भारत की ट्रेजेडी देखो।
दो भारतीय।
एक सिने – कलाकार
एक खेतों में हल चलाने वाला किसान।
दोनो ने खुदकुशी कर ली।
पर एक जिया।
और दूसरा मरा!
- प्रांजल वाघ
१२ जून २०१३
This work by Pranjal A. Wagh is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License
A Review of the debut novel by Aneesh Gokhale
Reviewers are not supposed to have emotions. They are supposed to be neutral in their evaluation of any book. Sometimes they are required to be brutal, to be unforgiving in their judgement of the book that they review.
I am generally neutral while reviewing any book. But it was difficult in this case!
The subject of the book was the rise of the Maratha power in the 18th Century and its reaching its peak – flying the Saffron high from the walls of the Attock fort! This was a subject very, very close to my heart and I would be very ruthless if someone messed up this book. Hardly any good English novel has been written about the Maratha history. This young author was doing something I had been longing to do, to write Maratha history in English and place it in front of the world!
And by God’s Grace, he succeeded in doing that!!
Sahyadris to Hindukush starts off fast like the Blitzkrieg Cavalry of the Marathas and takes you as the Saffron treads the barren lands of Central India, the fertile Gangetic plains, the lush fields of Punjab and finally the rocky terrain of the Indus Valley – the very cradle of the Hindu Civilization!
The author’s command over the English language used in the novel is what impressed (and inspired) me the most. The flow of the language is superb and the construction of the sentences to make them sound like they were spoken in the local dialects in the Medieval times. Attention to detail in various parts of the novel – including the Geographical accuracies – will surely take the reader on a roller coaster ride of the Indian sub-continent!
It is very clear that the author has toiled very hard and has studied and researched thoroughly before sitting down and penning the novel. Even the smallest habits and customs of the Marathas and also the Pashtun tribes seem to have been studied in great detail! I congratulate the author for completing this mammoth task!
However, in my personal opinion I would have been greatly pleased had the author increased the size of the novel. The novel is an odd 187 pages and I would have loved if the author had made it 500 pages!
Inspite of its small size, Sahyadris to Hindukush dazzles you! It makes you imagine each and every scene and battle depicted in its words. You wince at the dirty politics played in the Mughal court and also rejoice when the Maratha banner flutters on top of the Attock Fort walls!
A must read for any one who is interested in the happenings in India in the 18th Century. A sure fire engaging novel, I will surely recommend this one!
- Pranjal Wagh
30 Apr 2013
This work by Pranjal A. Wagh is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License
Review of the Novel by Ashwin Sanghi
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I am not going to write this book review in the normal manner. I will not make sections titled “Plot”, “Analysis” & “Verdict” as is the usual protocol world over. I want the readers to have a flow. Try to take them on a roller-coaster ride, thrill them because this is the same manner in which “The Krishna Key” is written! Though the book has some shortcomings, it definitely leaves the readers wanting for more!
First and foremost, I am extremely grateful to Ashwin Sanghi for highlighting ancient Indian Culture and telling the Indian youth (And Old people) the extent of our prosperity and scientific advances when the rest of the world was still struggling with Stone Age.
For those who have come across Ashwin Sanghi for the first time, he is the author of the best-selling The Rozabal Line and award-winning Chanakya’s Chant. His third book – which by far seems the most deeply researched to me- is The Krishna Key.
Sanghi’s story starts with the introduction of the most interesting character of the book – Taarak Vakil, the poor little rich boy – who believes he is Kalki, Lord Vishnu’s 10th Avtar and is here on the planet to destroy all evil. I would have loved this character to be explored a little bit more but alas some sacrifices have to be made for the sake of the story.
Taarak’s first victim is Anil Varshney, a brilliant researcher who has stumbled upon something very mysterious, something which leads to the secret that Krishna – the Govardhan Giridhaari- had locked away somewhere to keep it safe from those seeking power. Anil Varshney’s death enters the protagonist – 45 years young Ravi Mohan Saini who teaches the history of mythology at St. Stephen’s College.Saini becomes an unlikely detective who uses his vast knowledge to track down his friend’s killer and solve this amazing riddle left by our beloved Blue God – Lord Krishna!
The book then takes you an amazing ride across the country and includes locations like Jaisalmer, Mt. Kailash, Somnath Temple and so on. The the trail is dotted by some more murders by none other than Taarak. Some more very interesting characters enter the fray – Inspector Radhika Singh, Mataji and Sir Khan being the prominent ones. I really wish, Sanghi had been able to color these characters more.
Although the story does get a bit complex due to the amount of information that this book contains it is definitely worth a read. There are some errors in the printed version which maybe due to careless proof-reading but I guess such errors will be rectified in the coming editions.
Sanghi follows the similar style of narrating the story as employed in Chanakya’s Chant – that of running two stories parallel to each other. One set 5000 years ago and the other as it happens in the 21st Century. However, this style seems unnecessary here as both the stories have hardly anything in common unlike Chanakya’s Chant. It does sometime seem that we are being re-told the story of Mahabharata in the parallel narrative.
However, according to me the real reason for reading this book is not the story and mystery that surrounds The Krishna Key, but the magnificent history of our country! The reason I say history and not mythology is because these incidences – Mahabharata, Ramayana have actually happened in this country, evidences of Pushpak Vimana and the possibility of Indians having the knowledge of Nuclear weapons have been found. Moreover, due to various external aggressions that took place over a period of time and the bad habit of not recording many historical events, the knowledge has been lost in the pages of time. But I am sure, on reading ‘The Krishna Key’ some proud Indians will definitely delve into the pages of history and strive to find out more about our civilization! And for that one should read ‘The Krishna Key’!
And for that, I thank you, Ashwin Sanghi!
- Pranjal Wagh
PS: A special mention has to be made for the man who drew all the wonderful illsutrations/maps in the book – Rupesh Talaskar! Great Work!!
