Thursday, June 30, 2011

MEET THE AMAZING EIGHTH ANGEL


As I had mentioned in my last post, I am here to tell you about this young amazing angel, my EIGHTH BEAUTIFUL ANGEL... Meet Ankit Tulsyan!

From the previous post (The SEVENTH ANGEL):

Through Swapnil Barai, I came in contact with a very bright young guy named Ankit Tulsyan from Pune. His enthusiasm to help the cause and movement or any social relevant causes was really infectious... mails were exchanged and soon we were interacting over phone. His support meant a great source of encouragement and that whenever it will be required, he will always be there. I could see right through his voice that this was not merely an assurance (as most would give) but he meant every single word he was saying. We had great interaction over phones and he led me to many contacts during this journey. There is more to this young man... which I shall write very soon...

I still remember the way he sounded the first time we spoke... what enthusiasm and what all he plans to better the society at large... honestly, I have never met someone so young and so much enthusiasm to do everything possible to better lives of the poor. He works for Thermax in Pune and I have met twice so far and do often keep in touch over phone. And when I met him for the very first time in Pune last year... the night seemed short for our discussion on various issues, from farmers’ suicide to problems in the villages to urban problems... it sure was one of the most interesting sessions I have ever had with someone who was so keen and passionate to be part of the movement. He has lent me great support and many contacts as I had mentioned previously.


Ankit has also started an amazing enterprise to bring all the passionate youth in a nouvelle way:
Renaissance – India (http://www.renaissance-india.org/) : The Organization envisions building a unified collaborative platform involving youth and the different development stakeholders so as to prevent repetitive and fragmented effort. The sole mission is rejuvenating Rural India!

At such a young age, if this man has a vision to unite the youth to strengthen the rural India, imagine how passionately he must be thinking about his beloved nation. For this great effort, I salute this young man from the bottom of my heart for his amazing endeavour! In spite of being a busy professional, Ankit is always networking with the like-minded people to strength his core group and interacting with well-known social activists and worker all over India and abroad.

Well, when I approached him with my mail, he was too happy to be part of the movement and without any hesitation said – “Sure brother!” I really have no words (even though I have written so much) to tell Ankit what it means to have someone like him supporting the movement with so much passion. I am sure in coming years, we all will see this young man raise to a higher platform with his visionary ideas doing a lot for the nation. Thank you so much Ankit for being my EIGHTH BEAUTIFUL ANGEL... truly, I am grateful to you for your kind support and all the help... Sai Baba bless you always!

Cuidate :)

... to be continued...

Monday, June 27, 2011

नन्हा सा बीज


(ON REQUEST: English translation is given below the Original for Global Readers)

नन्हा सा बीज,
खिलता है छोटे से अंकुर में...
हौसला तो देख इसका 'डी',
बरसों तक खड़ा रहता है शान से...  

--- स्वरचित ---

A tiny seed,
sprouts into a little plant...
Look at the courage 'd',
It stands tall for ages majestically...

Johnny D
27th June 2011

Sunday, June 26, 2011

MEET THE YOUNG SEVENTH ANGEL


Through Swapnil Barai, I came in contact with a very bright young guy named Ankit Tulsyan from Pune. His enthusiasm to help the cause and movement or any social relevant causes was really infectious... mails were exchanged and soon we were interacting over phone. His support meant a great source of encouragement and that whenever it will be required, he will always be there. I could see right through his voice that this was not merely an assurance (as most would give) but he meant every single word he was saying. We had great interaction over phones and he led me to many contacts during this journey. There is more to this young man... which I shall write very soon...

I visited Pune last year to have a one-to-one session with Ankit to talk about the “11 District Vidarbha Run” to spread awareness among villagers and raise funds for the movement (it has been postponed for the time being) and it is here I was introduced to another interesting young chemical engineer named Nikunj Jain... I still remember very distinctively that Nikunj was a very silent listener and eager to know more about my movement. Both the young professionals (Ankit & Nikunj) were very-very enthusiastic to do something for the poor villagers... they listened patiently, shared their ideas and promised whatever help they could, they will lend when time comes.


