Saturday, July 14, 2012
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
New junction in the city
Finally after a month’s time, I guess, was meeting my friend Neha. I had promised myself when the rains had started in June that, I would not stay at home on holidays, but instead would be out to enjoy nature and its beauty. So I asked her to come down to Sanjay Gandhi National Park (SGNP), thinking I could be with her as well as enjoy the greens.
For a change I reached the SGNP gate, the place where I was suppose to meet her, on time. I decided to wait there as she was going to take some more time to reach. In moments I realised that the path from the main gate till the ticket counter was no less than any other junction of a city. It was jam packed with vehicles on a Sunday evening at 5.00pm. Shocked at the sight of the number of vehicles, I reminded myself that I was at the entrance of the only forest in the city.
I wondered how could we allow these hundreds of vehicles inside the park which is spread across 103.09 square kilometers covering two cities and was home to more than 1000 species of plants, 40 species of mammals, 150 species of butterflies, 250 species of birds and 36 species of herpetofauna.
The visitors were obviously entering the park to spend a good time with nature. I wondered, if they wanted to be with nature what was the need for traveling on a four wheeler when they could easily walk the stretch surrounded by trees and sounds of the birds. Weren’t they losing out the fun of enjoying the nature’s gift in the form of lush greenery and birds around?
After my friend arrived we started walking to enjoy the transformation which had taken place in the park after the monsoon had arrived. I wanted to be with the greenery while we talked on anything and everything.
As we started walking, we realised there was little peace which we could enjoy, thanks to the continous honking by the cars. I simply hated it but despite this we continued our walk for the next half an hour. I was taken aback to know that people found the roads inside national park safe enough to learn driving , but I wondered why this place? While returning from the same path, I realised some youngsters even had music system on in their cars with a deafening sound. I really fail to understand the need for a music system with high decibel of noise level in the park. Can’t they simply just be with the forest?
I called up few friends, who told me this was a common sight during holidays. I was disappointed.
I wish these vehicles were stopped at the entrance and were given cycles to go inside the park. Not only we would have reduced the pollution taking place inside the park, but the number of people going for a ‘picnic’ inside the park would have also reduced drastically.
By saying all this, it doesn’t mean I don’t want people to use cars or listen to music at high decibel levels. The only point I wished was, let’s leave this green zone alone. We have the rest part of the city to drive to listen to music, but definitely this park is not for driving or for music.
The city has already been polluted a lot, let’s leave this place alone. Pls.
For a change I reached the SGNP gate, the place where I was suppose to meet her, on time. I decided to wait there as she was going to take some more time to reach. In moments I realised that the path from the main gate till the ticket counter was no less than any other junction of a city. It was jam packed with vehicles on a Sunday evening at 5.00pm. Shocked at the sight of the number of vehicles, I reminded myself that I was at the entrance of the only forest in the city.
I wondered how could we allow these hundreds of vehicles inside the park which is spread across 103.09 square kilometers covering two cities and was home to more than 1000 species of plants, 40 species of mammals, 150 species of butterflies, 250 species of birds and 36 species of herpetofauna.
The visitors were obviously entering the park to spend a good time with nature. I wondered, if they wanted to be with nature what was the need for traveling on a four wheeler when they could easily walk the stretch surrounded by trees and sounds of the birds. Weren’t they losing out the fun of enjoying the nature’s gift in the form of lush greenery and birds around?
After my friend arrived we started walking to enjoy the transformation which had taken place in the park after the monsoon had arrived. I wanted to be with the greenery while we talked on anything and everything.
As we started walking, we realised there was little peace which we could enjoy, thanks to the continous honking by the cars. I simply hated it but despite this we continued our walk for the next half an hour. I was taken aback to know that people found the roads inside national park safe enough to learn driving , but I wondered why this place? While returning from the same path, I realised some youngsters even had music system on in their cars with a deafening sound. I really fail to understand the need for a music system with high decibel of noise level in the park. Can’t they simply just be with the forest?
I called up few friends, who told me this was a common sight during holidays. I was disappointed.
I wish these vehicles were stopped at the entrance and were given cycles to go inside the park. Not only we would have reduced the pollution taking place inside the park, but the number of people going for a ‘picnic’ inside the park would have also reduced drastically.
By saying all this, it doesn’t mean I don’t want people to use cars or listen to music at high decibel levels. The only point I wished was, let’s leave this green zone alone. We have the rest part of the city to drive to listen to music, but definitely this park is not for driving or for music.
The city has already been polluted a lot, let’s leave this place alone. Pls.
Friday, July 9, 2010
Those half crushed dreams
As usual I was waiting for the red useless wagon of Thane, the TMT in that breezy weather and my ears which were busy listening to some recent Bollywood music jumped its attention to someone saying ‘illegal constructions’. Being a journalist covering civic beat in Thane, which has been a hub for illegal constructions, my interest on knowing beyond these two words increased.
