सत्य की खोज में (29th December 2010, 2025 Hrs)

सत्य की खोज में
निकला जब दुनिया में
तो चारो ओर बस
झूठ ही झूठ मिला

होश संभाला भी नहीं था
कि माँ ने कहा
मुन्ना राजा खा ले जल्दी
नहीं तो राक्षश आ जायेगा

पाठशाला में भी सबसे पहला सबक
सत्य का ही था
हकीकत मगर दुनिया का कुछ ओर था
असमंजस दिल बस भटकता ही रहा

कुछ बड़ा जब हुआ
तो पिताजी ने नसीहत दी
बेटा दुनिया जीतना है
तो थोडा झूठ बोलना सीखो

सत्य है कहाँ?
सत्य है कौन?
सत्य किसका है?
सत्य की खोज में बस घूमता ही रहा

सत्य असत्य जीवन के दो पहलू
एक के बिना दूसरा है अधूरा
मेरा अस्तित्व है अगर सत्य
तो मेरा जीवन है क्यों असत्य से घिरा हुआ?

-- स्वरचित --

उनके आंसू मोतियों से भी कीमती (28th December 2010, 0025 Hrs)

उनके आंसू मोतियों से भी कीमती

बस हम ही पढ़ सके उन आंसूंओं कि दास्तान...

दुनिया खड़ी  देखती रही उनको रोते

हमने एक कदम तो बढाया उनकी ओर...

पोंछ न पाउँगा मैं सारे आंसू मगर

ये गिला तो न होगा कि मैंने कोशिश भी नहीं की...

उनके आंसू मोतियों से भी कीमती

बस हम ही पढ़ सके उन आंसूंओं कि दास्तान...

कुछ ने साथ दिया और कुछ ने हसीं उड़ाई

हमने मगर दुनिया की परवाह किये बिना

ये जीवन समर्पित कर डाला उन लोगों के नाम

जो पेट भरते रहे सालों साल दुनिया के अपने खून से ...

उनके आंसू मोतियों से भी कीमती

बस हम ही पढ़ सके उन आंसूंओं की दास्तान...

चमकते हैं ये सारे मोती कुछ इस तरह से

मानो कहना चाहतें हैं दुनिया से अपनी दास्तान-ऐ-सिला 

मगर फुर्सत ही कहाँ है दुनिया के पास

जो बस कुछ पल के लिए सुन सके दर्द-ऐ-दिली दास्तान

उनके आंसू मोतियों से भी कीमती

बस हम ही पढ़ सके उन आंसूंओं कि दास्तान...

-- स्वरचित --

TWO WORLDS OF ONE CHRISTMAS (25th December 2010, 0000 Hrs)

Birth, joy, arrival

Celebration, happiness

Festival time across the world

Sweets and gifts aplenty

Enjoying, expectant children

Joy giving Santa Claus everywhere

Decoration, prayers

Making merry old and young

Dressed nicely, dancing the nights

Music surrounding everywhere

Tinkling bells, crowd galore

Chorus singing beautiful maidens

Sitting in a corner

Watching the illuminated world

Life is never a celebration, why?

There are so many

Children like me weeping quietly

Sans love in tattered clothes

Why no one really cares for us?

Where is Jesus?

Where are you my Santa Claus?

Living in one corner of the world

Wishing a little joy in my life

I’m also a little soul of your kingdom

Christmas or no Christmas

My life is never a celebration

Why Jesus? Why Santa Claus?

Johnny D

VIDARBHA 11 DISTRICTS RUN POSTPONED (21st December 2010, 2050 Hrs)

In the month of July, I had announced “Vidarbha 11 Districts Run” for 45 days covering 200 odd villages of Vidarbha Region all across the 11 districts to spread awareness and raise funds for the suicide farmers’ families (http://support4suicidefarmersfamilies.blogspot.com/2010/07/vidarbha-11-districts-run-in-november.html) . As per plan, I had decided the run in the month of November-December 2010 but since the trust registration was taking its own sweet time due to unavoidable reasons, I later declared that the run would start on the 1st of February 2011 and end on the 18th of March... I am sure those who have been following the blog have been anticipating the run as the months are closing in... In fact, many enthusiastic individuals from various countries had even informed me about their participation in the run.

Dear citizen of the world, I am extremely-extremely sorry to inform you that I have no option but to postpone the run because our trust registration has taken many-many months to materialise. In fact, in yesterday’s post I wrote how relieved I was to finally submit our trust forms and papers for registration. I was told at the office that it may take another three more months before we get our registration papers... so a long discussion followed between the three trustees and we all decided we had no option but to postpone the run... since without the trust registration this run would have served no purpose at all.

Also various ground realities have pushed most of our plans further in future... when I arrived in the month of April in Vidarbha, I barely knew the seasonal months and also the working patterns of the farmers and their families throughout the year... it surely has been a learning experience for me to gauge the various acts of villagers as different months make them busy with sowing, removing weeds followed by harvesting season... each of these activities take various months as per seasonal change... currently while harvesting of various crops are taking place, the sowing is also simultaneously taking place... so all the farmers and family members are busy in the fields...

I am a bit content and sad too, to inform one and all that the year 2010 has been good and bad for Vidarbha farmers in many ways:

GOOD:

(i) The number of farmers’ suicide reduced to less than 700 this year as compared to other previous years.

(ii) Rainfall this year had been 25 per cent in excess, as compared to the last three years of drought like situation.