It surely was a very long night discussing all about the movement and what the future plans would be with the two... their enthusiasm was really amazing in many aspects and I am glad to share beautiful interaction with both of them. While, I was on and off in contact with Ankit through mails, SMS and mails... I didn’t hear anything from Nikunj... After many months later, one fine day, I received a call from Nikunj informing me that he has joined IOCL and is now based in Baroda (Vadodra)... we got connected on Facebook and were since then in regular touch.

When I visited Gujarat recently in April, I travelled to Baroda to meet Nikunj. It was a very short meeting but it was lovely to meet again after many months. Ankit couldn’t join us, even though he is also in Gujarat on official visit. When I approached Nikunj with the mail to be one of the angels, his mail with the BIG YES really touched me! He was very happy to be part of the movement and said – “Johnny I will be glad!”

What is interesting to note for the world about this young angel is that he wants to do and knows that the countrymen needs the support of each and every individual. The will to do at such a young age is truly commendable of Nikunj... trust me, it is indeed a great sacrifice for all these young beautiful angels, who have come forward to support me. I am really proud of all of them because they are aware of the ground situation and want to see the change for the poor villagers to become self-reliant in near future. Most of them do often tell me that wish they could take the bold step to leave everything and follow their heart... but, they have their own responsibilities towards their immediate family. However, they have not stopped to do whatever they can in their capacity and they are doing it silently.

I am really proud of all such youngsters who are doing a lot in their own capacity wherever they are. I wish to tell this young beautiful angel that I am grateful to know him and his kind support and help will surely go a very long way. Thank you so very much Nikunj... Sai Baba bless you always!

Cuidate :)

... to be continued... 

Friday, June 24, 2011

TILL THE LAST DROP IS SUCKED: HOW THE FARMERS ARE PUSHED TO THE EDGE


Instead of teaching the farmers’ community how to save their hard earned, whatever little, money they earn during a hard toil in hot sun, high temperatures, heavy rains, chilly winter and low temperatures facing natural calamities like floods or drought... farmers are taught or made to spend more... so that every greedy shark or vulture of the modern society can suck the last drop of blood present in a farmer’s body.

Sad, pathetic and ironical indeed! But this is the big real picture of not only Indian farmers but also the world all over... the Powerful MNCs manufacturing Poisonous Chemical Fertilizers and Pesticides, the Market Lobby, the Faulty Government Policies; The Financial Institutions, The Insurance Sector; The Heavy Industries manufacturing Tractor, Water Pumps and Drip Irrigation etc... and of course not forgetting the callous MEDIA! Everyone is there to outdo each other to suck the last drop of blood...

Every year when the sowing season arrives, suddenly the market declares that there is shortage of fertilizer, pesticides and also the hard selling seeds... followed by the government declaring raids at various godowns of the traders (no name is ever mentioned and punished ever severely) and with the help of Media these news are highlighted as if these are the real crisis... the fact is that such a scene is created by the MEDIA to make the helpless farmers shell out more money for their yearly requirements because they simply cannot afford to delay the sowing process... they are left with no option but to borrow money from moneylenders, banking institutions and anybody who will give them money at such a time... the high interest rates demanded is agreed upon not because they have loads of money but because they are left with no option at the time of distress.

These loans are given by village moneylenders, banks, rich traders who sell fertilizers, pesticides and seeds, micro-finance companies and the interest rates are always high... the idea is to trap the farmers into the debt trap, so that they simply cannot escape from their clutches... and when the harvesting season arrives... all these vultures and sharks are there to collect their money with interest and the farmers are left high and dry... and if there are natural calamities, then the farmers are doomed as they are pushed to the edge to find no option but to succumb to suicide. Intelligent farmers will never succumb to such tactics but majority do as they have no other option because they are living hand to mouth existence!

