EMERGENCY - 1975

 By The Way -

When declaration of much maligned Emergency happened this  day in 1975, I was waiting for my  MA final result. Since I had not entered public life during the entire period of Emergency being in force, I have not much to say about this except that I do recall a small incident during the early days. A friend and classmate took me to the AG office Shimla, where he was to meet some acquaintance. Not the time when you could freely move about and barge into any room for any purpose, after a brief enquiry the receptionist at the entrance called the concerned person to the reception on intercom. The conversation of my friend  with the  person over, the latter asked the receptionist to allow him to go out for a while as he wanted to entertain the visitors with a cup of tea. But the receptionist did not budge, perhaps bound by the instructions from the authorities. Though he was courteous enough to offer tea at the reception itself. However, the person we met was apologetic that we had to leave without a cup of tea. 

From common man's perspective, the period was a boon as in Government offices, staff was available 10 to 5. Red tape had vanished and the files had developed wheels.

Emergency had happened also as a sequel to a call for 'total revolution ' from the likes of Jayaprakash Narayan. Interesting Vinoba Bhave supported the emergency calling it ' अनुशासन पर्व ', the other dignitary supporting it was the author Khushwant Singh.

World Bicycle Day

 Today is World Bicycle Day.

Down the memory lane !

As  I come out of Luxmi theatre ( or was it Sundar ! ) at 10 PM, after watching an old movie 'Navrang', the worry of reaching residence  four km away at Solan Breweries disturbs me, though not a big deal for a twenty plus  something  young man. I start on foot muttering 'dekha  jayega ' to myself. As I reach the end of the Mall, a bicycle stops, the rider asking me to sit on the carrier. Slowly he pedals the cycle and drops me at Brewery. A complete stranger- a godsend, a deus ex machina..... for sure.

Happened 48 years ago !!

Indo- Pak Conflict & Cease fire.

 By the way -

These last four five days have been full of anxiety for me and my wife like for most of my fellow Indians.There has been some  unpleasant exchange of words on Facebook with some esteemed friends who hold a different view in some matters. The crux of the matter is - जिस तन लागे सो तन जाने - so far as the armed conflict and its fall out is concerned. It takes little time for euphoria of any kind to turn into hysteria . The godi media has presented itself in bad light, not unexpectedly though. After many years, for 4-5 days, there was compulsive watching  of TV channels. While all praise to ground reporters of  most of the channels, the anchors made a mess of the job exhibiting utter lack of professionalism  mouthing lies that did good to no one, except perhaps misconceived  purported rise of TRP.

Personally, I found NDTV somewhat better than others.

The ceasefire has come as a relief to common man. Any prolonged conflict comes with a corresponding  heavy cost in terms of human & material resources, which not only retards development but also puts the clock back.

Humble tributes to the civilians and brave soldiers who lost their lives.

Media and social media will be rife with a lot of discussion taking place in days to come.

CIVIL SERVICES DAY

 Civil Services Day musings-

The Civil Services - bureaucrats & technocrats both included- remain under the scanner most of the time with little noticeable improvement over the years. The Political bosses rule the roost having the final say about who will man this or that post. No surprise then that with the change in Government at the Centre or in the states, there are transfers ordered at a mass scale. After all, the political parties have their own trusted blue eyed boys who they want to reward with plum postings. Sometimes, the bosses choose not to disturb the incumbants as regional considerations get the better of everything.

I feel no need to repeat the  recent HPPCL  episode in which a Chief Engineer was reportedly driven to commit suicide due to the alleged high handed behaviour of those at the helm of affairs.

In the light of all this the advice to the Civil Services would be to shed some of  their arrogance, insensitivity, aloofness, mocking stance and condescending attitude  for fostering genial environment at the work place to get the best results.

Sure, it will be a rewarding experience !!

Election - 2024

 By The Way :

As never before this time the ECI has gone an extra mile to send sms messages and to make computerized messages in the voice of celebrity ikons to exhort people to vote. There were also long distance bike rallies to create awareness among the people to vote. Unfortunately the ECI falls short of achieving the target of  80% envisaged in the endeavor. Though it matters a lot who you vote for, the greater disservice is done by those who abstain altogether. At the same time it is encouraging to see the pictures posted by some friends who travelled long distances to cast their vote.

By voting, I have earned the right to support or criticize the future government as also to indulge in mindful & mindless raves on social media. The Exit poll has pleased many  but at the same time eyebrows have been raised by doubting thomases like me. The results will be out on the 4th, till then speculations will remain rife. Hope media regains credibility in the years to come !

AYODHYA visit

 A few days back, Ayodhya got added to my 'been there' list, as I thought it worth my while to take  two & a half hour  drive from Lucknow, where I am putting these days. Reaching Ayodhya, saw self styled guides  with smeared  forehead and face chasing us on scooter offering to facilitate our darshan of Hanuman Garhi, Sita Rasoi and Ram Mandir for an amount ranging between ₹200  & ₹ 400. Not taken in by the offer, we parked the vehicle, took a three wheeler and reached Hanuman Garhi. The large crowd of people lined up haphazardly  to have darshan, simply put us off and we bowed our heads in reverance from a distance. In coming days Ayodhya will be witness to yet another mega event  signalling Pran Pratishtha at the Ram Mandir.

Teachers Day

 By the way :

As is the practice and convention, every other Facebook post today is about Teachers & Teachers Day, and rightly so. This is an occasion to remember and celebrate the Teachers who have shaped us into what we are and where we stand today. There are National and  State level functions to bestow Awards on teachers who have made their mark in the field through sincerity, hardwork and dedication to make the difference. The Schools are having their own celebrations to mark the occasion.

What do we remember our teachers for !

I think  not only for excellent classroom teaching but much beyond that, setting example for truth, sincerity, honesty, dutifulness.. etc. etc.

A teacher's achievement lies in making a subject interesting and easy to understand, inculcating  moral and humane values in students. A teacher should be a good communicator, encouraging queries and satiating the urge for learning.

This is the ideal state.

On the flip side there are teachers who are peevish, short tempered, biased and lacking in moral correctitude as becomes evident by news about  some unpleasant incidents take place. There are also rowdy and indisciplined students misbehaving with teachers. These together ring alarm bells  for future.

There is need for a concerted effort by teachers and parents to  take remedial steps to set things right.

Happy Teachers Day 🌹🌹