The Ultimate Ears: Soul

 You don't need to have just ears to listen. You can do it far better with your soul. If not this, why would one listen to the beautiful songs of silence in solitudional woods. The voice, whisper and songs of silence that come embracing you to console, to befriend, to comfort, to reassure, to rejuvenate. You need to 'have' a soul to listen. Of course everyone and everything has a soul. By 'having' a soul I mean one is aware of its presence, its lively throbbing, its guiding light, its essence, its imerishable nature beyond the bodily encasing. Its real feel, its vibrant awareness is what I mean to 'have' a soul. The trees, plants, grass, flowers, birds, snakes, earth, sky, stars and all and sundry have a soul. And they listen. I sometimes say a few gentle, appreciating words to the flowers and they smile better. Yes, they do! But you need to have a soul to soul connection to feel that. I tried it with a snake but it scampered away and so did I after that brief period of calling it a ceasefire along the human-snake line of fear-fire. The very same primal fear blocking soul to soul contact. The next time i intend to use the voice of silence and words of gentility through the eyes instead of oral words. It might work. You never know.

A change in the life of a dog

 

The sadhu’s phantasmagorical strike at the ever-howling dog, the sprightly sniveler, astounded it to the extent that it finally came out of its crying doctrinaires and barked for the first time. So it may be counted as a blessing by the mendicant because a dog without bark is nothing short of perfidy in the canine world. Having abandoned its frightful peculiarity, it docks its tail with a certain swagger. The dog has started barking finally. It’s a neighborhood news item.

The best liquor-lover in the locality, who sets up the most loquacious and abusive drama after getting sloshed—having plenteously pawned away most of his possessions—inadvertently struck the dog with his cycle. He was holding his cycle and reversing it. The sleeping dog was hit by the tyre as it rolled over the dog. The dog took it as a breach of honor. It must have felt like a thunder-strike to the sleeping dog because—following the momentum built after the sadhu episode—it barked.

It’s such a nice change in the street. The barking dogs are far more preferable than the howling ones. Maybe it was waiting for good reasons to bark all this time and the sadhu and the liquor-lover finally provided it one. Even though it still finds most of the issues and objects worth howling at only, but its mysterious sufferance gets a few moments of break at the sight of the liquor-lover. The other day, the liquor-lover once again bespattered the street air with his doctrinal cuss words, raising a terrible show with an abominable ravishment. As a few people gathered to shove him back to his house, the dog gave them suitable strength and company by following the party and barking all the while. He followed them and chivalrously barked as if to say, ‘Take this idiot to his house!’

By the way, there is a fat black puppy in the street. It was standing by the gate and I suddenly happened to open the gate. The sound startled it so much as if an apocalypse was unfolding. It’s an angelic little roly-poly cute thing. Almost a dark ball. A mere look at it will suffuse you with lovingness. Scared out of wits, it showed consummate skills at running. It rolled over its tiny paws and covered majority of the flight in rolling motion.

It reached a safe distance and then barked cutely, showing the embryonary canine sense in its little brain. Well, it inspires me to do the same when against a danger. Running away is a fun. It’s brave in fact. You need to be strong to run away from tricky situations and angry people.

मणिपुर की त्रासदी

 मणिपुर करीब दो महीने से जल रहा है। कम से कम 125 लोग मारे गए हैं,

हजारों घायल हुए हैं और लाखों लोग विस्थापित हुए हैं। नफरत का पंथ, बांटो

और राज करो की विचारधारा, धार्मिक, जातीय और जाति के आधार पर ध्रुवीकरण

का कीड़ा घातक कीमत लेता है समाज से।

यह बहुत दुख की बात है कि ऐसा लगता है कि इस छोटे से उत्तर-पूर्वी राज्य

को उसके भाग्य पर छोड़ दिया गया है। मैंने लंबे समय से अपने देश के उस

हिस्से के लोगों से सुना है कि दिल्ली उनके साथ सौतेला व्यवहार करती है।

अब मैं इसे होता देख रहा हूं। यह बहुत बड़ी त्रासदी है लेकिन मीडिया

कवरेज देखिए। दुनिया में कहीं और युद्धों के बारे में दिन-रात गरजने वाले

पत्रकार मणिपुर संकट के बारे में चुप हैं। यह समझ में आता है क्योंकि

मणिपुर में हमारे पास शक्तिशाली डबल-इंजन सरकार है। इसके खिलाफ कुछ भी

बोलने की उनकी हिम्मत कैसे हो सकती है। वे बस नहीं कर सकते। अशहाय हैं.

