My new add

You can find me presently on http://hubpages.com/hub/Into_the_wild

It was twenty one days ago that I last posted some thoughts. Amidst the busyness of life, the daily grind et al, there were myriad thoughts that I would have liked to share...I cannot recollect, off hand now, what I’d wanted to share. Twenty one days is after all a long time – a lot of water under the bridge. So much changes over hours these days…

What is this life if so full of care?
We have no time to stand and stare

I guess more people can relate to this poem today than in those bygone days when it was composed.

Life in the Darjeeling hills is still thankfully relatively laidback. Although technology and forces of globalization have made inroads into the lives of people, we still find time to lounge about in the mall, and Chowrasta, our famous town square. Despite real estate boom and clutter of waste, people are close to nature. The lordly Kanchenjunga and the rolling green hills in the Singalila range, beautiful rivulets, rivers, flora and fauna inspire people. The love for flowers is perhaps hill people’s inherent desire to conserve the beauty in whose lap they live.

People in the Darjeeling hills are great lovers of flowers. Even the poorest of household has a least of dozen flower pots. Countless varieties of orchids, dahlias, petunia, tulips,daffodils, marigold, age leas, roses, calendula, begonia etc are grown. Moreover, when flaming rhododendrons and fragrant magnolias bloom in the hills, this place is comparable to any in beauty.

Lahore Attacks

The latest news reports suggest that police have unearthed evidence of Lashkar e Toiba’s involvement in the Lahore attacks on the Sri Lankan cricketers. The plot had been allegedly hatched to take the cricketers hostage to bargain for release of LeT’s top guns Lakhvi, Zarar Shah, Abu al Qama and Hamad Amin Sadiq incarcerated in Adiali Jail in Rawalpindi. The involvement of Al Qaida has also not been completely ruled out in the audacious attacks on cricketers near Liberty Chowk.
Although the intended victims escaped with ‘minor bruises’, the nightmarish attacks have left many shuddering. Questions have been raised about the preparedness of the police, who were providing security to the players and officials. The former president of Pakistan was dubious about the reaction of the police. Chris Broad and Simon Tauffel, two officials who were being ferried along with the players albeit in separate vehicles, have gravely accused the security of abandoning them in the time of distress. Eyebrows have been already raised in certain quarters about security management of the day.
One of the direct fallout of this unfortunate event is the long shadow that it has cast on the multi million dollars Indian Premier League cricket tournament. Now that the security of the region has been cast in poor light, many foreign players contracted with the league have started voicing their concerns about playing in India. Since the IPL tournament coincides with general elections in India, the government has shown great reluctance in providing security. It is clearly doubtful whether this high profile tournament can now go ahead as per the schedule. The Bangladesh cricket board has refused to play their scheduled bilateral matches citing security reasons. This vindicates the fact that the repercussions of Lahore attacks have been wide.
What is the way forward from here?
If the ties with Pakistan is snapped by other cricket playing nations, it could indirectly lead to fostering terrorism and victory of the terror networks. Although involvement of Pakistan in near future is impossible, it must be brought back to the fold by International Cricket Council without too much delay. Some in the cricket fraternity have already made suggestions such as hosting Pakistan in neutral venues.
Another area of grave concern is that if Pakistan becomes a failed state, the terror networks will have a free run; they will be in a position to set the world on the path of ruin. This must not be allowed to happen. Pakistan must be made accountable to all that happens by the world community. It is a proven fact that the Pakistani soil is being used by the terror networks to create mayhem worldwide. The Pakistani administration must bring such groups to justice.

Terror Attacks

The brazen attack on the Sri Lankan cricketers in Lahore is a rude awakening to the fact that the world is becoming increasingly unsafe place due to the prejudices and hatred of the terrorists. The attacks will undoubtedly have wide ramifications as the terror network has targeted one of the important institutions of sub continental culture i.e. cricket. Politicization of sports is nothing new in this region, yet it is extremely loathsome to witness innocent sports persons become sitting ducks to terrorists.
Nothing can justify blind attacks on the unarmed and innocent. The terrorists, who indulge in senseless killings in the name of Islam, are bringing disrepute to a great religion, whose literal meaning is ‘peace’ and connotes complete submission to God :

“If anyone kills another – except in retaliation for murder or for causing widespread mischief in the land – it is as if he killed the whole of mankind; and whosoever saves a life, it is as if he saved the whole of mankind”

The Holy Koran (5:32)