This work by Pranjal A. Wagh is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License
An Indian Journey – Charles Foster
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Usually, I do not read travel books. Although I have read some across English and Marathi but those that I have read would be rated as one of the best in their category. I would definitely classify ‘In the Hot Unconscious’ in those ranks.
You feel this book. You feel you are in the same place where Charles Foster is. When you read it, Charles Foster ensures that he takes you with him on his travels to find something. He himself claims that sometimes he does not know what he was looking for. Foster is in India supposedly to collect and study leeches. But as he travels the nation, his experiences from the southern and northern extremities of India ensure that he finds something more as well.
Foster is initially in remote area of North India, stuck in a lodge due to the world famous red-tape of the Indian Babudom – The Bureaucracy of the Post-Raj India. Stuck inside the lodge he continues his work of collecting leeches and has a few encounters with the deadly diarrhea. Foster’s travels take him across North India as far as the Nepalese border. He meets various people on his travels, makes friends with few of them, despises some of them and goes on moving across the Indian lands.
Foster’s enchanting yet lucid narrative is laced with cynicism and followed by an honest opinion. The humor in his writings and also the lessons that we learn as a reader are based on the Zen philosophy. Foster does not view India like the rest of the West does. Foster dissects each situation and puts it and the people involved in it to the test of his sharp sarcasm and crisp cynicism. It is only after that he takes us to the opinion he forms about them.
As an Indian his cynical view of looking at things stings us at first. All of the West always raves about the mystical land that is India and never in any travels have I heard anyone take up this critical view – may it be related to religion, the people or the cultural aspects of life here. But as you proceed you indeed find out that what Foster observes is true!
Soon enough, the leeches disappear from his writings and the he takes us on a wild ride across India and allows us to discover it once again. He tells us true stories of Bob, the guru who detests Foster at first sight but who weeps because he can only assure his devotees and not actually rid them of this misery and then makes an attempt to like Foster later on. He tells us about his Sikh Friend of a Cheese farmer Jagjit, a true patriot who accompanies the author initially in the book but later gets bored of constant company of Foster. His writings also tell us horrifying stories of people losing their lives in search of Nirvana – the tale of an engineer who ties his hands and legs and drowns in a river is particularly chilling.
As T.S. Elliot has quoted –
The end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time
- Foster explores India and finds spiritual essence of the land and of himself. As the author himself says, sometimes he himself does not know what he was looking for.
In the hot unconscious An Indian Journey by Charles Foster
Published by Westland Tranquebar in India
- Pranjal Wagh
This work by Pranjal A. Wagh is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License
थोरले बाजीराव पेशवे (१७०० -१७४०)
नर्मदेच्या भयाण वाळवंटात फिरून फिरून अगदी वैतागून गेलो होतो आम्ही… रणरणत ऊन भाजून काढत होतं…उष्ण हवा तर सतत वाहत होती…कुठे निवाऱ्याला सावली सापडत नव्हती…आमच्या गाडीचा ड्रायव्हर मूळचा इंदोरचा पण त्याने देखील कधी गाडी इतक्या आत आणली नव्हती…
शोध होतं तो एकच गोष्टीचा…पण ती देखील कुठे आहे कोणालाच माहित नव्हती…
आणि ही अशी परिस्थिती फक्त ‘हिंदुस्तानातच’ आपल्यावर येऊ शकते..
१५ मे २००९ च्या लोकमत मधील एका लेखाने खाड्कन डोळे उघडले आमचे…
शिवाजी शिवाजी करत बसणारे आम्ही ….मराठ्यांच्या पूर्ण इतिहासाला शिवाजी पुरताच मर्यादित करून बसलो होतो!
हा लेख होता श्रीमंत बाजीराव पेशव्यांवर, त्या लढवय्या पेशव्याच्या समाधीच्या अस्तित्वाचा!
बाजीराव पेशव्यांचा अकाली मृत्यू आम्हाला माहित होतं…पण त्यांची समाधी कुठे असेल हा साधा विचारच आम्ही केला नाही! कसा करणार? आपलं सरकार तरी कुठे मान्यता देतं? शिवाजी महाराजांचे समुद्रात पुतळे उभारतील, पण त्यांचे गड किल्ले भाग्नावास्तेत पडू देतील, असलं हे विचित्र सरकार! शाळेतील इतिहासाच्या पुस्तकात दोन पानात संपवलेला बाजीराव खरोखर किती मोठा होता हे आम्हाला कोण सांगणार? ‘लढवय्या पेशवा’ पेक्षा
‘बाजीराव – मस्तानी’ ह्या प्रकरणाला जास्त महत्व देऊन महाराष्ट्रातील जनतेनेच ह्या पेशव्याच्या कर्तृत्वाला दाबून टाकले!
ह्या मर्द गड्याचा पराक्रम सांगावा तो तरी किती!
"जो गती भयी गजेंद्र की, वही गती हमरी आज
बाजी जात बुंदेल की , बाजी रखियो लाज!"
बुन्देलखंडचा राजा छत्रसाल ह्याने मोहम्मद बंगश ह्या मोगल सरदाराखिलाफ बाजीरावाची मदत मागितली. संदेश पोहोचला तेव्हा बाजीराव जेवत होते. असे म्हणतात की हातातला घास तसाच ठेवून बाजीराव उठले आणि थेट घोड्यावरून मोजक्या स्वारानिशी निघाले. बाकीचे सैन्य त्यांना नंतर येऊन मिळाले.
“ उशीर केल्यामुळे छत्रसाल पराजित झाले तर इतिहास हेच म्हणेल की बाजीराव जेवत होते म्हणून उशीर झाला!"
ह्याला म्हणतात मराठी बाणा! मैत्रीचं राजकारण खेळावं तर ते असं! पोकळ दंडावर फुकटचे षड्डू थोपटत बसणाऱ्या राजकारण्यांनी आणि सरकारी यंत्रणेने काहीतरी शिकावे ह्यातून!! ह्या कृत्यानंतर बाजीरावाने बंगाशाला पराभूत तर केलेच, पण छात्रासालाच्या राज्याचा १/३ हिस्सा जहागीर म्हणून मिळवला…आणि मराठी तितुका बुन्देल्खंडी फडकला!!