The Government Policies (the Policy makers are so-called highly educated officials, who have no idea of the ground realities or knowledge as they live in air-conditioned offices and don the suits) are made in such a manner that whatever the above mentioned sharks have left, the government sharks will suck the last drop of blood from the farmers’ bodies... right from the irrigation infrastructure to the last stage of storing food grains, every sector lacks proper infrastructure and whether there is bumper crop (one always hear in the media claimed by the Agriculture Minister that year after year we have bumper crops and yet the prices of food grains keep rising, why?), there will be more wastage so that the kith and kin of all the political leaders can make more money from the rotten food grains to turn it into liquor and when there is shortage of the produce, then automatically prices will rise more for the rich traders to make more money while the farmers lose in both the accounts. If the crop is bumper, the MSP (Minimum Support Price) will be less and when there is shortfall then the government will not buy the produce with the Higher MSP...

The Insurance sector fleece the farmers by claiming that the whole region is not affected by the natural calamity, so the individual farmer cannot claim crop insurance... all the fine prints are written in such a clever manner that no one really goes through all of them (even the so-called educated city folks, so forget about the illiterate farmers)... The farmers’ community are provided with more money to buy motorcycle, spend money on consumer products like TV, Dish Antennas, Fridge and what not (I am certainly not against farmers buying all these luxury items if they have saved enough to spend on such items without giving high interest rates to get into the debt trap).... oh yes, one cannot forget how the high-end medical industry juice out to suck the blood of the poor with everything having become so costly that even a middle class city folks feel the pinch to meet the medical expenses when one is sick or hospitalized.

All these while, the MEDIA instead of carrying inspiring stories of various successful models that have fetched great results for few farmers in various region, carry out sickening stories of farmers’ suicide quoting high numbers of deaths, without really mentioning the real reasons behind the suicide... (the other fact is often never mentioned as urban suicide rate are higher than the rural suicide rate) this piece of information is more dangerous than anything else mentioned above because the greedy politicians encash such news to their benefits to mislead the farmers community... thereby spreading more depressing state of mind what with the farmers losing every hope... the other day, I was interacting with one of the American activists, who informed me that even in the US of A, farmers have been succumbing to suicide, much to my surprise. He even informed me how the government covers up all such happenings by controlling the MEDIA, so that the world will not know the reality. The job of the MEDIA is very responsible and they can, if they want but will never, influence a great deal in changing faulty policies of the government but NO, they simply won’t because the fact is that all the media houses are in the hands of Powerful MNCs...

Farmers’ community in France is on the verge of extinction, so are many of them in Japan, UK farmers are succumbing to suicide, California is facing Agriculture crisis and all the above mentioned reasons are as evident in all the countries worldwide, from the small island nation Fiji to Canada, Continent nation Australia to Island nation Philippines... everywhere the poor farmers have become the great source for the rich leech to suck their last drop of blood! Yes, my dear citizen of the world, the farmers are being pushed to the edge... the more of them die, the more fertile land is up for grabbing for the rich industrialists worldwide!

My heart bleeds for the community who feed the world but their selfless act and hard labour is being rewarded by killing them mercilessly... this is certainly not the world anyone would love to live... and the world that we humans have created... it has to stop and stop sooner otherwise when there will be no farmers left, what will happen to your children and grandchildren?

वर्षा रानी, वर्षा रानी जल्दी आओ, जल्दी आओ


(English translation is given below the Original for Global Readers)

वर्षा रानी, वर्षा रानी 
जल्दी आओ, जल्दी आओ 

पुकार रहा है तुम्हें सारा विदर्भा  
कहाँ खो गयी हो तुम वर्षा रानी

वर्षा रानी, वर्षा रानी 
जल्दी आओ, जल्दी आओ 

किसान आस लगाये ताक रहे हैं 
घना आसमान हो कर भी तुम...