(iii) Farmers got a good rate for cotton this year from private traders to an extent that the range per quintal across the 11 districts of Vidarbha was between Rs. 4000/- to Rs. 5111/-

BAD:

(i) 600 Plus Farmers’ succumbed to suicide due to various reasons this year.

(ii) The excess rain did damaged crops in many parts of Vidarbha and many farmers lost their earnings, savings and hard work and yes, some of them even their lives.

(iii) Government policies seem to do not much with only announcement being made in media.

It is only after our trust will get its registration number, we will be able to chalk out the 11 Districts Vidarbha Run... till then, I have many things to learn on ground to plan our programmes for the year 2011. In the past few months that I have lived as a Vidarbhan, I must confess I have been accepted by various villages as one of their own. The feeling of belonging to my own nation is perhaps the best any individual can ever experience... the spicy thecha (chilly chutney), bhakri (roti made of Jowar – Sorghum, Rice), kanda (raw onions) and dal... wow! The journey from Bollywood’s Five Stars’ Parties to simple food with pure love and warmth in villages has been amazing and an experience that truly cannot be described in mere words...

In my deepest of deepest heart, not even for once I felt that the transformation of my life and destiny had been a mistake... I am glad my destiny brought me to where I belong like a true Indian! A big-big ‘Thank you’ to one and all from all across the globe for encouraging and supporting the movement... you all have made me to become more stronger than I ever was!

Cuidate!

A RELIEVED MAN! (20th December 2010, 2020 Hrs)

What started on the street of Mumbai in March 2010 led me to Vidarbha in April and even before I knew, I bid farewell to the dream city once for all to settle down in Wardha for life. It started as a one-man-crusade but within few months time, I realised that to do good for your country and countrymen, one has to have license from the government of India. So forming a trust was mandatory for me and the movement, which I wanted to be unique in many sense... nevertheless, the difficulty was then to find like-minded people who would form the trust as trustees.

Difficulty to find such genuine people made me approach people I knew... but each one had their own apprehension and unwillingness to be part of the trust... some doubted my capabilities while few were suspicious and so the search went on for couple of months. I realised only after failing initially that Swapnil Barai (the man who helped me settled down in Wardha) was the best bet and so when I asked him, he said – “Why not!” The first hurdle was so easy to cross, I realised why I didn’t approached him earlier. Now I needed one more person so we could float a trust. After a long thought, I called my Ninth Angel Tejal Rajyagor in Mumbai and asked her if she would be interested to be part of the trust... Almost instantaneously she said – “Yes!”

Well, I was so-so happy when these two wonderful people joined me to form the trust because all of us want this movement to do something better for the farmers and farmers’ families in coming years with our devotion and selfless acts. We are all serious to tackle these problems and in many ways we share the same dream with the same zeal and passion. However, while the second hurdle too became easy to cross, the mental trauma that was ready for us to engulf in its arms was waiting like a hungry crocodile... please-please don’t feel it is so horrible as it sounds reading the metaphors...

Registering a trust has its own norms and procedure according to the government law. There are various forms and papers to be submitted along with the application and trust deed and these procedures can take its own sweet time because of various reasons. What started in August 2010 is finally over today in December... yes, all these months there were necessary papers of all the three trustee members that were asked one after another (each time I visited the office)... I am today a relieved man because finally we have managed to submit our trust application to the sanctioning authority in Wardha Office. All these while, the mental trauma that I was facing was in many ways bothering me months after month...

Now in January 2011, we will have to follow up with the officials, so that things move fast and our trust is registered at the earliest. I was told it may take another two months or so before we get the final papers with registration of the trust. One thing is for sure, while these official procedures will take its own course, all three of us are pleased that finally we have managed to submit out trust papers and soon our trust will become a registered one!

Thank you Baba for blessing us!

MAN PROPOSES, GOD DISPOSES (15th December 2010, 2010 Hrs)

When I arrived in Vidarbha in April 2010, I really didn’t have any idea of the ground realities that I would be facing in coming months and many-many years in future. Yes, I was just blogging on the farmers’ suicide in Vidarbha since the last couple of years reading about them in dailies, online and magazines. The only thing I was armed with was my devotion and passion to support the suicide farmers’ families all my life.

I had to learn from scratch by interacting with various individuals, experts and noted figures who have contributed since many years... keen observation and research were the essential part of the whole exercise. While I was interacting with villagers and affected families, I learned a great deal about the complexities of the problems... yet there were many-many things that I was and am to learn in coming months and years with each passing day.

Like anyone from the city, I too believed in planning things according to my perception and ideas... things on ground were just the opposite. It is here when I was reminded of the old saying – Man proposes, God disposes – Whatever said and done, things are never at our hands... the misconception that we humans always tend to interpret of achieving great success... in reality, we are mere puppets at the hands of God, who utilises us whenever we are required to give an action its results.

First of all, the high summer temperature in Vidarbha, then heavy rainfall, then the festive season while farmers continued to succumb to suicide at regular intervals and then the harvesting season followed by the winter season... each month was different from the other and I just had to witness one thing after another like a mute spectator... enthusiasm turned into depression and depression led to a new high with tremendous patience developing with each passing day... each individual that I interacted with, taught me new-new things and the acquired knowledge about the ground problems became more handy... and as destined... I was being played at the hands of God all through my life.

I really don’t know how this journey is going to shape up in the coming months and years but one thing I am glad that God chose me to be in Vidarbha for a reason and the reason is – support 4 suicide farmers’ families!!!

