On her birthday on 12th November, my wife Veena, who is currently in Singapore, will not be celebrating the occasion with me. However, a special person deserves special wishes and I wish Veena a very happy birthday through this poem, which has come straight from my heart 💔. It reads:

तुम पास रहती हो तो

दिलोदिमाग़ पर छा जाती हो।

तुम दूर जाती हो तो

मेरा दिल और दिमाग़ साथ ले जाती हो।

समझ में नहीं आता तुम्हारा क्या करूँ?

तुम्हें याद करूँ य तुम्हारी याद में मरूँ!

तुम हंसती हो, हंसाती हो,

सारे जहान में ख़ुशियाँ बिखराती हो!

घर में तुम्हीं से रौनक़ है

तुम नहीं तो सब बेरौनक़ है।

जीवन के कितने ही सावन बीत गए,

पर मुझे याद है वो पल अतीत के

जैसी सुंदर तब थीं

उससे कुछ ज़्यादा अब भी !

हमेशा ख़ुशियों में सराबोर रहो

मुम्बई चाहे सिंगापुर रहो!

Happy birthday Veena. Stay happy, healthy, gorgeous, beautiful, petite, innocent and much more!

Supreme Court gave much awaited verdict on Ayodhya case. There was palpable tension all around. Government left nothing to chance. Police bandobast left no room for error, peace committees of multiple religious groups were formed, people were advised neither to celebrate victory nor to lament the loss and everyone, including our PM spoke the right language, leveraged around tolerance, brotherhood, unity and magnanimity.

Then came the D day. While the verdict was delivered on the expected lines, the communities showed marvellous restrain and maturity. Hindus embraced Muslims, calling it a legal decision based on the facts presented by the two sides. Muslims on their part decided to take the verdict in their stride, without any bitterness or malice. Sunni Wakf Board has already decided not to challenge the court’s decision.

Not that there have been no voices of dissent! Owaisi called it a victory of faith over facts, though 5 member bench headed by CJ himself made it amply clear that decision was based on the facts and evidences provided by two sides. He also said that Muslims didn’t require Government’s charity of 5 acres land parcel, as ordered by the hon’ble Supreme Court, for constructing a mosque. But by and far the dissent has been muted and isolated.

The moot point is who is you in the title of this blog? You is no individual or agency! It’s all of us – the Honourable Supreme Court, Ranjan Gogoi, the incumbent Chief Justice of India, whose untiring efforts to complete hearing and pronouncing judgment before his retirement, would be viewed with gratitude by nation, four other judges on the bench for unanimous verdict, lawyers who fought tooth and nail but without acrimony, Hindu and Muslim religious leaders, PM Modi, opposition, law keeping agencies but above all, the people of this country, including you and me, who once again chose to stand united against any adversity !! India emerges stronger and communal bonhomie much deeper and a hope takes birth that all our issues can be resolved within the ambit of constitution through dialogue and amiability.

This is a period of an unexpected bliss- not only one but two cats in my life are away at the same time and this mouse is getting so overwhelmed, not knowing how to celebrate! Agreed, wife is a great companion ( lifelong) and friend! In my case, my boss is also a friend of more than 30 years! I share great rapport with my domestic as well as office bosses. Having said so, a boss is a boss, a big fat cat, friendly but it’s basic nature is feral.

Life doesn’t become any easier in the absence of bosses. Home boss’s absence makes food, house cleaning and laundry big headaches; office boss’s absence lays down additional responsibilities and removal of the protective layer, shielding you from even bigger bosses!

But all said and done, the very feeling of the brief boss-less existence is exhilarating. For once you are your own boss, able to play unrestrictedly as the big fat cat is away! Only one thought is the spoilsport- would the big cat come back hungrier, fatter and more feral ? And this fortnight of freedom already seems exhausted anticipating the return of dragon(s) – or did I call them cat?

Poetry is not necessarily an outcome of romanticism, though love ballads are supposedly the best poems. Poetry is also a powerful medium to pay obeisance to an awesome personality and therefore, instead of verbose prose, I have tried to compose a few rhyming lines for Shyamashree, a person I admire a lot. It’s called An ode to Shyamashree:

An ode to Shyamashree

God has created men and women,

But is really female a lesser gender?

Not if you know Shyamashree,

She’s so headstrong & yet so tender!

She’s what all a person can be,

A scholar, professional and a teacher;

Besides being a loving wife & an affectionate daughter,

And above all a doting mother!

Her heart is generous,

As she doles out empathy, love and knowledge;

To each and everyone without exception,

Whether you are in office, school or college!

