Uttarakhand Tourism welcomes you to Pithoragarh

Of the famed Kashmir beauty, I had only heard… One visit to Pithoragarh (PTH) and I’m already thinking, if this place, often touted as the miniature Kashmir because of its geographical features, is so beautiful, what would the real thing be. Small villages scattered in an extremely green Soar Valley, ice-capped peaks in the distance, clouds floating above houses and hotels, beautiful soft-spoken Kumaoni people – all set to leave you wondering why on earth has this place not been on the tourist radar so far…

It is then that you also realize the answer to the question you posed to yourself... It is then that you remember the scary hairpin bends and steep landslide-struck roads that you negotiated to reach this place from the more famous Almora! Almora is around 4 hrs from Kathgodam (the nearest rail head - KGM). Then you travel for another two hrs before you reach Daniya. The road gets adventurous after that – and the last hour of journey after Ghat – it is surely not for the faint hearted!

But if you braved those roads and reached here, its time for some bliss... terraced fields all along the hill will be the first thing that catches your attention...
Complete hills have been carved into concentric circles of farms (apparently if want to purchase farmland, you need to purchase a complete circle). The town is not really blessed with the best of hotels but then, for an outdoor person like me, it didn’t really matter. In the distance, on a clear morning, you can see the Panchachuli peak from very close outside the main town. The church at the Chandak pass gives a panoramic view which is sure to leave you flabbergasted for not having come here earlier...

I had to travel further the next day and so retired early the next day. Nothing is as refreshing as waking up to the early morning sun. Leaving at 6, I set out for Dharchula – a small town around 4 hours away – on the Indo-Nepal border. From Jajar Deval (just outside the main town of PTH) to Kanalichina, the roads were pretty good. If Ghat-PTH road was tough, the road there on is perilous! Of course, the extremely cautious and experienced driver (Bhuvan) made it more of a joyride. A few miles before Joljibi, you meet the river and then on, its a journey with the cascading river as your companion. The Gori and the Kali rivers meet under a hanging rope bridge which connects India and Nepal. It is where you realise what absolute BS it is for man to create borders – exactly similar terrain and people (in fact even the currency) on both sides of the ‘border’! Leave alone everything, the chai in the same small glass tumbler tastes exactly the same!

Here on its pretty much a nice ride in the river-valley – on the Mansarovar Yatra Route - till you reach the NHPC colony and the military area of Dharchula. Dharchula is a warm place (a comfortable t-shirt would be ‘good’ attire) situated in the valley along the same Kali river. Oh btw, from Joljibi to Dharchula, the Kali river acts as an international boundary between India and Nepal! You can cross over without Visa and can carry personal daily goods but nothing tradable. You buy a Pepsi bottle woth Rs.25 – give a Rs.50 note – and get Rs.40 back (exchange rate is 60paise to a Nepali rupee) :D The hotels leave much room improvement. Rains are frequent and heavy at this time of the year (pretty much through Apr-Sep). No phone connections work except Nepal Telecom (the STD Booths charge Rs.10 per min to call India).

The return was tiring - one that even gave me a sun-burn because of the harsh mountain sun! I travelled to Haldwani in 12 hours - battered and tattered but extremely satisfied and pleased :)

Rest In Peace

The city ringed with fire, police bell
The city was picturesque, a living hell
Amidst this a drunkard lingered on
Life was long, endless night without a dawn…
Out of the shops, buildings was thrown he
Silent as the idol, looked on Thee
Laden with heavy armour, masked
Finally a policeman stopped, asked
“Don’t u want to return to house,
Seeking u are ur children, spouse?”

The drunkard put his hands in pocket
Tears rolled down his deep eye-socket
Out of his shirt, he took out some ash
Just then there was another splash
“This is my house”, he said, “my wife.”
“Burnt as you can see is my life.”
“Out of these my children call out.”
“Can’t u hear, feel them shout?”
I die. Do me a favour, will you?
Please cremate me, O please do!

O god! Please take me to them
Take me away from this mayhem.
This was one or many, no one knows
To tell the exact number, none too close
O leaders of religion, please wake
Life you know, is not a piece of cake
Some years of life we have on lease
Let us live, at least “REST IN PEACE”
Let us live, at least “REST IN PEACE”

My Analysis of Baba Ramdev's Demands

My Analysis of Baba Ramdev's Demands

Disclaimer: I'm not for corruption. Completely against it. I accept I might (surely would) have indulged in some form of corruption over my life and thus claim no moral right against corruption. But yes, I consider blackmail to be the biggest form of corruption - and 'fast-unto-death' is blackmail.

