Why India Will Never Be Corruption Free

With the ICC World Cup 2011 finally over, the Indian Public, drunk on the liquor of short lived nationalism needed some issue to prolong the intoxication for a bit more time. It was at this opportune moment that Shri Anna Hazaare stepped onto the scene with a fast unto death against corruption and a demand that the 'Jan Lokpal Bill' be prepared in consultation with representatives of Civil Society. This was the ideal release for the 'Nationalistic Spirit' generated by the world cup victory. It was, at the same time, an ideal 'Filler' for the news-hungry Indian media to fill their airtime with something almost as exciting as the world cup before the IPL began. Expectedly, the media cashed on this opportunity with elan. News channels which mostly have nothing better to do than to broadcast warnings about an impending Armageddon, suddenly became keepers of public conscience and morality. Shady looking anchors were suddenly replaced with upright looking anchors-all claiming to have been the first to take up cudgels against the malaise of corruption by taking Anna's message to the people. Finally after a huge groundswell of support, Anna won the battle and the Government issued a Gazette notification with regard to the the Jan Lokpal Bill which, as per the Civil Society activists, surpassed even their expectations. The situation, as it stands now, is that the committee formed for deliberating upon the structure of the Jan Lokpal Bill has started its sittings on the matter. Almost immediately, allegations of corruption against the likes of Shri Prashant Bhushan have also started surfacing. As the Euphoria of supposedly having won a battle against the Government dissipates, questions have started popping up galore. And the most important question that has come up is that whether the institution of the Jan Lokpal will be be successful in curbing-much less wiping out- the malaise of corruption that is the bane of our society today ?

I for one have often deliberated upon this question from a time much earlier than that of Anna's fast. Only that my question has been slightly different and broader in its scope. My question is : Can India Ever Be Corruption Free?

After years of deliberating upon the question, particularly in the last ten years that I have been in service slowly but surely my response to this singular seminal question has crystallized in mind. And, that response, I am sad to say, is not in the positive. Now, when I ask myself whether India will ever be corruption free, the answer that I get is that India will never be corruption free !

I know that this answer from me breaks your heart. Indeed, it breaks my heart as much as it would break the heart of every right thinking Indian. But sadly, this is the fact. Optimism aside, we cannot wish away the reality. And the reality is that corruption has become such an important part of our socio-economic-cultural fabric that pulling it out now threatens the very existence of the same. The fact of the matter is that basically we are a corrupt society. Not only are we corrupt, we are also highly hypocritical. We want others to follow the rules while we desire exemption from them. We would love it if we could park our vehicles in no-parking zone while all others had to park theirs in a proper parking lot. In our day to day interactions and transactions-in particular those involving big money, we have a certain way of transacting. The first question that is asked is "How much of the payment would be in black and how much in white ?".  Those who cry that there is "too much corruption in India" are themselves corrupt. Its only that they see the corruption of others as corruption while they see their own corruption as 'Business', 'Savings' or 'Strategy'. Go to a shop and start talking to a shopkeeper about how corrupt the taxation regime in the state is. He will pour out his cup of woes to you. But when you purchase something from the same shopkeeper, he will shy away from giving you a receipt. So, the same guy, who was complaining so vociferously about the rampant corruption in the taxation regime, will, in the very next moment, be indulging in tax evasion !! The fact of the matter is that actually majority of the Indian society is OK with corruption. It suits them. It allows them to break queues, get concessions, bend rules, steal taxes, and (wherever possible) plunder and loot public money. In my eyes, the ordinary citizen who enters a public transport and occupies as seat marked as reserved for ladies and aged people is as corrupt as the person who occupies a high office in the Government and indulges in a scam of crores or rupees. That is because the act and the intention is the same-to deprive the fellow citizens of something that is rightfully theirs. The difference is only in the quantum of the act. Let me illustrate this argument with an example.

Once Sir George Bernard Shaw, the famous English play-write was talking to a beautiful lady socialite in a party. In the course of  the conversation, Shaw made her an offer. He said, Mrs.Carter, suppose I offered you 500 pounds, would you sleep with me ? "

"Of course not ! Mr. Shaw" the socialite retorted visibly aghast.

