I received the following talk given by the famous author, from the relatively younger generation, 'Chetan Bhagat'. The talk gives his perspectives on how we can make every Indian's dreams come true; how we can make turn India into the India of our dreams. He has some very valid observations....I thought of sharing the talk in full, as it makes a lot of sense to me.
What do you think?
Can it happen?
How can we help in making this happen?
So, read on.........Chetan has a thinking head between his shoulders, for sure.
Becoming One With the World
Speech given at the HT Leadership Summit
Delhi, November 21, 2008
© Chetan Bhagat
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quote. Good afternoon Ladies and Gentlemen. Thank you for the opportunity to speak at the leadership summit – the first of its kind for me.
I am no leader. At best, I am a dreamer with perseverance to make dreams come true. As I have made my own dreams come true already, I am tempted to think we can make my country’s dreams come true. And that is why I am here.
Before we become one with the world we have to become one with ourselves. If we get our own house in order we don’t have to make an effort to be one with the world. The world will want to be one with us. Everyone wants to be friends with happy, rich, thriving neighbors. Nobody wants a family festered with disputes.
A lot is wrong in my country. There are too many differences. The question is not who we blame for this. The question is how do we fix it? Because to do anything great, you have to become one first. Two generations ago, our forefathers came together to win us Independence. It isn’t like we didn’t have disputes then. Religion, caste, community have existed for centuries. But Gandhi brought them all together for a greater cause – to get the country free.
Today, we have another greater cause. To get India its rightful place in the world. To see India the way the younger generation wants to see it. To make India a prosperous, developed country, where not only the spirit of patriotism, but also the standard of living is high. Where anyone with the talent, drive and hard work alone has the ability to make it. Where people don’t ask where you come from, but where you are going. We all know that India, as we have all dreamt of that India.
There is a lot required to be done for this, and it doesn’t just start and end by blaming politicians. For in a democracy, we elect the politicians. If our thinking changes, our voting will change and the politicians will change. And since I have made a nation that didn’t read, read, do I believe people’s thinking can be changed.
To me there are 3 main areas where I think we need to change our thinking – leaders included. And I’m not just saying we need to do it because it is morally right/ ethically correct/ or because it sounds nice at a conference. We need to do it as it make sense from an incentives point of view. These three areas are changing the politics of differences to the politics of similarity, looking down on elitism and the role of English.
The first mindset change required is to change the politics of differences to the politics of similarity. I’ve been studying young people in India, not just in big cities but across India for the last five years.
They are the bulk of the population – the bulk of our voter bank. Yet, what they are looking for is not what politicians are pitching. It is not too different from the old school Bollywood where they think item numbers, big budgets and tested formulas work while the biggest hits of the year could be Rock On and Jaane Tu. Yes, times have changed.
Here is what the politicians are pitching – old fashioned patriotism, defending traditions, being the torchbearer of communities, caste and religion. Here is what the youth wants – better colleges, better jobs, better role models. Compared to the talent pool, the number of good college seats are very limited. Same for good jobs. These wants are the biggest similarity that we all share. We all want the same things – progress. I see a huge disconnect in the political strategies of existing politicians vs. what could work for the new voters.
I think broad based infrastructure and economic development will satisfy the young generation’s needs. It isn’t an easy goal to attain – but it is the great cause that can unite us. Today a dynamic politician who takes this cause can achieve a far greater success than any regional politician. And the slot is waiting to be taken.
Another aspect required to convert the politics of differences to the politics of similarities is a strong moderate voice. When someone tries to divide us, people from the same community as the divider have to stand up against him. If person A is saying Non-Marathis should be attacked, then some Marathis need to stand up and say person A is talking nonsense. If a Muslim commits terrorist attack, other Muslims should stand up and condemn it, as Hindus are going to condemn it anyway. This moderate voice is sorely missing but is critical in keeping the country together. And the youth want to keep it together, as we want to be remembered as the generation who took India forward, not the one that cut India into two dozen pieces.
I hate telling people what to do, but the media does have a role in this. I agree that media is a business and TRPs matter above anything else. However, there are ethics in every business. Doctors make money off sick people, but it doesn’t mean they keep people sick and not heal them. If you find a moderate voice, highlight it as soon as a divisive voice appears. And don’t take sides, argue or debate it. Don’t validate the ridiculous. Focus on the greater cause.
The second mindset we need to change is that of elitism. From my early childhood days, to college, to professional and business life, and now in the publishing and entertainment circles, I have noticed a peculiar Indian habit of elitism. Maybe it is hard to achieve anything in India. But the moment any person becomes even moderately successful, educated, rich, famous, talented or even develops a fine taste, they consider themselves different from the rest. They begin to move in circles where the common people and their tastes are looked down upon. This means a large chunk of our most qualified, experienced, connected and influential people prefer to live air-conditioned lives in their bubble of like minded people. Naive people who elect stupid politicians – that is the bottomline for all Indian problems, and they want nothing to do with it. But tell me, if the thinking of the common people has to be changed, who is going to change it? What is the point of discussing solutions to Indian problems if there is no buy-in from the common man? Just because it feels good to be around like-minded, intelligent people? What is the use of this intelligence?
If you switch on the TV, seventy percent of the time you will see Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore. The reason is the media is centered in these cities. However, ninety percent of India is not this. Unless we represent these people properly, how will these people ever come with us?
Again, I am not making these points as a moral appeal. I think understanding India and being inclusive makes massive business sense. And trust me, it doesn’t take any coolness or trendiness away from you if you do it right. Look at me, I am the mass-iest English author ever invented in India. My books sell on railway stations and next to atta in Big Bazaar. I have an Indian publisher who operates from the bylanes of Darya Ganj. And yet, on orkut the most common words associated with my name are coolness and awesomeness – tags given by my wonderful readers. I think it is cooler to know how people think in the streets of Indore and Raipur than who’s walking the ramp in South Mumbai. You may have planned your next vacation abroad, but have you visited a small town lately? Have you shown your kids what the real India is like? Don’t you think they will need to know that as they grow up and enter the workforce. Yes, I want people to look down on elitism and develop a culture of inclusiveness. If you are educated, educate others. If you have good taste, improve others taste rather than calling theirs bad.
The last aspect where we need to change our thinking is our attitude to English. We have to embrace English like never before. Not England, but English. This point may sound contradictory to my previous one, but I am not talking about confining English to the classes, but really taking it to the grassroot level. English and Hindi can co-exist. Hindi is the mother and English is the wife. It is possible to love them both. In small towns, districts and even villages – we need to spread English. India already has a headstart as so many Indians speak English and we don’t have to get expat teachers like China does. But we must not confuse patriotism with the skills one needs to compete in the real world. If you are making an effort to start a school where none existed, why not give the people what will help them most. I can teach a villager geometry and physics in Hindi, but frankly when he goes to look for a job he is going to find that education useless. English will get him a job. Yes, I know some may say what will happen to Hindi and our traditional cultures. I want to ask these people to pull their kids out of English medium schools and then talk. If you go to small towns, English teaching classes are the biggest draw. There is massive demand for something that will improve people’s lives. I have no special soft spot for this language, but the fact is it works in the world of today. And if more English helps spread prosperity evenly across the country, trust me we will preserve our culture a lot better than a nation that can barely feed its people.
We are all passionate about making India better, so we can discuss this forever. But today I wanted to leave you with just three thoughts – politics of similarities, less elitism and more English that we need to build consensus on. If you agree with me, please do whatever you can in your capacity to make the consensus happen. It could be just a discussion with all your friends, or spreading these thoughts in a broader manner, if you have the means and power to do so. For the fact that we are sitting in this wonderful venue means our country has been kind to us. Let’s see what we can give back to our nation. Unquote.
I had also written something on values that we need to imbibe to get India its rightful place in the comity of nations. This can be read under the title, "Three-values-that-we-need-to-imbibe".
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Thursday, November 26, 2009
GOD, RELIGION, EXISTENCE, ILLUSION.........
If you become aware of God's presence within you and also the presence of the same God in all else,
There is nothing to equal the peace and joy that you get.
—Sathya Sai Baba
Many a times I have wondered, thought, read, discussed and debated about God and how each and every thing in this universe is His creation, and is also a part of Him. I also notice that many of us blog on the subject of God and have our own interpretation of what He is like. All this is but an attempt to fathom the why, what, where, how of our existence and its relationship with God, or the Creator. We have many religions in this world - each attempting to answer questions that are eternal.
What is religion? A way to God. There is only one God - He has many different names though. If that be so, then it should be unifying and not divisive, because if the Creator is one then all paths should lead to Him and thus should be convergent, and seem to be so, to every thinking individual. Yet we have discussions based on our individual faiths and beliefs of how my God is better, or how my religion has the answers to all of mankind's questions, and how all the other answers are not correct because they do not correspond to my faith or beliefs. Atheists have their own point of view. They question, "Have you seen God"?
I believe in God and believe Him to be my source and my end, like everyone else's too. I also believe that I have seen glimpses of Him during my journey through this life. In April 2009, I had put the following comment on one post by D. This comment was in response to a question in the post, of what is my God like? An excerpt of the comment is reproduced in the next para.
"I know that God exists - I have felt His presence many a times, when no human was around to give me strength, direction or solace. I have seen Him in many different forms basically dependent on my emotions - sometimes in awe-inspiring moments when I stood to admire the majestic hills and snow capped mountains in the North or while flying over the vast expanse of the seas at 100 ft; sometimes I have seen Him in the pure blissful innocent smile of a little child; sometimes in the indescribable beauty of a woman; sometimes in the sounds of silence in a jungle; I too don't blame Him for "For the way my life has shaped up". I do believe in Karma and Newton's third law of motion. I also believe that my God is very personal". My God is personal and I believe, so is everyone else's too.
I was reading an article titled "Beauty of the Divine" by Benoy K Behl in the July - August issue of "India Perspectives" magazine today. The following few paragraphs about Indian art (and its connection with the divine) were so interesting that I thought of reproducing excerpts of the same on my blog. The author has put in words some thoughts that appeared absolutely magical to me. They talk of the Creator, His creation and our illusions (maaya) The paragraphs are reproduced below.
"The art of ancient India brings before us a vision of great compassion. It is a view of the world which sees a harmony in the whole of creation. It sees the same which is in each of us, in the animals, the flowers, the trees, the leaves and even the breeze which moves the leaves. All that there is, is seen to be a reflection of the One.
The phenomenal world of separated beings and objects seen around us is an illusion, perceived and brought to us by our senses. This information provided by our senses is of a personal and and not an objective nature. Absorbed in this, we are blinded to the reality beyond. The primary illusion is the perception of ourselves as individual entities, which leads us on a path of egoic existence. On this path, we are distanced from the truth.
The high purpose of life is to seek reintegration with the One, to perceive ourselves as part of the beauty of the One, the divine. To see oneself as a part of the divinity of existence. And thereby to lose the pain of a life caught in the web of endless desires.
The aesthetic experience is considered to be of great value in Indian thought. It lifts the veils of illusion which hide the truth from our eyes. Our experience of beauty when we respond to a sunrise or to a great work of art is seen to be a moment when we perceive the Grace which underlies the whole of creation. In that moment, the veils of illusion of the material nature of the world are lifted and we see beyond.... In that instant it is not our material preoccupations which fill our consciousness and thereby blind us to the greater reality".
What are your beliefs? Have you seen or felt God, or His presence? How?
There is nothing to equal the peace and joy that you get.
—Sathya Sai Baba
Many a times I have wondered, thought, read, discussed and debated about God and how each and every thing in this universe is His creation, and is also a part of Him. I also notice that many of us blog on the subject of God and have our own interpretation of what He is like. All this is but an attempt to fathom the why, what, where, how of our existence and its relationship with God, or the Creator. We have many religions in this world - each attempting to answer questions that are eternal.
What is religion? A way to God. There is only one God - He has many different names though. If that be so, then it should be unifying and not divisive, because if the Creator is one then all paths should lead to Him and thus should be convergent, and seem to be so, to every thinking individual. Yet we have discussions based on our individual faiths and beliefs of how my God is better, or how my religion has the answers to all of mankind's questions, and how all the other answers are not correct because they do not correspond to my faith or beliefs. Atheists have their own point of view. They question, "Have you seen God"?
I believe in God and believe Him to be my source and my end, like everyone else's too. I also believe that I have seen glimpses of Him during my journey through this life. In April 2009, I had put the following comment on one post by D. This comment was in response to a question in the post, of what is my God like? An excerpt of the comment is reproduced in the next para.
"I know that God exists - I have felt His presence many a times, when no human was around to give me strength, direction or solace. I have seen Him in many different forms basically dependent on my emotions - sometimes in awe-inspiring moments when I stood to admire the majestic hills and snow capped mountains in the North or while flying over the vast expanse of the seas at 100 ft; sometimes I have seen Him in the pure blissful innocent smile of a little child; sometimes in the indescribable beauty of a woman; sometimes in the sounds of silence in a jungle; I too don't blame Him for "For the way my life has shaped up". I do believe in Karma and Newton's third law of motion. I also believe that my God is very personal". My God is personal and I believe, so is everyone else's too.
I was reading an article titled "Beauty of the Divine" by Benoy K Behl in the July - August issue of "India Perspectives" magazine today. The following few paragraphs about Indian art (and its connection with the divine) were so interesting that I thought of reproducing excerpts of the same on my blog. The author has put in words some thoughts that appeared absolutely magical to me. They talk of the Creator, His creation and our illusions (maaya) The paragraphs are reproduced below.
"The art of ancient India brings before us a vision of great compassion. It is a view of the world which sees a harmony in the whole of creation. It sees the same which is in each of us, in the animals, the flowers, the trees, the leaves and even the breeze which moves the leaves. All that there is, is seen to be a reflection of the One.