Lucky are those who know her closely,

But not only husband, children, father& mother;

But even those who know her from distance,

An outsider like me and million others!!!

Happy birthday Shyama, stay blessed; achieve all your aspirations and help make this world a happy place!

There are problems galore around though it’s also the truth that 99% of them may not be touching us personally. It’s one thing to worry about these issues as an alert, law abiding and concerned citizens and another to become obsessed with these issues, paint everything gloomy and await doomsday!

Sitting here in Mumbai, it’s alright to sympathise with our brethren in Delhi for it having been declared most polluted, unliveable city in the world or be anguished at police lawyers clashes, but these have absolutely no impact on Mumbai. Similarly, Delhiites should not worry about political stalemate in Mumbai beyond a point as we have seen such political games on so many occasions in the past. Kashmir is tense but all that’s required to be done there is being done and when such large decisions are taken, one shouldn’t expect everything to be hunky dory immediately. Pakistan may be flexing its nuclear muscles, but we know India is capable of giving that nation a befitting reply. Auto sales are down, people are getting impacted by developments in certain cooperative banks, unemployment is rising, GDP growth projections look gloomy, even the best corporate like Infosys are grappling with whistleblower menace, untimely rains are playing havoc with agricultural production in certain parts of the country and the list is endless. But in a country of our size and complexity, such a scenario cannot be altogether ruled out and 1% of the population at any point of time may be affected by this or that! Instead of worrying, spreading panic and doomsaying, we should rather join hands in helping the affected people overcome the tragedy!

However, our nation will be put to litmus test when SC delivers its verdict on Ramjanmabhoomi- Babri Masjid suit. Whether Hindus and Muslims will show maturity by moving on after accepting the verdict or get panicky is something to be seen though being a hopelessly optimistic person, I think we shouldn’t be unduly worried as people of this nation seem to have risen above all this!

Let’s train our minds through meditation and yoga, keep the negativity at bay, hope for the best and enjoy this beautiful life the almighty has gifted us with to enjoy the best of this world.

What’s happening to Delhi? It shreds your heart when you read that your birthplace is the most polluted city in the world, 16 times more polluted than the next worst, Lahore. And come November, this disaster of Smog engulfing the city starts each year and continues to hold the city in its vice like grip till February.

Delhi of yore was not like that. In fact, it had beautiful autumn and once winters used to set in, we would experience fresh mist and fog that was very different from smog. Farmers used to burn their waste crops even then! And mind you, Delhi was one of the earliest adopter of CNG and had made it mandatory for public buses to run on CNG. It also boasts of one of the most elaborate network of metro that has eased the strain on road transport. Notwithstanding population explosion, it continues to be more green than many other metropolitan cities. While we cannot fight with the nature, I am sure if IIT or some other accredited agency does a root cause analysis, something can be done.

I read somewhere that China had recently addressed this issue of smog and pollution through technology ( drones spraying water etc). This shows that if there is will there’s way. Delhi definitely deserves much better than being christened the most polluted city in the world. If we cannot be Best, we should avoid being worst at least. Wake up Government, scientists, accredited agencies and intelligentsia of this country and do something about this issue that is bringing shame to us.

It’s been more than 10 days that results for Maharashtra assembly elections have been declared but BJP-Shiv Sena combine that fought elections together are unable to arrive at a consensus. It’s true that BJP performed below expectations, but so did SS and the fact is that whosoever has voted for the combine has not voted for any particular candidate or party, but this mandate has been primarily for Devendra Fadnavis, who provided a very efficient and clean administration during the past 5 years. However, this strife between two long time associates is giving the old horse Sharad Pawar to sense an opportunity to reclaim his supremacy in Maharashtra politics. Of course, the old war horse is too important and shrewd to be out of reckoning at any point of time. In fact, in spite of his years of relative hibernation, he has never really been out of news at national level at any point of time and we keep on hearing his name coming up now and then for various positions and roles.

While I am no political commentator and have no idea of the internal dynamics between the two old time allies that’s leading to the current strife, no one should forget that if the grand old party can face irrelevance after helming the nation for decades, BJP and SS are also not insulated from this. India is now quite a matured democracy and knows how to vote. At times, my feeling is that innocent public is quite intelligent and intelligent politicians seem sadly out of touch with reality unable to read public mood and preference. The current stalemate is not helping anyone. Various combinations being tried sans Fadnavis are not in compliance with the public wish.

