a great saint- philosopher-social worker-techie, his meditation zone is internet and he has created havoc among content providers by creating 50 websites in a short span of time. He is going to to get offers from global giants like google and yahoo soon.

bus ho gaya

hi mitron

dear friends, we are meeting at this platfform after a long time. It is always very nice to talk to you here, because this is a manch where we are speak our mind.. I have to admit that I am now
getting older and my body is tiring slowly. It cannot function the way world demands. When I read mehul's blog i realised that he is also aging fast. I have stopped counting my age as it chills my spine. I dont know how many winters i have spent on earth. Or I dont want to know at all..I hope all my elder brothers are up and running. my best wishes to them..due to the time constraint i cannot proceed futher .....bye

Where are they?

There is no pain greater than the pain of separation. Destiny has snatched so many things from me. Friends with whom I have spent years, are gone forever. I don't know where they are. I don't know whether they are alive. They have simply vanished from my life. Where are those beautiful people?

Where are the delicacies I used to eat in my childhood? I haven't eaten them since ages. I have even forgotten how they looked like. Where are those festivals when mother and sister used to make mouth-watering food items? Where are those home-made sweets and farsan? Where are those childhood festivals? Gone forever.

Where is that excitement and passion for life? Where is that easy-going life? Where are those moments of peace and relaxation? where are those days when you never worried about money? Where are those days when you felt like the most happiest person in this world? Where is that careless youth? Where are those moments of intense depression? Probably gone forever.

Where is that passion for watching movies? Where is that passion for reading books? Where is that passion for singing? Where is that passion to live?

KISS principle

Life is moving very fast. I'm getting older and older. What have I learned so far? Or have I learned anything at all? I don't know. I know only one thing. I can remain happy if I don't make my life complicated. I don't need to worry about things which are not in my control. I love the KISS principle. It stands for "keep it simple stupid". This was taught to us for writing stories. But, I can apply it to every aspect of my life.

To make one's life simple isn't that simple. You really need to know your priorities in life. There are so many things which can distract you. But, once you are clear about the way you want to live your life, it becomes easy.

Living in a big city has its disadvantages. It makes your life complicated. Especially, in a country like India. You have to struggle for the most basic things. You can't enjoy anything. Still, why do we live in a big city? Because we don't get enough opportunities in our small towns.

Everyday, hundreds of thousands of people from all parts of India come to big cities. Those who are already living there don't like them. They want these people to go back. But, where will they go? They have come to the big city as a last resort. They don't like your big city. They don't want to live in inhuman conditions. But, they are forced to migrate. In their heart, they have a secret desire. They want to go back to their small towns where everything is so simple.

Ah, I have found out the root cause of my misery. Why am I feeling so uncomfortable since last few years? Why has my life become so complicated? It's not because of me. It's because of these big cities. I want to get away from this city life. Unfortunately, that's not going to happen for many years. But, I will not die in a big city. That's for sure.

Phursatgunj, here I come

20box rocks. I really love this place. Nobody is interested to post anything. We have Internet connection at home again thanks to Jiggubhai. He has returned from Dubai and searching for a job in Bangalore. It's amazing how he manages to avoid so many job offers. In the last two months, he must have received calls from every nook and corner of Bangalore. But, every time this seasoned campaigner finds a way to avoid them. That's the beauty of lazy friends. No matter how hard the world tries, they manage to remain jobless.

I am again going back to beloved Phursatgunj. Why? Simply to do nothing. There is nothing to do in Phursatgunj. It's a city which has produced masters in spending time. Nobody is in any kind of hurry. People of Phursatgunj have only one thing in abundance and that's time. Especially the youth of the city. They know how to spend hours without moving an inch. I have a great fortune to live and unlearn with those great masters.

Notes from PG

It rained here yesterday. The first decent rain of this monsoon season. Things became little difficult for us as Sabu's room got flooded. This new room is just like India. You can experience so many centuries at the same time.

My holidays are getting over. Only 3 days are left. I will have to leave Phursatgunj early on Sunday morning. Suddenly, I realize how good life is when you don't have to go to office. Not that, I don't like my job. But, given a choice, I would prefer not to work and do my own things. Mostly sleeping.

Friends in Mumbai didn't come this time to PG. I can fully understand their situation. Life in Mumbai is not easy, especially for lazy friends. It pains me to know that my aging friends have to work really hard. How cruel destiny is!