The phenomenal world of separated beings and objects seen around us is an illusion, perceived and brought to us by our senses. This information provided by our senses is of a personal and and not an objective nature. Absorbed in this, we are blinded to the reality beyond. The primary illusion is the perception of ourselves as individual entities, which leads us on a path of egoic existence. On this path, we are distanced from the truth.
The high purpose of life is to seek reintegration with the One, to perceive ourselves as part of the beauty of the One, the divine. To see oneself as a part of the divinity of existence. And thereby to lose the pain of a life caught in the web of endless desires.
The aesthetic experience is considered to be of great value in Indian thought. It lifts the veils of illusion which hide the truth from our eyes. Our experience of beauty when we respond to a sunrise or to a great work of art is seen to be a moment when we perceive the Grace which underlies the whole of creation. In that moment, the veils of illusion of the material nature of the world are lifted and we see beyond.... In that instant it is not our material preoccupations which fill our consciousness and thereby blind us to the greater reality".
What are your beliefs? Have you seen or felt God, or His presence? How?
Thursday, November 12, 2009
SECULARISM IS ABOUT FAITH AND RESPECT
I received the following article by email and thought that this is just the right kind of attitude that we need; a definition and understanding of secularism, which is way different from the West, that India with its many religions needs. I thought of sharing the original article, author unknown, to solicit your views and opinions. So, here is the original article.....
Any one more secular than the army
As a serving army officer, I never stop marvelling at the gullibility of our countrymen to be provoked with alacrity into virulence in the name of religion. I have never heard the word 'secular' during all my service -- and yet, the simple things that are done simply in the army make it appear like an island of sanity in a sea of hatred.
In the army, each officer identifies with the religion of his troops. In regiments where the soldiers are from more than one religion, the officers -- and indeed all jawans attend the weekly religious prayers of all the faiths. How many times have I trooped out of the battalion mandir and, having worn my shoes, entered the battalion church next door? A few years ago it all became simpler -- mandirs, masjids, gurudwars and churches began to share premises all over the army. It saved us the walk.
Perhaps it is so because the army genuinely believes in two central 'truths' -- oneness of god and victory in operations. Both are so sacred we cannot nitpick and question the basics.
In fact, sometimes the army mixes up the two! On a visit to the holy cave at Amarnath a few years ago I saw a plaque mounted on the side of the hill by a battalion that had once guarded the annual Yatra. It said, 'Best wishes from -....- battalion. Deployed for Operation Amarnath.
On another instance, I remember a commanding officer ordered the battalion maulaviji to conduct the proceedings of Janamashtmi prayers because the panditji had to proceed on leave on compassionate grounds. No eyebrows were raised. It was the most rousing and best-prepared sermon on Lord Krishna I have ever had the pleasure of listening to.
On the Line of Control, a company of Khemkhani Muslim soldiers replaced a Dogra battalion. Over the next few days, the post was shelled heavily by Pakistanis, and there were a few non-fatal casualties.
One day, the junior commissioned officer of the company, Subedar Sarwar Khan walked up to the company commander Major Sharma and said, "Sahib, ever since the Dogras left, the mandir has been shut. Why don't you open it once every evening and do aarti? Why are we displeasing the gods?"
Major Sharma shamefacedly confessed he did not know all the words of the aarti. Subedar Sarwar went away and that night, huddled over the radio set under a weak lantern light, painstakingly took down the words of the aarti from the post of another battalion!
How many of us know that along the entire border with Pakistan, our troops abstain from alcohol and non-vegetarian food on all Thursdays? The reason: It is called the Peer day -- essentially a day of religious significance for the Muslims.
In 1984, after Operation Bluestar there was anguish in the Sikh community over the desecration of the holiest of their shrines. Some of this anger and hurt was visible in the army too.
I remember the first Sikh festival days after the event -- the number of army personnel of every religious denomination that thronged the regimental gurudwara of the nearest Sikh battalion was the largest I had seen. I distinctly remember each officer and soldier who put his forehead to the ground to pay obeisance appeared to linger just a wee bit longer than usual. Was I imagining this? I do not think so. There was that empathy and caring implicit in the quality of the gesture that appeared to say, "You are hurt and we all understand."
We were deployed on the Line of Control those days. Soon after the news of disaffection among a small section of Sikh troops was broadcast on the BBC, Pakistani troops deployed opposite the Sikh battalion yelled across to express their 'solidarity' with the Sikhs.
The Sikh havildar shouted back that the Pakistanis had better not harbour any wrong notions. "If you dare move towards this post, we will mow you down."
Finally, a real -- and true -- gem....
Two boys of a Sikh regiment battalion were overheard discussing this a day before Christmas.
"Why are we having a holiday tomorrow?" asked Sepoy Singh.
"It is Christmas," replied the wiser Naik Singh.
"But what is Christmas?"
"Christmas," replied Naik Singh, with his eyes half shut in reverence and hands in a spontaneous prayer-clasp, "is the guruparb of the Christians."
Any one more secular than the army
As a serving army officer, I never stop marvelling at the gullibility of our countrymen to be provoked with alacrity into virulence in the name of religion. I have never heard the word 'secular' during all my service -- and yet, the simple things that are done simply in the army make it appear like an island of sanity in a sea of hatred.
In the army, each officer identifies with the religion of his troops. In regiments where the soldiers are from more than one religion, the officers -- and indeed all jawans attend the weekly religious prayers of all the faiths. How many times have I trooped out of the battalion mandir and, having worn my shoes, entered the battalion church next door? A few years ago it all became simpler -- mandirs, masjids, gurudwars and churches began to share premises all over the army. It saved us the walk.
Perhaps it is so because the army genuinely believes in two central 'truths' -- oneness of god and victory in operations. Both are so sacred we cannot nitpick and question the basics.
In fact, sometimes the army mixes up the two! On a visit to the holy cave at Amarnath a few years ago I saw a plaque mounted on the side of the hill by a battalion that had once guarded the annual Yatra. It said, 'Best wishes from -....- battalion. Deployed for Operation Amarnath.
On another instance, I remember a commanding officer ordered the battalion maulaviji to conduct the proceedings of Janamashtmi prayers because the panditji had to proceed on leave on compassionate grounds. No eyebrows were raised. It was the most rousing and best-prepared sermon on Lord Krishna I have ever had the pleasure of listening to.
On the Line of Control, a company of Khemkhani Muslim soldiers replaced a Dogra battalion. Over the next few days, the post was shelled heavily by Pakistanis, and there were a few non-fatal casualties.
One day, the junior commissioned officer of the company, Subedar Sarwar Khan walked up to the company commander Major Sharma and said, "Sahib, ever since the Dogras left, the mandir has been shut. Why don't you open it once every evening and do aarti? Why are we displeasing the gods?"
Major Sharma shamefacedly confessed he did not know all the words of the aarti. Subedar Sarwar went away and that night, huddled over the radio set under a weak lantern light, painstakingly took down the words of the aarti from the post of another battalion!
How many of us know that along the entire border with Pakistan, our troops abstain from alcohol and non-vegetarian food on all Thursdays? The reason: It is called the Peer day -- essentially a day of religious significance for the Muslims.
In 1984, after Operation Bluestar there was anguish in the Sikh community over the desecration of the holiest of their shrines. Some of this anger and hurt was visible in the army too.
I remember the first Sikh festival days after the event -- the number of army personnel of every religious denomination that thronged the regimental gurudwara of the nearest Sikh battalion was the largest I had seen. I distinctly remember each officer and soldier who put his forehead to the ground to pay obeisance appeared to linger just a wee bit longer than usual. Was I imagining this? I do not think so. There was that empathy and caring implicit in the quality of the gesture that appeared to say, "You are hurt and we all understand."
We were deployed on the Line of Control those days. Soon after the news of disaffection among a small section of Sikh troops was broadcast on the BBC, Pakistani troops deployed opposite the Sikh battalion yelled across to express their 'solidarity' with the Sikhs.
The Sikh havildar shouted back that the Pakistanis had better not harbour any wrong notions. "If you dare move towards this post, we will mow you down."
Finally, a real -- and true -- gem....
Two boys of a Sikh regiment battalion were overheard discussing this a day before Christmas.
"Why are we having a holiday tomorrow?" asked Sepoy Singh.
"It is Christmas," replied the wiser Naik Singh.
"But what is Christmas?"
"Christmas," replied Naik Singh, with his eyes half shut in reverence and hands in a spontaneous prayer-clasp, "is the guruparb of the Christians."
Monday, November 9, 2009
LIFE - IS IT ALL ABOUT QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS!?
"Life is full circle", is what I have always heard from wiser people.
Having lived for over half a century, I was trying to analyse my own life ... and decide for myself on the wisdom of this saying. My thoughts took me back to my childhood - starting with the time when my mental faculties started registering the external world, and phenomenon.....I see my grand daughter doing the same these days - its a treat to watch her busy, doing nothing, throughout the day... she can make a play out of anything.... she can help me with any task... no task seems complicated to her... she can put her bare hands inside a warmed up oven to check whether the pizza is ready; or she can open the vacuum cleaner to set it right... popping all the screws in her tiny little mouth... every small missing object can be found there.... eventually.... the bigger ones can be seen close to her mouth, of course, being slobbered with her saliva. All of us go through this stage in our lives, I too have, I am told.
As a child, I had many questions about everything and looked for answers from anyone...parents initially, then grand parents, relatives, teachers and so on, as I advanced in life. The answers provided were stored for future use. I went to school and learned a number of subjects - from languages to history, geography, civics, social studies, physics, chemistry, biology, maths and so on... I never got to use most of these subjects that I had learnt in school.
Reached National Defence Academy and learnt many more subjects like military history, wood work, casting moulds, working on a lathe, photography besides other things like physical exercises, cross country, riding, drill etc. Once again never got to use most of the skills and subjects learned.
However, while going through each of these classes in school and NDA, I and others like me, had a large number of questions to which we were required to provide answers when it was time for the exams, so as to pass the exam, and move on. Our questions were endless and someone who had the answers, like our teachers and instructors, would help us with the answers. Finding answers on our own, by reading, and inquiring from others around was also resorted to. As we kept growing we were required to find answers on our own by comprehending what was taught, and by doing independent research. The brain and the mind slowly started expanding. I had questions AND had also acquired the skill of finding the answers on my own. I got into flying thereafter....
I was back to square one... again too many questions and very few answers. Flyiing in those days looked like it was designed for the birds and bees only....considering how effortlessly they performed this very difficult task - my perspective at that time. Only way out... take the instructors word as Gospel. This helped. Slowly flying became something that was manageable... a time came when I started to enjoy flying... and then.... soon thereafter, came a time when I started experimenting with things for which no one had provided me with answers. I felt like an ace and the air seemed to be my playground. I could take off and land on the runway (a basic requirement for manned flight, but considered more than enough by me), and make the aircraft perform manoeuvres that I wanted it to, whether in proximity to another aircraft, or singly. During this phase I took part in many simulated war like exercises and eventually the 26th January flypast. Felt that I had mastered the art of flying....... The IAF also acknowledged my performance and I was detailed to undergo the flying instructor's course.
After five months of this course, I realised to my horror how little I knew about flying... I shared two of the three trophies at the end of this course... and should have been visibly proud. Instead at the farewell dinner I was standing with my instructor, with tears in my eyes, and asking him, "how can I teach flying, when this course has taught me one thing, and that is... how little I know about it myself. How can I teach someone when I myself donot have all the answers". My instructor was a seasoned instructor. He told me, "don't worry, the pupil would know nothing about flying and you would do well" and to reassure me said that, "all of us have been through this - we made it - you too would and remember - you are not the first one with such questions". Well, this advice proved very sound - I made it as an instructor for the first six months and until my second course, when I had a BORN FLIER as my pupil.....
I could not demonstrate any manoeuvre to him, as well as he could perform it on his own... I would feel inadequate as an instructor but the only thing that I could tell him was... you are going to be an asset to the IAF one day, if you can live through the first 500 hours of flying. Being better than your instructor can give one a huge dose of overconfidence... and over confidence without experience, in flying, is a killer. I am happy to say that this pupil went through some trying experiences in the Academy, due to his overconfidence. I am also very happy that he managed to live beyond 500 hours of flying, and has lived up to my forecast of being an asset for the IAF. This pupil kept me busy trying to find answers to questions that he would not ask, but to which he needed to have the answers.
Life beyond this stage was on the upswing... I had answers to nearly every question that came my way in my profession....
Professional life was at an upswing, and was reaching a stage where I had no further questions. Thereafter, I donot know when my professional and non-professional lives merged and I started to get the feeling that I had answers to every question or situation in life. I did not have any questions anymore.... I never did realise that this was not a healthy, or normal state, for a mortal like me. I knew everything about everything, or so I felt. I could contribute my four anna bit into any conversation, on any subject. I never realised it until one day.....
I was going for a walk with my younger brother (a graduate of Electronics Engineering from BHU-IT; MBA in marketing from IIM Ahmedabad and Ph. D in Finance from Pittsburgh, USA). We were talking about Finance and got onto discussing the stock market. I started advising him on what stocks to buy, and why. He kept listening to me with a smile on his face (until after this, I had never noticed these things; I had advised him on so many matters, on which he was the expert). Being of Indian descent, he would keep quiet in deference to his elder brother, but this once I had probably gone too far. He smiled and spoke only one line, after listening to my persistent advice on stocks and said, "Bhape (Elder Brother), I have a Ph.D in Finance". I shut my mouth thereafter, and realised my great folly. Instead of having questions to ask of this expert, I was providing him with answers on his area of expertise. It set me thinking..... many years of thought, and practice, have made me realise.....