वर्षा रानी, वर्षा रानी 
जल्दी आओ, जल्दी आओ 

ज़रुरत है किसानो को, अब तो आओ...
विदर्भा के खेतो पर अपना स्नेह बरसाओ

वर्षा रानी, वर्षा रानी 
जल्दी आओ, जल्दी आओ 

अपने प्यार से पानी तो पिलाओ...
धरती माँ भी प्यासी है महीनो से 

वर्षा रानी, वर्षा रानी 
जल्दी आओ, जल्दी आओ 

सब खिल सके हसते-गातें और हरा-भरा 
नन्हें-नन्हें बीजों को है इंतज़ार तुम्हारा 

वर्षा रानी, वर्षा रानी 
जल्दी आओ, जल्दी आओ 

अपने प्यार व स्नेह को इस तरह न छुपाओ
धरती माँ को फिर से कर दो तुम हरा-भरा

वर्षा रानी, वर्षा रानी 
जल्दी आओ, जल्दी आओ 

वर्षा रानी, वर्षा रानी 
जल्दी आओ, जल्दी आओ.....

जोनी 'डी'
२४ जून २०११  



Rain Queen, Rain Queen
Come soon, come soon

Rain Queen, Rain Queen
Come soon, come soon

The whole of Vidarbha is calling you
Where have you vanished Rain Queen

Rain Queen, Rain Queen
Come soon, come soon

The farmers are anticipating with great hope
Even though the sky is filled with clouds, still...

Rain Queen, Rain Queen
Come soon, come soon

The farmers need you, please come now
Shower your affection on the fields of Vidarbha

Rain Queen, Rain Queen
Come soon, come soon

With your love please make everyone drink water
Mother Earth has been thirsty since months now

Rain Queen, Rain Queen
Come soon, come soon

May everyone sing and dance with joy with greenery all around
Tiny-tiny seeds are waiting for you eagerly

Rain Queen, Rain Queen
Come soon, come soon

Please don't hide your love and affection like this
And fill Mother Earth with greenery all around again

Rain Queen, Rain Queen
Come soon, come soon

Rain Queen, Rain Queen
Come soon, come soon...

Johnny D
24th June 2011

Thursday, June 23, 2011

MEET THE SIXTH ANGEL : HE WANTS TO BE ANONYMOUS


Last year, it was the beautiful women angels who supported me (7 out of the 10) to strengthen the movement... this year, I must say a lot of youngsters came forward to support me and out of 9 (so far, one angel is yet to fly from somewhere) 3 are beautiful women angels... each one of them have entered my destiny in a very unexpected ways... there are more men and most of them are young professionals, who I have met during the journey of my destiny and of course few are my very dear friends. Yes, I am grateful to each one of them for their kind support and help and allowing me to concentrate on ground work.

The Sixth Beautiful Angel happens to be one of my best friends... he has been a great support and source of encouragement ever since I started to walk the journey of my destiny. I am short of words while writing about this special angel because he has requested that whatever he is doing is far less and don’t wish that the world should know about him or his kind support...

Well, angels are visibly invisible and the Sixth Beautiful Angel prefers to remain invisible to the world... And I have to respect his sincere wish to keep it that way... All I can say is that Sai Baba bless you and your loving family always!

Cuidate

... to be continued...

Wednesday, June 22, 2011

THE NEW OLD WORLD OF INDIA: MELGHAT; District: AMRAVATI; Region: VIDARBHA; State: MAHARASTRA; INDIA - PART II

It is indeed fascinating and even worrisome to see how nature can change in a fraction of a second... no sooner we had finished our lunch, after returning from KUHI (Kuhee) village, a sudden gush of storm with high speed wind (@ 140 kmph) blew off the wonderful teakwood bed in the courtyard, tiles on the roof were flying and falling down all over, chairs were flying and rains followed for almost 30 minutes... and then the calm...



The premise of Melghat Maitri was in shambles...