अशा ह्या पराक्रमी पेशव्याची समाधी रावेरखेडी नावाच्या एका गावात आहे असे आम्हाला कळते काय आणि ती लवकरच नर्मदेच्या पाण्याखाली जाणार असल्याचे कळते आणि तिचा शेवटचा दर्शन घ्यावा म्हणून आम्ही लगेच निघतो काय…सगळं अगदी घाईघाईत घडलं…
इंदोरहून गाडी घेऊन आम्ही निघालो ते थेट सनावादला नर्मदा ओलांडली…मनात एक विचार येऊन गेला.. जेव्हा मराठ्यांनी नर्मदा ओलांडली तेव्हा नावांचा पूल बांधून ओलांडली होती…आज आम्ही सिमेंटच्या पुलावरून ती ओलांडली…घोड्यांच्या टापांनी हादरून उठणारा हा परिसर आज रेल्वे आणि गाड्यांच्या आवाजाने भरून गेला होता!
बडवाह! मध्य प्रदेशातील एक छोटासा जिल्हा! ह्या जिल्ह्यात कुठेतरी लपल होत रावेरखेड़ी! सुमारे पंधरा मिनिटे एक खडबडीत रस्त्यावरून आमच्या इंडिका आम्ही बलजबरी नेली तेव्हा एक कच्चा रास्ता लागला….आणि नंतर लागल ते एक छोट गाव! हेच रावेरखेड़ी असणार असा आम्ही एक अंदाज़ बांधून घेतला! अगदी कोणीही न सांगता चुकीचे अंदाज़ बांधणे व ते बरोबर आहेत अशी स्वतःची समजूत घालण्यात आम्ही पटाईत! गावात आम्ही आमच्या अस्खलीत हिंदी मध्ये विचारल,
"इधर कोई समाधी है क्या?"
" सचिन तेंडुलकर १००वी सेंच्युरी कधी मारणार?" असा प्रश्न विचारल्यावर समोरचा कसा क्लीन बोल्ड होतो अगदी तशीच अवस्था तिथल्या ग्रामस्थांची झाली! कोणालाच माहित नहीं! मग मूळ मुद्द्यावर आलो,
"ये रावेरखेड़ी किधर है? ये नहीं है क्या?"
रावेरखेड़ी हे गाव समोरचा नाला ओलांडून पलिकडे आहे असे कळले व आम्ही पुढे निघालो…पण पुढच्या गावी देखील हेच चित्र…समाधी कुठे आहे कुणालाच ठाऊक नहीं…आता करायचे काय… मग विचारले की बाबा नदी किधर है? आणि त्या दिशेने आम्ही कूच केली…
ह्या गावातून जाताना एक गोष्ट मात्र ध्यानी आली… गावातील घरांचे दरवाजे एकदम जुन्या पद्धतीचे…भक्कम लाकडाची बांधणी आणि सुन्दर नक्षीकाम…जणू बाजीराव पेशव्यांच्या काळी बांधलेली घर असावीत! सुमारे ३०० वर्षांपूर्वी ते देखिल ह्याच रस्त्याने घोड़दौड़ करीत नर्मदा तीरी आपल्या छावणीत गेले असतील! अचानक अवतीभवती सेना सागर उभा राहिला, सरदारांचे डेरे, सैनिकांची चाललेली धावपळ आणि आपल्या डेरयात मसलती करीत बसलेला एक दिमाखदार मराठी तरुण! महाराष्ट्राला महाराष्ट्राबाहेर नेणारा हाच तो!
बाजीराव!
गरुडाची भेदक नजर, पिळदार मिश्या, तोंडावर किंचित स्मित, कमावलेल मजबूत शरीर आणि तितकीच मजबूत विचारशक्ती!
कुशल व्यवस्थापक, अजिंक्य योद्धा आणि आकर्षक व्यक्तिमत्व असा हा सर्वगुणसम्पन्न मराठ्यांचा पंतप्रधान! (नाहीतर आजकालचे पंतप्रधान!)
असो!
तर आम्ही समाधी शोध चालू ठेवला..असे करता करता गाव संपल! पुढे नुसता सपाट जमीन! डोक्यावर अंड फोडल असता तर त्याचा हाफ-फ्राय तयार होइल इतकी भाजून काढणार ऊन!! आता काय करायच ह्या विचारत असताना एक उजवीकडे शेड दिसली! शेतीच्या कामासाठी वापरली जात होती बहुदा! म्हट्ल पहु इथे विचारून! भात्यातील शेवटचा बाण उरले तो मारून पाहू! असे म्हटले आणि मी गाडीतुन उतरलो!
पुढे लिहिण्या अगोदर एक वस्तुस्थिति सांगतो! ह्याची जाणीव त्या दिवशी झाली!
आपल्या मध्ये का कोण जाणे आपल्याच इतिहासाबद्दल एक कमालीचा न्यूनगंड असतो! आणि त्याच्या जोडीला असते ती कमालीची उदासीनता!
आपल्यालाच आपला इतिहास माहित नसतो आणि आपण तो जाणूनदेखील घेत नहीं! भारताबाहेर कोणाला इथले पराक्रमी माहित असेल आपण अपेक्षा ठेवत नहीं! तीच गोष्ट आमच्याबाबतीत खरी ठरली!
महाराष्ट्राबाहेर मराठ्याला ओळखत कोण? म्हणून आम्ही कधीच, "पेशवा बाजीराव की समाधी कहा है? " असे विचारले नाही! का कोण जाणे! अगदी नकळत ही गोष्ट घडली खरी!
असो!
मग मी त्या शेड पाशी गेलो आणि एक माणसाला विचारल, "इधर कोई समाधी है क्या?"