....that at no stage can I have all the answers. I can have some answers pertaining to my chosen profession; some pertaining to my life, based on my experiences - but all these cannot be universal - they need to be adapted to changing situations, as change is the only constant in life. As I grow older, the number of questions to which I have no answers keeps growing - my answers seem inadequate at times, and I feel that I am becoming a seeker once again.
From 'questions only', after birth, to 'only answers' at the top of the circle, I have come to 'more questions than answers' once again...... is it possible that I would die like I was born - 'only questions, no answers'...
I actually do believe so, the way things are going. Life will go full circle???
What is your experience? What do you feel??
Having lived for over half a century, I was trying to analyse my own life ... and decide for myself on the wisdom of this saying. My thoughts took me back to my childhood - starting with the time when my mental faculties started registering the external world, and phenomenon.....I see my grand daughter doing the same these days - its a treat to watch her busy, doing nothing, throughout the day... she can make a play out of anything.... she can help me with any task... no task seems complicated to her... she can put her bare hands inside a warmed up oven to check whether the pizza is ready; or she can open the vacuum cleaner to set it right... popping all the screws in her tiny little mouth... every small missing object can be found there.... eventually.... the bigger ones can be seen close to her mouth, of course, being slobbered with her saliva. All of us go through this stage in our lives, I too have, I am told.
As a child, I had many questions about everything and looked for answers from anyone...parents initially, then grand parents, relatives, teachers and so on, as I advanced in life. The answers provided were stored for future use. I went to school and learned a number of subjects - from languages to history, geography, civics, social studies, physics, chemistry, biology, maths and so on... I never got to use most of these subjects that I had learnt in school.
Reached National Defence Academy and learnt many more subjects like military history, wood work, casting moulds, working on a lathe, photography besides other things like physical exercises, cross country, riding, drill etc. Once again never got to use most of the skills and subjects learned.
However, while going through each of these classes in school and NDA, I and others like me, had a large number of questions to which we were required to provide answers when it was time for the exams, so as to pass the exam, and move on. Our questions were endless and someone who had the answers, like our teachers and instructors, would help us with the answers. Finding answers on our own, by reading, and inquiring from others around was also resorted to. As we kept growing we were required to find answers on our own by comprehending what was taught, and by doing independent research. The brain and the mind slowly started expanding. I had questions AND had also acquired the skill of finding the answers on my own. I got into flying thereafter....
I was back to square one... again too many questions and very few answers. Flyiing in those days looked like it was designed for the birds and bees only....considering how effortlessly they performed this very difficult task - my perspective at that time. Only way out... take the instructors word as Gospel. This helped. Slowly flying became something that was manageable... a time came when I started to enjoy flying... and then.... soon thereafter, came a time when I started experimenting with things for which no one had provided me with answers. I felt like an ace and the air seemed to be my playground. I could take off and land on the runway (a basic requirement for manned flight, but considered more than enough by me), and make the aircraft perform manoeuvres that I wanted it to, whether in proximity to another aircraft, or singly. During this phase I took part in many simulated war like exercises and eventually the 26th January flypast. Felt that I had mastered the art of flying....... The IAF also acknowledged my performance and I was detailed to undergo the flying instructor's course.
After five months of this course, I realised to my horror how little I knew about flying... I shared two of the three trophies at the end of this course... and should have been visibly proud. Instead at the farewell dinner I was standing with my instructor, with tears in my eyes, and asking him, "how can I teach flying, when this course has taught me one thing, and that is... how little I know about it myself. How can I teach someone when I myself donot have all the answers". My instructor was a seasoned instructor. He told me, "don't worry, the pupil would know nothing about flying and you would do well" and to reassure me said that, "all of us have been through this - we made it - you too would and remember - you are not the first one with such questions". Well, this advice proved very sound - I made it as an instructor for the first six months and until my second course, when I had a BORN FLIER as my pupil.....
I could not demonstrate any manoeuvre to him, as well as he could perform it on his own... I would feel inadequate as an instructor but the only thing that I could tell him was... you are going to be an asset to the IAF one day, if you can live through the first 500 hours of flying. Being better than your instructor can give one a huge dose of overconfidence... and over confidence without experience, in flying, is a killer. I am happy to say that this pupil went through some trying experiences in the Academy, due to his overconfidence. I am also very happy that he managed to live beyond 500 hours of flying, and has lived up to my forecast of being an asset for the IAF. This pupil kept me busy trying to find answers to questions that he would not ask, but to which he needed to have the answers.
Life beyond this stage was on the upswing... I had answers to nearly every question that came my way in my profession....
Professional life was at an upswing, and was reaching a stage where I had no further questions. Thereafter, I donot know when my professional and non-professional lives merged and I started to get the feeling that I had answers to every question or situation in life. I did not have any questions anymore.... I never did realise that this was not a healthy, or normal state, for a mortal like me. I knew everything about everything, or so I felt. I could contribute my four anna bit into any conversation, on any subject. I never realised it until one day.....
I was going for a walk with my younger brother (a graduate of Electronics Engineering from BHU-IT; MBA in marketing from IIM Ahmedabad and Ph. D in Finance from Pittsburgh, USA). We were talking about Finance and got onto discussing the stock market. I started advising him on what stocks to buy, and why. He kept listening to me with a smile on his face (until after this, I had never noticed these things; I had advised him on so many matters, on which he was the expert). Being of Indian descent, he would keep quiet in deference to his elder brother, but this once I had probably gone too far. He smiled and spoke only one line, after listening to my persistent advice on stocks and said, "Bhape (Elder Brother), I have a Ph.D in Finance". I shut my mouth thereafter, and realised my great folly. Instead of having questions to ask of this expert, I was providing him with answers on his area of expertise. It set me thinking..... many years of thought, and practice, have made me realise.....
....that at no stage can I have all the answers. I can have some answers pertaining to my chosen profession; some pertaining to my life, based on my experiences - but all these cannot be universal - they need to be adapted to changing situations, as change is the only constant in life. As I grow older, the number of questions to which I have no answers keeps growing - my answers seem inadequate at times, and I feel that I am becoming a seeker once again.
From 'questions only', after birth, to 'only answers' at the top of the circle, I have come to 'more questions than answers' once again...... is it possible that I would die like I was born - 'only questions, no answers'...
I actually do believe so, the way things are going. Life will go full circle???
What is your experience? What do you feel??
Friday, October 23, 2009
EAST AND WEST - WILL THE TWAIN EVER MEET??
East is East, and West is West, and never the twain shall meet - Rudyard Kipling. From his poem......“The Ballad of East and West"
Having lived most of my life (about 49 years) in India, and part of it (about 7 years) in North America, I am always fascinated about the way things are done in this part of the world. They are done differently for sure, and I always try to find the reason "Why". The answer always eludes me but I keep trying. Here is one such attempt.
I take off from Bangalore at 02:10 am on 25th September and land in Toronto at 13:30 hours on 25th September itself, after a nearly 24 hour flight. How? Time zone, earth's rotation etc. Pretty logical and rational. However, what has always caught my fancy is that when the sun rises in India, it is setting here. When it is day in India, it is night here and the other way around. Why? Rationally the same answers again but why was it thus designed by the Designer?
My faith tells me that this world was designed by God, in play, to enjoy the sight of many, from one. It also tells me that this external world is all 'maaya' - illusion, brought to life by our five senses and ego, besides other factors. Everything exists within us, and the external world is just a trigger for us to reach inside, and evolve, I am told. Is this true? If that be so, then what could be the reason for this difference in the times of day in this same world - is this a trigger for us to understand that these two worlds are designed in the opposite moulds for us to experience both, and then grow or evolve within, learning from both.
Two things that always fascinate me about the East and the West, at the macro level, are human relations and man-made systems. Taking human relations first...
I believe, in India, society is supreme and the individual has to conform - this translates to the fact that the human relations and interactions are non-negotiable - there is a 'maryada' about each relationship, which cannot be crossed in the normal course. A parent's word is final, in most cases, and the offsprings generally donot go against it, in a majority of the cases. Manifestations of this are seen in every sphere - be it marriage, choice of career, or in the choice of friends, school, college, etc. It is believed that the parent knows what is best for the individual and society, and a parent always acts in the best interest of the offspring and the society.
In the West, the individual is supreme and the society evolves around the individual. Even at a very young age, the individual is allowed to exercise their choice - starting with the TV channel to watch; of course, within certain man-made rules. The first time I witnessed this was when I went to my brother's house in New Jersey in 1989. They were four members and there were four types of breakfast cereals. Each one took his own type and we had four different types on the same table. I was also required to make my choice - "any is good enough", was not considered good enough. I was dumbfounded - coming from India - breakfast at home, was what was cooked, or served, and one ate that - what was the choice. Yes, one day breakfast could be of my choice and next day it could be my brother's/ sister's choice and so on.
As the individual keeps growing this sphere of exercise of individual choice keeps expanding and human relations become totally negotiable between parent and child and between each human and the others around. It is fascinating to watch these interactions. Some of them would be considered absolutely blasphemous in the Eastern part of the world. I thus find most humans here are ready to discuss and negotiate, whereas in India, most humans argue, as we have not learnt the art of negotiation from early on.
What is right or wrong? Do you believe one is better than the other - the system followed in the East or in the West?
Coming to man-made systems....
In India, these are always negotiable - be it jumping the redlight at a busy intersection or not forming a queue, when it is most desirable or bribing someone to circumvent the system or not wanting to wait one's turn.
In the West, these systems are absolutely non-negotiable. You stop at the STOP sign, even at midnight, even though you are the only car on the roads; you form queues wherever there are more than one person waiting for the same service, etc. This has a large number of advantages for common people. Are there any disadvantages? Maybe. What do you think?
There are many more such facts that I have witnessed. I wonder - is this by design? We all have similar mental faculties, of course layered by cultures and way of doing things. Dr. Brian Weiss's book, based on his scientific practice, "Only love is real" tells me that I could have lived in the East in one birth and maybe born in the West in the next birth. Is this God's way of ensuring my continued evolution to perfection? Can the East and West ever become one? EVER? or would that negate God's design?
Having lived most of my life (about 49 years) in India, and part of it (about 7 years) in North America, I am always fascinated about the way things are done in this part of the world. They are done differently for sure, and I always try to find the reason "Why". The answer always eludes me but I keep trying. Here is one such attempt.
I take off from Bangalore at 02:10 am on 25th September and land in Toronto at 13:30 hours on 25th September itself, after a nearly 24 hour flight. How? Time zone, earth's rotation etc. Pretty logical and rational. However, what has always caught my fancy is that when the sun rises in India, it is setting here. When it is day in India, it is night here and the other way around. Why? Rationally the same answers again but why was it thus designed by the Designer?
My faith tells me that this world was designed by God, in play, to enjoy the sight of many, from one. It also tells me that this external world is all 'maaya' - illusion, brought to life by our five senses and ego, besides other factors. Everything exists within us, and the external world is just a trigger for us to reach inside, and evolve, I am told. Is this true? If that be so, then what could be the reason for this difference in the times of day in this same world - is this a trigger for us to understand that these two worlds are designed in the opposite moulds for us to experience both, and then grow or evolve within, learning from both.
Two things that always fascinate me about the East and the West, at the macro level, are human relations and man-made systems. Taking human relations first...
I believe, in India, society is supreme and the individual has to conform - this translates to the fact that the human relations and interactions are non-negotiable - there is a 'maryada' about each relationship, which cannot be crossed in the normal course. A parent's word is final, in most cases, and the offsprings generally donot go against it, in a majority of the cases. Manifestations of this are seen in every sphere - be it marriage, choice of career, or in the choice of friends, school, college, etc. It is believed that the parent knows what is best for the individual and society, and a parent always acts in the best interest of the offspring and the society.
In the West, the individual is supreme and the society evolves around the individual. Even at a very young age, the individual is allowed to exercise their choice - starting with the TV channel to watch; of course, within certain man-made rules. The first time I witnessed this was when I went to my brother's house in New Jersey in 1989. They were four members and there were four types of breakfast cereals. Each one took his own type and we had four different types on the same table. I was also required to make my choice - "any is good enough", was not considered good enough. I was dumbfounded - coming from India - breakfast at home, was what was cooked, or served, and one ate that - what was the choice. Yes, one day breakfast could be of my choice and next day it could be my brother's/ sister's choice and so on.
As the individual keeps growing this sphere of exercise of individual choice keeps expanding and human relations become totally negotiable between parent and child and between each human and the others around. It is fascinating to watch these interactions. Some of them would be considered absolutely blasphemous in the Eastern part of the world. I thus find most humans here are ready to discuss and negotiate, whereas in India, most humans argue, as we have not learnt the art of negotiation from early on.
What is right or wrong? Do you believe one is better than the other - the system followed in the East or in the West?
Coming to man-made systems....
In India, these are always negotiable - be it jumping the redlight at a busy intersection or not forming a queue, when it is most desirable or bribing someone to circumvent the system or not wanting to wait one's turn.
In the West, these systems are absolutely non-negotiable. You stop at the STOP sign, even at midnight, even though you are the only car on the roads; you form queues wherever there are more than one person waiting for the same service, etc. This has a large number of advantages for common people. Are there any disadvantages? Maybe. What do you think?
There are many more such facts that I have witnessed. I wonder - is this by design? We all have similar mental faculties, of course layered by cultures and way of doing things. Dr. Brian Weiss's book, based on his scientific practice, "Only love is real" tells me that I could have lived in the East in one birth and maybe born in the West in the next birth. Is this God's way of ensuring my continued evolution to perfection? Can the East and West ever become one? EVER? or would that negate God's design?