ROLE MODEL: THE NEVER DYING SPIRIT OF THE 75-YEAR-OLD FARMER FROM VIDARBHA (06th December 2010, 1320 Hrs)

His life has been full of struggle but he never gave up unlike other farmers, who succumbed to suicide... he was landless farmer once but today he proudly says –“With my hard work and savings, I finally managed to buy 2 acres. God has been very kind to me and has listened to my prayers. My daughter is married and my son works as a tractor driver and even at this age, I don’t ask a penny from my son... whatever I cultivate in these two acres, me and my buddhi (lovingly he calls his wife ‘buddhi’ - meaning an old woman) are living on that with great contentment!”

Meet the 75-year-old farmer Kisna Shravan Milmile from Naigaon (Bk), Yavatmal district in Vidarbha. He is a proud grandfather now and the pride on his face to show his 2 acre fields with cotton growing made me wonder... why does a 14 or 18 acre farmers succumb to suicide? After all Milmile kaka (as I call him in respect) also has struggled all his life in Vidarbha... for me, he is truly a role model that every Vidarbha farmers should take lessons from. The never dying spirit of this old man, (he still ploughs his own fields) has seen this landless farmer grow from a bonded labour for more than 30 to 40 years in his own village to become a proud owner of 2 acre of farm, build a pakka home, marry off his daughter in a nice manner and give a proper upbringing to his son and take good care of his beloved wife... I truly-truly saluted him from the bottom of my heart and even touched his feet to get his blessings to do something good for Vidarbha farmers and suicide farmers’ families.

75-Year-Old Farmers Kisna Shravan Milmile

He recalls, “I was never bright in studies, so never went to school to continue my schooling as it is we were very poor. During my younger days, I used to work here and there doing labour jobs to earn a little... and then I used to plough fields and work as a labourer in bigger farmers’ houses for years. For more than 15 years, I worked at the Sarpanch’s house and managed to save a little money. As a healthy young man, I used to do labour jobs to earn extra money... and I must have worked for more than 30 or 40 years for others ploughing their fields and doing all the odd jobs... deep down I always prayed and knew God will ultimately give me peace... and yes, he gave me finally in the shape of these two acres land. I have no complaints from the almighty, in fact, I am thankful because he gave me a life to live in a respectful manner. What more can I ask for?”

 

His life is like pages from a Hindi cinema, full of struggle, hardship and at last the vindication to live a life with respect and dignity. He takes out a pouch of tobacco and offers me sheepishly... I thank him and say, “Me nahin khaat hai kaka (I don’t chew tobacco kaka).” He smiles and then asks me if I would chew some supari (beetlenut)? I shook my head and he takes out some from his pocket. I took some to thank him for allowing me to spend some lovely time in his fields and know about his life’s struggle and success. He seemed very happy and so was I for meeting such an amazing role model in Vidarbha.

Farmer like Kisna Shravan Milmile never makes to the pages of dailies or any glossy pages of magazines but such success stories should be highlighted by one and all, so that other farmers can learn to follow in his footsteps. Hard work, the will to never give up, the devotion to be a proud farmer, the intelligence to save a little for decades to see his dream of owning his own farm and above all his honesty to lead the right way and not the short cut... well Kisna Shravan Milmile opened my eyes in many ways. He concludes, “My son will work for others but he is not ready to work in our own farm, this is the only sadness I have in my life... but then it is his life... I don’t interfere in the way he wants to live his life... My buddhi and me are in total bliss to lead a nice peaceful life now (smiles)!”

I bid him goodbye and became rich by his blessings. I do hope I will meet him again when I will visit Naigaon (Bk) once again!

THE PRIME MINISTER STILL DOESN’T WANT TO CURB CORRUPTION IN THE NATION: A COMMON MAN’S TAKE TO NATION’S SELF CREATED PROBLEMS (3rd December 2010, 2120 Hrs)

Is the Prime Minister Manmohan Singh still in his "Special Kumbakaran Mode of Sleeping" (SKMS)? You bet! He had sleep walked his first term while his group of ministers were making hay under his very own hat looting crores and crores of the nation’s wealth to give birth to some of the biggest shameless scams in the history of Indian Politics. And yes, he is still sleeping...

He woke up just before the election and did blabber (tonnes of lies) to the whole nation that Prices of all the essential food commodities will be brought down within 100 days if the UPA is elected once again (the prices went up and up); PDS system will implemented within 100 days (no sign of implementation of such an act) ; No Indian will die of hunger because of the drought situation which the country was facing (many millions are dying every year though); The nation has enough food stock so we Indians shouldn’t be worried about shortage of food (but obvious the nation has the audacity to allow 58,000 crores of food grains to rot in a year, every year); well... the list is endless...

While the media and the whole nation was worried about the Common Wealth Games preparation, our Prime Minister was in his famous SKMS... after all, all the crores that has been looted by Kalmadis, Gills, Dikshits and the gang were also filling his Swiss Bank Accounts, otherwise as the Prime Minister of the nation why should he keep quiet for so long (7 long years of preparation)... yes, my dear readers of the world, he woke up from his SKMS after the whole world had tarnished India’s pride... only when everything started collapsing for the CWG and there was just SEVEN days left, he said – “Enough is Enough!” Isn’t Manmohan Singh the GREATEST Prime Minister India has had in the last 63 years??? The CWG went well, thankfully but when the skeletons are now been dug out, the whole world will be surprised how 1 Lakh Crores were gulped by the Kalmadis, Gills and Dikshits’ gang to make the country proud with the help of the PM!