"मुझे पता नाही साहब, दादासाहब से पूछो!", असे म्हणताच एक माणूस आतून बाहेर आला! हा माणूस म्हणजे दादासाहब!
नाव दादासाहब पण त्याच दिसण अगदी उलट! एकदम बारीक, दाढ़ीची खुंट वाढलेली आणि साधारण उंचीचा हा माणूस ‘दादासाहब’ ह्या खिताबाला साजेसा बिलकुल नव्हता!
मी म्हट्ल, " दादासाहब, इधर कोई समाधी है क्या?"
आपल्या लुंगीला हाथ पुसत त्याने उत्तर दिले, "समाधी? पेशवा सरकार की समाधी? वो….."
पुढचे शब्द मी ऐकलेच नाहीत जणू!!
पेशवा सरकार!
पेशवा सरकार!!!
इतका मान! इतका आदर!! ते देखील पुण्याहून शेकडो मैल दूर ह्या उजाड़ रावेरखेड़ी मध्ये!!
आश्चर्य!
मी अक्षरशः बावरुन गेलो आणि नकळत डोळ्याच्या कडा पाणवल्या!
ज्या महाराष्ट्र देशासाठी हा बाजीराव लढ़ला तिथे देखील त्याला इतका मान नाही!
महाराष्ट्रात बाजीराव कोण आहे हे देखील माहित नसलेली लोक राहतात आणि माहीत असला तरी "अरे तो का बाजीराव – मस्तानी वाला?" असे प्रश्न विचारणारे महारथी देखील आहेत!
आपल्या इतिहासाची काय किम्मत करतो आपण हे निर्लज्जपणे सांगणारे आपण कुठे आणी ह्या नर्मदेच्या वाळवंटात उभा असलेला हा गावठी ‘दादासाहब’ कुठे !
मन विषण्ण झालं! आपल्या मराठीपणाची थोडी का असेना लाज वाटली! जणू ह्या ‘दादासाहब’ ने नकळत आमच्या अस्मितेचा पोकळ फुगा त्याच्या दोन शब्दांनी फोडला होता. एक सणसणीत चपराकच गालावर पडली होती!
कोण कुठली इंग्लंडची राणी पण तिला आपली लोकं, क्वीन एलीझबेथ म्हणतात. अमेरिकेसारखा स्वार्थी देश, पण त्याच्या राष्ट्रपतीला आपण प्रेसिडेंट ओबामा म्हणतो! जसं कि हा भारताचाच प्रेसिडेंट आहे! पण जेव्हा आपल्याच देशातील वीरांना आदर देण्याची पाळी येते तेव्हा आपली जीभ जड होते! शिवाजी, संभाजी, बाजीराव अशी राजरोस पाने आपण नवे घेतो! तेव्हा कुठे जातो हा मराठीचा अभिमान? कुठे जाते आपली मराठी अस्मिता? आणि हा कोण कुठला ‘दादासाहब’! त्याला काय घेणं देणं नसताना इतका आदर करतो!
पेशवा सरकार!!
ह्या नंतर आम्हाला समाधी सापडली देखील आणि आम्ही ती पाहून देखील आलो! महाराष्ट्राच्या पुत्राला वंदन केले आणि नर्मदेच्या पात्रातील जुन्या घाटावर जाऊन स्नान करून आलो!
तिथे काही अवशेष आहेत ते पाहिले, ३०० वर्षे मागे जाण्याचा एक छोटासा प्रयत्न केला आणि परत निघालो!
परत येताना मी विचारांच्या अधीन झालो होतो! ते नर्मदेच निळ पात्र, एका सच्च्या पण विस्मरणात गेलेल्या योद्ध्याची, त्याच्या नावाला न साजेशी अशी दुर्लक्षित समाधी आणि त्या वाळवंटात उभा असलेला तो ‘दादासाहब’!
बाहेर वाऱ्यामुळे मातीचे लोळ उठले होते, आकाशात धुरळा उडाला होता. माझ्या मनात देखील असाच कल्लोळ मजला होता. दोनच शब्द मनात परत परत ऐकू येत होते!
पेशवा सरकार!!
पेशवा सरकार!!
- प्रांजल वाघ
१३/०१/२०१२
थोरले बाजीराव पेशवे समाधी स्थळ
For more photos click here
This work by Pranjal A. Wagh is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License
Part II
Seeing me speechless, he continued, “Look at them. Did you see any Japanese woman beating her chest on the front page of any news paper? May be they did beat their chests but it was never shown to the world. But still, that helped to maintain the spirit and it held the nation together in times of crisis. The credit should go to the maturity and understanding that the Japanese media has shown. Can you imagine what would have been the case with Indian media? They thrive on tragedy. Tragedy makes TRPs for them and that is probably the only thing they care about.”
"I think you are going overboard there!”, I retorted, “Have you forgotten the 26/7 deluge in Mumbai and the areas around? Or the Train blasts? The media played an important role in India. Especially Radio Channels who helped people get in touch with and keep track of their loved ones! You cannot single out Indian media for their love of tragedy and TRPs. You should accept that they have their uses and are highly effective too.Take the case of 26/11, were the media not responsible for disbursing information that was so necessary in order to bring a little order to the chaos?”
Sambhaji was ready, “Agreed that they were useful but they did do some damage that was irreparable”
“And how is that, my scholarly friend?”, I asked, sarcasm being one of the essential components of my DNA.
“Do you forget that the media was also responsible for broadcasting each and every detail about the movements of the police, Marcos and the NSG commandos? Do you really think that the terrorists inside a 5 star hotel would and who were the masterminds behind that attack would not have the sense to just switch on any of the TV sets and get all intelligence about the troop movements, served to them on a platter? Moreover, by stationing themselves close to the attack places they endangered their own lives and also made the job of the police difficult! And for this exceptional behavior they were criticized widely by the press agencies world-over!”