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
CROWD PARTICIPATION....REALLY EXCITING!!!!
I had seen this video of the enactment of the song "Doe a deer.." on a platform in Belgium at this blog. I had enjoyed the video for its originality. It gave me great pleasure to watch.
I was narrating this to my son-in-law, who happens to be in the visual media field and he told me about another one performed in the streets of downtown Chicago. Watching this was a very exhilarating experience. Here's what happened....
I do hope some one can get something of this kind performed in one of our cities in India. Ordinary people's participation, alongwith paid performers, gives it a totally different feel.It can really lift people's spirits.
I was narrating this to my son-in-law, who happens to be in the visual media field and he told me about another one performed in the streets of downtown Chicago. Watching this was a very exhilarating experience. Here's what happened....
I do hope some one can get something of this kind performed in one of our cities in India. Ordinary people's participation, alongwith paid performers, gives it a totally different feel.It can really lift people's spirits.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
A SALUTE TO THE INDIAN AIR FORCE.
Some one forwarded this video to me and I thought of sharing this with you.
It gives some good snapshots of what the IAF is all about. Of course, it shows only the glamour part here; the hard work that goes into keeping these glamorous machines airborne, and flying for the purpose for which the IAF has been authorised by the people of India can only be sensed.
So, let the video talk - please keep your sound ON.
It gives some good snapshots of what the IAF is all about. Of course, it shows only the glamour part here; the hard work that goes into keeping these glamorous machines airborne, and flying for the purpose for which the IAF has been authorised by the people of India can only be sensed.
So, let the video talk - please keep your sound ON.
Friday, September 18, 2009
BRASSTACKS, DEPLOYMENT AND CRICKET DIPLOMACY!!
CONTINUED FROM "NEVER GOT TO USE SWIMMING TRUNKS"
We landed around mid-day and were instructed to taxy into blast pens dispersed all around the airfield. A little later we were given a briefing in the underground operations room, where we met the crew from a number of other fighter squadrons who had also moved to this location, or were staging through. The local squadrons had not yet moved out and thus there was a problem with accommodating so many of us - the messes are designed only for normal strength of officers, Senior Non Commissioned Officers and airmen. Our bedding and clothing was already positioned in a barrack with a large number of emergency cots put in until we could be given some better accommodation. "No lights - black out" was enforced on the station and thus when we reached the barrack at night, we had to find our cot by dimmed torchlights. Hit the bed and went off to sleep - woke up a little afterward as one of the glass panes on the window behind me was broken and there was cold draft of air coming in....somehow managed for the night and were shifted to better accommodation on the next day. Fast forward 19 years.....
.....I now fly for an airline. "Where would you like to stay in Delhi - Meridian, Taj or Radisson". "Why do you ask?, any of these is good enough, the cheapest for the company would be best", I answer. "Some pilots are very fussy and prefer one to the others", I am told. I am reminded of my nights in less than perfect beds, (what to talk of five star comfort and the other frills and fancies) when serving in the Indian Air Force as a pilot.
Back to 1987.... the next few days are very hectic with 24 hour activity on this, and all other bases.. preparations - we are permitted to fly to operational limits and this is an indication that things are serious. What had actually happened?.. To give you an idea - read the following excerpt from a working paper by P R Chari of the Henry L Stimson Center of Washington D.C. published in August 2003.
This crisis arose from the Indian military exercise code-named “Brasstacks,” and could have precipitated a war between India and Pakistan since it led to an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation between their armed forces. A tense situation developed in which even a minor clash could have triggered a major conflict. The Brasstacks exercise — comparable to the largest military exercises held by NATO and the Warsaw Pact during the Cold War years—involved 10 divisions of the Indian army, including its two strike corps. It was held in northern Rajasthan, which is the most likely ‘jump-off’ area for India in any future hostilities. This led Pakistan to continue deploying its troops that were holding their winter exercises, in their exercise locations. Later, these troops moved closer to the Indo-Pak border in a dangerous maneuver which threatened a salient in the Punjab and/or disrupted communications between Kashmir and the rest of India. A massive airlift and ground movement of troops was then undertaken by India to occupy their defensive positions along the border, resulting in a further escalation of tensions. A flurry of diplomatic activity ensued drawing in the United States and the Soviet Union. President Reagan is understood to have telephoned Rajiv Gandhi and President Zia, instructing leaders to “cool it.” A telephone conversation between the two antagonists finally defused the crisis.
A nuclear threat is believed to have been issued to India during the crisis on January 28, 1987 by Pakistan’s chief nuclear scientist, Dr. A.Q. Khan during the course of an interview to a prominent Indian journalist, Kuldip Nayar, in the presence of a well-known Pakistani journalist, Mushahid Hussain. Apparently, Khan informed the two journalists that Pakistan had enriched uranium to weapons-grade and
affirmed that a nuclear device could be tested by simulation techniques. He then added, “Nobody can undo Pakistan or take us for granted. We are here to stay and let it be clear that we shall use the bomb if our existence is threatened.”45 This course of events is extremely unusual, but its veracity remains shrouded in mystery, since Khan later denied its contents. Doubts in this regard have been strengthened
since “much of the interview, though not its most provocative passages, was an unattributed, nearly verbatim repetition of an article Khan had written six months earlier in the Karachi English newspaper, Dawn.”46 Moreover, the crisis had peaked on January 26 when Pakistan agreed to send an official delegation to New Delhi for negotiating the withdrawal of troops from the border.47
The deployments had the desired affect when in an unprecedented move, the Pakistani President General Zia-ul-Haq came down to witness the cricket match between India and Pakistan at Jaipur on 21 Feb 1987, almost uninvited - cricket diplomacy, as it is termed. The tensions started to come down thereafter but our deployment continued, although the rest of the government and defence establishments that interface with the public had gone back to 5 day week. Ours was still a 24 x 7 affair.
I was posted out to another squadron during this deployment; and we were still at this forward base until I left for my new unit in end of April 1987. Our families continued to manage on their own during this unexpected and sudden deployment, like always - they also served by not asking too many questions; managing the homes and children, and just waiting for their loved ones to come back home.
We landed around mid-day and were instructed to taxy into blast pens dispersed all around the airfield. A little later we were given a briefing in the underground operations room, where we met the crew from a number of other fighter squadrons who had also moved to this location, or were staging through. The local squadrons had not yet moved out and thus there was a problem with accommodating so many of us - the messes are designed only for normal strength of officers, Senior Non Commissioned Officers and airmen. Our bedding and clothing was already positioned in a barrack with a large number of emergency cots put in until we could be given some better accommodation. "No lights - black out" was enforced on the station and thus when we reached the barrack at night, we had to find our cot by dimmed torchlights. Hit the bed and went off to sleep - woke up a little afterward as one of the glass panes on the window behind me was broken and there was cold draft of air coming in....somehow managed for the night and were shifted to better accommodation on the next day. Fast forward 19 years.....
.....I now fly for an airline. "Where would you like to stay in Delhi - Meridian, Taj or Radisson". "Why do you ask?, any of these is good enough, the cheapest for the company would be best", I answer. "Some pilots are very fussy and prefer one to the others", I am told. I am reminded of my nights in less than perfect beds, (what to talk of five star comfort and the other frills and fancies) when serving in the Indian Air Force as a pilot.
Back to 1987.... the next few days are very hectic with 24 hour activity on this, and all other bases.. preparations - we are permitted to fly to operational limits and this is an indication that things are serious. What had actually happened?.. To give you an idea - read the following excerpt from a working paper by P R Chari of the Henry L Stimson Center of Washington D.C. published in August 2003.
This crisis arose from the Indian military exercise code-named “Brasstacks,” and could have precipitated a war between India and Pakistan since it led to an eyeball-to-eyeball confrontation between their armed forces. A tense situation developed in which even a minor clash could have triggered a major conflict. The Brasstacks exercise — comparable to the largest military exercises held by NATO and the Warsaw Pact during the Cold War years—involved 10 divisions of the Indian army, including its two strike corps. It was held in northern Rajasthan, which is the most likely ‘jump-off’ area for India in any future hostilities. This led Pakistan to continue deploying its troops that were holding their winter exercises, in their exercise locations. Later, these troops moved closer to the Indo-Pak border in a dangerous maneuver which threatened a salient in the Punjab and/or disrupted communications between Kashmir and the rest of India. A massive airlift and ground movement of troops was then undertaken by India to occupy their defensive positions along the border, resulting in a further escalation of tensions. A flurry of diplomatic activity ensued drawing in the United States and the Soviet Union. President Reagan is understood to have telephoned Rajiv Gandhi and President Zia, instructing leaders to “cool it.” A telephone conversation between the two antagonists finally defused the crisis.
A nuclear threat is believed to have been issued to India during the crisis on January 28, 1987 by Pakistan’s chief nuclear scientist, Dr. A.Q. Khan during the course of an interview to a prominent Indian journalist, Kuldip Nayar, in the presence of a well-known Pakistani journalist, Mushahid Hussain. Apparently, Khan informed the two journalists that Pakistan had enriched uranium to weapons-grade and
affirmed that a nuclear device could be tested by simulation techniques. He then added, “Nobody can undo Pakistan or take us for granted. We are here to stay and let it be clear that we shall use the bomb if our existence is threatened.”45 This course of events is extremely unusual, but its veracity remains shrouded in mystery, since Khan later denied its contents. Doubts in this regard have been strengthened
since “much of the interview, though not its most provocative passages, was an unattributed, nearly verbatim repetition of an article Khan had written six months earlier in the Karachi English newspaper, Dawn.”46 Moreover, the crisis had peaked on January 26 when Pakistan agreed to send an official delegation to New Delhi for negotiating the withdrawal of troops from the border.47
The deployments had the desired affect when in an unprecedented move, the Pakistani President General Zia-ul-Haq came down to witness the cricket match between India and Pakistan at Jaipur on 21 Feb 1987, almost uninvited - cricket diplomacy, as it is termed. The tensions started to come down thereafter but our deployment continued, although the rest of the government and defence establishments that interface with the public had gone back to 5 day week. Ours was still a 24 x 7 affair.
I was posted out to another squadron during this deployment; and we were still at this forward base until I left for my new unit in end of April 1987. Our families continued to manage on their own during this unexpected and sudden deployment, like always - they also served by not asking too many questions; managing the homes and children, and just waiting for their loved ones to come back home.
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
NEVER GOT TO USE THE SWIMMING TRUNKS!
....and finally, "DO NOT FORGET TO CARRY YOUR SWIMMING TRUNKS". After nearly two hours of operational briefing, these words concluded our ferry and operations briefing on 20 January 1987.....
We were based in Gorakhpur and were planned to go to Goa for some Naval co-operation and Air to Ground firing off Dabolim naval air base on 21st January, for a two week detachment. All of us were excited to get away from the cold and enjoy the sun, sand and sea at Goa, besides of course getting our usual professional training of flying over the sea, and with the Indian Navy warships, as also practice some live firing over the range just South of Dabolim. All we carried as luggage was some shorts, some summer and some formal clothing for the Mess, and of course our swimming trunks...weekends were meant for fun.
As planned, on 21st ten of our aircraft took off for the 2 hour 15 minute ferry from Gorakhpur to Goa direct. We landed, were received and accommodated by the Navy in the crew room just below the ATC and my log book shows that we started our training flying immediately; this being a short week; 21st was a Wednesday. Did our usual full day of flying on 22nd. The detachment was going well and we were all looking forward to the weekend. 23rd - we finished our planned first detail and were getting ready to launch for the second detail; sometime around mid-day, as the Navy was practising the Republic day flypast over Dabolim airfield before that and had delayed our take-offs.
Our Commanding Officer (CO) has just walked to the aircraft when the phone rang - I being the closest picked it up and was surprised to hear, "Director Offensive Operations here, please get your CO on line". This is not a normal call.... a normal call comes through the exchange with PAs piping in etc. I informed the Director that "CO had walked to the aircraft", and enquired, "should I call him back?", to which he replied, "Yes". I sent for the CO. He too was surprised to be called back, looked inquiringly at me and took the phone. The conversation was not audible but the message was very clear to all of us there, as the CO kept listening, said "Yes sir", sat down and told the Director that he would call him back in half an hour, after firming up the plan.
The look on his face told us that something serious had come up. I asked him about the destination so that we could get the maps ready, and he gave us the name of a forward base in Punjab - the temperature there on the night of 22nd January was below freezing. Our CO had been asked by the Director to fly with 12 fully serviceable fighters to this base immediately - we had only 10 in Goa. Our CO worked the plan in his mind and called Air HQ and told the Director that none of us had any winter clothing or bedding and thus he did not think it would be right to ferry out immediately, as all pilots and other personnel would fall sick and the whole purpose of the move would be defeated. He suggested that a transport aircraft could be sent to Goa to pick up one officer and one airmen who would be transported to Gorakhpur; pick up winter clothing and bedding from the houses of all the personnel through the night and take-off early morning for the base in Punjab. As soon as this transport aircraft landed in the base, the fighters would take off from Goa. He said that if all went as per plan then the fighters would take off from Goa between 8 - 10 am depending on weather in Punjab - this airfield gets thick fog in the mornings.
Sure enough, an AN-32 landed at Goa at around 3 pm and the crew told us that they were doing local flying at Yelahanka, Bangalore and were told on radio, in the air, to position at Goa straightaway. This transport aircraft was not even allowed to land back at Yelahanka to pick up their clothing; they were not aware of the mission beyond Goa. Fortunately our transport crew always carry an overnighter when flying.
One officer and airmen from our squadron took off in the AN-32, after the aircraft refuelled. We got our maps and briefings ready for departure the next day. Next morning we got a call that the AN-32 was on its way to our destination, with all our needed equipment, winter clothing and bedding.
