Bihar Divas

विगत २२ से २४ मार्च २०१० तक बिहार दिवस का आयोजन अपने आप में अविस्मरनीय था. २२ मार्च १९१२ को बंगाल प्रेसिडेंसी से बिहार को अलग किया गया था. इस ऐतिहासिक घटना की याद में और बिहारियों में a sense of pride और belongingness विकसित करने के उद्देश्य से बिहार सरकार ने हर वर्ष २२ मार्च को बिहार दिवस समारोहपूर्वक मनाने का निर्णय लिया है. पिछले तीन दिनों तक इस सन्दर्भ में लोगो में जो उत्साह दिखा वो अदभुत था.मेरे ख्याल से हम बिहारी अपने आप को underestimate करते हैं और यह मानकर चलते हैं की हमारी अलग से कोई संस्कृति और पहचान नहीं है. साथ ही साथ कतिपय कारणों से बिहार के बारे में मिथ्या प्रचार भी बहुत हुआ है.


लेकिन अगर हम पिछले तीन दिनों में गाँधी मैदान में जो माहौल था उसपर अगर गौर करे तो यह स्पष्ट है की बहुत सारी भ्रांतियां अब दूर हो रही हैं . हजारों की संख्या में लोगो ने देर रात तक सांस्कृतिक कार्यक्रमों का आनंद उठाया , बिहार के इतिहास पर जो झांकी प्रदर्शित की गई थी वो कई मायनों में बेमिशाल थी. नई पीढ़ी कम से कम यह अच्छी तरह से समझ सकती है की बिहार का वर्तमान चाहे जैसा भी हो इसका अतीत गौरवशाली रहा है. क्या यह हमारे लिए गौरव की बात नहीं है की प्राचीन समय में पाटलिपुत्र दुनिया का सबसे समृद्ध राज्य था. नालंदा और विक्रमशिला जैसे विश्वविद्यालय थे , गौतम बुद्ध, भगवान महावीर, सम्राट अशोक , चन्द्रगुप्त, आर्यभट ऐसे नामों की लम्बी सूचि है जिनका जन्म और कर्म क्षेत्र बिहार रहा है.

 

 
इस अवसर पर आयोजित कार्यक्रमों में बिहार के दूरदराज़ से आये लोगो ,खासकर महिलाओं ,की भागीदारी भी महत्वपूर्ण थी. तलवारबाजी, धीमी साइकिल रेस जैसी प्रतियोगिताएं काफी लोकप्रिय रही.


 

 
बिहारी व्यंजन की बात अगर न हो तो शायद यह चर्चा अधूरी रह जायेगी. लाई, लिट्टी चोखा , चुरा दही, खाजा, जैसी बहुत चीजें हैं जो विशुद्ध रूप से बिहारी हैं. इन सबका आनंद भी लोगों ने खूब लिया.


इसमें कही कोई दो राय नहीं की बिहार और बिहारी की भी अपनी एक अलग positive पहचान है. यह भी सत्य है की बिहार की उपेक्षा भी अतीत में हुई है.

But there are enough reasons why we should feel proud of being bihari- The first republic of world, Gautam Buddha got enlightment, Chanakya, the great econmoist and political scientist, The Nalanda University, valmiki wrote ramayan here, Sushrut, the father of surgery, Bhagwan mahavir, Kamsutra of Vatsayana, Aryabhatt-the great astronomer----- the list is endless.

Frustrated ?

Recently I attended a meeting of Programme Officers in which our Senior most Officer of the zone also participated. Apart from normal official business, what I observed was that most of participants were frustrated from current state of affairs. The overall view was that we were not getting what we deserve and that we are being cheated by the organisation. The overall work atmosphere has deterioted too much and there is nothing left for us to work or get satisfaction from our work. Our officer gave all of us a patient hearing. (That is his biggest quality. He always gives a person complete chance to air his views openly and completely and he never out rightly reject his subordinate's opinion and even never question a person’s ability to do a work) He agreed with staffmembers views but asserted that we must think what is best for us in the current circumstances. If we become aloof and inert or if we react in an extraordinary manner then Department will justify its act of sidelining us.So we must introspect and try to develop positive attitude even in adverse situation. After all we are being paid handsomely in terms of pay. Many of us may not agree with his views and say that he is preaching because afterall he has already got post and place.

Later on I thought, thought and thought.(After all thinking is my passion). I try to understand what make us frustrated. Most of us are in our Forties and Fifties. This is a period where we are in a position to just look back in our life and evaluate what we have gained or lost in life. Secondly, during this period our Children are in an age where some crucial decisions may have to be taken regarding them. Our parents may be too old and sick. They also expect proper caring. So there is a lot of pressure.

