Thieves of the Private Sector Continued

Dear friends,

This is in continuation to my previous post on the subject. There was a report in one of the prominent papers of Lucknow today. It was about how the insurance companies are defrauding their customers. One gentleman of Lucknow, Dr.Ram Kapoor bought an insurance plan from Aviva Life Insurance through ABN Amro Bank. The report says that the company issued him revised insurance plans without taking his express consent. In these new plans they allegedly changed vital clauses such as those relating to partial withdrawal of money after the mandatory lock-in period was over and the liability of the policy holder in case on non-payment of further installments after the mandatory intallments had been paid. The poor gentleman has now gone and complained to the IRDA.

In my earlier post, I had pointed out similar unethical practices being resorted to by supposedly reputed companies like 'Airtel' and 'Hot and Juicy'. This only goes to illustrate that the private sector in our country is extremely corrupt and prone to defrauding the unsuspecting customer. Unfortunately, the private sector and 'Privatization' have been hardsold to the citizens of this country as the panacea to all the ills relating to governance and delivery of goods and services to the citizens. The reality is that the private sector is maintaining a beautiful drawing room. However, walk into their bed room and you find that it is a seedy place with an attached bathroom full of filth. The driving force of the private sector is 'Profit' and they will try to extract their pound of flesh from the customer at all costs and by all means-fair and foul. It is the government sector that is fair and not prone to profiteering like the private sector. If you don't beleive me try giving critical areas like roads, power, ports, health, education, taxation, policing etc. to these guys. They will come to your home, bodily lift your belongings and run away with them!!!

बदलने की बात

दोस्तों, हम हमेशा ये कहा करते हैं कि कुछ बदलना चाहिए। इस पर चंद आशार हैं:
कोई बदलेगा नही ख़ुद को बदलना होगा,
आग बरसेगी मगर घर से निकलना होगा;
राह में ख़ार मिलें या के दहकते शोले,
पाँव नंगे ही सही राह पे चलना होगा;
ज़लज़ले यूँ ही ना आयेंगे सतह पर यारों,
दिल में ठंडे पड़े लावे को उबलना होगा;
फिर मेरे मुल्क में भूखा न दिखेगा कोई,
चंद जेबों में जमे घी को पिघलना होगा;
कल इसी राख पे फूलों कि कतारें होंगी,
आज लकड़ी को मगर आग में जलना होगा....

एक और ग़ज़ल आप के लिए

दोस्तों,

एक बार किसी बड़े ने मुझसे एक सवाल पूछा। मैंने उसका जवाब तो दिया ही साथ ही उनकी उस बात से जुड़ी अपनी थोड़ी तकलीफ़ भी बयान कर दी। वो जानना चाह रहे थे की काम क्यों नही हुआ। और मैं उन्हें बताना चाह रहा था की मैंने तो करने की कोशिश करी थी मगर एक और बड़े ने मुझे करने नहीं दिया। बस वो बड़े मुझ पर बरस पड़े। बोले "जितना पूछा है बस उस का जवाब दो"। अब, आख़िर वो बड़े थे, तो उनसे तो कुछ कह नहीं सकता था, मगर लिख तो सकता था। उस दिन लिखी ग़ज़ल पेश-ऐ-खिदमत है:

मुझे ख़ामोश रहने की तबीयत सीखनी होगी,

सितम सह कर भी चुप रहने की आदत सीखनी होगी;

खिलाफ़त ज़ुल्म की न हो शराफ़त इसको कहते हैं,

अभी मासूम हूँ मुझको शराफ़त सीखनी होगी;

अगरचे झूठ भी बोलो तो वो सच ही नज़र आए,

बड़ों से बात करने की नफ़ासत सीखनी होगी;

ज़रा बारीकियां समझूं अदा से चोट देने की,

नफ़ासत सीख कर मुझको नज़ाकत सीखनी होगी;

नया इंसान देखो रीढ़ की हड्डी नदारद है,

तुझे गौरव लचीलेपन की फितरत सीखनी होगी...

Prostitution Of the Truth Continued

Friends,

I hate to say "I told you so", but can't escape saying it either. There was a news in the papers today about a lobourer couple. The husband had slit the throat of the wife with a razor blade. "So what's new?" you could ask. The answer is "nothing much, its just that this incident was related to a certain show being aired on the television these days. The name of the show is 'sach ka saamna'!!". In the case of this unfortunate couple, after watching this show they decided to play the game with each other. First the husband occupied the hot-seat and the wife played the host of the game show. She asked him a whole lot of questions that he answered truthfully. Then it was the turn of the wife to occupy the hot seat and the husband to turn the host. After asking a few questions, the husband shot a question to the wife. Like in the real show the question was related to infidility. To this question the wife responded that both their children were actually not the biological children of her husband-that they were fathered by someone else. This was too much for the husband and he slit her throat with a razor blade that he had in his pocket!! Even as I write this post, the wife is in the hospital battling for her life and the husband is in police custody. In my previous post on this subject, I made precisely this doomsday prediction, that, unfortunately, has come true. And this is not the first case of this type mind you. In a similar situation, a few days ago, one husband committed suicide after playing 'Sach Ka Saamna' with his wife at home. I am also told that one couple who participated in one of the episodes of this show on TV have already divorced. The time, friends, is not long before other predictions made by me regarding the impact of this show on our society will also come true. And at that moment, unwillingly, with a lot of regret, I will be forced to say,"I told you so..."