We took off, as planned - two four aircraft formations and one two aircraft - first formation, Arrow formation,led by our CO. We were pleasantly surprised to find the Bombay ATC speaking in a different tone. Normally civilian controllers donot understand what the fighters do.... fighters take the shortest route due to fuel constraints; these sometimes cut across busy airways, and this fact is not appreciated by civilian controllers, and rightly so. The Air Force positions IAF controllers to assist the civilian controllers manage the fighter traffic during emergencies. We did not know this at the time, but this had been done and that is how, we were given our choice levels to help us reach our destination, without refuelling enroute.
As we kept flying North, it was evident that something was on, as the AF radars were giving pigeons to destination(course and distance to destination), without our asking, so as to minimise radio calls... many different fighter squadrons - Tiger, Panther, Archers, to name a few, from different bases were airborne and we could count the squadrons by their call signs... nearly the entire fighter fleet of the IAF was airborne positioning to war locations. The radar controllers were aware of who was heading where. Radio was crisp, short and professional and everyone was aware that something big had happened and none of us knew what exactly had happened.
There was no way to inform the families - they guessed something was on when they were asked by a squadron officer to get the winter clothing and bedding ready for each one of us, and that someone would come to collect it any time during the night. The last of the stuff was collected at about 5 am on 24th January. My wife had envied me going to Goa; away from the Gorakhpur winter and now she did not know which way we were headed, except that it was cold there. Every fauji family lives through this sort of a thing, and without complaints.... they also serve who sit and wait, for the loved ones to come home. She had grudgingly given me my swimming trunk ..... which I never had the opportunity to use, before flying out of Goa.
............................TO BE CONTINUED.....
We were based in Gorakhpur and were planned to go to Goa for some Naval co-operation and Air to Ground firing off Dabolim naval air base on 21st January, for a two week detachment. All of us were excited to get away from the cold and enjoy the sun, sand and sea at Goa, besides of course getting our usual professional training of flying over the sea, and with the Indian Navy warships, as also practice some live firing over the range just South of Dabolim. All we carried as luggage was some shorts, some summer and some formal clothing for the Mess, and of course our swimming trunks...weekends were meant for fun.
As planned, on 21st ten of our aircraft took off for the 2 hour 15 minute ferry from Gorakhpur to Goa direct. We landed, were received and accommodated by the Navy in the crew room just below the ATC and my log book shows that we started our training flying immediately; this being a short week; 21st was a Wednesday. Did our usual full day of flying on 22nd. The detachment was going well and we were all looking forward to the weekend. 23rd - we finished our planned first detail and were getting ready to launch for the second detail; sometime around mid-day, as the Navy was practising the Republic day flypast over Dabolim airfield before that and had delayed our take-offs.
Our Commanding Officer (CO) has just walked to the aircraft when the phone rang - I being the closest picked it up and was surprised to hear, "Director Offensive Operations here, please get your CO on line". This is not a normal call.... a normal call comes through the exchange with PAs piping in etc. I informed the Director that "CO had walked to the aircraft", and enquired, "should I call him back?", to which he replied, "Yes". I sent for the CO. He too was surprised to be called back, looked inquiringly at me and took the phone. The conversation was not audible but the message was very clear to all of us there, as the CO kept listening, said "Yes sir", sat down and told the Director that he would call him back in half an hour, after firming up the plan.
The look on his face told us that something serious had come up. I asked him about the destination so that we could get the maps ready, and he gave us the name of a forward base in Punjab - the temperature there on the night of 22nd January was below freezing. Our CO had been asked by the Director to fly with 12 fully serviceable fighters to this base immediately - we had only 10 in Goa. Our CO worked the plan in his mind and called Air HQ and told the Director that none of us had any winter clothing or bedding and thus he did not think it would be right to ferry out immediately, as all pilots and other personnel would fall sick and the whole purpose of the move would be defeated. He suggested that a transport aircraft could be sent to Goa to pick up one officer and one airmen who would be transported to Gorakhpur; pick up winter clothing and bedding from the houses of all the personnel through the night and take-off early morning for the base in Punjab. As soon as this transport aircraft landed in the base, the fighters would take off from Goa. He said that if all went as per plan then the fighters would take off from Goa between 8 - 10 am depending on weather in Punjab - this airfield gets thick fog in the mornings.
Sure enough, an AN-32 landed at Goa at around 3 pm and the crew told us that they were doing local flying at Yelahanka, Bangalore and were told on radio, in the air, to position at Goa straightaway. This transport aircraft was not even allowed to land back at Yelahanka to pick up their clothing; they were not aware of the mission beyond Goa. Fortunately our transport crew always carry an overnighter when flying.
One officer and airmen from our squadron took off in the AN-32, after the aircraft refuelled. We got our maps and briefings ready for departure the next day. Next morning we got a call that the AN-32 was on its way to our destination, with all our needed equipment, winter clothing and bedding.
We took off, as planned - two four aircraft formations and one two aircraft - first formation, Arrow formation,led by our CO. We were pleasantly surprised to find the Bombay ATC speaking in a different tone. Normally civilian controllers donot understand what the fighters do.... fighters take the shortest route due to fuel constraints; these sometimes cut across busy airways, and this fact is not appreciated by civilian controllers, and rightly so. The Air Force positions IAF controllers to assist the civilian controllers manage the fighter traffic during emergencies. We did not know this at the time, but this had been done and that is how, we were given our choice levels to help us reach our destination, without refuelling enroute.
As we kept flying North, it was evident that something was on, as the AF radars were giving pigeons to destination(course and distance to destination), without our asking, so as to minimise radio calls... many different fighter squadrons - Tiger, Panther, Archers, to name a few, from different bases were airborne and we could count the squadrons by their call signs... nearly the entire fighter fleet of the IAF was airborne positioning to war locations. The radar controllers were aware of who was heading where. Radio was crisp, short and professional and everyone was aware that something big had happened and none of us knew what exactly had happened.
There was no way to inform the families - they guessed something was on when they were asked by a squadron officer to get the winter clothing and bedding ready for each one of us, and that someone would come to collect it any time during the night. The last of the stuff was collected at about 5 am on 24th January. My wife had envied me going to Goa; away from the Gorakhpur winter and now she did not know which way we were headed, except that it was cold there. Every fauji family lives through this sort of a thing, and without complaints.... they also serve who sit and wait, for the loved ones to come home. She had grudgingly given me my swimming trunk ..... which I never had the opportunity to use, before flying out of Goa.
............................TO BE CONTINUED.....
Saturday, August 29, 2009
RICK REILLY'S EXPERIENCE IN THE BACK SEAT OF A F-14 TOMCAT
The article below was written in 1999 by Rick Reilly of Sports Illustrated and is titled, "On a wing and a prayer".
I received this as a forward by email and thought of sharing it - in case any of you ever get invited to fly in a fighter cockpit....this would be helpful. This is written by an American with an American perspective, and also with a little bit of humour mixed with a pinch (handful)of salt.
So, tighten your straps and enjoy the flight!!!
An F-14 taking off with both afterburners lit up. (Image Courtesy Google Image Search)
Quote: Now this message is for America 's most famous athletes:
Someday you may be invited to fly in the back-seat of one of your country's
most powerful fighter jets. Many of you already have. John Elway,
John Stockton, Tiger Woods to name a few. If you get this opportunity,
let me urge you, with the greatest sincerity.... Move to Guam .
Change your name.
Fake your own death!
Whatever you do.
Do Not Go!!!
I know.
The U.S. Navy invited me to try it. I was thrilled. I was pumped.
I was toast! I should've known when they told me my pilot would
be Chip (Biff) King of Fighter Squadron 213 at Naval Air Station
Oceana in Virginia Beach ..
Whatever you're thinking a Top Gun named Chip (Biff) King looks
like, triple it. He's about six-foot, tan, ice-blue eyes, wavy surfer hair,
finger-crippling handshake -- the kind of man who wrestles
dyspeptic alligators in his leisure time. If you see this man, run the
other way. Fast.
Biff King was born to fly. His father, Jack King, was for years the
voice of NASA missions. ('T-minus 15 seconds and counting'. Remember?)
Chip would charge neighborhood kids a quarter each to hear his dad.
Jack would wake up from naps surrounded by nine-year-olds waiting
for him to say, 'We have liftoff'.
Biff was to fly me in an F- 14D Tomcat, a ridiculously powerful $60 million
weapon with nearly as much thrust as weight, not unlike Colin Montgomerie.
I was worried about getting airsick, so the night before the flight I asked
Biff if there was something I should eat the next morning.
'Bananas,' he said.
'For the potassium?' I asked.
'No,' Biff said, 'because they taste about the same coming up
as they do going down.'
The next morning, out on the tarmac, I had on my flight suit with my name
sewn over the left breast. (No call sign -- like Crash or Sticky or Leadfoot.
But, still, very cool.) I carried my helmet in the crook of my arm, as Biff had
instructed. If ever in my life I had a chance to nail Nicole Kidman,
this was it.
A fighter pilot named Psycho gave me a safety briefing and then fastened
me into my ejection seat, which, when employed, would 'egress' me out
of the plane at such a velocity that I would be immediately knocked
unconscious.
Just as I was thinking about aborting the flight, the canopy closed over me,
and Biff gave the ground crew a thumbs-up In minutes we were firing nose
up at 600 mph. We leveled out and then canopy-rolled over another F-14.
Those 20 minutes were the rush of my life. Unfortunately, the ride lasted 80.
It was like being on the roller coaster at Six Flags Over Hell. Only
without rails.
We did barrel rolls, snap rolls, loops, yanks and banks. We dived, rose and
dived again, sometimes with a vertical velocity of 10,000 feet per minute.
We chased another F-14, and it chased us.
We broke the speed of sound. Sea was sky and sky was sea. Flying at
200 feet we did 90-degree turns at 550 mph, creating a G force of 6.5,
which is to say I felt as if 6.5 times my body weight was smashing
against me, thereby approximating life as Mrs.. Colin Montgomerie.
And I egressed the bananas.
And I egressed the pizza from the night before.
And the lunch before that.
I egressed a box of Milk Duds from the sixth grade.
I made Linda Blair look polite. Because of the G's, I was egressing
stuff that never thought would be egressed.
I went through not one airsick bag, but two.
Biff said I passed out. Twice. I was coated in sweat. At one point,
as we were coming in upside down in a banked curve on a mock
bombing target and the G's were flattening me like a tortilla and I
was in and out of consciousness, I realized I was the first person
in history to throw down.
I used to know 'cool'. Cool was Elway throwing a touchdown pass,
or Norman making a five-iron bite.. But now I really know 'cool'.
Cool is guys like Biff, men with cast-iron stomachs and freon nerves.
I wouldn't go up there again for Derek Jeter's black book, but I'm
glad Biff does every day, and for less a year than a rookie reliever
makes in a home stand.
A week later, when the spins finally stopped, Biff called. He said
he and the fighters had the perfect call sign for me. Said he'd
send it on a patch for my flight suit.
What is it? I asked.
'Two Bags.'
Don't you dare tell Nicole. Unquote.
I received this as a forward by email and thought of sharing it - in case any of you ever get invited to fly in a fighter cockpit....this would be helpful. This is written by an American with an American perspective, and also with a little bit of humour mixed with a pinch (handful)of salt.
So, tighten your straps and enjoy the flight!!!
An F-14 taking off with both afterburners lit up. (Image Courtesy Google Image Search)
Quote: Now this message is for America 's most famous athletes:
Someday you may be invited to fly in the back-seat of one of your country's
most powerful fighter jets. Many of you already have. John Elway,
John Stockton, Tiger Woods to name a few. If you get this opportunity,
let me urge you, with the greatest sincerity.... Move to Guam .
Change your name.
Fake your own death!
Whatever you do.
Do Not Go!!!
I know.
The U.S. Navy invited me to try it. I was thrilled. I was pumped.
I was toast! I should've known when they told me my pilot would
be Chip (Biff) King of Fighter Squadron 213 at Naval Air Station
Oceana in Virginia Beach ..
Whatever you're thinking a Top Gun named Chip (Biff) King looks
like, triple it. He's about six-foot, tan, ice-blue eyes, wavy surfer hair,
finger-crippling handshake -- the kind of man who wrestles
dyspeptic alligators in his leisure time. If you see this man, run the
other way. Fast.
Biff King was born to fly. His father, Jack King, was for years the
voice of NASA missions. ('T-minus 15 seconds and counting'. Remember?)
Chip would charge neighborhood kids a quarter each to hear his dad.
Jack would wake up from naps surrounded by nine-year-olds waiting
for him to say, 'We have liftoff'.
Biff was to fly me in an F- 14D Tomcat, a ridiculously powerful $60 million
weapon with nearly as much thrust as weight, not unlike Colin Montgomerie.
I was worried about getting airsick, so the night before the flight I asked
Biff if there was something I should eat the next morning.
'Bananas,' he said.
'For the potassium?' I asked.
'No,' Biff said, 'because they taste about the same coming up
as they do going down.'
The next morning, out on the tarmac, I had on my flight suit with my name
sewn over the left breast. (No call sign -- like Crash or Sticky or Leadfoot.
But, still, very cool.) I carried my helmet in the crook of my arm, as Biff had
instructed. If ever in my life I had a chance to nail Nicole Kidman,
this was it.
A fighter pilot named Psycho gave me a safety briefing and then fastened
me into my ejection seat, which, when employed, would 'egress' me out
of the plane at such a velocity that I would be immediately knocked
unconscious.