Parents are getting older and older. The more I want mother to get detached, the more she is becoming sentimental. She can't believe I can have so many holidays. She thinks I have left the job. Dear mother, your wish will come true in few years time.

The other day, I tuned into these new FM radio channels. I didn't like any of them. Good old Vividh Bharti is 1000 times better. What would you prefer? Ae Huzoor by Himesh Reshammiya or Din dhal jaye by Mohammed Rafi?

Being in Gujarat has its own advantages. I can eat Gujarati thali and lots of other delicacies. That seems to me the only reason why I want to come back here despite the merciless weather. I am feeling hungry again.

End of the road

I am deeply worried. Worried about my own future and for millions of others who are as ignorant as I am. The world is changing very fast. It used to be very simple When I was young.

In those days, Internet for me was yahoo chat rooms and e-mail. I still remember those college days, not very far, 7-8 years ago. My friends used to go for Internet surfing. They used to talk endlessly about having a foreigner online friend, female obviously. They used to boast how many friends they have and stuff like that. In my smugness, I used to look down at them. Poor souls! They are wasting their precious time on some fictitious chick, while I am getting enlightened.

Being a curious fellow, after a while I also decided to know what this Internet chatting is all about. I didn't know the rules of the game. I tried my luck with my most common Gujarati name (I can never forgive my parents for that) and whatever English vocabulary I had. The result was horrible. Chat room after chat room, forget girls, even the most hopeless aunties refused to talk with me. On the other hand, some of my friends were chatting with 3 girls at a time. After few weeks, I learned a few tricks. I started getting responses from some girls as I made use of my palmistry and sun sign knowledge. However, I couldn't make much headway as my typing speed was pathetic. Some of the girls used to think that I am busy chatting with another girl, when I was really struggling to find something on the keyboard.

I got fed up. But, being an intelligent fellow (in those days, not now), I decided to turn my weaknesses into my strengths. I asked myself, "What are my weaknesses in the yahoo chat room?" One I am a male and two my typing speed is horrible. Why not create a nice female id for myself and show those silly boys (my friends), what I am capable of. And the trick worked like a magic. As soon as I entered with a female id, all the boys in the chat room used to approach me. Even though, my typing speed was pathetic, those fools used to wait for minutes for a single sentence from me. It was entertainment at its best. Some of them used to tell their sad stories and even proposed to marry me. Most of them wanted my contact number. After few weeks, I lost interest and ended that silly game. Again, I returned to the comfort of reading great books. This time with even more smugness than before. My temporary affair with Internet ended there. I concluded that most of the stuff on the net is silly. It's only for frustrated boys who have never got a chance to speak with female species in real life.

After I joined journalism, I came to know about the power of Google. I was amazed. You don't need to remember anything. You don't need to think. Just type a few key words and Google will give you whatever you want. For people like me, who are blessed with poor memory, it was a gift from heaven. Once, I finished my course, I realized the power of online job sites. I also came to know about many wonderful things, like how I can listen to an old Hindi film song online and also watch a movie for free. My friends also told me how I can read e-books on the net. But, I don't like that idea even though it's cheap. I still prefer the old way of reading books.

Before coming to Phursatgunj, I was happy thinking I have become well aware about the Internet usage. I know stuff like how to book flight tickets online, Internet banking and online trading. Two weeks with Sabu and I am again feeling downtrodden. Everyday, he tells me something new about Internet which my tired mind refuses to understand. Brother, have mercy on this aging friend!!!

Anyway, I am lucky that I have some smart friends who have abundance of time and patience to explain the changing technology around me. But, I know everything has a limit. What will happen if they will all become very busy and lose patience? Sabu is already showing some signs of that. This can't go on forever. I can clearly imagine myself 10 years down the line. A helpless middle-aged guy whom even a 4-years old child will not respect.

Summer holidays

Hot summer night. Five past three. Quiet except sound of some night birds. Nice cool breeze. Can't sleep on the terrace. Mosquitoes. Starry sky. More than a half moon. No ciggies. Bit hungry. Sabu is fast asleep. Don't want to wake him up.

Fourth day in Phursatgunj. Things have changed. Many shops have gone from station road. No Samrat during night. Everything closes at 10:30 p.m. Feeling sad.