Chandru of Melghat Maitri was a worried man and after the calm, it was time for cleaning and mending all the things as best as we could... the next day, I went to Sarwarkheda village with Shrikant (a student of MSW from Satara) to conduct the survey of infants and the village... walking through the jungle was so soothing and an amazing feeling... the beauty of nature all around with teak trees standing tall all around... truly majestic in nature! It sure was a challenge as toddlers were scared as they thought they  would be given injection... all we did was to weigh them, measure their height and arm’s size... moving from door-to-door, almost every house had infants below five years... Ignorance is bliss! So they say, but ignorance can also be dangerous and the Korku Tribe are yet to learn why it is so important to know the exact date of birth of their children...




The calm after the storm: Village Chilati

Many cried while there few who smiled and were curious to enjoy the weighing procedure... the parents were very cordial and not one refused... the sorry state of toddlers surely shook me from inside and all the while I was thinking how we would be able to help them... the first ever road since 1947 were being laid at the centre of the village houses (in two rows)... electricity, health care and drinking water are still a distant dream or aspiration for this tribal villagers... when I asked one of the volunteers (Maitri had trained) what were the difficulties without electricity (she had studied till 10th grade, so has been to city)? Very innocently, she replied, “Nothing! We have been living since ages without electricity. All the household work is completed before the sunset and by 8 pm, the whole village sleep to wake up at dawn by 4.30 am... so there is no difficulty at all for me...”




The lady Maitri had trained @ Village Sarwarkheda...

Contentment is thy name Korku Tribe! I was informed by Chandru that not even a single parent will ever raise their hands on their children... Children have always been a delight for me to interact with because one can learn a great deal from them by simply watching them... I make friends easily in every village with the camera capturing moments that will always be treasured as the time goes by... children are always inquisitive and when I show them their pictures on the screen, they all scream in delight as if the biggest treasure’s gates have been opened for them to enjoy! PRICELESS!!! Yes, each smile that I am able to capture in my heart’s hard disk, I wonder and am amaze that there is so much joy in this part of the world without any worldly pleasure or materialistic gains or losses...




Weighing a child during the survey @ Village Sarwarkheda...

Exploring the villages in Melghat Region have been an altogether a unique experience and as I learn more about the tribe, I want to do more about them... the beauty of the Korku tribe is that every single farmer is cultivating food grains with Organic manure and everyone takes good care of their cattle, something one will not see in the plains of Vidarbha (95 to 98 % don’t even possess cattle)... they use every bit of land in the rocky areas, slopes are even ploughed with great care, even though if one will witness the farmers ploughing, one will wonder how dangerous it is... they grow enough food for their family and one will be shocked to know that the whole family’s yearly expenditure is not more than Rs. 5000/- ($100) on an average!




A Korku farmer ploughing his field @ Village Chilati...

I wondered what makes Vidarbha so special or critical... why it is known as the Centre of Highest Farmers’ Suicide of the country (6 districts: Amravati, Akola, Buldana, Wardha, Washim & Yavatmal) when such immense potentials are visible in the remote villages of Melghat Region... in the remote villages, the problems faced by the tribal farmers are:

No Electricity; No Irrigation Infrastructure; No Drinking Water or for irrigation; Farming is rain fed; No Accessibility to nearby cities; Wells still are dug by bare hands; No proper Health Centres; No proper Schools; Small Land Holdings; No Market to sell their produce....




Digging well with bare hands... hats off to Korku Tribesmen...

YET, my dear citizen of the world, farmers’ suicide is never heard of in this part of Vidarbha. Something that made me salute the Korku farmers from the bottom of my heart! I wish and wish many people to join me in spreading awareness about such great examples for other Vidarbha farmers to see that sincere hard work to save one’s own family (grow food for self first rather than growing cash crops) is utmost important factor if the farmers really want to avoid succumbing to suicide... avoiding debts and being content in whatever small things one has or have will see the six districts suicide free!