Just as I was thinking about aborting the flight, the canopy closed over me,
and Biff gave the ground crew a thumbs-up In minutes we were firing nose
up at 600 mph. We leveled out and then canopy-rolled over another F-14.
Those 20 minutes were the rush of my life. Unfortunately, the ride lasted 80.
It was like being on the roller coaster at Six Flags Over Hell. Only
without rails.
We did barrel rolls, snap rolls, loops, yanks and banks. We dived, rose and
dived again, sometimes with a vertical velocity of 10,000 feet per minute.
We chased another F-14, and it chased us.
We broke the speed of sound. Sea was sky and sky was sea. Flying at
200 feet we did 90-degree turns at 550 mph, creating a G force of 6.5,
which is to say I felt as if 6.5 times my body weight was smashing
against me, thereby approximating life as Mrs.. Colin Montgomerie.
And I egressed the bananas.
And I egressed the pizza from the night before.
And the lunch before that.
I egressed a box of Milk Duds from the sixth grade.
I made Linda Blair look polite. Because of the G's, I was egressing
stuff that never thought would be egressed.
I went through not one airsick bag, but two.
Biff said I passed out. Twice. I was coated in sweat. At one point,
as we were coming in upside down in a banked curve on a mock
bombing target and the G's were flattening me like a tortilla and I
was in and out of consciousness, I realized I was the first person
in history to throw down.
I used to know 'cool'. Cool was Elway throwing a touchdown pass,
or Norman making a five-iron bite.. But now I really know 'cool'.
Cool is guys like Biff, men with cast-iron stomachs and freon nerves.
I wouldn't go up there again for Derek Jeter's black book, but I'm
glad Biff does every day, and for less a year than a rookie reliever
makes in a home stand.
A week later, when the spins finally stopped, Biff called. He said
he and the fighters had the perfect call sign for me. Said he'd
send it on a patch for my flight suit.
What is it? I asked.
'Two Bags.'
Don't you dare tell Nicole. Unquote.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
HAPPINESS - A QUEST
Happiness is illusive to most of us. We do one thing after another to be happy. We set goals; we focus on the goals; achieve them, all to reach a state of happiness, and still find that we are not happy.
Happiness, as defined in wikipedia, "is a state of mind or feeling characterized by contentment, satisfaction, pleasure, or joy". We are all looking to reach that state; some through earning more and more wealth; some through buying things that they want - the latest gadget, a dream car, etc.; some through marrying the person of their choice; some through looking and finding the career of their choice; some by immigrating to faraway lands; and through many other means. Did we find the happiness that we sought through all these means listed above, and which are widely sought after by most of us? Having been through over 56 years of life, I can unequivocally state that the answer is a definite "No". Why? Primarily because we have been looking for it in the wrong place. The power to be happy is in our own minds, and not in the external world in which we keep looking for it. Yes, we do get fleeting pleasures from the external world and stimuli - a new car of one's dreams gives great pleasure but the first scratch gives an equal amount of pain.
Happiness is always in the present moment and not in the distant or near future, and so it is important to enjoy the journey by accepting what comes one's way, rather than waiting for events to turn, as per one's own wants. Children have this unique ability and somehow we adults loose it in the process of growing up. My grand daughter gave me a number of lessons; the most important being that I was most happy when I saw her happy - happiness comes when one makes another happy - we are human - we are interdependent in every which way - we cannot be happy when others around us are unhappy.
I found these quotes, on the subject of happiness, that I really love, and thought that I would put them down here for easy reference......they do make a lot of sense to me and are really good food for thought, and for reflection.
1. Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful............Herman Cain
2. Happiness resides not in posessions and not in gold; the feeling of happiness dwells in the soul .........................................Democritus
3. Happiness is not achieved by the conscious pursuit of happiness; it is generally the by-product of other activities ................Aldous Huxley
4. If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion ....................Dalai Lama
5. I am very happy
Because I have conquered myself
And not the world.
I am very happy
Because I have loved the world
And not myself .............Sri Chinmoy
6. There is only one person who could ever make you happy, and that person is you .............David Burns
7. People are just as happy as they make up their minds to be ............Abraham Lincoln
8. Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony .............. Mahatma Gandhi
9. Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom ...................Marcel Proust
10. If there were in the world today any large number of people who desired their own happiness more than they desired the unhappiness of others, we could have paradise in a few years ....................Bertrand Russell
11. To be able to find joy in another's joy, that is the secret of happiness .........George Bernanos
12. We have no more right to consume happiness without producing it than to consume wealth without producing it .............George Bernard Shaw
13. A happy life consists in tranquillity of mind .........Marcus Tullius Cicero
14. Men spend their lives in anticipations,—in determining to be vastly happy at some period when they have time. But the present time has one advantage over every other—it is our own. Past opportunities are gone, future have not come. We may lay in a stock of pleasures, as we would lay in a stock of wine; but if we defer the tasting of them too long, we shall find that both are soured by age ..................
Charles Caleb Colton
15. Happiness is where we find it, but rarely where we seek it ......J. Petit Senn
15. Our happiness is greatest when we contribute most to the happiness of others .........Harriet Shepard
16. When someone does something good, applaud! You will make two people happy .........Samuel Goldwyn
17. When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us .......Helen Keller
18. Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go .........Oscar Wilde
19. Anyone who says sunshine brings happiness has never danced in the rain .......Unknown
20. Happiness depends upon ourselves ...................Aristotle
21. The man with a toothache thinks everyone happy whose teeth are sound. The poverty-stricken man makes the same mistake about the rich man ...........George Bernard Shaw
What has been your experience with happiness in life? Do you agree or strongly disagree with any of the quotes above? Your comments are solicited.
Happiness, as defined in wikipedia, "is a state of mind or feeling characterized by contentment, satisfaction, pleasure, or joy". We are all looking to reach that state; some through earning more and more wealth; some through buying things that they want - the latest gadget, a dream car, etc.; some through marrying the person of their choice; some through looking and finding the career of their choice; some by immigrating to faraway lands; and through many other means. Did we find the happiness that we sought through all these means listed above, and which are widely sought after by most of us? Having been through over 56 years of life, I can unequivocally state that the answer is a definite "No". Why? Primarily because we have been looking for it in the wrong place. The power to be happy is in our own minds, and not in the external world in which we keep looking for it. Yes, we do get fleeting pleasures from the external world and stimuli - a new car of one's dreams gives great pleasure but the first scratch gives an equal amount of pain.
Happiness is always in the present moment and not in the distant or near future, and so it is important to enjoy the journey by accepting what comes one's way, rather than waiting for events to turn, as per one's own wants. Children have this unique ability and somehow we adults loose it in the process of growing up. My grand daughter gave me a number of lessons; the most important being that I was most happy when I saw her happy - happiness comes when one makes another happy - we are human - we are interdependent in every which way - we cannot be happy when others around us are unhappy.
I found these quotes, on the subject of happiness, that I really love, and thought that I would put them down here for easy reference......they do make a lot of sense to me and are really good food for thought, and for reflection.
1. Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful............Herman Cain
2. Happiness resides not in posessions and not in gold; the feeling of happiness dwells in the soul .........................................Democritus
3. Happiness is not achieved by the conscious pursuit of happiness; it is generally the by-product of other activities ................Aldous Huxley
4. If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion ....................Dalai Lama
5. I am very happy
Because I have conquered myself
And not the world.
I am very happy
Because I have loved the world
And not myself .............Sri Chinmoy
6. There is only one person who could ever make you happy, and that person is you .............David Burns
7. People are just as happy as they make up their minds to be ............Abraham Lincoln
8. Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony .............. Mahatma Gandhi
9. Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom ...................Marcel Proust
10. If there were in the world today any large number of people who desired their own happiness more than they desired the unhappiness of others, we could have paradise in a few years ....................Bertrand Russell
11. To be able to find joy in another's joy, that is the secret of happiness .........George Bernanos
12. We have no more right to consume happiness without producing it than to consume wealth without producing it .............George Bernard Shaw
13. A happy life consists in tranquillity of mind .........Marcus Tullius Cicero
14. Men spend their lives in anticipations,—in determining to be vastly happy at some period when they have time. But the present time has one advantage over every other—it is our own. Past opportunities are gone, future have not come. We may lay in a stock of pleasures, as we would lay in a stock of wine; but if we defer the tasting of them too long, we shall find that both are soured by age ..................
Charles Caleb Colton
15. Happiness is where we find it, but rarely where we seek it ......J. Petit Senn
15. Our happiness is greatest when we contribute most to the happiness of others .........Harriet Shepard
16. When someone does something good, applaud! You will make two people happy .........Samuel Goldwyn
17. When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us .......Helen Keller
18. Some cause happiness wherever they go; others whenever they go .........Oscar Wilde
19. Anyone who says sunshine brings happiness has never danced in the rain .......Unknown
20. Happiness depends upon ourselves ...................Aristotle
21. The man with a toothache thinks everyone happy whose teeth are sound. The poverty-stricken man makes the same mistake about the rich man ...........George Bernard Shaw
What has been your experience with happiness in life? Do you agree or strongly disagree with any of the quotes above? Your comments are solicited.
Sunday, August 16, 2009
BUILDING INDIA'S FOUNDATION
This afternoon we were watching a TV programme, "India's got talent". It is a beautiful programme which show cases the best of Indian talent, in any field. The only requirement for winning is that the act should entertain people. The three judges are Shekhar Kapur, Sonali Bendre and Kiron Kher. There have been many acts performed on this show by people of all ages and from different strata of society - some individually, and some as part of a larger group. The creativity and talent of people from small towns and big cities of India is immeasurable, if only some one goes out and looks for it - this has already been proven in the numerous musical reality shows like, "Sa Re Ga Ma" and others. What amazed one was the creativity of people from relatively deprived sections of society; people who spend their time thinking of the bare necessities of life - roti, kapda and makaan(maybe).
This afternoon was a repeat telecast of a semi-final performance - six acts were performed. Each one of them was brilliant by itself; and it is left to the people of India, through votes, to decide on which two of these acts would propel the participants in to the finals. The act that impressed me the most was the one performed by a group of young people from the construction industry (they did not want to disclose what they did for a living so as not to bias the country into voting for them out of sympathy - these kids actually the know the meaning of hard work and self respect - God bless them). The TV footage though gave one an idea that they were construction workers. This bunch of kids were from Berhampur in Orissa.
The last time they had performed, it was just mind boggling - they had painted themselves with something like lead paint and had depicted the mythological events in Lord Krishna's life, including the famous Mahabharata scene in which Arjuna is on the chariot with Lord Krishna - it was done so beautifully and artistically that one actually felt that the horses of the chariot were moving. They had practiced and perfected this on the beach at Gopalpur, they said, as they do not have a large enough place to practice. The act was exceptional and showed their devotion to the art, their creativity, and rightfully so, they were selected by the judges for the next level. I found this video on youtube - though I must confess that it does not do full justice to the live act that we saw on TV.
In this next level, the semi-final, they performed another act with the Tricolour as their main theme, reason being that this show was being telecast around the independence day. The imagination, the use of colours and the depiction of the human flag(they had painted themselves in orange, white and green), in myriad ways, was so artistic that one could not help but admire them for their talent. The judges, the live audience were all spell bound and so were my wife and I, at home; and so would many more like us who had witnessed it on the TV.
These boys through their act gave many important messages - the most important ones being that, "one can always find the 'how', when one is convinced about the 'why' and also about modern management's bug bear - "teamwork and leadership". (Some of the team members are physically disabled, but are still accommodated in the acts). I do hope that this group reaches the finals and wins - Rs 50 Lakhs would change their lives for sure. The judges were very impressed and their comments were very insightful.
Kiron Kher and Sonali Bendre were impressed and gave glowing comments; Sonali also said that she personally would vote for them; but the comments by Shekhar Kapur had tears in his own eyes and also in those of us who were watching - my respect for him has grown with every episode of this programme that I have watched. His remarks were very incisive and showed his deep understanding of life. He said that each one of us performs, and progresses, in life while standing on the shoulders of the 'Jawan', the 'Kisan', and the 'Mazdoor'. Even our late PM Lal Bahadur Shastri had given us the slogan, "Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan"; he had missed out the mazdoor.
This statement by Shekhar Kapur needs to be remembered, and more importantly internalised, so that we feel humbly obliged to treat them with the respect that they so truely deserve. Why?? Simply because they build the firm foundation on which we can grow our personal and professional lives; as also build the India of our dreams. Is this is what is meant by, "dignity of labour"?
This afternoon was a repeat telecast of a semi-final performance - six acts were performed. Each one of them was brilliant by itself; and it is left to the people of India, through votes, to decide on which two of these acts would propel the participants in to the finals. The act that impressed me the most was the one performed by a group of young people from the construction industry (they did not want to disclose what they did for a living so as not to bias the country into voting for them out of sympathy - these kids actually the know the meaning of hard work and self respect - God bless them). The TV footage though gave one an idea that they were construction workers. This bunch of kids were from Berhampur in Orissa.
The last time they had performed, it was just mind boggling - they had painted themselves with something like lead paint and had depicted the mythological events in Lord Krishna's life, including the famous Mahabharata scene in which Arjuna is on the chariot with Lord Krishna - it was done so beautifully and artistically that one actually felt that the horses of the chariot were moving. They had practiced and perfected this on the beach at Gopalpur, they said, as they do not have a large enough place to practice. The act was exceptional and showed their devotion to the art, their creativity, and rightfully so, they were selected by the judges for the next level. I found this video on youtube - though I must confess that it does not do full justice to the live act that we saw on TV.