Sambhaji continued,"The mature behavior of the media in such a crisis is not the only thing we should learn from Japan, there is a long list of lessons that we must take from them. Just take the example of when floods or any such natural disaster hits India. Have you seen the chaos when food packets are distributed? It is like people will kill for one food packet. However, in Japan people stood in queues, patiently waiting for their turn. No one shouted at anyone nor were there any flaring tempers. Things were organized and orderly because people understood that each one has been affected by the disaster and has lost something or worse someone special.”
“But..”, I tried to cut his flow of words.
He continued unabated, “Not to forget that the people did not loot the shops in such a time. In one shop when the power failed, people just kept the items on the shelves and left the shop. Can you imagine what we Indians would have done? When there were riots in Gujarat, people got down from their Mercedes Benz and looted shops. Greed, that is what we Indian people like. No matter how much we have, most of us are never content.”
“But Sambha, you are generalizing this to the whole of the nation. A handful of people do this. The rest of the country did not do this. How can you consider one such situation and say the whole country is like that?”
“Ok. Fine. I will not generalize. I will tell you many more such examples. In Japan,after the Tsunamis and earthquake struck, the strong cared for the weak. Each one understood that they should use only how much they needed. No hoarding of goods was done. In India, backed by the local gundas and politicians, on a regular basis hoarding is done in ration shops. And our great leaders will not even think twice once they smell the scent of money! And what about those 50 workers who stayed behind in the Fukushima Reactor so that others could be safe outside?"
“Are you saying that we Indians would not have done so?”, I said, “Have you forgotten during the Mumbai deluge how people went out of their way and helped others? How BEST drivers still kept the bus service running so that people could reach home? Or have you, Sambha, forgotten those constables on bandobast duty on 26/11? Those brave souls who with nothing but lathis in their hands and courage in their hearts took on the terrorists who were armed to the teeth? They just shouted ‘Ganpati Bappa Morya’ and rushed at the terrorists. Tukaram Omble held the barrel of Kasab’s rifle and pounced on him so that his colleagues could capture him alive. He took bullets so that others may survive. What drove them to do this Sambha? There was no guarantee of any award for this act. He knew he would die still he did it. So say anything but just don’t say that my countrymen will not make sacrifices because there are enough examples to prove that!”
He had touched a nerve somewhere in my brain to cause this outburst and I did not relent in my rebuttal, “ I agree that Japan has so many good things that we all can take lessons from but we Indians are not worthless. The examples that we are talking about are some incidents in the country. You cannot blame the whole nation for that. Agreed that these incidents are of grave nature and must be tackled with. Even my blood boils when I listen to such news about a woman being stripped in public. Sometimes I wish even I could take the law in my own hands and cut their hands off. But as law abiding citizens we cannot do that and have to wait for legal action.”
“And how can you forget times of Kargil,Tsunami and Mumbai Deluge when people were united and went out of the way to help each other? Even people in Japan did that. Anywhere in the world, people would still do that!"
Sambhaji was taken aback, “I should not have said that. I was wrong. However, there are a lot of areas where we can learn from the Japanese and may be vice-versa also. Look at the architecture of Japanese buildings! They know they have many earthquakes throughout the year and hence they have developed their buildings so that the earthquakes won’t cause much damage. Look at us, we get one flood each year in Bihar and Orissa region. This has been going on since times immemorial. But still we do not do anything to prevent that flood from causing wide-scale damage. Rather, we let the floods strike and then look for the cure! Anyway, discussing this won’t make much difference to the current scenario.What we need is action.Come on, lets have a cup of tea and head home. I have to reach office in time!”
We had tea and as Sambhaji went away, I got lost in my own thoughts. The whole negative path that the conversation had taken had depressed me a lot. He was right, talking won’t make the difference. Something had to be done. Discipline would have to be instilled from the childhood. Children must be taught to care for each other and always be selfless in their thoughts. The corruption in the system can be removed only if we teach our children right from the childhood, only if he adults can resist the urge to be corrupt and to make others corrupt. It is a very long process. I wish I could make a change. I did not know how. I felt helpless.
Is there any hope for us Indians then, I thought. Our youngsters are losing touch with their Indian side. They‘d rather ape the western culture. They won’t look out for the good things in the western culture but would rather stick to the bad things. Our politicians have mastered the art of Divide and Rule and would teach it to the British now. Sex crimes against women are on the rise.The Judicial System has become a big joke in itself & it has more loopholes than laws.
As I was thinking and was dejected,I remembered a Ph.D. friend who had gone back to his village near Sangli to educate children, sponsor their education, carry out aforestation and also water harvesting. Nearby,I saw a small school going girl helping a blind man to cross the road. Nearby, a youth was carrying shopping bags for an old lady.I smiled as I saw this.
There is still hope for this Great Nation.
- Pranjal Wagh
04 April 2011
Note: Inspiration for this story/post came from a e-mail I received from my friend, Anup Bokil about ‘10 things we should learn from Japan’ and also from the news about molestation taking place after the India-Pak semifinal match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011
This work by Pranjal A. Wagh is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License
Part I
“Sambha, did you see how we were one yesterday night? Did you see how each one of us, irrespective of religion & caste stood shoulder to shoulder to support Team India? Politicians may divide this country but Cricket brings us together!”
It was the morning after the India Pakistan Semi Final Clash of the Cricket World Cup 2011. India had demolished, humiliated Pakistan, routed them and sent them back to their country and were on their way to the finals.
My friend, Sambhaji was sitting along with me on the famous Shivaji Park Katta and we were excitedly chatting about the Indian triumph. Having seen the euphoria and the celebrations afterwards and the feeling of oneness that people showed during the match, I was exictedly talking about the magic of cricket and how it unites people in India,
Sambhaji, the wiser and more experienced of the both of us looked at me, smiled and shoved a copy of the day’s newspaper in my face.
“Read this! See how we Indians unite during matches and tease, harass and sexually harass our women & men too! See how many police complaints were registered yesterday night! A night which was supposed to be a night of joy has turned a nightmare for so many women& men!”