Excessive rains have caused damage to 40% of crops in Maharashtra, after PMC Bank there’s the news of Citizen Cooperative Bank also facing problems, after the failure of Goodwin Jewellers, another Ghatkopar jeweller is absconding, Mumbai airport is about to undergo repairs for next 4 months sending flight schedules haywire and I am not talking about the national issues here including the state of economy and Kashmir. But the question is who’s worried about all this? Everyone seems to be power hungry with no appetite for grave issues!

Or new beginning is what the title of this blog means. It’s actually not a blog, but a poem. It’s unique because it’s after long that I have written something in Hindi ( or Hindustani as I prefer to call it, being interspersed with Urdu words), but like all my blogs, the language is immaterial as this too represents deeply entrenched feeling in my heart.

We have had elections and decisive mandate, Government took decisive action on certain matters of National importance, we seem to be reaching the end of Ramjanmabhoomi- Babri Masjid issue, Economy is in the throes of worldwide recession, but expected to pick up, rains have been widespread and bountiful and I can go on and on. Yet there’s that feeling of uncertainty of an impending crisis waiting ; a discomfort of all being not well ; a lurking fear of an impending disaster or calamity ! Fortunately, we are a strong self dependent nation and this is just an apprehension. It’s eminently beatable as the solution doesn’t lie elsewhere, but in our own attitude towards life and our fellow citizens. The need is to build bridge of mutual trust and faith.

The poem reads:

नई शुरूआत

सब कुछ ठीक ठाक है,

पर लगता है कुछ ठीक नहीं;

सब कुछ वैसे ही चल रहा है,

पर दिलों में इक टीस है कही ।

सब बिक रहा है,

लोग सब ख़रीद रहे हैं;

बारिशें भी खूब हुईं,

दुख लगते हैं कट से रहे हैं!

पहले सी ही दीवाली, होली और ईद लगती है,

हमेशा की तरह ख़ुशी भी वैसी ही जगती है;

फिर भी कुछ तो कमी सी लगती है,

सभी वैसी हैं, पर वैसी नहीं लगती है!

ज़रूरत है दिलों को साफ़ करने की,

पुरानी बातें भूलकर माफ़ करने की;

दिलों में फिर से मुहब्बत भरकर,

एक नई शुरूआत करने की!!!

This is a piece from my heart, being a well wisher of our great country, its heritage and its ethos.

In these days of extreme activism, especially on social media, any company worth its salt can dare ignore customer feedback or delay responding to an aggrieved customer. The chances of his or her painting the social media red and inviting further comments of people with similar experiences thereby leading to an avalanche of negative comments are extremely high which, in turn, can seriously taint the company’s image.

I myself being an active user of social media am quick to share my unpleasant experiences ( and I am quite balanced at that – my appreciation of good experiences outnumber my denouncement of bad experiences). While in some cases, the response is quick and comprehensive ( in fact on a few occasions my appreciation was endorsed by several others – Air India, Hindustan Times, Vistara), there are others who just choose to sit tight on the issue, testing the patience of the complainant ( or issue raiser) and waiting for the issue to die its natural death. In this category, Food Hall, an international chain specialising in exotic and organic food items that has made its Indian debut not to long ago, deserves a special mention. They promptly reacted to my tweet, advising me send e mail at the ID, acknowledged my e mail, assured a quick revert and then chose to let the issue die is natural demise.

Quite strange on the part of an International chain, I must admit, because most of the MNCs, apart from the product and technology are also known for bringing their best customer practices at the geographies that they opt to cover!

I think this feeling may not be unique to Diwali but creeps in after each happy event. Whether it’s the end of vacation or family time or any happy occasion, there’s this feeling of despondency tinged with sadness that seems to sink in post Diwali. Roads are relatively empty, shops seem to be relaxing after days of brisk business during the run up to Diwali and fatigue sets in after days of hectic activity in the pre Diwali period. Thanks God , this year the offices are closed on the next day as going to office can be one of the most agonising thing post the Diwali hangover.

Earlier, in our childhood, celebrations would continue beyond Diwali with bursting of leftover crackers and consumption of Diwali delicacies. Schools would remain closed till Bhai Duj and festivities did get stretched to several days beyond Diwali. However, now once Diwali is gone, it’s back to waiting for Diwali next year!

As I put it in simple verse:

After days of gloom and period of despair,

The wait was there for an event to undo and undertake repair;

Comes Diwali with a bang and all woes seem to be things of the past,

Oh God! After this momentary joy, heart dreads going into the old cast!!!

Let economy be revived, peace return to Kashmir and a feeling of well being prevail all over the World, which will be a true celebration of this festival of peace, love and brotherhood.