In this next level, the semi-final, they performed another act with the Tricolour as their main theme, reason being that this show was being telecast around the independence day. The imagination, the use of colours and the depiction of the human flag(they had painted themselves in orange, white and green), in myriad ways, was so artistic that one could not help but admire them for their talent. The judges, the live audience were all spell bound and so were my wife and I, at home; and so would many more like us who had witnessed it on the TV.
These boys through their act gave many important messages - the most important ones being that, "one can always find the 'how', when one is convinced about the 'why' and also about modern management's bug bear - "teamwork and leadership". (Some of the team members are physically disabled, but are still accommodated in the acts). I do hope that this group reaches the finals and wins - Rs 50 Lakhs would change their lives for sure. The judges were very impressed and their comments were very insightful.
Kiron Kher and Sonali Bendre were impressed and gave glowing comments; Sonali also said that she personally would vote for them; but the comments by Shekhar Kapur had tears in his own eyes and also in those of us who were watching - my respect for him has grown with every episode of this programme that I have watched. His remarks were very incisive and showed his deep understanding of life. He said that each one of us performs, and progresses, in life while standing on the shoulders of the 'Jawan', the 'Kisan', and the 'Mazdoor'. Even our late PM Lal Bahadur Shastri had given us the slogan, "Jai Jawan, Jai Kisan"; he had missed out the mazdoor.
This statement by Shekhar Kapur needs to be remembered, and more importantly internalised, so that we feel humbly obliged to treat them with the respect that they so truely deserve. Why?? Simply because they build the firm foundation on which we can grow our personal and professional lives; as also build the India of our dreams. Is this is what is meant by, "dignity of labour"?
Monday, August 3, 2009
FROM MY LOG BOOK - PART III
Continued from Part II.
The trip from Leh to Base camp via Thoise was absolutely out of this world. The Mi-8 climbed over Leh and then hopped over Khardungla onto the Shyok valley. The helicopter had been stripped off of all equipment that is not required to climb over the pass. The winds at these altitudes in the mountains create their own set of problems. However, the helicopter pilots were experienced and made the whole thing look like routine. We met the Army people at Base camp. We were briefed on the sortie; switched helicopters; from the heavier Mi-8 to the the lighter Cheetah, with skis. Siachen glacier is the second longest glacier in the non polar world, and is about 70 kms long. We took off for the sortie in the Cheetah.
The glacier was a white expanse of snow with snow covered mountains on either side and light clouding on top - ideal conditions for whiteout. - "Whiteout is a weather condition in which visibility and contrast are severely reduced by snow and diffuse lighting from overcast clouds". Everything looked white and the horizon was not discernible, making it very difficult to decide on what is right side up. It seems as if one is enclosed inside a white ping pong ball. The helicopters were being stretched to their limits; the French (manufacturers) had opined that these helicopters were not designed for these altitudes. However, our aircrew operated them successfully on the glacier.
Our chopper was flying at very low heights and it seemed that we could touch the white virgin snow. The chopper pilots told us that the fresh snow made their task very difficult. They also told us that it made the task of the Army even more difficult, as snow covered the crevices and posed a hazard to the Army troops that marched up and down the glacier. We passed various Army camps on the glacier - small posts with personnel positioned there permanently for a duration of time. The environmental conditions, and the living conditions, as we saw them from the helicopter made us feel that we were living in 5-star comfort in Leh. This being our Army's first year on the glacier - the conditions were very basic, to say the least; things, in terms of living conditions, have since improved, although the natural environment has not altered materially - temperatures of -50 degree Celsius are normal; with snow storms and other high altitude phenomenon like strong winds, snow drift, avalanches are part of the major hazards.
The glacier slopes upward gradually and helicopter was following the slope of the glacier, slowly gaining height. We reached Sia La. The chopper pilots did not want us to get out of the helicopter, as the helicopter could not switch off at that altitude - oil congeals and it becomes difficult to restart the engine thereafter. We had carried some mail for the troops there and handed them over to the jawans - lighting up their faces - letters and news from home is always welcome, specially so at these desolate places. The jawans did not let us close the chopper door thereafter. They insisted that we get off the chopper - the chopper pilots relented and told us that we could go out for 2 minutes. Those two minutes were spent with us meeting with all the jawans and getting a feel of the area and the prospective targets. We took a picture with the tricolour and the jawans based at this pass. The soldiers requested us to send some old magazines for them, so that they could keep in touch with what is happening - it's a different world out there, you see.
Any visitor is welcome here, as it breaks the monotonous life of the soldiers based there - imagine sitting at over 18000 ft on a glacier with no means of leaving for an extended period - you have trekked up and will live there for a, hopefully, pre-defined period and trek down on completion, if all goes well. Living at these altitudes is a task by itself for normal humans born and brought up in those regions. Imagine the degree of difficulty for some of our troops that have been based at Siachen that have never used blankets, let alone quilts - troops from the southern parts of India. Some of us have a feeling that the Army fights only during the war - well, they fight the elements, besides the enemy, every day along our borders, some of which in the North and the East of our country are really breathtakingly beautiful but are a nightmare to defend against external aggression, as we saw during the Kargil war. Loss of limb and life is not only during war; it happens on a nearly daily basis at these places. Frost bite, pulmonary oedema are two of the major reasons for these losses; it happens in the 'line of duty' - a term that all our troops are very familiar with.
We then were taken to Bilafond La. Once again the chopper could not switch off here and the pilots did not permit us to get out of the helicopter because we had to leave early. The mail was passed on to the troops and they were heart broken when we said that we could not come out - they did the next best thing - they insisted that we have at least a welcome drink, to which we said ok, if they could hurry up. Within no time we were handed over steel glasses which felt warm to the touch - the drink was warm orange squash laced with rum. We fighter pilots had the same and the chopper pilots were given orange squash only. We took off and returned back to base camp; thanked the helicopter pilots; the Army and took off for Leh in the Mi-8. This trip was an experience - it taught us many lessons, besides giving us an insight into what we are up against. One of the most important lessons that I learnt can be summed up in the words of a hoarding that I had seen on Marine drive in Bombay in 1976, "I complained because I had no shoes, until I met someone without feet".
Our trip to the glacier; our meeting with our Army brethren - some of them disabled due to the natural elements convinced us that our living conditions at Leh with all its shortfalls was actually 5-star, relatively speaking. I can only salute the work that our personnel in Olive Green do during peace and war, and personally feel that they rightfully deserve our respect and gratitude for doing what they do to keep us secure as a nation.
I found this video on youtube which may give one an idea of the living conditions on Siachen glacier.
The trip from Leh to Base camp via Thoise was absolutely out of this world. The Mi-8 climbed over Leh and then hopped over Khardungla onto the Shyok valley. The helicopter had been stripped off of all equipment that is not required to climb over the pass. The winds at these altitudes in the mountains create their own set of problems. However, the helicopter pilots were experienced and made the whole thing look like routine. We met the Army people at Base camp. We were briefed on the sortie; switched helicopters; from the heavier Mi-8 to the the lighter Cheetah, with skis. Siachen glacier is the second longest glacier in the non polar world, and is about 70 kms long. We took off for the sortie in the Cheetah.
The glacier was a white expanse of snow with snow covered mountains on either side and light clouding on top - ideal conditions for whiteout. - "Whiteout is a weather condition in which visibility and contrast are severely reduced by snow and diffuse lighting from overcast clouds". Everything looked white and the horizon was not discernible, making it very difficult to decide on what is right side up. It seems as if one is enclosed inside a white ping pong ball. The helicopters were being stretched to their limits; the French (manufacturers) had opined that these helicopters were not designed for these altitudes. However, our aircrew operated them successfully on the glacier.
Our chopper was flying at very low heights and it seemed that we could touch the white virgin snow. The chopper pilots told us that the fresh snow made their task very difficult. They also told us that it made the task of the Army even more difficult, as snow covered the crevices and posed a hazard to the Army troops that marched up and down the glacier. We passed various Army camps on the glacier - small posts with personnel positioned there permanently for a duration of time. The environmental conditions, and the living conditions, as we saw them from the helicopter made us feel that we were living in 5-star comfort in Leh. This being our Army's first year on the glacier - the conditions were very basic, to say the least; things, in terms of living conditions, have since improved, although the natural environment has not altered materially - temperatures of -50 degree Celsius are normal; with snow storms and other high altitude phenomenon like strong winds, snow drift, avalanches are part of the major hazards.
The glacier slopes upward gradually and helicopter was following the slope of the glacier, slowly gaining height. We reached Sia La. The chopper pilots did not want us to get out of the helicopter, as the helicopter could not switch off at that altitude - oil congeals and it becomes difficult to restart the engine thereafter. We had carried some mail for the troops there and handed them over to the jawans - lighting up their faces - letters and news from home is always welcome, specially so at these desolate places. The jawans did not let us close the chopper door thereafter. They insisted that we get off the chopper - the chopper pilots relented and told us that we could go out for 2 minutes. Those two minutes were spent with us meeting with all the jawans and getting a feel of the area and the prospective targets. We took a picture with the tricolour and the jawans based at this pass. The soldiers requested us to send some old magazines for them, so that they could keep in touch with what is happening - it's a different world out there, you see.
Any visitor is welcome here, as it breaks the monotonous life of the soldiers based there - imagine sitting at over 18000 ft on a glacier with no means of leaving for an extended period - you have trekked up and will live there for a, hopefully, pre-defined period and trek down on completion, if all goes well. Living at these altitudes is a task by itself for normal humans born and brought up in those regions. Imagine the degree of difficulty for some of our troops that have been based at Siachen that have never used blankets, let alone quilts - troops from the southern parts of India. Some of us have a feeling that the Army fights only during the war - well, they fight the elements, besides the enemy, every day along our borders, some of which in the North and the East of our country are really breathtakingly beautiful but are a nightmare to defend against external aggression, as we saw during the Kargil war. Loss of limb and life is not only during war; it happens on a nearly daily basis at these places. Frost bite, pulmonary oedema are two of the major reasons for these losses; it happens in the 'line of duty' - a term that all our troops are very familiar with.
We then were taken to Bilafond La. Once again the chopper could not switch off here and the pilots did not permit us to get out of the helicopter because we had to leave early. The mail was passed on to the troops and they were heart broken when we said that we could not come out - they did the next best thing - they insisted that we have at least a welcome drink, to which we said ok, if they could hurry up. Within no time we were handed over steel glasses which felt warm to the touch - the drink was warm orange squash laced with rum. We fighter pilots had the same and the chopper pilots were given orange squash only. We took off and returned back to base camp; thanked the helicopter pilots; the Army and took off for Leh in the Mi-8. This trip was an experience - it taught us many lessons, besides giving us an insight into what we are up against. One of the most important lessons that I learnt can be summed up in the words of a hoarding that I had seen on Marine drive in Bombay in 1976, "I complained because I had no shoes, until I met someone without feet".
Our trip to the glacier; our meeting with our Army brethren - some of them disabled due to the natural elements convinced us that our living conditions at Leh with all its shortfalls was actually 5-star, relatively speaking. I can only salute the work that our personnel in Olive Green do during peace and war, and personally feel that they rightfully deserve our respect and gratitude for doing what they do to keep us secure as a nation.
I found this video on youtube which may give one an idea of the living conditions on Siachen glacier.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
THOUGHTS OF CAPT. VIKRAM BATRA'S TWIN
I received the following by email, as a forward. I wanted to share these thoughts.
My dream of visiting Vikram as a commanding officer of a regiment couldn’t come true. But he still commands—in the hearts of the soldiers posted in Kargil and Drass
When I talk about Luv, I don’t know where to begin. Capt. Vikram Batra PVC (posthumous) is Luv, and I, his younger twin, Kush. His identical twin. Ours was a childhood spent in the hills of Palampur making the most of our identical looks—playing pranks, filling in for each other and at times even getting punished for one another’s mistakes. The similarity ran deeper than looks. We also had the same interests. Both of us started playing table tennis at the age of ten. It’s another story that Vikram went on to become the school champion for five consecutive years. But I’d like to believe that I had a big hand in that. After all, I chose to lose to him in the semi-finals in the fifth year so that he could make the school record. But deep in my heart, I know that my brother—Shershah of Kargil—was a winner right from the start.
Shershah of Kargil. That’s what the enemy too called Vikram. That’s the mark he made on them on those unforgiving mountains of Kargil. I don’t know at what stage Vikram marched on way ahead of all of us. We’d grown up as regular kids, making our choices as we went along. The first different choice that I remember is when our father started giving us Rs 50 a month for the school bus fare. I chose to travel to school by bus. Vikram opted to walk it and instead spend those rupees in the canteen. As we grew up, Vikram opted for the Army, and I, rejected thrice by the Services Selection Board, settled for business administration. How thrilled he was when he made it to the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun.
It was 6 December 1997. Vikram Batra’s dream came true. He took the oath as an Officer of the Indian Army: The Safety, Honour and Welfare of your country comes first, always and every time / The Honour, Welfare and Comfort of the men you command comes next / Your own Ease, Comfort and Safety comes last, always and every time. /
Mom and Dad pinned up the stars on his shoulder. He stood there smiling from ear to ear in his crew cut and several kilos thinner after the rigorous training. It was a grand moment. But it wasn’t going to be an easy life and Vikram knew that.
When he’d come home on annual leave, we would talk for hours about the challenges he faced in Sopore—the strife-torn town in Jammu & Kashmir’s Baramulla district—which was his first posting. He had been commissioned into 13 JAK Rif. We would dream of the day he would command his regiment and I would get a chance to attend some of the regimental functions with his family and children. That dream is lost now.
Never could I have imagined, even in my wildest dreams, that the stories we saw in the famous TV serial, Param Vir Chakra, which we watched at a neighbour’s house in 1985 (we didn’t have a TV at home back then) would one day become so real for me. And Vikram would be the hero. Vikram was awarded the country’s highest gallantry award, posthumously. He was only 24. His famous words from the height of 18,000 feet: “Yeh Dil Maange More,” after victory over the enemy, still ring in my ears.