एक ग़ज़ल आप के लिए

दोस्तों कल नसीम अंसारी लखनऊ आई हुई थीं। नसीम एक शायरा हैं और मेरी पुरानी दोस्त हैं। उन्होंने मुझे सिखाया की कैसे ब्लॉग पर हिन्दी में पोस्ट किया जा सकता है। इस जानकारी ने मुझे आपसे अपनी ज़बान में बात करने का एक ज़रिया दे दिया। मेरे बयाज़ 'सबकुछ ' की एक ग़ज़ल पेश-ऐ-खिदमत है:

दोगले चेहरों पे खूनी मुस्कराहट किस लिए,

हर तरफ़ डर और बर्बादी की आहट किस लिए;

हक छिने कुचले गए रौंदे गए पर चुप रहे,

राख में शोलों की अब ये सुगबुगाहट किस लिए;

मुल्क के लाखों घरों में जब अँधेरा है बसा,

कुछ चुनिन्दा कोठियों में जगमगाहट किस लिए;

दश्त है वीरां हवा भी रुक चुकी है आज तो,

झाड़ियों की पत्तियों में सरसराहट किस लिए;

आज तेरे पास है दुनिया की हर नेमत मगर,

फ़िर तेरे दिल में ये गौरव छटपटाहट किस लिए...

Where Dogs Piss On Gods Continued

Dear Friends,

Today was a monday and I was indisposed since morning. Nothing serious, just down with a stomach bug that seemed to be doing its job rather seriously! Wouldn't have gone anywhere, but it being monday and monday being my mother's weekly fast for lord Shiva, and my mother being more indisposed than me, per force, I had to go to the temple in the evening so that mom could break her fast. There is a temple near my home. It is called the 'Panchmukhi Hanuman Mandir'(Taking advantage of this rather unusual name, a sweet shop has also come up next to the temple by the same name). Our family has been visiting this temple since the time we shifted to vikas nagar which was more than a decade ago. Since then we have seen it grow from a run down little place into an impressive structure. In this area of Lucknow, it has become rather well patronized, hence the turnaround in its fortunes. Will, like most other temples, this one also has a Shiva Lingam. The Shiva Lingam, as you must be aware, is traditionally worshipped by bathing it with water/milk and offering belpatra, dhatura, flowers, and fruits to it. Typically, the Shiva Lingam is one deity that is never worshipped from a distance. (Incidentally the same practice of worship is followed in the Kashi Vishwanath Temple at Varanasi, which, arguably is the most powerful of all the Shiva Temples in India.

For so many years our family (and other families of the area) had been performing this simple ceremony of Shiva Pooja at this temple without any problems. However, we were shocked to find that this time round the Shiva Lingam had been surrounded by a fence and a gate was installed that was kept locked. This was especially inappropriate on a Monday, since it is the day of worship of Lord Shiva. Equally, or even more shocking was the fact that the Mahant of this temple had installed some Takahats and a television in the Sactum Sanctorum and was using the public worship area as a place of personal recline and recreation.

Desisiting from commenting on the Television, I requested the Mahant to kindly open the gate of the fencing surrounding Lord Shiva so that we could offer worship as usual. Imagine my shock and surprise when the Mahant not only refused to do so, but when I insisted that he open the gate, became abusive and demanded that I leave the premises. Its, of course, no secret that even though this particular temple belongs to a trust, its major portion is constructed on encroached public land like most other such temples in the city. This case is a classic example of how we allow antisocial, undesirable and possibly criminal elements to masquarade as 'priests', occupy public land and finally misbehave with devotees who have developed a spiritual faith in the deities in such temples. Friends, I for one have decided that if I ever visit a temple again, it shall only be after I have verified the antecedants of the temple in as much as whether or not it is constructed on legally aquired land. I also exhort to you to stop patronizing temples built on encroached and illegally occupied land. By offering worship in such 'temples' we are only strengthening the hands of the land mafia that operates in their garb and are directly contributing to the desacration of our religion and faith. In fact, we should all write to the respective District Magistrates about such illegal 'temples' and demand that all of them be demolished at once. What we require are better and safer roads, bridges, public parks etc. Any such illegal structure that becomes an impediment in the provision of these facilities should be demolished without a second thought. I am sure that if Lord Laxman (the founder of Lakhanpuri- now Lucknow) was still ruling Awadh, he would have done the same.

Honorable Supreme Court's Judgement Supports My Stand

Dear Friends,
This is with reference to my post "Where Dogs Piss on Gods'. This article was written by me to expose the activities of the land mafia operating in Lucknow (and other parts of the country) under the guise of religious pontiffs. It has taken the dimensions of an organized crime whereby 'temples' and other 'places of worship' are erected on public land at prime locations in the city. Once erected, such places become safe havens for such criminals masquarading as priests. Since religious sentiments of people are involved, it becomes well-neigh impossible to remove such encroachments on public land. Finally, such 'temples' create severe bottlenecks whenever the government undertakes development projects. Hats off to the Supreme Court for giving an order directing the governments to stop this menace.