Tough Lokpal Bill; death sentence for the corrupt

Death Penalty in the Indian Constitution is awarded in the rarest of rare cases. And as far as I know, corruption surely not amongst the ‘rarest of rare’. There is not a single instance of a person being corrupt – it’ll always be a huge group of people who are corrupt. Until of course the aim is to reduce the population of India, this demand is surely not viable.

Return of all black money stashed abroad

How? Are the Swiss Banks liable to Indian laws and ordinances?

Abolish Rs.1,000 and Rs.500 currency notes

This almost seems like Faking News! Let the government bring the inflation to negative such that the 500 and 1000 rupee notes are not needed. In the current India, can any sound-minded person tell me this demand is valid!!! Reissue of currency - isn't educating people on counterfeit notes a better option?

Replace the British systems with Indian alternative

Such generalisations never work. British Law is also based on “Natural Law”. If you are so bent of changing the laws, ‘Civil Society’ has two eminent Lawyers on-board. Why don’t they tell the government which laws need to be amended? Many laws have been amended in the past and many more can be – at least point out what needs to be changed! “Change British systems” is a foolish generalisation!! Similarly for education – Run any institution you want – if people believe your system is better – people will join your system.

Reform in the electoral system; Prime Minister is directly elected by people

There are pros and cons of this. Calls for a big debate. But yes, there is not sure way of saying the direct election will elect any better person than the current system. Might, and might not. So no comments.

Ensure all citizens declare their incomes

This is more Chidambaram’s demands too...!!! How? When people build wealth in the name of charitable insstitutions and educational institutions, how do you make them disclose their incomes!

Promote Hindi (almost the expense of English)

Haven’t the Chinese been lesson enough...!!! They are all set to conquer the world – not by inhibiting English but ensuring kids learn English. I really don’t understand what it is that populist leaders have against English. Do anything to develop your language. Why curb the language that is going to propel the Indians into the global league – accept it – it might be bitter – English is now the ‘official’ language of the world – and anyone would do well to be well-versed in the language – even if forcibly.

Never Let Me Go (2010)

There has to be something about dystopia that gets my fingers moving on the keyboard faster than ever... First it was 1984 and now this... Just watched the movie “Never Let Me Go”. It is one movie that you will want to see even if not for Keira Knightley :) No I’m no pessimist who believes dystopia is coming and mankind will one day submit to the dystopian thought depicted but yes, it does get me thinking, “What if...”!!

Warning: Plot Summary discussed here...

In a British school set in almost perfect scenery of grasslands and dotted with trees standing over fences, students are taught to be themselves completely healthy as they are ‘special’. What is so special about them – they are being grown for organ donation!!! It is no science fiction mystery where the dystopia is revealed at the end... It is right there – in your face – watch further at your own peril - types. The idyllic cinematography makes the thought a little less scary than what it would have been had Christopher Nolan handled it with shocks and surprises...

Amongst this unnatural setting is where a love triangle develops between Ruth, Kathy and Tony – though each one of them is ultimately aware of the inevitable – their untimely yet predictable death (known in the film as ‘completion’). There is hope developed through a rumour of a ‘deferral’... Even I thought there might be hope in this dystopian land – but there was none. When Tony thinks art might the route to getting referral, he is very courteously (or curtly) informed, “We didn't have to look into your souls, we had to see if you had souls at all.” Ruth goes first – left to die on the operating table as one of her vital organ is removed and put into a bag (Yes, I told u, its right-in-your-face stuff...). Tony’s eyes look towards Kathy, the ‘carer’, as he goes under the surgeon’s knife – for the last time.

The climax is hauntingly relieving – Kathy receives the date for her first donation – she would soon die too... or should I say, she would complete. And as she says, “We all complete. Maybe none of us really understand what we've lived through, or feel we've had enough time.”

My throat went dry as the credits rolled down the screen... Were my eyes watering – no they weren’t – the shock had left them dry too. The handling of the love and death makes this one must-watch movie though the scary background makes it “not for the faint of heart”. Leave your mind at home and watch it with all your heart – you will enjoy (ok I really dunno if I can call it that) this melodrama no end...

Orwell's 1984

As I complete a ‘novel’ after a long time, something, far worse than my worst nightmare, has gripped me. I just felt it needed some release. It was one of the best novels describing the worst form of dystopia. Now I’ve read some Utopian novels and felt they were too optimistic, but I now sure wish they are true. Such is the gruesome reality of the George Orwell’s ‘1984’.