The PM once again woke up only when the Supreme Court ordered the Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar to distribute the food grains which are being allowed to rot (so that ministers’ relatives and kin can buy in cheap rates to turn the rotten grains into fine liquor for the rich & the famous) to the tune of 58,000 crores per year. Instead of asking his minister to explain the nation as to why such a huge wastage was possible, the Prime Minister admonished the Supreme Court saying – “SC have no right to dictate terms in policy making of the nation.” Wow! Tussi great ho praaji!!!

So that means the Agriculture Minister can allow some more food grains to rot year after year, courtesy the great Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. I am really appalled because 2 Lakh farmers have committed suicide because of various reasons in the nation in the past 12 years (1997 to 2009) and here the PM instead of saving the food grains, was furious when SC ordered to distribute the excess food grains to the poor hungry Indians... the hard labour of the farmers are allowed to rot while they are succumbing to suicide, selling wives to moneylenders to feed their children (in Bundelkhand in 2009)... how ironical can it be and how callous it is on the part of the nation’s Prime Minister. Dr. Manmohan Singh you really have many-many questions to be answered and explanation to give to the nation.

The 2 G Scam is like the icing on the cake that Dr. Manmohan Singh has baked ever since he has become the Prime Minister of India. How can an expert economist allow the nation to lose 1.76 lakh crores (or is it even more?) when he is heading the state as Numero Uno? SKMS syndrome... he slept while A Raja became the real Prime Minister of India to be supported by the media reputed editors, top corporate houses, the silent Sonia Gandhi & Rahul Gandhi, the acting PM (oh... he is still in SKMS), Pranab Mukherjee, P Chidambaram, Niira Radia and don’t know how many more are involved to loot the nation’s wealth... imagine if the nation would have made 1.76 lakh crores because of 2 G Licences, A Raja would have been the real RAJA of the nation and Dr. Manmohan Singh would have made the GDP of the nation grow in two-digits...

When the BJP declared one day national bandh for Price Rise, Pranab Mukherjee was quick to invite the opposition leaders for ‘Breakfast Tea’ (how many crores exchanged hands to divert nation’s attention from the real issue?) and since that morning, even the BJP has forgotten the ‘Price Rise Issue’ to provide succour to the common man and poor Indians and not bothered as to how majority of the Indians are fighting tooth and nail to survive another single day. However, the 2 G Scam has opened the eyes of every single political party to unite and demand a JPC, the body that was created to curb corruption during Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s tenure. The Congress and the Prime Minister is so-so afraid of the JPC that they are not bothered the nation once again lost near about 100 crores because the Parliament Houses couldn’t run during the Winter Session... so please add another 100 crores in the 1.76 lakh crores...

In fact, in the earlier paragraph I had mentioned how A Raja is actually the Prime Minister, who not only disobey Dr. Manmohan Singh but also immediately opened his mouth to confess (when he was caught first by the media off guard) to save his own skin – “Everything happened with the knowledge of the Prime Minister and P Chidambaram!” Surprisingly everyone has forgotten his confession on television news channels many months ago... and imagine after that the Prime Minister immediately came into his rescue to say – “Raja will continue as the Telecom Minister! He has no reasons to resign...” Now that the Supreme Court has summoned the PM (the first in the history of Indian politics since the Independence)... Dr. Singh should be conferred an award for creating a new record...

The heights of height is that now instead of curbing the corruption under his regime, Dr. Singh has again gone into the SKMS while the Ag is fighting his case in the SC... how a SIMPLE thing is being made COMPLICATED by not only ordering for a JPC so that the Parliament can function and the nation can save another 100 crores (millions of malnutrition children can be fed for years to save their lives) and all the CULPRITS can be brought into books to be sent for life in jail... but then knowing Dr. Manmohan Singh, he can only utter lies – “Guilty will be punished!” – in all the press conferences that he is attending nowadays, that is if he is not sleeping... He should have been an example for the nation and the whole world to see to be punished FIRST as HE IS THE FIRST PERSON WHO IS GUILTY AND UNDER WHOSE LEADERSHIP ALL THE SCAMS HAVE TAKEN PLACE... but does he really want to curb corruption??? I leave that for you all to demand a simple question to our Prime Minister...

Because we all have been silently accepting such things, today the Prime Minister has dared to loot the nation he is leading...

TWO YEARS SINCE 26/11 (26th November 2010, 2020 Hrs)

That fateful day I was supposed to meet a friend, who didn’t turned up even after an hour of our rendezvous... I left early from Yari Road and was at CST Mumbai at around 7.30 pm and finally took a train for Ambernath. Next day, I watched the horror on television being covered as if it was some international circus. The crazy senseless media was giving running commentary as if it was the world cup match going on... now how I wish I was there to kill the dreaded terrorist who was mercilessly killing innocent Indians with no remorse and no link... and since the last two years he has been ridiculing our law, officials and the whole nation to enjoy chicken biryani for killing our innocent countrymen... isn’t our nation really STUPID in capital letters... that bastard should be tied near the Gateway of India so each Indian can slap the bastard so hard for doing what he and his fellow terrorists did to our countrymen...that every terrorist will think twice before attacking our nation.