So when we look back and see that we deserve more then what we have got from our life and again we find that our life in the organization has become stagnant, organisation has become a shelter place for jokers, hypocrites right from the top, then we feel being let down and finally frustrated. Sometime we call it Midlife crisis, when we start questioning the very purpose of our life. Midlife crisis involves wide range of feelings such as discontent with life and the lifestyle that may have provided happiness for many years, feeling cheated with people who have developed some kind of bond and have been really close to us, feeling adventurous and wanting to do something completely different and finally questioning the meaning of life.  This led to evaluating the validity of decisions made years before. These feelings at mid-life can occur naturally, or they can be brought on by external factors.


So what is the way out? Should we only cry, cry and cry or should we try to chart out a course to live life happily even in an adverse situation? The answer is obviously second one. This is the only way.

Some thoughts

     SOMETIME I TOO PLUNGE DEEP INTO THINKING MODE. Thinking, thinking and thinking. Sometimes it do happen that your attachment with a person made you too possessive. That is not fair. Sometime you fear something which is nonexistent. I think the best way is to cherish nice memories and ndonot think too much amything about future course of events in any relationship.
you made me smile
you motivated me towards so many matters
you brought out the best in me...

and  it is best for me to stay this way...

obscurely trying to 'see' you  from far
whispering thoughts of you to myself
wishing you well while you're out of sight

INTERNATIONAL WOMENS DAY GREETINGS

    International Women’s Day  is marked on the 8th of March every year. It is a major day of global celebration of women. The focus of the celebrations ranges from general celebration of respect, appreciation and love towards women to a celebration for women’s economic, political and social achievements.
   There is no doubt women have strongest influence on us. However, the "battle" of the sexes is as old as the hills. In patriarchal societies, women are conditioned to accept men as the superior sex. But awareness, education, and life's struggles have led women to shed their inhibitions. Great women leaders, artists, scientists, and other professional women have inspired other women to overcome social obstacles. However, the course of womens empowerment is not smooth and hassle free. Our society still remains heavley in favour of males. Look, what happened yesterday? A historic bill on womens reservation could not be passed in Rajyasabha. Reason? Was it due to resistence from some opposition members? NO, The fact is that ruling party failed to show the courage at crucial moment. There is undercurrent that large number of MPs from ruling party are against this. So I strongly feel that now only a miracle can save this bill.
  A society based on equal opportunity for both sexes is what we deserve. Unfortunately, even empowered and liberated girls and women are subjected to various kinds of injustice on the ground of gender. Many people still prefer a beautiful face over a beautiful brain. It will not be too much  if I say that for large number of men a beautiful woman's face is like chocolate, cash or cocaine . they feel happy to be in company of a beautiful face and never try to recognise that many times an ugly face may have beautiful brain. This kind of behaviour has led to a system wher a girl or woman try to display her beauty in order to get recognision. And that is real discrimination. We need a society where beauty of physcical body should become meaningless and merit should be only criteria for judging a girl or woman.

Until women and girls are liberated from exploitation and injustice, all our dream of  peace, security and  sustainable development stand in jeopardy.

 But we are living in 21st century. A lot has changed and I hope that sooner or later a society based truly on equal opportunity for both sexes will emerge. Happy womens day to all.

IT DOES NOT MATTER WHO YOU ARE

IT DOES NOT MATTER WHO YOU ARE

MAY BE YOU ARE  KING OF THE WORLD

MAY BE YOU ARE MOST DANGEROUS IN THE WORLD

MAY BE YOU ARE AN INDEPENDENT ONE

MAY BE YOU CAN RULE OTHER

EITHER YOU ARE A GENTLEMAN

OR MOST DANGEROUS KILLER OF THE WORLD

BUT THE FACT IS THAT

FOR A CUTE LAMB(BHED)  YOU(SHER) ARE LIKE THIS

Moral: SMALL CREATURE CAN ALSO DEVELOP POWER TO MELT THE HEART OF A MIGHTY ONE !

OUR BEHAVIOUR DURING HOLI

Bura na mano holi hai- That is the famous saying used frequently during holidays. People use to display unusual and many times unacceptable behaviour in the name of holi.I have noticed that during holi the difference between so called civilized and uncivilized people simply vanishes.People of highly "respectable' and "prestigious" section of socitey exhibit ANIMAL INSTINCT in an uninihibited manner. Within each and every human being, an animal-like instinct dwells. No matter how civil or well mannered one may live, deep inside lies a undercurrent to be released. If given the right situation or placed in the right environment, this innate, savage behaviour can overpower a person’s sense of common civil behaviour and turn an otherwise civil human being, into a 'savage animal'.Holi is such a occasion where people's behaviour makes me to again believe that this world is either 'MONEY CENTRIC" or "WOMAN CENTRIC". In an environment where you are free to talk anything without fear , these are the only two things people desire openly.What to talk about 'double meaning words' they go for 'single meaning words'.
This makes me to think that Human beings are still primarily a biological animal and it is only due to fear of society that they exhibit themslves to be a social animal.All living things have animals like instincts, humans just do a better job at repressing them. The fear of law is the reason for acting civilized, without it we aren’t too different then animals.HOLI IS THE PROOF !