.... to be continued...

Monday, June 20, 2011

WASTAGE OF FOOD GRAINS: THE SORRY STATE OF THE STATE OF REPUBLIC OF INDIA

The farmers of India toil hard in the hot sun, high temperatures, heavy rains and chilly winter to low temperatures to grow food grains for the whole nation and the government of India allows food grains to rot in the open godowns during monsoon and I am amazed, surprised and truly-truly appalled at the sorry state of my nation! India – my nation which is being projected as INCREDIBLE INDIA and SHINING INDIA to the world; my India - which has become so famous for having the single largest deposit of black money in all the dubious banks of the world; my India – who has the audacity to waste food grains worth Rs. 58,000 crore every single year (mind you, this is the official figure, so one can imagine the actual figure may be double or three times more); my India – where farmers are dying, tribal villagers are being killed, fertile lands are being grabbed in the name of economic development; food grains are being stored in village schools’ classrooms... I am truly sad!


Wastage of food grains have become THE SERIOUS ISSUE as every single minute near about 5 infants die because of hunger, what with highest malnutrition infant deaths have become the norms of the fast rapid economic development of the nation... while all the rivers' water are  being diverted for the rich MNCs to generate power, so that means water meant for irrigation for farmers are being looted, diverted and in a callous approach... farmers are being killed under various policies and allow to perish so that all the land can be grabbed; all the rivers' water can be diverted to rich industrialists' houses and not forgetting the least food grains are allowed to rot in a well-laid planned so that the kith and kin of political leaders can convert all the rotten food grains into liquor... is this the INCREDIBLE or SHINING INDIA that our corrupt Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is selling to the Western World???

Out of the total amount of food grains produced in the nation, only, ONLY 20 % can be stored in FCI Godowns.... one of the biggest achievements of Independent India in the last 64 years...  that means India stores 80 % of the food grains of the nation out in the open???? While huge Thermal Power Projects are being cleared in a jiffy by killing poor villagers who protest that their lands are being grabbed within five years’ time, the government of India doesn’t even have the will to stop wastage of food grains day-after-day to such a large extent or build food grains’ godowns at war footing to safeguard all the grains that the poor farmers of India toil hard to grow for the nation. When will we become responsible to save our nation? When will we become sensitive to feed the hunger? When will we become aware (it is very important) to save all the infants (dying) from dying because of hunger?

Not that the government centres at various districts and cities have scarcity of space to accommodate more new godowns... I have seen several government centres in various districts of Vidarbha itself... where land are lying empty and the space can very well be utilized to build new godowns so that more food grains can be saved from allowing it to rot... but then, none of the previous Chief Ministers have bothered to build food grains’ godowns... and on a large extent one has to blame all the Prime Ministers of India, who have not at all bothered to save the huge quantity of surplus food grains since the last 64 years...

GODOWNS FOR FOOD GRAINS ARE THE NECESSITY OF THE NATION; WE SIMPLY CANNOT AFFORD TO ALLOW FOOD GRAINS TO ROT OUT IN OPEN ANY MORE!!! I strongly feel that more than corruption or other things that are being fought for, every Indian should fight to safeguard the food grains first before it will be too late when infants will be gulped by hunger at an alarming pace... as it is 40 % of infants are dying in our nation due to malnutrition and yes, WE ARE NO. 1 in this too!!! PATHETIC and THE SORRY STATE OF AFFAIR of MY NATION – INDIA! India is certainly not SHINING my dear citizen of the world!!!

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

THE NEW OLD WORLD OF INDIA: MELGHAT; District: AMRAVATI; Region: VIDARBHA; State: MAHARASTRA; INDIA

It was Documentary Filmmaker Ajay Saklani, who introduced me to the ‘whole new old world’ of India – the Melghat Region in Amravati district of Vidarbha. Even though, I knew before hand about the highest malnutrition infants’ death (in India) and the Tiger Reserve in Melghat Region, the region had been unexplored by me, not so any more though. The young passionate documentary filmmaker has made a very hard-hitting documentary on Melghat Malnutrition Infants Death titled – UPAASMAR – The Taste of Hunger!