Nothing has really changed since the last two years... the red tape mechanism is intact and busy to gulp more crores. In fact, the situation in the country has even worsen to such an extent where in the Prime Minister is busy saving his corrupt ministers one after another and in turn now his seat is under fire... even after two years the so-called SPECIAL BLACK CATS COMMANDO or NSG for Mumbai are homeless without any training camp or location being given to them...(after all our former CM Chavan was more busy with Adarsh Scam till he was caught) the mystery of the faulty low quality bullet-proof vest is already forgotten by one (including the over-the-top media) and all in amchi Mumbai and the great nation called INDIA! The supplier surely has greased the palms of the former CM Ashok Chavan well to roam scot free without being named or interrogated by the CBI or government... all the chowkies that was built after the tragedy are lying empty with dogs and puppies living in there... metal detectors in CST are still not working and unmanned... police constables who are supposed to keep keen vigilance are more busy to make their money from the poor passengers to give them entry in general compartments... the advocates are still fighting to hang the bastard since the last two years while our corrupt politicians are busy licking Americans leaders to do something... WHAT IS THIS SHIT all about (I am extremely sorry for using such a language but one can understand how angry I am with all that is happening in my nation... and shame on all the Indians for allowing our corrupt government to sit and feed the man who killed hundreds of innocent...)

Yes, I am very-very angry with what is happening because does it take two long years to hang one killer? Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit flouts rule and law of nation to provide special bail to murderer Manu Sharma so he can once again go drink nicely to create ruckus in a bar to gain some more publicity... PM flouts rule and law of the nation to save one stupid corrupt minister Raja who has allowed the nation to lose 1.76 lakhs crore when he could have made this money for the nation... Yes, I am also angry that Mumbaikars are celebrating the 26/11 anniversary as if we have achieved gold medal in an Olympics and what everyone says – Athithi Devo Bhava!!! Totally bullshit!!! Shame on one and all for being so callous towards such a serious issue...

Ask the families of those hundred plus people who were killed for no fault of theirs... what they are going through and what those void means to each family... All we are worried is what the next Friday release is and where the next party is... just like our nation’s Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, we as the nation is still sleeping and not bothered who is looting us day and night... before 1947 it was the British and post 1947 it is our own Congress leaders... we really don’t need the Gandhis and Nehrus but we need more of Chandrashekhar Azads, Bhagat Singhs, Netaji Chandra Boses, Sukhdevs, Rajgurus... who really fought for the nation!!! Wake up and walk on the streets of Mumbai for one long month and don’t rest till the bastard is hanged at the earliest... otherwise keep celebrating the 26/11 every year burning candles and party for 364 days of the year!!!

REASONS WHY THE PRIME MINISTER OF INDIA MANMOHAN SINGH IS GUILTY (25th November 2010, 2120 Hrs)

If the 26/11 tragedy had not taken place, UPA would have lost the election... but it happened and UPA – II came in power with the wave of sympathy... heads were rolled... CM Vilasrao Deshmukh and the Home Minister of India Shivraj Patil had to step down... and even after two years, nothing has really changed, courtesy UPA – II mis-governance.

Well, when Manmohan Singh came into power once again, the first biggest lie he uttered to the whole nation was:

Prices of food grains will be brought down within 100 days... days have changed into years and prices have been increasing and increasing with every passing month.

Second lie he declared was that no Indian will die of hunger because of drought situation in the nation. The fact, more than 40 % of children die due to malnutrition every year and more than 600 plus farmers (in Vidarbha) have committed suicide in this very year.

Then came the Fake Austerity Drive, where in Tharoor and Foreign Minister were made to vacate their Five-Star dwellings, which cost the nation lakhs of rupee... the drive lasted just for few months as lavish conferences etc continued after the media forgot the whole thing.

While the nation was suffering from drought situation, the audacity of nation’s government to allow the food grains worth 58,000 crores to rot in FCI open air godowns so that relatives of various politicians can buy those rotten grains to convert them into liquor for the rich & famous, while millions of poor Indians were and are eating tamarind leaves, rotis made of grass. When the Supreme Court ordered the Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar to distribute the excess food grains to the poor instead of allowing it to rot, the Prime Minister admonished and warned the SC that they should not interfere with the policy making. Instead of sacking the Agriculture Minister for committing such a big wastage for the nation where millions die every year because of hunger, the Prime Minister supported the corrupt minister by shielding him. Is this what the nation expects from its PM?

While the nation was wasting 58,000 crores of food grains every year, poor farmers in villages of Bundelkhand were forced to sell their wives to feed their children. What happens? A 48-Hour Probe is ordered by NCW Chairperson but the Congress 48 Hours seems to be unending since the last September (2009)... way to go Mr. Prime Minister!!!

When the 2G Scam came into light, almost immediately Raja washed his hands by giving the first statement to the media – Everything happened in the knowledge of the Prime Minister and P Chidambaram and their consent. Yet, the PM once again supported his corrupt minister by protecting him to such an extent that today he and his party is afraid of JPC. Does it takes 16 long months for the Prime Minister of the nation to take action against his corrupt minister? And to further misled the nation has the audacity to say that “Guilty will be punished!” He is the one who should be punished first because under his able leadership everything has happened and is happening... still he trying to fool the whole nation by trying to escape the SC’s ruling and still supporting Raja... the nation lost 1.76 lakh crores... the nation wants answer Mr. Prime Minister... so please don’t complicate the issue to mislead the nation.

While the nation’s image was being tarnished worldwide by Kalmadis, Gills, Dikshits... the Prime Minister preferred to sleep or else he was busy counting his crores from the 1 lakh crores corruption to reconstruct the already existing stadium for CWG... The PM woke up just one week before the commencement of the games... Bravo Manmohanji... aapka jawab nahin!

Adarsh Scam may not involve him directly but then in the name of martyrs of Kargil... rules were bent by CM Ashok Chavan and the gang to cheat the heroes of Kargil... imagine a 31 storied building comes up in the CRZ and sensitive zone and everyone slept till the whistle was blown... Yes, nothing will happen to all those people who have helped such a big scam to take place...