"OK, so what if I offered you 500,000 pounds"

Now this was some offer. The socialite paused to think. After giving some thought to the offer she answered in a whisper " Well...this is an offer that I could accept"

"Hmm,..." hummed Shaw. " What would you say if I revised my bid and offered you 50 pounds for a night?"

"Mr.Shaw !! What is this nonsense ?!! What do you think I am ?!!"

"Oh my dear Mrs. Carter.." answered Shaw calmly. "We have already established what you are. Now we are merely haggling over the price !!"

The example hits. Doesn't it? A lady who is willing to sleep with a stranger for 500,000 pounds a night is as much a prostitute as a lady who does it for 50 pounds. With this example in mind look around you. Are we not a a nation of thieves ? Go to Delhi and the moment you come out of the railway station you are confronted with an autorickshaw-driver who will refuse to take you to your destination by the proper meter reading. Send your car to the service station and you can be 90% sure that the service would be substandard unless you know someone personally in the workshop who looks after your interests there. Go to a medicine shop and you will easily be able to buy a banned drug over-the-counter without a prescription and without a receipt. Call a plumber to work at your home and he will try to do a 'Jugad' instead of proper work even when you are paying him full money. Subscribe to a mobile phone service and your bills will be artificially inflated and you will be charged for services that you never asked for in the first place. Go to buy a cup of steamed corn and the vendor will try to short change you by giving you less than the advertised quantity. Try to park your car in a market and a gang of goondas will descend upon you and shove a piece of paper in your hands as a parking ticket regardless of whether there exists a legal parking at that spot or not and last but not the least, be unfortunate enough to fall so ill so as to be be hospitalized and before you know it, so many test will be performed on you that it would put a lab rat to shame !! (and what is worse, you will be the one paying for the tests regardless of whether you live or die !!). I could fill an entire book with the examples of daily corruption, committed in daily life,by ordinary citizens against each other. But I am not trying to create a compendium of such examples. All I am trying to point out is that as a nation we do not respect the law and have little or no sense of propriety. We do not take seriously things and issues which ought to be taken seriously. Actually what is being perceived as an outcry against corruption is actually a cry of jealousy of the entire nation !! When we see a Raja or a Kalmadi walk away with such enormous booty, our natural 'crab instincts' are activated. We turn blue with envy and the reaction of the entire nation is that "how come this man has earned so much through corruption while I have managed to earn so little??!!" In such a scenario the shopkeeper who refuses to give a receipt for the wares he sells cries "kill kill " against the Rajas and Kalmadis. Likewise does the autorickshawdriver who routinely overcharges and harasses commuters and the CEO of the mobile company that shortchanges customers on a daily basis. 

So where does this discussion lead us ?  I would say that it leads us to the inevitability-the singularity-that says that corruption is here to stay. Actually, in our romantic vision and interpretation of our past, we tend to think that there was once a time when India was corruption free. Actually, there was no such time. Back at the time when the Mahabharata was written, corrupt Indian politicians were at each others throats to gain power (just as they do now). In the middle ages, corrupt Indians helped invaders to loot and plunder our country and evne to enslave it. During the relatively modern times, it was because of the contribution of corrupt Indians that the British enslaved us. Nearly at the time when we gained independence from the British, a certain author called 'Premchand' was leaving a graphic account of corruption in public life and the fate of the honest officer in a short story called "Namak Ka Daroga". Post-Independence, we have seen a systematic loot and plunder of public money year after year. The CWG scam and the 2G scam-both are neither the first nor the last of their kind in this sordid saga. We are a unfortunately a country where Individual ambition has always been stronger than national sentiment. We worship achievers. We make Gods out of them. Its no surprise then that the average Indian wants to achieve-to succeed at all costs. From early childhood, the average Indian grows up in the filth of day-to-day corruption. Such an Indian is initially the victim. First he suffers at the hands of other corrupt citizens. Then he learns the tricks of the trade. And finally after graduating from the university of corruption that is our society, he embarks on his journey to the top . Those who reach the top become Kalmadis, Rajas, Harshad Mehtas et al.  The others utilize their skills to cheat and harass fellow citizens at whichever level they are. Its an unending orgy folks. And it will go on till an eternity in India just as it has gone on from the time of the epics !!