I muted my mp3, my second love, and dotted my attention on the bi-spectacled guy, dressed in decent blue shirt and trousers who was busy on phone. “They are going to demolish illegal commercial constructions first and then would be taking illegal residential constructions”, his words made me understand that he was either a lawyer fighting the case or a journalist, may be. I continued listening to what he said to his friend and what I ended up listening was a big rude shock which made me think, how grave was the issue of illegal constructions in Thane, beyond what we ever thought about.
The guy, who looked around 28 to 30 years old, had been to meet his fiancée to make her understand his reason for being worried for the past few days. “I have been worried that my house is one of the illegal constructions and even while we have been staying here before 2001, have spent my childhood here; I cannot stop worrying for its existence. I had been to meet her so that I could tell her the reason for my worries,” he told his friend.
May be his worries wouldn’t have lessened after meeting his girl friend but may have put him in a quandary after his fiancee ‘challenged’ his male ego. “If house is a problem, why don’t we purchase a new house? I can take a loan from bank,” she told him, I could know all this from the conversation he was having with his friend. “How can I take a loan from her”, he told his friend. He was not in a position may be to buy a house at this juncture, as I understand he was looking out for a better job, since he told his friend he was planning to go for a interview at Pune.
While he finished this part of his conversation his bus had arrived and he went ahead of me as I had to still wait for my bus.
What left me astonished was the initial image of a brave and intelligent guy at the beginning of the conversation and later it gradually transformed in to a helpless victim of the social system.
I wonder, he is the same guy as my age with same aspirations to go higher in life, to have a loving wife and a contented life ahead. But this obstacle has may be bolted every dreams he has had. May be when he was busy seeing these dreams in the same house which his parents brought ‘illegaly’, the municipal officers were busy snoring. I wonder how his dreams would be crushed in the rubble of the same house which once was the reason for their blossom.
While I would end up getting few stories, few when the municipal corporation doesn’t bull doze the illegal structures and few when the municipal corporation demolishes them to add numbers in the affidavit which would be shown to the High Court, these tiny dreams would go unnoticed without a tweak. Sigh, i wish these polished ‘encroachers’ had the same support as that of the encroachers on forest land who managed to fight their case and win a legal status to their homes.
This doesn’t mean I support encroachment, it affects me too may be, but I hope our system had been too quick to act on time before even dreams bloomed in those tiny eyes.
I muted my mp3, my second love, and dotted my attention on the bi-spectacled guy, dressed in decent blue shirt and trousers who was busy on phone. “They are going to demolish illegal commercial constructions first and then would be taking illegal residential constructions”, his words made me understand that he was either a lawyer fighting the case or a journalist, may be. I continued listening to what he said to his friend and what I ended up listening was a big rude shock which made me think, how grave was the issue of illegal constructions in Thane, beyond what we ever thought about.
The guy, who looked around 28 to 30 years old, had been to meet his fiancée to make her understand his reason for being worried for the past few days. “I have been worried that my house is one of the illegal constructions and even while we have been staying here before 2001, have spent my childhood here; I cannot stop worrying for its existence. I had been to meet her so that I could tell her the reason for my worries,” he told his friend.
May be his worries wouldn’t have lessened after meeting his girl friend but may have put him in a quandary after his fiancee ‘challenged’ his male ego. “If house is a problem, why don’t we purchase a new house? I can take a loan from bank,” she told him, I could know all this from the conversation he was having with his friend. “How can I take a loan from her”, he told his friend. He was not in a position may be to buy a house at this juncture, as I understand he was looking out for a better job, since he told his friend he was planning to go for a interview at Pune.
While he finished this part of his conversation his bus had arrived and he went ahead of me as I had to still wait for my bus.
What left me astonished was the initial image of a brave and intelligent guy at the beginning of the conversation and later it gradually transformed in to a helpless victim of the social system.
I wonder, he is the same guy as my age with same aspirations to go higher in life, to have a loving wife and a contented life ahead. But this obstacle has may be bolted every dreams he has had. May be when he was busy seeing these dreams in the same house which his parents brought ‘illegaly’, the municipal officers were busy snoring. I wonder how his dreams would be crushed in the rubble of the same house which once was the reason for their blossom.
While I would end up getting few stories, few when the municipal corporation doesn’t bull doze the illegal structures and few when the municipal corporation demolishes them to add numbers in the affidavit which would be shown to the High Court, these tiny dreams would go unnoticed without a tweak. Sigh, i wish these polished ‘encroachers’ had the same support as that of the encroachers on forest land who managed to fight their case and win a legal status to their homes.