While the PM took the pride to give away the first UID to few villagers of Tembhali village, where in the majority of tribal villagers survive eating tamarind leaves as daily food. Imagine what will they do with the UID? Why the PM didn’t give the UID to his corrupt ministers first so that the nation would know who all is gulping crores and crores to deposit in Swiss Banks?

Well... there are many more reasons why India’s Prime Minister is GUILTY in capital letters for all the corruption and scams and now he is afraid of JPC... if he is not guilty why should he be afraid of JPC?

Bravo Mr. Prime Minister for tarnishing the image of the nation to such an extent... at least you created a new record as India’s first Prime Minister to be summoned by the Supreme Court of India!!! Keep it up... we now know how adarsh you are...

THE FRENCH GIRLS SALOD AND KHURJHADI – FORT’S VISIT (14th November 2010, 1925 Hrs)

I am extremely sorry readers for not been too regular in updating my blog since the start of the Navratri. Honestly, I must confess I am yet to recover fully from my depression and some of my personal problems have bogged me down a little. No, please don’t get me wrong but when you are in the real war zone, at times it can be really hard to fathom the harsh realities and wherever you look at, there are pains, sorrows and problems that one cannot just solve it in a day’s time. One thing is for sure but, my passion and zeal is as strong as before and I know it is a long-long way ahead before something concrete will be achieved in years to come.

The French girls – Perrine and Mathilde wanted to meet the widows I was working with, so on 19^th October, we went to visit them. The first stop was Aruna Jivan Barade’s house. The harvesting season in Vidarbha starts from early October and hence she was not at home. Aruna has been working hard as a labourer in her own fields that she had leased to another farmer. How ironical it is that the land lady (of 2 acres) is working as a labourer in her own land from morning till evening to come home at 6 pm and earn her living... Sheetal, the eldest daughter welcomed us at home, made nice tea. The village children from nearby Sheetal’s house all came to see what these foreigners were up to. While Perrine and Mathilde expressed their desire to have a look at the house, Sheetal was kind enough to show them their small neat abode...

Perrine with Sheetal Ramji Barde

Perrine expressed her keen observation later to me by saying, “You can’t see miseries on people’s faces as such, however, there may be under current of pains connecting their lives. There is shortage of drinking water, hygiene and sanitation are missing in the village surroundings...no proper drainage system even though there is no space problem and we found villages were surprisingly cleaner than Bombay city. It was nice to see villagers were happy to see us but they were shy to interact... talked less but their curiosity and happiness were very real as compared to city folks. It was a moving moment for us to see how well we were served with water, tea and supari and saunf...in spite of their pains, poverty and sorrows. Their hospitality was warm and full of love, something we have not experienced in city homes.”

Having spent a little time to look around the village ambience, we went to the next house in Salod. Vaishali Sagare, the youngest daughter welcomed us warmly and insisted we must have tea at least. She informed us that mother and elder sister were working at the fields and would be home later in the evening. The first year is surely my learning period to know what all the villagers do during which month... and how their life cycle revolves all year long. After spending some time at Sagare’s house, we drove to Khurjhadi (Fort) and when we knocked at Ujwala Prabhakar Petkar’s house, we found she was lying in bed with fever. In spite of her sick condition, she woke up and welcomed us. I spoke to her and asked if she had gone to the doctor and had taken medicine... she said yes! She was resting as she had been sick since last couple of days from hard work in the fields. She was happy to meet Perrine and Mathilde and felt sorry for not been able to welcome them because of her health condition.

Perrine and Mathilde was touched to see her condition. From there we returned home with a heavy heart. Perrine appreciated my small gesture of giving the villagers copies of their photographs that I had clicked during my last visit. In fact, she told me, “It is much better than giving the villagers sweets because these photographs will always remind them of you. The happiness that these photographs brought on their faces was so real and touching to see them enjoying the beauty of their own pictures. You have indeed touched the right chord and build a good bonding with these families. Keep up the good work Johnny.”

In fact, even I noticed how happy the children were to see their own pictures and to get copies of the photographs. Perrine and Mathilde were amazed how these widows were fighting life to work so hard to see their fatherless children grow into beautiful citizen. In the evening when we came home, I received a call from my friend Anupama, who invited us to visit their 37 acres Organic Farm at Naigaon – Bk! Tomorrow is another amazing experience... keep reading!

Wish to thank one and all for all your kind support and encouragement. It is what makes me strong to keep pursuing the goals of the world!!! Cuidate!!!

WHITE GOLD BOUGHT AT A RANGE OF Rs. 4000/- to Rs. 5111/- PER QUINTAL IN VARIOUS DISTRICTS OF VIDARBHA (12th November 2010, 1115 Hrs)

The excess rain in Vidarbha region this year surely has taken its toll in cotton production in many districts. Farmers have succumbed to suicide because of crop failure to save their soul from humiliation by the moneylenders and banks’ recovery agents for the debts... all this while the government agency declared the MSP of cotton as Rs. 3000/- for every quintal. The excessive rain meant excessive growing of weeds in the cotton fields, which means every single farmer has had to spend extra on labours to remove the excessive weeds... so but obvious the investment of cotton growing farmers escalated as compared to earlier times.

The harvesting season surely made majority of the farmers sceptical about their hard labour’s return. The global cotton market has seen a great loss of cotton because of various natural calamities in the region of China, Bangladesh and Pakistan, so but obvious the demand in the international market for the white gold has increased considerably this year. But the government is sitting pretty to announce the minimum support price to procure cotton at Rs. 3000/-, which is far low than what the private traders have been offering and buying the produce from the farmers in various districts of Vidarbha.