Precaution from Diarrhea...

When we met in person in Wardha, we discussed at great length about various problems on ground in the region and pondered what can be done there to facilitate some better infrastructure to make life of the Korku Tribal villagers. Ajay spoke about various people who were doing great work in the region since the past one decade and one such name was suggested to me was MELGHAT MAITRI, an NGO which comprised of three dedicated individuals, who represent the Pune based Trust MAITRI. I contacted Madhukar Mane and was able to connect with Chandrakant Jagdale and Ram Phad on Facebook. It was so nice when these individuals welcomed me with open arms to explore and guided me well to reach the destination - Chilati Village. All the while I was in constant touch with Madhu over phone.

On 8th Morning I left for Chilati... from Wardha to Amravati, then to Paratwada... I got stuck at Paratwada for near about four long hours as there was no bus to Hatru (only one Bus per day @3.30 pm.)... at about 3.45 pm, the bus finally arrived and the beautiful journey around the ghats with forests all around was mesmerizing for me... thoroughly enjoying the nature in its full splendour, I was busy clicking pictures... reached late in the evening at around 7.30 pm... Chandru was there with his motorcycle to receive me and so was the darkness all around... the journey to Chilati through the forest area in darkness was an experience that was truly exciting for me... no roads and no lights, Chandru, one must say is an expert driving carefully throughout... All the while I was wondering when nature is so beautiful here, why this region is haunted with so many infants’ death!


Sarpanch Shri Ramlal Bethekar

Even though I had travelled for almost 12 hours, I was excited and not tired at all... with the fact that last night I didn’t sleep at all... we both exchanged information about each other and the al-fresco dinner under the moonlight and infinite stars was totally out of this world! The sorry state of the region with so many problems, sans basic infrastructure and basic needs... I wondered is this part of my nation India? For this reason, I titled the post as – “The New Old World of India”! It was really heartening to know all the problems in this region but certainly there were many beautiful things too, to experience during my three days stay at Melghat Maitri Chilati.

The next day, Chandru and I headed for a remote village KUHI... He took me to meet the Sarpanch (the Village Head) and we were welcomed at Shri Sabulal Bethekar’s house. The family is the highest educated family among the Korku tribe of Kuhi village. As part of the survey, we gathered all the required information, interacted with the whole family over a cup of tea. I was made aware by Chandru that there are many villages like Kuhi where basic infrastructures of drinking water, electricity, health centres, schools, irrigation facilities and connectivity to cities are still missing since time immemorial. Deep down I was amazed at the callousness of the Indian Government Policies ever since we got our freedom from British in 1947.


The highly educated family of the village Kuhi

Even today, wells are dug with bare hands using basic tools by the poor villagers. What is heartening is that there are no medical facilities in the region... one has to depend only to the nearby city (Paratwada – 90 kms) and the mode of transport during emergency is bullock cart, motorcycle (if one happens to be in the village at dead of the night)... the mountainous roads (natural) are dangerous and with jungles all around... I shuddered at the thought of such emergencies... deaths of new born babies due to malnutrition is prevalent in this region and has been recorded as the highest in India... still the government has turned a blind eye. Dedicated individuals and few NGOs are doing a wonderful job in trying their level best to provide some relief and help to the villagers in various remote villages.


A part of Kuhi Village...

We met the Sarpanch Shri Ramlal Bethekar, with education up to the Sixth Grade and he gave us all the required information about the village needed for the survey. Around the 15 kms radius of Village Kuhi, there are near about 15 odd villages, each separated at a distance from 2 to 15 kms through the jungles. With no roads and no electricity life in this village is certainly hard but the Korku tribe has been living here since generations (for more than 300 years old)... I was asking self – Is this the INDIA SHINING or INCREDIBLE INDIA that our Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh is talking about as the REAL GROWTH of the NATION?