एक नयी ग़ज़ल

उनसे दूरी सही-सही ना गयी,
बात दिल की मगर कही ना गयी;

मैंने नज़रों में हाल-ए-दिल लिक्खा,
राज़ की बात अनकही ना गयी;

वो मेरे हो के भी पराये हैं,
चोट दिल पर लगी रही ना गयी;

मेरा मतलब गलत नहीं था पर,
बात उन तक कभी सही ना गयी;

फासलों को मिटा दिया मैंने,
एक दूरी थी बस वही ना गयी....

किस तरफ़ जाऊं ? एक नयी ग़ज़ल

रिवाज़ एक तरफ़ और प्यार एक तरफ़,

खिज़ां है एक तरफ़ और बहार एक तरफ़;

मैं बंट गया हूँ किस तरफ़ मेरे कदम जाएँ,

ख़ुदा है एक तरफ़ कू-ए-यार एक तरफ़ ;

सही-गलत का फ़र्क तो पता नहीं लेकिन,

है जीत एक तरफ़ और हार एक तरफ;

तोड़ दूं रस्म-ओ-रवायत की बेड़ियाँ क्या मैं,

विसाल एक तरफ़ इंतज़ार एक तरफ़ ;

उन्हें मिलूँ के ना मिलूँ समझ नहीं आता,

तड़प है एक तरफ़ और क़रार एक तरफ़;

मैं हक़ीक़त को मान लूं या दिल की बात सुनूं ?

जफ़ा है एक तरफ़ ऐतबार एक तरफ़ ;

मैं बढ़ाता हूँ कदम और ठिठक जाता हूँ,

इक तरफ़ फ़र्ज़, दिल-ए-बेक़रार एक तरफ़ ;

मैक़दा एक तरफ़ उनकी महक एक तरफ़,

प्यास है एक तरफ़ और ख़ुमार एक तरफ़;

सर कटा दे या सर झुका के जज़्ब कर गौरव,

इक तरफ़ एक मौत, बार-बार एक तरफ़...

एक नयी ग़ज़ल

तुमने देखा है क्या हिन्दोस्तान कैसा है,
भूखे नंगों से भरा गुलसितान कैसा है;
कभी हुए हो रूबरू ज़मीन से भी क्या,
बहुत पता है तुम्हें आसमान कैसा है;
जिसके पिंजर महल की नींव में भरे तुमने,
कभी देखा गरीब का मकान कैसा है;
मसर्रतों से भरा है जहां तुम्हारा पर,
कभी सोचा है दूसरा जहान कैसा है;
बड़ा वज़न है तुम्हारी जुबां का दुनिया में,
क्या जानते हो हाल-ए-बेजुबान कैसा है ?

Life, Thermodynamics and Relationship with the Energy of the Universe

Dear Friends,

An idea has been in my mind since the past few years. I have often mulled on a singular question; "What is Life ?" At the very outset I must caution you that this question is different from the more easily answered question, viz: "What does it mean to be alive or 'living' ?". While it is easy to answer the latter (the answer is given in every high-school science book ), the former question is deeper and demands great reflection. Moreover, it is intimately linked with the next question.."What is Death?". My education in science and my interest in philosophy-both have forced me to reflect upon these two related questions. It was a day-ordinary like any other day-when the answers to both these questions suddenly dawned upon me. Allow me to present to you my answers:

As I see it, 'Life' is a constant battle against increasing entropy. 

As all of us who have studied a little bit of science in high-school know that the energy of the universe is constant. The first law of Thermodynamics says that energy can neither be created nor destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to the other. There are a plethora of examples that illustrate this concept. The petrol engine, for example, takes chemical energy from petrol and transforms it into mechanical energy. Similarly the electric motor takes electrical energy from the wires and transforms it into mechanical energy. The dynamo does quite the reverse. It takes mechanical energy (say from moving water) and transforms it into electrical energy which is then fed into wires and comes to our homes for use. It is important to note that none of these devices creates energy. All of them require a source of energy from which they can harness the same and transform it into some other usable form. Thus, if no machine exists that can create energy then it logically follows that the total energy of the universe must be constant. We must keep this concept in mind. It will have to be recalled later in this paper, when I discuss death and related concepts.