Farmers are satisfied and happy to sell their produce to private traders at rates that has ranged from Rs. 4000/- to Rs. 5111/- per quintal in the 11 districts of Vidarbha. Not surprisingly, all the government procurement centres have seen not even a single farmer selling their produce and so far have had a deserted look during the peak time of the year. The difference in goverment’s MSP and private traders’ offering shows how the market is controlled by the middlemen rather than either the farmer or the government. The devastation of crops in other cotton growing countries surely has made the traders to take the opportunity to make more money from the international market and they have not hesitated to give the farmers a better price this year. Also since the total production has reduced from 400 lakh quintals in 2008-2009 period to an estimated 375 lakh quintals this year, the demand for white gold would be higher and that the private traders are intelligent enough to read while the government prefers to sleep with their Rs. 3000/- offering.

While the traders are good market players and opportunist, the government should think of the benefits of the farmer’s community and offer a better MSP so that the farmers don’t get played by the traders’ lobby. Had there been a bumper crop this elsewhere, most of the Indian farmers would have lost on their hard labour. Thankfully, this year most of the cotton growers in Vidarbha are happy with the above Rs.4000/- per quintal procurement rates and their hard labour has paid dividends, thanks to the private traders.

The government has failed yet again in its policy! Hope it learns a good lesson for the next season...

PEACEFUL DIWALI AT NAIGAON (BK), A VILLAGE IN VIDARBHA (9th November 2010, 1255 Hrs)

I had lost interest in festival celebrations long time ago. Ever since I came to Vidarbha, the joy that a festival brings surely has made me think about how contrasting life can be, when farmers’ suicide grabs the headlines of newspapers while the world is celebrating with no worries at all. Splurging money, wearing new clothes, eating sweets and greeting each other of all the happiness seems to me so hollow... not that I am against any festival celebrations... but life can be so cruel when the loved ones are snatched away by God, silent tears grip the whole families and in their heartening ears the sound of celebration all around... well, pain is more powerful and reality of our lives while happiness lives for a very short while that is so-so illusionary.

Whether the world agrees to my perspective or not, really doesn’t matter at all as each individual is free to live one’s life the way one wants. But each time the year long festival in India is celebrated I really wonder, are we really happily celebrating these festivals? Can we really escape all the pains with this momentary happiness? During Navratri celebration as you all know I went into a hopeless state of depression because of farmers’ suicide all over Vidarbha... so when Diwali arrived I had decided to stay away from the celebration mood and also avoid the sound of crackers and pollution.

I headed to a remote village Naigaon (Bk) in Yavatmal, where my friend Anupama invited me to spend few days with her family in a peaceful ambience. When I headed from Wardha on the Diwali day, sound of crackers had already disturbed the serenity of the small town city. When I reached the village, the ambience was so-so contrasting as peace prevailed all over with really no sign of Diwali being celebrated. Yes, as a daily ritual every villager had made beautiful colourful rangoli in front of their homes. Naigaon (Bk) is one of the well-to-do villages of Vidarbha because alternative jobs opportunities are in plenty because of WCL and other industries in the vicinity.

A village woman making rangoli

What really appealed me about the village’s atmosphere was the sensibility of the villagers and especially the youth. Unlike city youth, the youth spend time in the evening with group discussions and have refrained not to burst crackers to pollute the atmosphere and disturb others with loud explosive noise. When I interacted with them during my stay in the village, they told me that since the last ten years, they prefer to spend good time eating sweets, do puja at home and spend the evening discussing and interacting with each other rather than waste their money on silly crackers. The 350 odd families of this village with an approximate population of 1500 to 1800 in majority are well-to-do and the unity in the village to make their village the cleanest in Yavatmal District was possible only because the women and youth joined hands to show to the world that villages in India are much cleaner than Mumbai city. The village also boast to be the first village in the state of Maharastra to have underground sewerage system because of one’s man’s vision and support of the whole villagers. Naigaon (Bk) village is also sans any illicit liquor shops because of women’s power, which made sure a healthy future for the young and old villagers without indulging in liquor addiction.


Very few houses used decorative lights in the villages, sound of crackers were heard in one’s and two’s, but yes, rangoli and earthen diyas made every small house look so-so beautiful in the serene ambience. Goddess Laxmi was worshipped in every house and it was more a family affair. Youth mostly who are studying in various cities pursuing higher education came home to spend a sweet and peaceful Diwali at home with family members was one of the major highlights of Naigaon (Bk). I was very impressed as I spend a peaceful Diwali at my friend’s home and interacting with various village farmers, youth and kids... my first Diwali in Vidarbha was just perfect, sound-free and so-so peaceful...

Yes if we want, we can and we will – that is what the small village in Vidarbha taught me! However, such beautiful realities will never be covered in the media... sad, isn’t it???

IF WE WANT, WE CAN BUT WE WON’T (4th November 2010, 0930 Hrs)

That is exactly what we all have seen in the cases of the recent Adarsh Society scam, the CWG scam, the 3 crores spent on Madam Gandhi’s visit to Sewagram to plant a dying sapling on 15^th Oct, the 2G Spectrum Scam, the 58,000 crores annual rotting of food grains scam, the failure of PDS, the BIG lie of the Prime Minister that no one will die of hunger since the nation had enough food grains’ stock (while the nation is losing its infants and children at the highest rate in the world due to malnutrition), bullet-proof jacket scam in 26/11 and God knows how many more there are... the list seems to be endless...