In a nightmarish land (hopefully far, far away and then further), an Outer ‘Party’ worker finds himself in a moral dilemma. In a land where thought is crime, he has committed it. In a land where there are only three ever-lasting and all applicable party principles, Winston Smith finds himself hating the Party but obeying it all the same. What follows is a tale of absolute dystopia and as he shall discover – the price of freedom is betrayal...

Quite unlike other ‘novels’ I read, this one is not based on a story – but more on a belief – a commentary on the world state of affairs. No wonder that so many of the terms used in the book are part of our language and more importantly, part of our lives.

The dystopia, while it is scary, is almost true – and that is the more scary part of it. In a world so connected, all our actions can be governed and even controlled – and with every evolution in psychological science, we are moving towards how not just the actions but also the thought can be read and controlled. What is history but a repeated version of someone’s memory! What if all our thoughts could be controlled – all memory will be linked to one version – ‘Party’s version – and all past can/will be altered according to what the party wants. And so will be our present and hence the future...

In a long narration from Goldstein’s book, Orwell describes how the world we live in operates – how governments and societies function – not just the how but also the why and not just the why but also the how the ‘government’ can remain powerful and how the ‘upper class’ can remain so – all at the cost of the ‘Proles’.

And in the end – when ‘thoughtcrime’ is committed, how Winston is subjected to mental reconstruction through pain, humiliation and of course the legendary ‘Room one-oh-one’.

I’ll leave with a few memorable (and scary) lines from the novel:

• The war is not meant to be won. It is meant to be continuous. The essential act of modern warfare is the destruction of the produce of human labour.


• It is intolerable to us that an erroneous thought should exist anywhere in the world, however secret and powerless it may be. Even in the instance of death we cannot permit any deviation . . . we make the brain perfect before we blow it out.


• If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face—forever.


• WAR IS PEACE
  FREEDOM IS SLAVERY
  IGNORANCE IS STRENGTH.


• Who controls the past, controls the future. Who controls the present, controls the past.


• Your worst enemy, he reflected, was your nervous system...


• Under the spreading chestnut tree,
  I sold you... You sold me...


• It was curious to think that the sky was the same for everybody, in Eurasia or Eastasia as well as here. And the people under the sky were also very much the same--everywhere, all over the world, hundreds or thousands of millions of people just like this, people ignorant of one another's existence, held apart by walls of hatred and lies.

And the eternally haunting line - You once asked me, Winston, what was in room 101. I think you know. Everyone does. The thing that is in room 101... is the worst thing in the world.

All in all, a sure MUST READ...

Jail Bharo??? Why not 'Vote Karo'???

There is one person fasting-unto-death to fight corruption in India. There are hundreds supporting him at Jantar Mantar. There are 1000s “sharing” it and 10000s “Liking it”. So is that the way we fight corruption in a democratic country like India?

Fighting corruption is not just a noble idea, but almost a necessity. But how? Ok we know Afzal Guru was sentenced to death. Punishing crime with a suitable punishment is justified right? So I will fast-unto-death till he is hanged...!!! That is childish mentality to say the least.

When I said so, I was told that “this fight is not against a set of corrupt individuals but to bring a change in the system. Any individual is only as good as the system...” Eh?? Really?? Why then do we have leaders who have been credited to have changed the world we live in? Those are the ones we refer to as ‘visionaries’. I’d rather say the opposite; any system is only as good as the person in-charge. And that I can prove by personal and professional examples.

Agreed, the parliament doesn’t want to draft the bill because of vested interests of the parliamentarians involved. No I’m not justifying corruption by saying everyone does it and we can’t do anything about it. I’m just saying, the method to root it out is not by fasting-unto-death. It is through the impeccable execution by the police. We already have many bodies and laws “banning corruption” – the only problem is the execution.

We’ve had institutions like the ‘Lokpal’ in past. Aint CVC a similar body? The fault always is with the constitution of the body. Lokpal is proposed to be constituted by Nobel laureates and Magsaysay Awardees apart from Bharat Ratna awardees and Judges. How, if I may ask, is winning the Nobel, a qualification for prosecution of the corrupt!!! Rajiv Gandhi, a Bharat Ratna Awardee, is eligible for the body despite his alleged role in the country’s largest defence scam – the Bofors.

The biggest perpetrators of corruption are not the politicians but the rich and the famous; I’m sure many are currently on television pretending to be supporting the anti-corruption ‘movement’. If Raja does it, it’s a scam – if Ambani does it, its business acumen...!!! If you do it in Tirupati, its Aastha, if you do it in a government office, its a bribe...!!!