The second law of thermodynamics states that Entropy of a system always increases. 'Entropy' is a fanciful term used by scientists which means 'Disorder'. Thus, according to this law, any organized system  constantly moves towards a state of disorganization. Again, it is easy to see that this law holds true all around us. Let us take a new car as an example. A new car can be seen as a highly organized system. With time and use, however, the integrity of the system goes on degenerating. The nuts and bolts start coming loose, the engine starts giving trouble, the paint starts to fade and so on. All these problems show that entropy (disorder) has started affecting the system and it is no longer as organized as it was at the beginning (i.e when the car was new). Now, since we want to use the car for a number of years, we get it regularly serviced and repaired. The guy at the service station tightens the loose nuts, replaces the burnt oil, changes the oil filters and carries out other repairs and replacements as may be required. All this attention decreases the disorganization in the system and makes it perform almost as good as when it was new. However, there are two catches. One, the system never goes back to its original level of organization. I.e, no matter how well the service and repairs are done, some tiny bit of the entropy that has set into the system remains within the system. This means that once entropy starts to set into a system, it can never be completely removed. Second, there is thermodynamic cost of the removal of this entropy from the system. And that cost is Energy. The fellow who does the service and repairs of the vehicle has to invest a considerable amount of energy in his work. So this means that removal of entropy from any system is a costly affair as it needs precious energy to be expended in the process. At the same time, the removal of entropy is like fighting a losing battle. No matter how hard we try, some entropy always remains in the system and contributes towards making the system disorderly and less efficient. Over a period of time, this entropy builds up and a time comes when the no amount of input of energy can restore the system to a workable condition. It is at this stage that entropy wins and the system becomes so disorganized that it becomes essentially useless.

Till now I had been talking from the point of view of a car which, though highly organized, is still a very very primitive system when compared with the organization of any living organism. Even the simplest of living thing-say an amoeba-is millions of time more organized than the most modern car. What is even more important is that a living body-unicellular or multicellular-is a system. And like any other system, it depends upon the integrity of its organization to survive and function efficiently. However, any system, living or non-living-is equally subject and vulnerable to the second law of thermodynamics. That unfortunately means that we are also as vulnerable to the constant and unstoppable increase in entropy within our system-our body-as is the poor car that I mentioned in the example above. The only saving grace is that we do not have to go to a service center regularly to get the entropy from our systems removed. Our bodies, being a marvel of organization, have an inbuilt system of harnessing energy from natural sources and utilizing it for the purpose of reduction of entropy from the system. This process of harnessing energy is known as 'Eating' and 'Drinking'. We eat natural sources of energy (plants and animals) and drink water in order to obtain the energy from our environment that is required to reduce the entropy accumulating in our systems (bodies). However, there is a catch here also. As was the case with the car, the entropy that accumulates in our systems can never be completely removed. No matter what we eat and drink, some tiny bit of the entropy always remains in the body. Thus, over a period of time, despite thee best nutrition, the system of our body becomes progressively more disorganized and inefficient. For us humans it takes a fairly long period of 80 to 90 years (sometimes even longer) before a stage comes when no amount of input of energy from the environment will prevent the system from falling apart due to the immense build up of entropy. Finally a time comes when, no amount of energy input is able to reduce the entropy of the system sufficiently so as to enable it to function normally. At this point, the system simply stops functioning. In popular language, this point is known as 'Death'.

Thus, we can now appreciate how 'Life' is a constant struggle against increase in entropy and how 'Death' is a point where entropy eventually wins and shuts down the functioning of the system.

Having thus defined and explained the phenomenon called 'Life' and 'Death' in scientific (Thermodynamic) terms, we can now turn our attention to mythological concepts and the probable scientific explanations for them. Across cultures and religions we find concepts such as 'Soul' (Aatman), 'Rebirth', 'Telepathy', 'Extra Sensory Perception (ESP)', 'Faith Healing' etc. Modern science mostly dismisses such concepts and beliefs as  bunkum without any scientific basis and rational explanation. However, the ubiquitousness of these concepts across the entire humanity and the commonality of their presence in cultures, religions and beliefs far removed from each other forces the rational mind to ponder on the probability that these concepts are not entirely mythical and they may have some sort of scientific explanation. To my mind, the underlying scientific explanation for such concepts stems from two theories: Thermodynamics and the most famous equation of all time-E=MC2. 