If we want, we can but we won’t! The problem starts from here...

When the corrupt politicians want, they can bend the rules and law of the nation to give shape to their dreams and wishes fulfilled at the fastest possible time... yes they can and they do achieve the lowest levels of selling the nation in bits and pieces to be in power at the expense of the poor!!! But when it comes to solving the problems of the poor, the majority of the population... they simply won’t! Things are made to look complicated and even though there are simple solutions, they will make it so complicated by using all the rules and laws of the nation... that things becomes bigger than they really are in reality!

All problems in the world can be solved by simple solutions but then we humans have loved and mastered the art to complicate things to feel vindicated by the BIG problem status to make it look grand! The Adarsh Society Scam where in almost all the bigwigs are involved are now passing the buck on their adversaries to save their skin... and yes they want it badly and they can, they will in front of the eyes of 1.25 billion and world’s population with gusto and shameless attitude. But will the Adarsh Society be handed over to the rightful owners of the Kargil War Heroes’ families? The simplest of the simple solutions that can make all these bigwigs look great by sacrificing just a few lakhs of their crores they have looted from the poor... but obviously, they won’t!

It is not only the Chavans, Deshmukhs, Ranes and Generals of the Indian Army and Navy... but all the departments, which start from the very bottom – the BMC, LAW Department, Ministries concerned to Army, Navy and all the Government offices to the corrupt shameless political leaders of the nation... each and every one is to be blamed, who have passed the file to play the part to perfection in the scam because each one of them has made money to allow such a BIG thing to happen right in front of our eyes... this also involves the Congress under the leadership of Sonia Gandhi and Manmohan Singh trying to show its clean image... but the fact is because they are corrupt, they help to assist to allow scams after scam to happen! Now tell me, I am not an analyst or a reputed columnist who is showing how simple things are... but then... who will listen to me?

Surprisingly, these simple solutions will never be applied by using simple common sense... instead an ENQUIRY will be set up, CBI and what not will be asked to investigate life long, so even these officials will make some more crores from all the departments to save their respective asses... in legalities all the things will be made to look so complicated that the problem which is actually simple to solve will look BIG! And then after few months, a new scam will grab the hungry media’s headlines (who are fed every single juicy bits by the respective agencies) and the so-called intelligent 1.2 billion Indians will do the oohs, the aahs and forget about the Adarsh Society Scam and the poor martyrs’ families will still be running from pillars to post to get their rightful due and nothing will happen to all the political leaders and bigwigs!

Yes, it is WE as the nation who have allowed such things to happen and encourage such things to keep happening in future to come also... reality is simple and it is the illusionary world that is so complicated where all such things are happening... why all the irrigation water for the farmers are being diverted to the industries in the name of growth and development? Why the poor are being squeezed by the rich to the last drop of the blood? Why are the villages still in darkness while the nation claims to the world of its fastest growing economy status? Why are food grains allowed to rot when poor villagers of the nation are fighting hunger by feeding the nation? Why the corrupt leaders are allowed to come into power once again even after being caught red-handed? Why the nation is being split into bits and pieces and sold to MNCs knowing well they are feeding poison to the nation?

If we want, we can but we won’t! 

मृत्यु का तांडव

मृत्यु का तांडव तो चारो ओर हो रहा है
फिर मेरा ही दिल क्यों रोता है?
जब कभी अकबार के पन्नो पर 

किसान की आत्महत्या की खबर छपती है
क्यों ये भावुक दिल अह्सहाय महसूस करता है?
नींद आँखों से दूर हो जाती है क्यों?
भूख लुप्त हो जाता है, न जाने कहाँ?
असमंजस ये दिल बस अश्रु बहाए जाते हैं...
एक शून्य सा छा जाता है मेरी ही दुनिया में...क्यों?

दुनिया मगर बेखबर चलती रहती है
मशगुल लोग भाव विभोर हो कर 

लुफ्त लेते हैं ज़िन्दगी का
जायका खुशबू भरे पकवानों का भाता है हर किसी को 

हर दाना मगर किसानो के खून से बस कराह के रह जाती है
बेखबर दुनिया को मगर फुर्सत ही कहाँ
इन् कराह की आवाज़ को वे सुने
उन्हें तो बस चिंता है कि
शुक्रवार को कौन सा नया फिल्म लगनेवाला है
दया आती है दुनिया को देख कर मुझे 

एक मुस्कान असमंजस ही होटों पर छलक आती है 
क्या करूँ कोई बताएगा मुझे?

१२ अक्टूबर २०१० 

NOT MY SMILES ANY MORE

NOT MY SMILES...

The smiles that you see on my face is not mine,

for I have forgotten how to smile any more.

These are the smiles of the orphaned children,

who look at me with bewilderment

as if I am an alien, who has landed in their villages.

In amazement these children don’t even remember

how their fathers’ faces looked like once!!!

Now that it lie hanging atop walls in framed glasses,

with dried garlands hanging around the pictures

and a long streak of red tilak on their foreheads.

The smiles that you see on my face is not mine,

for I have forgotten what joy of life is all about!!!

These are the smiles of the widows,

who have lost their husbands to suicides

while listening to my broken Marathi to understand what I say to them.

Every single day they are fighting a war

to bring up their fatherless children with gusto.

Sometimes feeding them two meals-a-day

and at times just one to somehow survive,

to still thank the almighty for keeping them alive.

Johnny D

17^th October 2010