Not to be outdone by his sudden attack, I replied, “ I admit that these attacks should not have happened but then people were drunk and then the police should also have been on guard!”
“Is it? Is it only the police who are responsible for the security of our women? Do we need the police or some law enforcement body to tell us to control our carnal urges? Whatever happened to the so-called Glorious Indian Culture that we keep on harping about? As we sit below this statue of Shivaji Maharaj, do we forget his ideology? Parastree Mate Samaan (Other women are equivalent to Mothers).Do we forget that in this land of Shivaji Maharaj, once the Patil of the village Ranze near Pune had his arms and legs cut off for raping a woman? And today we the sons of this great country are raping our own women, molesting them in mobs? Are we not raping our own culture by doing this? Are we not raping this country itself, who we proudly call Bharat Mata?”
“Sambha”, I tried to cool him down, “Capital Punishment like this cannot be meted out today! Human Rights people will jump at this opportunity! And it is a democracy today and not a monarchy!”
“Pranjal, that is not the point! We are cultured individuals and our culture is indeed great. There is no doubt about that but somewhere we forget that we ought to respect other people too and in our enthusiasm to celebrate such occasions we cross the line! And this is not at all right. There should be some self-restraint! We Indians always think on a very low personal level. Think of how the other person would feel when you molest him or her. Think of how you would feel if a mob jumps on you and rips your clothes off. Think of how you would feel if your mother and/or sister were molested and stripped of their clothes and their izzat in public. How would you feel?”
An animal when cornered does two possible things. It completely surrenders or it launches a deadly attack as a last resort. Being a human being I did a mixture of both.
“Sambha, you are right!These things should not happen and we should certainly exercise restraint. And these hooligans should be dealt with severely and punished at the earliest.”
And now I wanted to divert the discussion and take it to a different aspect of the topic so that, for the sake of arguing, I could gain some ground in this battle. Management and Marketing Fundas, eh?So, I continued.
“ But my point was how we are united in such times. May it be Cricket or even Kargil War or the earthquakes and Tsunami. India has always been united in such times.”
I felt proud to have used such tactics to try and move the conversation to another level, after all I was an MBA graduate and an MBA should know how to talk at all times.
What I forgot was that, only a degree does not count. What matters is how you have lived your life and how many exams in life you have cleared.Sambhaji was clearly ahead of me in that. Both in terms of age and experience of life. He was a management graduate from the college of life, for god’s sake!
He smiled like an experienced General who watches his opponents feeble attempts to salvage something from the battle before he destroys him completely, and said to me,
“Earthquakes and Tsunamis? In that case what we must do is take lessons from Japan. That country is a true phoenix. It has got the courage to rise up from the ashes and be the best. In short, The Japanese have got balls to tell life, Do whatever you want. Hit us as hard as you can. Knock us down. You may kill many of us. You may physically hurt us. But by God, you can never even dampen our spirit, let alone kill it. No matter what you do, we will always get up and live life with pride!”
(Continued…)
- Pranjal Wagh
04 April 2011
Note: Inspiration for this story/post came from a e-mail I received from my friend, Anup Bokil about ‘10 things we should learn from Japan’ and also from the news about molestation taking place after the India-Pak semifinal match of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011
This work by Pranjal A. Wagh is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License
Friends, my apologies for writing the second article of this series after such a long time!
—————–
This article has been inspired from a dialogue from the Marathi serial Raja ShivChhatrapati on Star Pravaah.
THE SITUATION
Shivaji Maharaj is trying to bring the densely forested and strategically important Jawali valley under his control while the current ruler of Jawali, Chandrarao More not only refuses but also insults Shivaji’s ambassador to the court of Chandrarao More. Enraged at the arrogance shown by More, Shivaji Maharaj decides to take Jawali by force and this is when this dialogue is uttered in the serial and the subject is Chandrarao More. It goes like this:
आले, तर त्यांच्या सोबत!
नाही आले, तर त्यांच्या शिवाय!
आणि आडवे आले, तर त्यांच्या छाताडावर पाय देऊन!
पण स्वराज्याचा भगवा हा फडकलाच पाहिजे!!
Literal Translation:
If he (Chandrarao More) decides to cooperate, then we will progress with him!
If he does not want to come with us, then we will progress without him!
If he tries to put hurdles in our path, then we will trample him and then progress!
But the Flag (Bhagwa) of Swarajya shall fly high, come what may!!
The contrast between the meaning of this dialogue and the present state of affairs in India is what struck me. India is a soft state. Any small country, terrorist organization can get up tomorrow, slap India and still escape unscathed.
Why?
Is it because India is not aggressive enough? Are we scared of our neighbors? Are we scared of terrorists? Is it because we do not have the capabilities to respond in kind to them?
I do not think so.
It is because of our great attitude of forgiving and worse, forgetting.
SOME EXAMPLES FROM THE PRESENT
Let us talk examples.
Remember IC 814? Remember it being hijacked?
Do you remember why it went to Kandahar?
Only because the delay in taking a strong decision on using NSG Commandos to neutralize the hijackers and rescuing the hostages! Only because the Punjab Police who were ready to immobilize the aircraft at Amritsar did not recieve the approval from New Delhi!
Remember the attack on the Indian parliament in 2001?
What did we do in response to the attack?
Operation Parakram? That build up of forces on both sides of the border?
It gained nothing for India…Only outcome was that we lost more than 300 soldiers in various incidents including accidents, shelling and firing.
And on top of that, the killer Afzal Guru has his pardon pending at the President of India’s office. That same Afzal Guru who killed Indian soldiers and policemen in the Parliament attack.
Remember our Nuclear Weapons Policy?
The shitty no first use policy?
I respect the fact that Nuclear weapons should not be used as they lead to irreparable damage to the nation against which it is used and also for humanity. But the fact your policy says that you will not use Nuclear weapons first indicates to your enemies (and India has many!) that this state is a soft target.