What I believe is that transparency will give the “civil society” far more powers of execution than it feels it currently has. If used correctly, the RTI would negate the necessity of the Lokpal. By creating the Lokpal, we are just deferring our duties to someone we think will do the job (or in other words, shirking). Instead of trying to stop corruption, score a government on parameters and put them to test through the democratic process of election. I’m sure when the voting percentage of India reaches 90%+, there will be no more agitations against corruption. Till then, you can agitate all you want, go on fast-unto-death, light candles and march to India Gate – all you will be doing is increase emission of green house gases without any productive result.

P.S: I’m waiting for the day the Lokpal is charged with favouritism or partisan behaviour or like the CVC, the chief is accused of corruption...

The Cobblerist Movement

This post is inspired by an old joke and in reply to a chat I had today (yeah, completely unrelated to cricket)...

The world, after decades of strife, was at ease – but an uneasy calm, an eerie silence pervaded all around. American defence budgets had soared to more than 6% of their GDP for the first time. While the majority of budgets for the past 5 years were dedicated to research, for the first time in the decade, manpower costs were hiked – that sure didn’t bode well for the year – was there a war lurking in the background?

The 1984th resolution of the UN Security Council declared that nuclear enrichment by any nation was to be done only under the watch of IAEA. The IAEA, headed by an ex-DefSec, was a 10-member democratic body consisting of 6 US ex-senators, two British ex-PMs, Hamid Karzai and an ageing Jalal Talabani. Pakistan, which had been a largely peaceful nation since the time they contacted Narendra Modi to rebuild their state ridden with turmoil, stated on record that they had no use for nuclear energy and had hence, stopped their civilian nuclear programme. They also refused to buy American technology for the same. Insider sources reported that the budget deficit of the US was to be funded by Pak purchase of advanced enrichment technology for carbon¹⁵.

US, under the aegis of IAEA, declared that Pakistan was hiding their nuclear enrichment programme and had potentially been using the same for non-peaceful purposes. They alleged that the enriched C¹⁵ was sufficient to manufacture nukes against India. While India remained non-committal, they refused to endorse the US view of the same. However, US was adamant and declared that they would rid the world of all Nukes starting with Pakistan. The democratic IAEA voted unanimously in favour of US aggression.


Brash nation that they are, US declared a unilateral war on Pakistan. The brashness didn’t end there. In a highly publicised press conference, they openly declared that they would obliterate the terrorist network operating in Pakistan and all terrorists, including the cobbler who sat on the parliament house steps would be killed. Suddenly there was outrage in the world. Human Right activists called US a fascist nation for attacking the cobbler. Cobblers from around the world condemned the declaration. Suddenly there were government schemes announced to protect the cobbler. Three nations offered him asylum. The cobbler, ignorant of all that was happening around him, was polishing shoes as usual when the first missile hit the parliament. Afraid, he took up on the offer by the visiting head of state. The ambassador proclaimed victory on humanitarian grounds. The cobbler was airlifted out of Islamabad and taken to an undisclosed location.

Missile after missile kept hitting the Pakistani nation. The cobbler meanwhile was safe in a safehouse 30m underground in an Arab nation. Pakistan was reduced to ashes. 300,000 were presumed dead. Damage estimate touched 10 digits. Meanwhile, human right activists kept shouting slogans against US decision to kill the cobbler. Rights Groups sat on ‘Dharnas’ demanding survival rights of the cobbler. The media covered the complete event in great detail. The cobbler’s parents and family joined in on an indefinite hunger strike. Finally, after 62 days of war, the US accepted it was a folly to think of killing the cobbler. The activists proclaimed victory. The state of Pakistan will forever be known as the state that was sacrificed to save the cobbler.

And India Win the World Cup...

Uttarakhand Tourism Welcomes you to Dhanaulti...

My travel has led me to many popular tourist locations – this time it was a quaint little place – not the typical tourist destination – further up from Mussourie – to a forestland in Dhanaulti. It was a very short trip, nevertheless a most cherished one.

We started on the 25th of March – the time of the year when the weather in Mussourie is comfortable – slightly chilly evenings and sunny days with clear skies. We started around 4:30. The drive from Mussourie does become slightly colder as you start climbing altitudes. After about an hour of drive through the narrow winding roads, we reached Buranskhanda. Few adventure operators organise short treks and mountain biking expeditions from this place. It is windy and gives you the first view of the snow-capped hills of the majestic Himalayas (Winter sees this place being covered in snow). After a short tea break, we proceeded towards Dhanaulti. You know you are approaching Dhanaulti when the vegetation starts growing thicker. You can spot deodar and pine trees along the roads. The red rhododendron flowers are an absolute treat.