Damn hot during daytime. No rain. Can't go anywhere during afternoons. Only saving grace is Masi's food. Good and cheap. Sabu is very busy. Works like a mad man. No time at all. Making some Websites. Umesh comes in the afternoon. Dhavalbhai meets after 9:30 p.m. at Kalubhai. No news from friends in Mumbai. Will call them tomorrow.

Baroda Central has opened. Only footfalls, no real business. Some new FM channels have started. Three according to Dhavalbhai. Nothing much has changed. No vibrancy in sight despite tall claims by Modi government. Still, BJP seems to be favorite to win elections later in the year. Pretty weak Congress. Enough for today.

MUMBAI

It is 5:30 in the morning and still very hot inside my room. Walls are radiating heat which was accumulated by them all the day. I am in Ahmedabad and now free for sometime to read as much as I want. May be I am going back to phursatgunj tomorrow as today I received a call from Kharchu. Finally he got the job and now he has to join from 8th of next month so he wanted to come back here and also wanted to go home once before he starts working as a network troubleshooter.

Mumbai is a cruel place. I don’t know and can not even make a blind guess now. Shall I ever be able to work there in Mumbai? A city of dreams or a dream city? It is okay to go there as a tourist but to work there is altogether a different thing.

My friends who worked there before and who are working there right now showed me such a wild picture of lifestyle there, especially traveling on Mumbai locals and through heavy traffic on roads and environment at workplace, that I think I am a total misfit for this kind of life.

Those who live there may be never think about this. And it is very easy if they don’t think about it consciously. They don’t meditate over there own condition and start enjoying misery. Even 50 paisa of consciousness can not tolerate such a mad race for doing foolish things at frightening pace.

This is misfortunate. But it is so. Those who live there can live because they never think about this.

And I have total faith in my friends when they say life is not easy in Mumbai. I even can feel it from the outside, far away here. I certainly can not feel the physical pain they bear when they have to fight their guts out to get on board of Mumbai locals, but I still can feel the constant mental agony they go through everyday.

Once I was there in Mumbai with Kharchu and Binny the fool. That was way back in 2002 I think. I don’t remember dates exactly but may be after the riots in Gujarat. And that was one very funny and mind blowing experience as a tourist there. I enjoyed every bit of that journey but my friends were tired of me as I was so slow.

May be I was the slowest guy at that time in Mumbai. Once I missed 4 trains in row from Mumbai central station towards Andheri. My Mumbai Yatra was very funny and was full of comic incidents from the very beginning and I shall write about that some other time.

After reading Shantaram one thing become clear in my mind that Mumbai is for people who are rich and for them who are poor. Mumbai is very cruel to those who dwell somewhere in between. I knew this fact from day one but Shantaram made it more clear and transparent.

Any way best of luck to all my old age friends, who works there and face all this problems. Kharchu is going to join the working middle class of Mumbai very soon and I pray to god that he give kharchu all the supernatural powers so he can get on board of Mumbai locals more easily. May god bless him and give him super-hero like powers so that his old and thin bones can fight and survive the Mumbai Madness.

No kidding, but this hocus pocus was not intended when I started writing about Kharchu, Mumbai and my ancient friends living there. But this is what ground reality is and this is very ugly.

May be Mumbai has everything she wants, a big body and even bigger a heart, and very bright and active mind. She has no soul. It is like America, so many cultures interwoven that they have lost their very identity. They have lost their soul.

They have no roots. Not standing or not going anywhere. They can not enjoy the music and can not enjoy the silence. From the outer it is almost same even in the small towns of India and even in remote villages. But only difference is that they have a little bit of soul left in them.

They are rooted, earthy and life is much more natural and even easy for both body and mind. When our body and mind is in perfect harmony then only we can feel and sense our soul. Then only we can be more natural and can feel ourselves. At least that is like that for me.

When we were in Mumbai I was the only one who was walking, everybody including my friends were running. Mumbai sucked and over ruled Kharchu’s and Binny’s mind. They were brainwashed. Aroma and air of Mumbai intoxicated both of them. I was spared because I was slow and not the one she liked very much.

Mumbai sucks and than throws you in to the dark corners of the city where no one can claim you back. One feels as if he is manufactured by some moving assembly line in a mammoth human mass production factory. One feels that everybody around him is same as he is. Doing and repeating same things again and again senselessly.

She has a heart but she has no soul.

A very warm welcome to you my friend, she is Mumbai.