The policy of no first use gives the edge to our enemies who can attack our cities first and then get away with it as once again India is known to bend over easily to foreign pressures.
Or was it really foreign pressure solely responsible for what happened in Kashmir in 1948 or for that matter stopped us from crossing the LoC in 1999 Kargil mishap?
Or is it the Foreign Pressure coupled with the disregard for the lives of our soldiers, countrymen and the general attitude about being a peace loving state? What our politicians fail to understand is that being a peace loving state does not mean you never go on an offensive! You have to be offensive to preserve your peace!
Suddenly, one day the Bangladeshi Rangers feel like venting out their frustration and having target practice and fire on Indian BSF soldiers and kill 16 of them.
What do we do?
1.Condemn the act on a global stage
2. Express ‘our deep & heartfelt sadness’ at the death of our soldiers
3. Do nothing about it.
Why do we behave like this? Why does a puny state like Bangladesh not respect us? After all they are what they are because India created them and Indian soldiers laid down their lives to free Bangladesh.
If they cannot respect this fact and fire on us we should have retaliated back with deadly force and taught them a great lesson in respecting elders. Why did we not use artillery against their posts and blast them away? Why did we not cripple their military installations just to bring them to their senses and also avoid loss of civilian life?
I respect a state like Israel for the fact that they follow the meaning of the dialogue written above to the word.Remember their 6 day war fought against Egypt? Remember the offensive they launch against Palestine (although the issue is debatable, I will just take their display of national pride into consideration) when a suicide bomber explodes himself in Israel? Once Israel’s premier Ariel Sharon had come to India on a visit and a suicide bomber blew himself up killing six, mind that only six, Israelis.
Ariel Sharon packed his bags and left. Now that is called having a value for the life of the countrymen. Each citizen is an asset and must be protected at all costs!
While back in India,the situation is merry! We have abundant population and if 50 or so people die then we can always cover up the deficit in a matter of minutes!
Remember the Dantewada massacre?
75 policemen slaughtered like insects as they were ambushed by Naxalites. (Still these men fought till their last breath!) But not much has changed. If I may guess, the infrastructure provided to these men is still bad. Bad food, Bad water. They have to battle nature as well as naxalites at the same time. The situation is not much different for our defence personnel.
Why do we stick with this sick mentality of tolerating every attack on our nation?
Why do we treat our criminals and terrorist in such a way that they become royalty?
Why do we not hit hard and nip the matter in the bud? Why do we wait for foreign intervention and the support of countries like US?
After the 1962 Himalayan blunder with China, there was a resolution passed in the parliament. The content was something like this,
“India vows to get back every inch of land that China has aggressively and illegally acquired”
This resolution now hangs framed on a wall in Indian Military Academy.
Ladies & Gentlemen, the rest as they say is history!
We have not even taken back Kashmir from Pakistan, how do we plan to take back Aksai-Chin that was lost to China? Although one commendable matter in this case is the timely acquisition of the strategically vital Siachen Glacier in 1984.
The only exception to this was the only real ‘Mard’ Prime Minister that India had. Mrs. Indira Gandhi had the guts to tell Richard Nixon at the time of India – Pakistan war of 1971 when he threatened India with his 7th Fleet to ‘Do what he wanted, The Indian Navy was more than capable of taking care of the 7th Fleet of the US Navy, but we will fight a war when our land is threatened!’ .Now that is leadership and the right attitude!
THE PAST
Shifting our focus to Shivaji Maharaj.What did he do when Chandrarao More of Jawali valley responded in a hostile manner and challenged him to enter Jawali forests and try to leave alive?
He launched an assault on him using Guerilla techniques and killed Chandrarao More and captured Jawali valley. Furthermore he strengthened the area by building a ring of forts including the famous Pratapgad where the Adilshahi general Afzalkhan was killed by Shivaji Maharaj.
THE LESSONS TO BE LEARNT
This is the attitude which India needs to adopt.Not only against attack, both diplomatic and military, by the ‘unfriendly’ states but also against internal problem creators like criminals, naxals, the underworld and the corrupt politicians.
Kill the weeds before they spoil the garden.
I will now sum up the attitude that India must adopt in the form of the above dialogue.
आले, तर त्यांच्या सोबत!
नाही आले, तर त्यांच्या शिवाय!
आणि आडवे आले, तर त्यांच्या छाताडावर पाय देऊन!
पण हिंदुस्थानचा तिरंगा हा फडकलाच पाहिजे!!
If they decide to cooperate, then we will progress with them!
If they do not cooperate, then we will progress without them!
If they try to put hurdles in our path, then we will trample then and then progress!
But the Tricolour of India shall fly high, come what may!!
Jai Hind!
Regards
Pranjal Wagh
06 Sept 2010
This work by Pranjal A. Wagh is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License
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They say History teaches you. You can learn about so many things from the actions & the words of great men & women. These lessons from the past can be used to solve problems of the present.
India is a treasure chest of such notable personalities. We have a rich history and heritage and this past is a huge ocean of knowledge. It is like a gold mine from which we can extract nuggets of knowledge and use them to solve the problems of our country.
But the question is, do we?
Do we even remember our great warriors? Our great leaders?
Do we remember those brave men & women, those brilliant strategists, those rulers who were like parents to their subjects? Do we remember the harshest punishments given to the anti-social elements in those days?
I do not think so.
We take pride in understanding the exploits of Alexander the great, Napoleon Bonaparte, Genghis Khan and other foreign rulers and warriors.
In fact we should. They were extraordinary people too.
But the only problem is that we do not recognize our own heroes. Rather our education system is such that we do not get the chance to appreciate the fact that their acts in those days have defined our future. We do not publicize our own heroes, we do not preserve the monuments which are the evidence of their existence. These monuments should serve as inspiration to the young. Instead, in India, they serve as blackboards for the people to advertise their love and to proclaim the great names that their parents have given them.