In the preceding discussion we have already seen how the total energy of the universe is constant and how all the processes in the universe only transform the energy from one form to the other. We have also discussed that the total disorder (entropy) in the universe is constantly rising and that decrease in entropy has an energy cost attached to it. Moreover, we are aware that no matter how much energy we expend, we can never hope to completely reverse the entropy in any system. This means that if we treat the entire universe as a system, then the total entropy of the universe is also increasing. Eventually a stage will come when the universe will reach a stage of maximum entropy and order will cease to exist in the universe.

Having thus understood the concepts of 'Energy' and its 'Constancy' in the universe, we have to now look at the other aspect---transformation of energy. 

Before Albert Einstein it was understood that mass and energy were two different entities. Poetically said, mass was mass and energy was energy and never the twain could meet !! But Albert Einstein took an eraser and erased the distinction between mass and energy. He did it by formulating a deceptively simple looking equation E=MC(square). As any person who has studied elementary physics in high school will realize, this equation means that mass and energy are not different entities in the universe, but are actually different manifestations of the same entity, i.e Energy. Thus, mass can be visualized as a highly dense form of energy.  To help you in this visualization, let me give you an example. Suppose you were to make a carpet. You would require wool to do so. Individual fibers of wool would then be intricately woven to create a dense, soft and luxurious carpet. Seen from a distance by an observer who does not know that the carpet is made of wool, a cartload of wool and the finished carpet would appear as two different things-Entities-to him. But once we allow this observer to examine the wool and the carpet from very close quarters he would be able to see that the carpet is in fact, made of very densely packed strands of wool which are lying loose in the cart. Thus, the observer would now be able to appreciate that the wool and the carpet are actually different manifestations of the same entity, i.e wool. If we imagine that simple, unordered and loose energy is like wool, then mass is like the carpet woven out of that energy. Thus, all mass is actually pure energy at the subatomic level. (This fact has been proven by experiments which show that an electron can behave as a particle-mass-in some situations while it behaves as a wave-energy-in other situations. The most obvious example of mass-energy equivalence is the atom bomb in which part of the energy stored as mass in the nuclei of atoms is released by the process of nuclear fission). Thus, if all the mass in the universe is actually energy packed incredibly densely, then it logically follows that all living beings, including us humans, are also packets of energy. The one important point here is that living things are different from non living things-both being dense packets of energy-because living things are highly organized systems, which non-living things are not. A non-living thing may be thousands of times more dense when compared with a living thing, but the distinguishing characteristic of a living thing is not its density but its organization. We can, therefore, visualize living things as knots in the energy field of the universe with a capability to transform energy from one form to the other. Thus, while non-living things are like inactive knots in the energy field which do not interact actively with it, living beings are like active knots which constantly and actively interact with the energy field of the universe. At the most superficial level (and common to all animals) are activities like eating and drinking by which animals consume packets of energy in the form of mass from their environment and use their internal machinery (metabolism) to release the energy from the mass and use it in their own life sustaining processes. Plants on the other hand have the ability to utilize radiation (light) energy from the sun directly in order to prepare their own food by combining simple compounds like carbon dioxide and water in a process known as photosynthesis. For all the  living things on the planet, this is the level of interaction with the energy of the universe. But there is one notable exception..Man. 

Human beings are distinguished from all other life forms by the possession of two attributes: Intelligence and Self Awareness. The human brain is a miracle of evolution and the pinnacle of organization. The average human brain weighs about 1.5 kg and has a volume of around 1130 cubic centimeters. It has an average of 100 billion neurons ! Each neuron is connected to several others by means of permanent connections known as synapses. It may also form hundreds of temporary connections with other neurons. Thus the number of permanent and temporary connections in the human brain is in Trillions! One estimate puts the total number of these connections at more than the number of stars in the entire galaxy !! Simply put, the human brain is the most powerful organized structure in the universe (at least till we find another organism with a more advanced brain). However, at the subatomic level, the human brain is-like everything else having mass-pure energy. Thus our brains are highest level of organization that energy has yet reached in our universe. It is due to the possession of this incredible piece of machinery inside our cranium that we humans interact with the energy of the universe at a level entirely different from that of any other living being on this planet. My hypothesis is that the human brain is able to interact directly with the energy field pervading the universe. Penzias and Wilson in their famous experiment detected that there is indeed a field of energy which pervades the universe. They called this field 'Cosmic Rays'. This field is thought of as a remanent from the big-bang which was the starting point of our universe. The radiation from this field has no specific starting point. It is, in fact, like a blanket of uniform energy spread out through the universe. We can also picture this field as the surface of a vast lake which is absolutely still and undisturbed. This is, of course, the energy field that we know about. It is also hypothesized that the universe has a mysterious dark matter which is orders of magnitudes more than all the visible matter put together. Again, even though we can perceive only three dimensions, it is now established almost beyond all doubt that there are up to ten dimensions in the universe, of which we are able to perceive four (length, breadth, height and time) while the rest are beyond our sensory and perceptual capabilities. Simply put, the universe has attributes that we can perceive and understand and also those that we cannot perceive and/or understand. However, 'understanding' is only one level of the working of our brains. There are other levels of the functioning of the human brain which are much more complex and subtle when compared to 'understanding'. Collectively, these levels are recognized as the 'subconscious'. With sustained practice of activities like meditation and yoga, it is possible for the practitioner to bring the subconscious into the realm of 'understanding'. For the majority of us, however, 'understanding' is the level at which our brain functions. 