The cricketers are greatly revered in the subcontinent. They have the stature of demigods. In this volatile region, where violence is everyday reality, one section that remained immune so far was sportspersons, especially the cricketers. Lahore incident has, however, in the words of ICC president, ‘changed the landscape’ of cricket. In fact, one could add that it has changed the ‘entire landscape’ of the subcontinent. This attack proves that the perpetrators have no regard for any institutions of the civilized world. After attacks on the innocent people, journalists, politicians, and now the sport stars, there is hardly anyone who can feel a sense of security.
One of the immediate fallout of this incident is that Pakistan cannot host any more international cricket matches. It is debatable if it can even play in other countries. This in turn will make a huge dent in its economy. With its relations with India already at lowest ebb, irresponsible and misplaced suspicion on its neighbour could further deteriorate the peace of the region. This can only benefit the terror networks. For after the Mumbai attacks, the mutiny in Bangladesh and this sad incident in Lahore, it is getting increasingly clear that one of the motives of the perpetrators could be to destabilize the region.

On the DHR

I think the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, popularly the Toy Train, is the most photographed train in the world. The photographs of the DHR are widely available in the internet and elsewhere. However, I wish to share some pictures that I have taken with my humble one mega pixel cell phone camera. The pictures are not very crisp, yet they are pieces of a glorious history.
One hundred and twenty eight years after it first began its journey, ‘Tiny’ has covered many miles, witnessing the unfolding history of our beautiful hills. It still forges ahead strongly, despite several changes, either good or otherwise. It is slow, but like the clichéd saying goes, very steady. Its journey may be truncated now and again, but it still rumbles on - a living history, a heritage of the world as much as it is of this place.
I have had the privilege of living in the same place as this amazing piece of machinery. I hope it will still be there in my children’s time. I am of course very optimistic, for I believe that it is not merely a train, it is a symbol of undying beauty and resilience.

On the Block

For four days on end there was nothing – only blank pages and insipidness of it all staring back. The ennui that stemmed from unproductiveness threatened to overpower me.
A writer has to fight battles in many fronts. One of the toughest is one that he has to engage with at the outset. It is unnerving to have a blank sheet of page in front and not a proper word or a line to begin. Writer’s Block can be a nagging condition that can hold a writer hostage for long. What is the best way of going round or overcoming this problem?
Battles are lost and won in minds. This is especially true for writers. If one is plagued by writer’s block, there is no other better remedy than getting it off the mind. Do not feel utterly pressurized by inability to imagine or write anything. If you have sat down with a specific subject in mind and are unable to start, it is best to write something else: a letter, simple sweet nothings to friends or dear ones or even rewrite lines from one’s favorite book. If that helps calm the nerves, then one could further read one’s favorite book, take a walk, lie down with eyes closed and begin to think about the things that you wish to write about. It is best to return to writing only with a very cool head.
Even after trying all that when you return to your desk, if you feel the same sinking feeling of not being able to write, and then write about how you feel, your inability to write, the problems relating to your writing, or difficulty of research. And in no time you will realize that you have over three hundred words before your eyes when it was difficult to write even ten.
The interesting part starts now. Among these many lines and words you have written, you might like a particular one or two. You could begin to make that the subject of your writing for the day. I have learnt that whatever you write doesn’t go to waste. It could be a trigger for a beautiful article that you might write afterwards. The important thing for a writer is to remain positive in the face of difficulties he encounters.

On Writing

 

Writing, like any other art, is liberating. In fact, one might contest that it accords more freedom than other arts. It frees both the writer and his reader. A writer can traverse worlds beyond the ken of ordinary man. His imagination alone is his limitation. And, on the wings of a writer’s creativity, readers can transcend their mundane worlds.

It isn’t easy for a writer to take on flight of his imagination though. There are more obstacles to overcome than one. Impatience, fear, procrastination, and inhibitions are some of the many impediments on the rough path that a writer has to pass at times.

“Learn to labour and to wait” is H.W. Longfellow’s sound caveat: easy to remember, but difficult to practise. Fear can be crippling. It stems from many sources – lack of confidence in subject matter, paucity of inspiration, and failures, among other things. Again there are brickbats to face sometimes even after leaping over these hurdles.

Experiences have taught me that a writer has to be strong first to be able to enjoy the exhilarations of freedom. I have been trying to develop supreme confidence in myself and what I write and yet try to remain flexible enough to learn. I think I may never enjoy being a writer if I develop thick skin to criticism and brickbats. I’ll have to be wise enough to manoeuvre through them, or learn to see in their light, as situation might call for…

I hope there are many happy writing battles to win and that I live to share the curious stories about them.