This doesn’t mean I support encroachment, it affects me too may be, but I hope our system had been too quick to act on time before even dreams bloomed in those tiny eyes.
Monday, July 5, 2010
my first date with heavens
After a long time I had this opportunity of being close to nature. I was all excited about visiting Malshej Ghat and the historical Shivneri fort.
You may not believe it, but it’s true that all five gals turned on time. (Some actually woke up at 3.00 am to cook food for the trip…amazing). As usual after I got my seat in the vehicle next to a window, it was me, my thoughts and nature. My friends were kind enough to leave me on my own.. I actually love a situation like this, enjoying the every moment and every path that I pass through with my thoughts and me.
As we passed through the green patches, I was busy capturing them, with the help of my friend’s camera. Mesmerized with the green shades and mountains covered by fogs, it was like the heaven was down on earth to meet me. We slightly tweaked our plans and decided to go to the fort first, and then come down to the ghat to enjoy the waterfall.
The winding narrow roads made us think if we were on right track but the villagers helped us clear our doubts. We finally reached the fort. What continued next was a thrilling view of an historical architecture thousand feet in heights surrounded by greens. As I took the rough old steps to walk, ignoring the well made ones; I wondered the manner in which Shivaji Maharaj in his childhood may have walked this way. The old wooden doors with huge nails on them greatly astonished me. It made me think of Vasai fort, where I had seen similar huge doors with nails on them. I wondered how these lifeless structures stood witness to the great historic period of Maharashtra. I enjoyed capturing every wall that took my attention. What further took me by surprise were the names of the various gates.
I was lucky enough to explore the place well as me and my friends took the wrong way while walking towards the birth place of Shivaji Maharaj. We walked the steep slippery rocks even when we could have taken the comfortable path built for tourists. The sight at the top was marvelous. But to my bad luck, the battery of the camera got over as we reached there, thanks to my photography through out the past three hours. And we had no extra batteries. My friend managed taking few shots with her cell phone. I couldn’t as my cell battery was low.
After entering the main place where Shivaji was born, my curiosity to see the small dingy place behind the locked door with grills increased. I was amazed looking at the cradle through the grills, hung with the support on four side. The same cradle in which Shivaji Maharaj grew. We went upstairs at the dingy place and the silence there was incredible. Actually felt like staying there forever.
Felt good that the crowd was less and the Archeological Society of India has at least worked here by maintaining the fort better in comparison to other forts in the state.
Exhausted after walking the hilly terrain we desperately needed to eat. Inorder to make our lunch even more adventurous we sat down to eat on the green grass in open field. Ignoring the looks given by passers-by we started gulping the home made food. It tasted delicious after the hard work. After an hours break we got back to reach the waterfalls, the most awaited site of the day.
Sigh, as we reached the foggy and cloudy place after crossing sunny skies and zigzag lanes, we found no single waterfall was left alone. All the lesser waterfalls were occupied by guys who were hooligans dancing to cheap music and starring at women like never seen before.
Worried over the fact that we may have to go homes without getting wet under the waterfall, we decided to take the plunge. We found a small place under a waterfall where each one of us got wet one after the other, it reminded me the way we exchange seats in local trains. I wished we had 33 percent reservation on dhabdhabas (waterfall) too. Finally after getting drenched for more than 20 minutes, we decided to leave.
Soaked to the skin we sat in the vehicle and were off to out homes.
Will always remember this trip 1 because it was my first date with heaven including fogs 2 coz it was all gals outing 3 coz I am more determined after this trip to practise nature photography and last but not the least it gave food for my dreams…
You may not believe it, but it’s true that all five gals turned on time. (Some actually woke up at 3.00 am to cook food for the trip…amazing). As usual after I got my seat in the vehicle next to a window, it was me, my thoughts and nature. My friends were kind enough to leave me on my own.. I actually love a situation like this, enjoying the every moment and every path that I pass through with my thoughts and me.
As we passed through the green patches, I was busy capturing them, with the help of my friend’s camera. Mesmerized with the green shades and mountains covered by fogs, it was like the heaven was down on earth to meet me. We slightly tweaked our plans and decided to go to the fort first, and then come down to the ghat to enjoy the waterfall.
The winding narrow roads made us think if we were on right track but the villagers helped us clear our doubts. We finally reached the fort. What continued next was a thrilling view of an historical architecture thousand feet in heights surrounded by greens. As I took the rough old steps to walk, ignoring the well made ones; I wondered the manner in which Shivaji Maharaj in his childhood may have walked this way. The old wooden doors with huge nails on them greatly astonished me. It made me think of Vasai fort, where I had seen similar huge doors with nails on them. I wondered how these lifeless structures stood witness to the great historic period of Maharashtra. I enjoyed capturing every wall that took my attention. What further took me by surprise were the names of the various gates.