बंगाल में छिटपुट हिंसा हो या किसी अन्य विपक्षी राज्य में तब मिडिया

दिन-रात हंगामा करता है। 'अनुच्छेद 356 लागू करो। सरकार को निलंबित करो।'

राज्यपाल शासन लगाओ,' वे गरजते हैं। और मणिपुर में तबाही पे सब

चुप है।

पिछले दिनों बड़े पैमाने पर मीडिया और प्रशासनिक अभियान चलाया गया था क्योंकि एक चक्रवाती

तूफान ने भारत में सबसे पसंदीदा राज्य का रुख किया। पूरे मीडिया, पूरे

मंत्रालय को जीवन और संपत्ति के किसी भी संभावित नुकसान से बचाने के लिए

भारत के उस विशेषाधिकार प्राप्त हिस्से में भेज दिया गया था। मीडिया के

लोगों ने क्रोधित समुद्र और प्रचंड हवाएं दिखाईं। उसमें कोई बुराई नहीं

है। लेकिन एक छोटे से उत्तर-पूर्वी राज्य की उपेक्षा क्यों करें? मणिपुर में घटित

त्रासदियों की नदियाँ किसी का ध्यान नहीं खींचती हैं. सबसे पसंदीदा राज्य को केंद्र सरकार के शीर्ष नेतृत्व का

सौभाग्य प्राप्त है। इसमें अधिक सीटें हैं। गरीब मणिपुर दुनिया की सबसे

बड़ी राजनीतिक पार्टी की राजनीतिक रूप से महत्वाकांक्षी योजनाओं को क्या

प्रदान करता है? तो वहां की डबल इंजन सरकार के पूरी तरह विफल होने के

बावजूद राज्य सरकार वहां सत्ता की कुर्सी पर आज भी सुरक्षित है. अनुच्छेद

356 लागू करने का अर्थ वहां की सरकार की विफलता को स्वीकार करना होगा।

क्या आप सोच सकते हैं कि अगर किसी विपक्ष शासित राज्य में ऐसा कुछ होता

है तो क्या होगा?

मैतेई और कुकी एक दूसरे के खून के प्यासे हैं। जातीय या धार्मिक आधार पर

वही सदियों पुराना ध्रुवीकरण। सरकार को यह समझना होगा कि वे अब अपनी मूल

विचारधारा से ध्रुवीकरण के सिद्धांत को हटाने का जोखिम उठा सकती हैं

क्योंकि इसने उन्हें दो बार सत्ता दी है। लेकिन एक सीमा से आगे इसका पीछा

करना इस देश के लिए घातक है। आज मणिपुर जल रहा है। भगवान न करे, यदि

धार्मिक आधार पर बहुसंख्यक और अल्पसंख्यक के बीच ध्रुवीकरण का वही तीव्र

स्तर हमारे समाज को परेशान करता रहे, तो एक दिन ऐसा भी आ सकता है जब भारत

माता की अखंडता और संप्रभुता को चुनौती दी जा सकती है। इसलिए भगवान के

लिए विभाजनकारी और ध्रुवीकरण की रणनीति का परित्याग करें। विकास के

मुद्दों पर चुनाव लड़ने के लिए आपने काफी काम किया है। कृपया इस देश को

विभाजित और खण्डित ना करें।

राहुल गांधी को भारत के सबसे शक्तिशाली व्यक्ति के नाम पर व्यंग्य करने के लिए

तुरंत दंडित किया जाता है। उनकी संसदीय सदस्यता निलंबित कर दी जाती है,

उनका सरकारी आवास वापस ले लिया जाता है। और महिला पहलवानों के साथ

छेड़खानी करने वाले सत्ताधारी पार्टी के बाहुबली को व्यवस्थित ढंग से संरक्षण दिया जाता है।