Historians from other countries, Generals from foreign nations have understood the beauty of strategies employed by Indian heroes like Chhatrapati Shivaji, Peshwa Bajirao I and have employed them in modern warfare very effectively.
Just let me give you an example.
When the Americans meddled, as they always do, in the matters of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh, when he led the resistance against the USA, had only one thing hung on his bunker wall that gave him the inspiration to fight back by using Guerilla techniques.
It was the Royal Seal of Chhatrapati Shivaji.
Ho Chi Minh was so inspired by Shivaji’s Tactics that he used them to actually fight the USA and eventually to win the war!
I recently read a book called ‘ The Wisdom of Alexander the Great : Enduring leadership lessons from the man who created an empire ‘ by Lance B. Kurke. Ph.D. This book is an amazing book and it talks about how management lessons can be learnt from Alexander the Great’s campaigns and the tactics and strategies that he used to defeat his enemies.
Do we have any such book in India?
We have undefeated generals like the second Maratha Peshwa Bajirao I who fought 41 battles and never lost a single one. Bajirao’s tactics in the legendary Battle of Palkhed were so brilliant that the American soldiers have a case study on this great battle where his tactics are studied. The tactics about the mobility of Bajirao’s forces which ultimately wove a web around the Nijam and then dealt a crushing defeat to him are relevant still today!
In India, his tactics are not studied.
We attentively ignore our heroes and we ignorantly pay attention to things which are not worth the attention.
We like to be selective in praising our heroes.
Our textbooks for school children are biased. We educate them based on what we think is right for them. Moreover they hate history because the books that teach them history are boring and they have to remember long pages to write answers in meaningless exams.
The attraction towards history is automatically curbed in the childhood.
We forget Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev, three great sons of Mother India, who willingly sacrificed their lives so that people would get inspired from their sacrifice and would eventually drive out the British.
They always dreamt of a secular India. We never let that dream come true.
Today, we are Secular just for the sake of saying it.
We do not remember Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukhdev on 23rd March each year. Our great free media also does not have time to focus on them. They would rather tell the people what is going to happen in a Saas-bahu drama or which phone a movie star is using or what he is posting on Twitter. Yes, that is more important for our nation!
Enough said.
I have been wanting to do this for a long time. I was going to write about something else but by the time I finished writing this article I changed my decision.
I have decided to make this into a series of articles. I will try to bring to highlight personalities from our history which have been forgotten by us.
We Indians have a great Present from the Past. A gift of culture.A gift of heritage. A gift of bravery, of valour. These presents of the past have to be used in the present to tackle the issues that the nation faces. This is what I will attempt to do.
This series of blog articles is a small and maybe insignificant attempt on my part to bring to the fore my observations on how the lessons could be learnt from the strategies of Great Sons & Daughters of this soil & how they could be applied to the present day problems that our country faces.
Watch this space.
(Part I Ends)
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Disclaimer: Although this series may contain articles which may cover historical figures mostly from Maharashtra it does not imply that I do not have respect for heroes from other states. As and when possible I will update my knowledge and also write about them.
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Next: The Present of the Past – II
How a dialogue from a serial Raja ShivChhatrapati which airs on Star Pravaah prompted me to think about the attitude of our great Government that needs to be changed drastically.
Regards,
Pranjal Wagh
18 July 2010
This work by Pranjal A. Wagh is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License
Many of my blog posts are the result of thoughts, thoughts which spring up in the unlikeliest of places at the unlikeliest of times!
This one has been generated out of a thought that took root in the soil of my mind while I was visiting the Palghar region of North Konkan – touring the Shirgaon-Mahim-Kelve forts and beaches on 28 April 2010.
It all happened when I and my friends Sanish and Manish (the names rhyme! 
) were travelling from Mahim to Kelve throught the beautiful, narrow, tree covered and tree lined roads of Konkan with tiny villages scattered here and there.We could feel the heat but we were protected from the sun and his artillery barrage of burning sunlight by the presence of trees on the sides of the road.
It was then that a thought came to my mind!
This (Indian) road is like our life!
It is bumpy more often! A smooth ride is a rare phenomenon – even on Indian roads! It twists and turns and makes us reduce our speed of progress.It puts obstacles in our path and makes us stop sometimes and makes us wonder, did I choose the right path? What do I do now to correct my mistake?
Many people commit suicide when they take a wrong turn on the road of life and end up where they did not want to go in the first place! Do we stop travelling at all and just sit there, if we lose our way,while on the road? No! We try to rectify and always, always try to find (and usually succeed) in setting ourselves on the right path!
Then why not follow the same example in life? Makes sense to me!
The lush green trees that line the road and provide the travellers with the cool and much needed shade are like the wonderful family and friends that we get in our life!
Both do the job of protecting us and also helping us withstand the harsh sunlight of problems in life!Family and friends offer us support when the heat of problems become unbearable. Sometimes a cool breeze which is like an assurance of support or just plain advice, cools us down when things get heated up too much!
But sometimes there are some roads in life in which there are no trees and the sun is shining like there is no tomorrow. In this phase of life problems are available by the ton but there is no one in life – no family, no friends to support you.
It is in times like this that we must find the friend and family in ourselves.
It is in these times, that the long lost advice given by your father-same advice which you had ridiculed and mocked-helps you move ahead!
It is in these tough times, the memories of the soft and heavenly hugs that your mother gave you each day, comfort you.
It is in these harsh times, the presence of a single tree in the sweltering heat is like the assuring hand of a friend on your shoulder.
That same hand which says, “Do not worry! This too shall pass! And you have my support in your endeavors!”.
That same hand which makes a person beaten down to the ground stand up tall and face the blows of life unflinchingly!
It is in these tough times, people learn to live life – own their own!
It is these tough times that heroes are born.
When the tough times do get over (and they always get over) then there are always roads which may not be smooth, but they always have lush green trees to offer you shade!
Cheers,
Pranjal A Wagh
28 April 2010
This work by Pranjal A. Wagh is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 2.5 India License