Most of the organs in the body are primarily sites of chemical activity. But our brain is different. No doubt, there is chemical activity in the brain. But more important is the electrical activity taking place in this organ. The brain is uncannily like a computer and its neurons like wires. Electrical signals buzz across the neurons at a blinding speed and massive data processing goes on in the brain at any given moment. All this activity can be easily detected by modern methods like EEG. The effect of billions of neurons working in unison and trillions of connections ticking on and off is more profound than we can imagine. This kind of activity can create ripples in the underlying energy field of the universe. For most of us, who use a tiny fraction of the total power of our brains, the ripples produced in the energy of the universe are very small. But the trained practitioner can utilize a major part of his/her brain power to generate much larger ripples. Since the underlying energy field of the universe connects every object in the universe with every other object, any ripples or waves created in this underlying energy field have the potential of affecting any other object near or far from the person creating these ripples or waves. It this modulation of the universal energy field that explains phenomenon like psychokinesis or 'mind over matter' as it is usually called. 

I discussed in the initial part of this paper that reduction in entropy of any system requires expenditure of energy. The usual process of gaining this energy is through metabolic processes going on inside our bodies. However, our brain has the capability of harnessing energy directly from the underlying energy field of the universe. Most of us are not even aware of this capability of the brain. But our sages and wise men across all cultures had recognized this seemingly miraculous property of the brain hundreds of years ago. Having recognized the same, they developed training methods by which an average human could learn to use this faculty. Yoga, Zen, Meditation..all are methods of training the mind to enable it to come in direct contact with the universal energy. Of course, it is not easy. This training require decades of hard work and dedication. But through sustained training, the true potential of the human brain can be unlocked. Once a person has learnt to harness the energy of the universe directly, he or she can then use his/her body as a conduit-a wire-to transmit this pure energy directly into the body of a diseased individual. Disease is nothing but accumulated entropy that the body finds difficult or impossible to remove by its own processes of harnessing energy. Such accumulated entropy can be reduced substantially by the infusion of pure energy directly into the body. This is the basis behind miraculous cures achieved by highly accomplished spiritual leaders and faith healers alike. 

To sum up, all living things are nothing but manifestations of the universal energy of the universe in the form of mass. Any life form, which reaches a certain level of organizational complexity and elegance can become intelligent and self aware. It is at this level, that it is able to tap into the universal energy field directly and harness the energy from this field to produce effects which seem miraculous. 

I hope that you would have found this discussion stimulating. I am open to questions and discussion.

वाह गुरूजी

हम बच्चों को खूब पढ़ाया, वाह गुरूजी वाह गुरूजी,

पढ़ना  लिखना खूब सिखाया, वाह गुरूजी वाह गुरूजी..

कक्षा में हम आ कर बैठे, ज्यों घंटा टन-टन कर बोला,

पर जब आप नहीं आये तो, हम सब का भी धीरज डोला,

फिर हमने हुडदंग मचाया, वाह गुरूजी वाह गुरूजी,

पढ़ना लिखना खूब सिखाया...

कुछ दिन चला यही सब चक्कर, आखिर तुम कक्षा में आये,

फिर कुछ इधर उधर की बातें, उच्च कोटि के व्यंग्य सुनाये,

इसी तरह से समय बिताया, वाह गुरूजी वाह गुरूजी,

पढ़ना लिखना खूब सिखाया...