I was lucky enough to explore the place well as me and my friends took the wrong way while walking towards the birth place of Shivaji Maharaj. We walked the steep slippery rocks even when we could have taken the comfortable path built for tourists. The sight at the top was marvelous. But to my bad luck, the battery of the camera got over as we reached there, thanks to my photography through out the past three hours. And we had no extra batteries. My friend managed taking few shots with her cell phone. I couldn’t as my cell battery was low.
After entering the main place where Shivaji was born, my curiosity to see the small dingy place behind the locked door with grills increased. I was amazed looking at the cradle through the grills, hung with the support on four side. The same cradle in which Shivaji Maharaj grew. We went upstairs at the dingy place and the silence there was incredible. Actually felt like staying there forever.
Felt good that the crowd was less and the Archeological Society of India has at least worked here by maintaining the fort better in comparison to other forts in the state.
Exhausted after walking the hilly terrain we desperately needed to eat. Inorder to make our lunch even more adventurous we sat down to eat on the green grass in open field. Ignoring the looks given by passers-by we started gulping the home made food. It tasted delicious after the hard work. After an hours break we got back to reach the waterfalls, the most awaited site of the day.
Sigh, as we reached the foggy and cloudy place after crossing sunny skies and zigzag lanes, we found no single waterfall was left alone. All the lesser waterfalls were occupied by guys who were hooligans dancing to cheap music and starring at women like never seen before.
Worried over the fact that we may have to go homes without getting wet under the waterfall, we decided to take the plunge. We found a small place under a waterfall where each one of us got wet one after the other, it reminded me the way we exchange seats in local trains. I wished we had 33 percent reservation on dhabdhabas (waterfall) too. Finally after getting drenched for more than 20 minutes, we decided to leave.
Soaked to the skin we sat in the vehicle and were off to out homes.
Will always remember this trip 1 because it was my first date with heaven including fogs 2 coz it was all gals outing 3 coz I am more determined after this trip to practise nature photography and last but not the least it gave food for my dreams…
Sunday, June 27, 2010
Life is all about change
In life do not expect anything to remain constant. Nothing is constant in the world, everything changes, love, relationships, power, money, everything changes. Like nature explains us in the best manner. We do not have anything constant in nature too, the trees plants, course of rive, position of earth etc etc everything keeps changing. Nature tells us, embrace change as i do. The season changes, from summer to monsoon, from monsoon to winter and then the cycle goes on. Trees plants animals never say that one season should remain forever. Then, how can man, who is said to be higher among all demand so. By season, here i mean a phase of life. A particular phase of life may have given you lots of happiness, but you cannot expect that happiness to cling you forever. Its life and things have to change for better. There are higher needs in nature, beyond what man talks about; such needs can be fulfilled by the best experiences of life. By best i mean the most important experience of life. They may be many, but each of them gives you immense wisdom to go higher spiritually. One should not forget that there is a higher force that drives us, and that is the soul, part of the ultimate power may be. So when people change, situations change, love changes relationship changes, we should allow the changes that are taking place. Deep down they are taking place for better. Understand the higher need behind the change, its da plan of the higher power and let the plan be as it is. We see that the nature is so free and stress free. The trees , plants flowers animals birds all live on their own with the same support of nature. They need water sunlight, food. Man also needs the same. They perform the same functions as man does, eat, sleep. But man being higher in nature fails to understand the stress free life of the sub ordinates and ends up leading a miserable life. Live life stress free just as every other creature besides man lives on earth. Free of stress completely. Freely wandering around. WE are capable enough of solving our problems in minutes but we never try i guess.
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
me and you
I wandered in search of peace
But could least find it,
I wandered in search of love
But could least find it
I wandered in search of freedom
But could least find it
I wandered in search of fate
But could least find it
I wandered in search of money
But could least find it
It was in you where I could find these things
And least did I realise it was me who was you
And that all which I searched for, was within and no where in you.
And now that I know that you and me are one,
I have stopped wandering and given up for my search
Cause no peace, no love, no freedom, no fate, no money is higher after i found you.
But could least find it,
I wandered in search of love
But could least find it
I wandered in search of freedom
But could least find it
I wandered in search of fate
But could least find it
I wandered in search of money
But could least find it
It was in you where I could find these things
And least did I realise it was me who was you
And that all which I searched for, was within and no where in you.
And now that I know that you and me are one,
I have stopped wandering and given up for my search
Cause no peace, no love, no freedom, no fate, no money is higher after i found you.
Sunday, April 11, 2010
illusion
It seemed like those days were back,
But my heart still felt the same blankness,
Someone said you would come back with the rains
And I was amazed when I felt the drops on my face,
Naive I was and little did I realize The drops were not from the blue skies
But instead from the ocean of my blue eyes.
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