There are many small hotels in Dhanaulti. We had a look at one and then decided that it would indeed be a shame to stay in a concrete room even after coming all the way from Mussourie to go closer to nature. Our driver took us to the “Eco Hut” maintained by the Dhanolti Eco Tourism and Eco Development Committee. The Garhwali guy at the entrance initially refused to give a room citing no vacancy. After applying a few selling (in this case, buying) skills that I’ve been trained on for the last 10 months, we landed the four of us a room. And we were glad to have got this room. Set right amidst the deodar trees, this place is indeed a nature lover’s (or for that matter, any lovers’) paradise. Made of bamboo, this place is as close to nature as you can get. The water is solar heated and the “street lighting” is solar powered. It was 6:00 in the evening and we decided to have a look at the Eco Park – the only tourist destination. The place is a good spot to start birding though we didn’t have the time to go birding.

When the attendant at the gate insisted that the park was closed and that he couldn’t keep it open any longer, we finally came out and spotted the favourite snack of the hills – Maggi – being made right outside. The guy, Kishore Rana, a Garhwali who ran this shop as a side business in the tourist season, was a potato and peas farmer. After gorging on two plates of Maggi each, we decided to retire for the night. After having a simple dinner of parathas and a lot of gossip, none of us knew when we slept off.

The morning was bright and sunny. The early morning sunlight on teh snow-capped hills in the distance was an absolute beauty. We decided the forest merited a walk. After around an hour of strolling through the rhododendron and the extremely tall deodar trees, we came back to Mr. Rana (oh yes, yet again) for a cup of masala ginger tea. The hot water in the cottage was indeed a pleasant surprise and after quick bath, we proceeded to Tehri. More on Tehri later...
PP

Trial By Media

It was a chilly morning of February 22nd in the year 2006. However, the chill that went through the ToI reader’s body had almost nothing to do with the cold. It was the headline – the hard hitting – “No One Killed Jessica”. When no one killed Jessica, why was she not alive - because police coudn't catch 'No One' and the prosecution couldn't prosecute 'No One'. Time for some media action… And 5 years later – as we now relive the story of the power of the media through the much acclaimed, “No One Killed Jessica” (henceforth, NOKJ), I was left thinking – who will monitor the monitors of democracy?

No, I’m not against the verdict sentencing Manu Sharma to rigorous life imprisonment – perhaps the media did get it right this time and the heinous crime deserved punishment. But, what if the media did not? As Warren Buffett put it very succinctly, “The rear-view mirror is always clearer than the windshield.” Looking back, I might say the media did a right thing by adopting an activist’s role and “bringing the guilty to justice”. But can the same be said about every future campaign that a media house takes up? I’d hate to even think of the ‘proof’s that India TV can get if they set out to brand me as the incarnation of Satan… Given their propensity to videograph ‘news’, they just might succeed!!!

Jokes apart, the movie poses some serious concerns. It is good to have the Indian democracy, long plagued by corruption, monitored by the Fourth Estate. But then, where do we draw the line. What if the media itself is corrupt? It is a no-brainer that the television is not philanthropy – it is serious business – business aimed at making profits. And nothing corrupts like money. Can the evidence presented by media be considered accurate? What if the context has been deleted/edited? As Will Smith said so in the “Enemy of The State”, “We've also come to realise that we need to monitor the people who are monitoring them...” But how?

NOKJ did one thing smart – they got the ball rolling. Ram Jethmalani might not be right in his judgement (or in many cases he has taken in recent past), but he is not too wrong when he says that this case was a trial by the media – the same media that created the ‘Prince’ out of just another child from hundreds who keep falling in manholes (many not so lucky) everyday, the same media that hailed the billionth child, Astha, while well ignoring so many others born at the same time across so many other hospitals in India. No malice against the media – I’m just concerned about the “selective news” that media chooses to telecast over prime-time.

At the end, well NOKJ did a great job in its portrayal of the positive (hopefully) role played by media in the entire Jessica Lal Murder Case – but just like TZP or 3-Idiots, it can tend to mislead the gullible Indian population into believing everything that media does is picture perfect. Judiciary might be slow – even cumbersome – even corrupt – but does have some good brains (if not the best) to help it chart its own course.

Just remember, for every Jessica Lal Murder Case that media helps to solve, there is a Barkha Dutt (and others) reporting live.

PP

@Barkha – Just in case you are reading this, I’ve full respect for you but just feel there might have been a few lapses in Mumbai – but as you said so, “Praise and criticism are twins that travel together”.