कभी कभी ऐसा भी होता, तुम जल्दी कक्षा में आते,

हफ्ते भर की सभी पढाई, घंटे में पूरी कर जाते,

क्या सुन्दर ढंग से समझाया, वाह गुरूजी वाह गुरूजी,

पढ़ना लिखना खूब सिखाया...

इसी तरह कुछ  महीने बीते, दिखने लगी परीक्षा आगे,

हम सब बालक बहुत डर गए, सभी आपके घर को भागे,

ट्यूशन का रास्ता दिखलाया, वाह गुरूजी वाह गुरूजी,

पढ़ना लिखना खूब सिखाया...

यह रास्ता सुन्दर था अनुपम, मान गए हम बालक सारे,

पर कुछ ऐसे मूर्ख बंधु  थे, पढ़े खूब किस्मत के मारे,

उन सारों को फेल कराया , वाह गुरूजी, वाह गुरूजी,

पढना लिखना खूब सिखाया...

नव कक्षा में बड़ी शान से, हम सारे बालक हैं आये,

सुखी वही जो छात्र नियम से, गुरुदेव को नोट चढ़ाये,

यह तगड़ा गुर हमें सिखाया, वाह गुरूजी, वाह गुरूजी,

पढ़ना लिखना खूब सिखाया....

बहुत खूब शिक्षा दी हमको, अहोभाग्य तुम गुरु हमारे,

गुंडागर्दी, लफड़ा, झगडा, आते हमें विषय ये सारे,

तुमने है विद्वान् बनाया, वाह गुरूजी, वाह गुरूजी,
पढ़ना लिखना खूब सिखाया, वाह गुरूजी वाह गुरूजी..


(ये कविता मैंने सन 1992 में लिखी थी जब मैं बारहवीं कक्षा में था | उस समय, हमारे कॉलेज में टीचर ट्यूशन पढने के लिए छात्रों पर दबाव डालते थे | ऐसे ही एक टीचर जी की शान में मैंने ये कसीदे कहे थे | यह उस समय ही सच्चाई थी |पता नहीं 18 सालों में कुछ बदला है या नहीं...)

चिड़िया

क्या जानूं देहरी पर मेरी,
बैठेगी जाने कब चिड़िया,
खुल जाए किस्मत का ताला,
बात मेरी माने जब चिड़िया,

चिट्ठी लिख - लिख हाथ थका,
पर चट्ठी पर चिड़िया न बैठी,
चिट्ठी सड़ी डाक में मेरी,
चिड़िया रूठी, चिड़िया ऐंठी,
सोच रहा हूँ मैं आएगी,
मुझको बहलाने कब चिड़िया,
खुल जाए ..

चिट्ठी नीली स्याही से थी,
चिड़िया काली स्याही मांगे,
मेरी स्याही देसी चिड़िया,
यू एस  वाली स्याही मांगे,
नियम बहुत सारे हैं भाई,
आये बतलाने कब चिड़िया?
खुल जाए ..

फाइल में मेरी दुनिया है,
चिड़िया उस पर बीट कर रही,
मेरी दुनिया पड़ी मेज पर,
चिड़िया मीटिंग-मीट कर  रही,
फाइल मेरी खोलेगी कब,
गाएगी गाने कब चिड़िया,
खुल जाए ..

सब कहते हैं चिड़िया के घर,
बढ़िया सा खाना ले जाऊं,
चिड़िया आखिर चिड़िया ही है,
चिड़िया का दाना ले जाऊं,
ले कर गया, भगाया मुझको,
खाएगी दाने कब चिड़िया?
खुल जाए ..

मिला मुझे चिड़िया का पालक,
पिंजरे के बाहर वो बैठा,
मैंने दाना उसे दिया तो ,
वो भी थोडा-थोडा ऐंठा,
दाना दे कर लौटा सोचूँ,
खाए कब माने कब चिड़िया?
खुल जाए ...

दाना खा कर चिड़िया ने,
मेरी फाइल पर गाना गाया,
जीवन मेरा धन्य हो गया,
दुःख मेरा सारा बिसराया,
अब समझा चिड़िया कब बैठे,
मुझको पहचाने कब चिड़िया,
खुल जाए किस्मत का ताला,
बात मेरी माने जब चिड़िया...