सत्ता का यह दुरुपयोग स्पष्ट रूप से दिखता है। बिना औपचारिक चार्जशीट के

भी कुछ कॉलेज के छात्र 1000 दिनों तक जेलों में डाल दिए जाते हैं। विपक्षी नेता

शक्तिशाली राज्य एजेंसियों से भयभीत लिए जाते हैं। हमारे पास यह मानने का

हर कारण है कि सर्वशक्तिशाली नेता का शक्तिशाली पंथ इंदिरा गांधी युग का

आकार ले रहा है। बिल्कुल उसी तरह का अहंकार और सत्ता का नशा। लेकिन किसी

भी स्थिति में परिणाम फिर वही होंगे। क्योंकि अभिमान का पतन होता है।

हमेशा!

The tragedy in Manipur

 It's very sad that it seems the little north-eastern state has been left to its fate. I have long heard from the people of that part of our country that Delhi gives them stepmotherly treatment. Now I see it happening. It's a huge tragedy but look at the media coverage. The journos who are croaking day and night about wars elsewhere in the world are silent about the Manipur crisis. It's understandable because in Manipur we have the powerful double-engine sarkar. How dare they speak anything against it. They simply cannot.

Let there be sporadic violence in Bengal or any other opposition state the media croaks day and night. 'Impose Article 356. Suspend the government. Impose Governor rule,' they thunder. And all is silent as the mayhem unfolds in Manipur.

There was a massive media and administrative campaign as a cyclonic storm approached the most-preferred state in India. The entire media, the entire ministry were trooped to that privileged part of India to ward off any possible damage to life and property. Media people showed angry seas and blazing winds. Nothing wrong with that. But why ignore a little north-eastern state? The rivers of tragedies go unnoticed and unreported as they happen in Manipur. The most-preferred state is privileged to have the top leadership of the central government. It has more seats. What does poor Manipur offer to the politically ambitious plans of the world's largest political party? So despite complete failure of the double-engine government there, the state government is still safe there in the seat of power. Imposing Article 356 would mean acceptance of failure of its government there. Can you imagine what would happen if something like this happens in an opposition ruled state?

The Meiteis and the Kukis are baying for each other's blood. The very same age-old polarization along ethnic or religious lines. The government has to understand that they can now afford to drop the principle of polarization from its core ideology because it has given them power two times. But pursuing it beyond a point is fatal for this country. Today Manipur is burning. God forbid, if the very same intense level of polarization between the majority and minority along religious lines keeps haunting our society, there might be a day when integrity and sovereignty of mother India might be challenged. So for God sake abandon divisive and polarization tactics. You have enough work done to fight elections on develpmental issues. Please don't divide and break this country.

Rahul Gandhi is immediately penalized for name-shaming the most powerful man in India. His parliamentary membership is suspended, his official residence is taken back. And a muscleman who has molested female wrestlers is systematically protected. This misuse of power is glaringly self-evident. College students keep incinerated in jails for 1000 days without even a formal charge sheet. Opposition leaders get intimidated by powerful state agencies. We have every reason to believe that the powerful cult of the all-powerful leader is taking the shape of Indira Ganhi era. The very same kind of arrogance and intoxication of power. But in any case the results again would be the same. Because pride hath a fall. Always!

A practice in patience

 

If you want to hone patience into the fabric of your persona, wait for the day when your kitchen has green fenugreek leaves. Then take your offer to your mother, sister, wife, girlfriend, partner or the maid or whosoever has the task of using the said leaves. Start picking out the leaves from the thin stems. Now, this is a job you simply cannot rush through. It takes it own time.

After a while, the impatience and restlessness in you will settle down to an acceptance that picking one tiny leaf at a time from the fragile stem is an art that is its own master. A calmative sense of patience downs upon you then.

Also, if you want to drill the principles of caution into your attitude, look for an opportunity when the kitchen sink is full of precious but fragile crockery. Offer your services at washing these. You of course need to be very careful because the littlest smudge at any corner lays the entire piece waste. Caution and carefulness in handling valuable crockery will make you learn the importance of carefully handling the modern-day relations that are hundred times more fragile than the crockery set in your kitchen.