... to be continued...

Monday, June 13, 2011

MEET THE AMAZING FIFTH BEAUTIFUL ANGEL



Angels are visibly invisible!

Yesterday, I received a beautiful comment from one of the readers...

Anonymous said:
Johnny, your series of writings regarding angels is very interesting. All your angels are amazing. I am not good enough in recognizing angels but this much I can say that we all are born surrounded by heavenly beings to help us in every area of life. Believe it or not they are assigned to us at birth. And some do take human form to carry out their assignments. In your case your angels are truly angels in human form. Though they might forget their angelic origin, yet they always keep their angelic temperament. 

I’ve learned a lot from your writings. And off late I learned a lot about angels through your writings. One solid proof of your being an angel is clearly shown to me through your writings. You cannot deny it Johnny; you’re one of the angels yourself! Through this comments of mine I challenge your blog followers who don’t agree with my calling you an angel! YOU ARE INDEED AN ANGEL JOHNNY!!

How truly one has said that we all are assigned various angels at the time of our birth, who are there to help us in every area of life... I totally agree with the above statement of the reader that some of the angels take human forms to carry out their assignments. As one has seen how various beautiful angels have, from time-to-time arrive from God knows where to help me in this long journey... from first year to the second year... I have been truly blessed to be supported and helped by all the beautiful angels, whether the world considers them to be mere humans in angelic form or else whatever... I know one thing for sure that the journey of destiny is not complete without the help and support of beautiful angels for each one of us... while many may not agree with me... the ones who agree are always welcome to this beautiful world...

The Fifth Beautiful Angel arrived in my life’s destiny in a very unusual form. First, it was Akash Jha (student @ TISS Tuljapur) who connected with me in Facebook... a very intense reader and one who is passionate to do something on ground and I know for sure, this boy will do wonders in coming years... his zeal and passion are second to none that I have seen in others... Akash enjoys good poetry, good articles, autobiography and issues that are suppressing the poor is what he fights for... even before I knew, I received an invitation from his brother Mandan Jha, working as a Merchandiser Manager @ Classic Fashion Exports Pvt. Ltd., in Delhi. Both the brothers have been a great source of encouragement for my writings and they have been very good readers and an inspiration...

One day, I received an invitation from Palak Jha on Facebook, the loving sister of Akash & Mandan and even before I knew she started encouraging me for my writings. After a few days, she was inquisitive to know more about the movement and asked me several questions... I replied to her with all the answers about the movement and then she said, “Johnny how can I help your movement and be a part of it?” I was really touched for we have never met before and here was an angel who flew from distant land to lend me her kind support and help. I told her that by saying this, she was already a part of the movement... somehow, after few false promises by many people at the initial stage of my journey, now I can recognise the real angels who are serious about what they say. I knew Palak was someone who would always be there like the First Beautiful Angel Prerana Sharma... they meant what they said... I also told Palak that when time comes, I shall not hesitate to ask her to come forward. However, the situation never arose with Palak...


During my search for the TEN BEAUTIFUL ANGELS for the Second Year (June 2011 to May 2012), as I was updating my status about the angels in Facebook... Palak one day sent me a mail saying, “Johnny can I be your FIFTH ANGEL?” It was certainly the most amazing and touching moment of my life... unlike others, I had not written to Palak... she came forward on her own... something surely is very-very special about the FIFTH ANGEL! Palak is a beautiful mother to a cute son and an MBA as a professional. Even though she is not working at present because of taking care of her son, her support as the FIFTH ANGEL is surely praise worthy! Thank you so very much Palak for being the lovely example for the world to see as to what it takes to serve our nation and help the poor villagers selflessly. Your great support and kind help is much-much appreciated from the bottom of my heart... Palak! Sai Baba bless you and your loving family always!

Cuidate :)

... to be continued...