It’s been ten years. A lot has changed. And a lot has remained the same. I have many more grey strands in my hair. Vikram is as youthful as ever. Time cannot touch him. In these last ten years, I have longed to visit those mountains that he conquered. And then suddenly, out of the blue, I got a call to travel to Kargil and Drass. It was as if Vikram was calling me to have a chat with him. I didn’t look back, packed my bags and set out to meet him.
I landed in Leh at 10:30 in the morning on 2 July, five days before Vikram’s tenth death anniversary. The valley was more beautiful than it is made out to be in books. From the snow-capped hills surrounding it, I could almost sense Vikram looking at me. I then began the road trip to Drass to meet him. The mountain wind blew faster than the speed of the car and in my mind there was just one picture—of the bearded young man who had become a legend for pushing the enemy back at insurmountable heights where even life does not exist.
A little outside Leh, we reached Gurdwara Pathar Sahib. I said a prayer for Vikram and for all those great soldiers guarding those mountains and our motherland. I recalled what Vikram had written in one of his last letters before the attack: ‘Life is at total risk. Anything can happen here. Take care of yourself and Mom and Dad… My picture has appeared in The Times Of India. Keep a copy for me. I want to see it once I’m back.’ The picture had appeared on the front page of The Times of India on 2 July 1999. It showed him standing with an anti-aircraft gun and weapons he had captured from Pakistani soldiers. This was after the first ferocious attack on Peak 5140 launched after they performed pooja at the Ghumri Base Camp with the call of “Durga Mata Ki Jai”.
Vikram and his men captured point 5140 on 20 June 1999, and two weeks later, when his company launched the attack on point 4875 on 5 July, Vikram was fatally wounded—hit by sniper fire. The company captured the peak, but after 11 casualties. Vikram was one of them.
It was months later, at the Western Command headquarters, when I met the junior commissioned officer (JCO) who was with Vikram the day he was fatally wounded. He was the last man to speak with Vikram. Sub Major Raghunath Singh started wailing when he saw me. He solved the mystery of my twin’s death for me: a young officer, Vikram’s junior, was hit and crying for help. The JCO wanted to go out to help but Vikram stopped him. “The enemy was firing heavily. ‘You have a family and children back home, I will do this,’ saahab said. He stopped me with these words and went out,” Raghunath Singh told me as he wept like a baby, inconsolably. But Vikram was hit by sniper fire. Having realised that, the charged company went berserk, mad with rage at their leader being hit, and killed the enemy soldiers. The tricolour was planted atop point 4875—they call it Batra Top now. Vikram reached Palampur before the sun rose on 11 July 1999. He was wrapped in the tricolour, lying calm almost as if he was trying to catch up on sleep he had lost during these arduous assaults on those treacherous peaks.
Was I really so close to those peaks that I could almost see him fighting there? I wanted to reach up there as fast as possible, but the track was treacherous—the rocky mountain on one side and the sheer fall on the other. In some time, we had left the Indus River behind.
It was a breathtaking journey. A place so beautiful and yet caught in the crossfire of war a decade ago. Midway, at one of the military posts, we had lunch with the commanding officer of 4 JAK Rif. I also met an officer six months senior to Vikram—now a major—and a JCO, both of whom had fought the war together with Vikram. “You look so much like Vikram Sir,” the JCO said and hugged me. I’ve been told that a billion times in the last ten years. There are people now who know me as Captain Vikram Batra’s brother. Many of them even walk into my office at ICICI Bank in Delhi and stare at me as if they know me. Some of them even say, “We’ve seen you somewhere.” When I tell them I’m Captain Batra’s twin, they say, “Oh, ‘Yeh Dil Mange More,’” and shake my hand.
My dream of visiting Vikram as a commanding officer of a regiment couldn’t come true. But Vikram still commands. He’s there in the hearts of the soldiers posted in Kargil and Drass. In that mountain named after him (the Batra Top). And in the transit camp in Drass, called Capt Batra Transit Camp, where weary soldiers break their journey in the call of duty.
‘Call of duty’, the mention of these words takes me back to the days he was to be commissioned as an officer. When he was in the IMA, the footnote of Vikram’s letter pad read, ‘If Death comes to me before I prove my blood, I promise I’ll kill Death.’ You kept your word, Vikram. My Brother, My Twin, I salute you.
My dream of visiting Vikram as a commanding officer of a regiment couldn’t come true. But he still commands—in the hearts of the soldiers posted in Kargil and Drass
When I talk about Luv, I don’t know where to begin. Capt. Vikram Batra PVC (posthumous) is Luv, and I, his younger twin, Kush. His identical twin. Ours was a childhood spent in the hills of Palampur making the most of our identical looks—playing pranks, filling in for each other and at times even getting punished for one another’s mistakes. The similarity ran deeper than looks. We also had the same interests. Both of us started playing table tennis at the age of ten. It’s another story that Vikram went on to become the school champion for five consecutive years. But I’d like to believe that I had a big hand in that. After all, I chose to lose to him in the semi-finals in the fifth year so that he could make the school record. But deep in my heart, I know that my brother—Shershah of Kargil—was a winner right from the start.
Shershah of Kargil. That’s what the enemy too called Vikram. That’s the mark he made on them on those unforgiving mountains of Kargil. I don’t know at what stage Vikram marched on way ahead of all of us. We’d grown up as regular kids, making our choices as we went along. The first different choice that I remember is when our father started giving us Rs 50 a month for the school bus fare. I chose to travel to school by bus. Vikram opted to walk it and instead spend those rupees in the canteen. As we grew up, Vikram opted for the Army, and I, rejected thrice by the Services Selection Board, settled for business administration. How thrilled he was when he made it to the Indian Military Academy (IMA), Dehradun.
It was 6 December 1997. Vikram Batra’s dream came true. He took the oath as an Officer of the Indian Army: The Safety, Honour and Welfare of your country comes first, always and every time / The Honour, Welfare and Comfort of the men you command comes next / Your own Ease, Comfort and Safety comes last, always and every time. /
Mom and Dad pinned up the stars on his shoulder. He stood there smiling from ear to ear in his crew cut and several kilos thinner after the rigorous training. It was a grand moment. But it wasn’t going to be an easy life and Vikram knew that.
When he’d come home on annual leave, we would talk for hours about the challenges he faced in Sopore—the strife-torn town in Jammu & Kashmir’s Baramulla district—which was his first posting. He had been commissioned into 13 JAK Rif. We would dream of the day he would command his regiment and I would get a chance to attend some of the regimental functions with his family and children. That dream is lost now.
Never could I have imagined, even in my wildest dreams, that the stories we saw in the famous TV serial, Param Vir Chakra, which we watched at a neighbour’s house in 1985 (we didn’t have a TV at home back then) would one day become so real for me. And Vikram would be the hero. Vikram was awarded the country’s highest gallantry award, posthumously. He was only 24. His famous words from the height of 18,000 feet: “Yeh Dil Maange More,” after victory over the enemy, still ring in my ears.
It’s been ten years. A lot has changed. And a lot has remained the same. I have many more grey strands in my hair. Vikram is as youthful as ever. Time cannot touch him. In these last ten years, I have longed to visit those mountains that he conquered. And then suddenly, out of the blue, I got a call to travel to Kargil and Drass. It was as if Vikram was calling me to have a chat with him. I didn’t look back, packed my bags and set out to meet him.
I landed in Leh at 10:30 in the morning on 2 July, five days before Vikram’s tenth death anniversary. The valley was more beautiful than it is made out to be in books. From the snow-capped hills surrounding it, I could almost sense Vikram looking at me. I then began the road trip to Drass to meet him. The mountain wind blew faster than the speed of the car and in my mind there was just one picture—of the bearded young man who had become a legend for pushing the enemy back at insurmountable heights where even life does not exist.
A little outside Leh, we reached Gurdwara Pathar Sahib. I said a prayer for Vikram and for all those great soldiers guarding those mountains and our motherland. I recalled what Vikram had written in one of his last letters before the attack: ‘Life is at total risk. Anything can happen here. Take care of yourself and Mom and Dad… My picture has appeared in The Times Of India. Keep a copy for me. I want to see it once I’m back.’ The picture had appeared on the front page of The Times of India on 2 July 1999. It showed him standing with an anti-aircraft gun and weapons he had captured from Pakistani soldiers. This was after the first ferocious attack on Peak 5140 launched after they performed pooja at the Ghumri Base Camp with the call of “Durga Mata Ki Jai”.
Vikram and his men captured point 5140 on 20 June 1999, and two weeks later, when his company launched the attack on point 4875 on 5 July, Vikram was fatally wounded—hit by sniper fire. The company captured the peak, but after 11 casualties. Vikram was one of them.
It was months later, at the Western Command headquarters, when I met the junior commissioned officer (JCO) who was with Vikram the day he was fatally wounded. He was the last man to speak with Vikram. Sub Major Raghunath Singh started wailing when he saw me. He solved the mystery of my twin’s death for me: a young officer, Vikram’s junior, was hit and crying for help. The JCO wanted to go out to help but Vikram stopped him. “The enemy was firing heavily. ‘You have a family and children back home, I will do this,’ saahab said. He stopped me with these words and went out,” Raghunath Singh told me as he wept like a baby, inconsolably. But Vikram was hit by sniper fire. Having realised that, the charged company went berserk, mad with rage at their leader being hit, and killed the enemy soldiers. The tricolour was planted atop point 4875—they call it Batra Top now. Vikram reached Palampur before the sun rose on 11 July 1999. He was wrapped in the tricolour, lying calm almost as if he was trying to catch up on sleep he had lost during these arduous assaults on those treacherous peaks.
Was I really so close to those peaks that I could almost see him fighting there? I wanted to reach up there as fast as possible, but the track was treacherous—the rocky mountain on one side and the sheer fall on the other. In some time, we had left the Indus River behind.
It was a breathtaking journey. A place so beautiful and yet caught in the crossfire of war a decade ago. Midway, at one of the military posts, we had lunch with the commanding officer of 4 JAK Rif. I also met an officer six months senior to Vikram—now a major—and a JCO, both of whom had fought the war together with Vikram. “You look so much like Vikram Sir,” the JCO said and hugged me. I’ve been told that a billion times in the last ten years. There are people now who know me as Captain Vikram Batra’s brother. Many of them even walk into my office at ICICI Bank in Delhi and stare at me as if they know me. Some of them even say, “We’ve seen you somewhere.” When I tell them I’m Captain Batra’s twin, they say, “Oh, ‘Yeh Dil Mange More,’” and shake my hand.
My dream of visiting Vikram as a commanding officer of a regiment couldn’t come true. But Vikram still commands. He’s there in the hearts of the soldiers posted in Kargil and Drass. In that mountain named after him (the Batra Top). And in the transit camp in Drass, called Capt Batra Transit Camp, where weary soldiers break their journey in the call of duty.
‘Call of duty’, the mention of these words takes me back to the days he was to be commissioned as an officer. When he was in the IMA, the footnote of Vikram’s letter pad read, ‘If Death comes to me before I prove my blood, I promise I’ll kill Death.’ You kept your word, Vikram. My Brother, My Twin, I salute you.
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
FROM MY LOG BOOK - PART II
In continuation from here........
Our first landing at Leh was an experience. We were still relatively shielded from the army and thus at least I had no clue about Op Meghdoot. We were ready to ferry back, now that the trial landings were a success. Instead we now had orders to continue at Leh until further orders. These further orders were received on 25 Sep 84, when it was no longer feasible or required to operate from Leh - five day trial landings became a five month sojourn at Leh - this is not abnormal in the fauj. Faujis don't complain because they make the best of the worst that is meted out to them - it is this 'never give up' and 'make the best of everything, with very minimal complaint' spirit that I love about the fauj. Coming back to Leh...
We had flown in the valleys North of Bagdogra and Tezpur, but had never landed at such high altitude. Some of us had landed at Srinagar, elevation about 5000 ft, but Leh was close to 11000 ft. What's the big deal? Two things come to mind; first is the mind itself, which happens to be the biggest problem, and secondly of course are the physical limitations, which can be overcome; and the limitations of the machine, which should not be transgressed under normal conditions. However, this was not a normal condition. In this instance, the mind had got no chance to be prepared for this mission - this normally happens in the fauj, because surprise and secrecy are two of the basic principles of war.
Mind says its never been done - this is the first time; we don't know the risk involved; what are the problems; we did not even get time to study and ask the experts about solutions to the problems; we've never been there; the terrain; the obstacles; the pressure altitude; the runway without arrester barrier and Indus river in the take-off path; and finally 'what if?'; we told our near and dear ones that we are going for 5-day trial landings at Leh. None of us had been there - fear of the unknown. Well the fauj trains you in how to deal with such situations. This is where squadron, izzat (honour), esprit de corps, nation and the other higher sentiments come into play automatically and one is ready to do what is needed, and the doubts in one's mind are put to rest. The families also understand the meaning of the term "service exigencies", and are generally very supportive.
The physical limitations were not insurmountable but just to highlight a few that were encountered. For one, the aircraft flies in the medium of air and any changes in the pressure and temperature (pressure and temperature reduce with altitude) of the air has an impact on the performance of the aircraft and engine - suffice it to say that the aircraft performance at altitude is less than that at sea level. Secondly, Leh is in a valley at 11000 ft, with even higher mountains around it, peaks touching about 18000 ft. Khardung La pass is at 18380 ft, just NNE of Leh. Fighters typically do a circling approach to land, and aim to keep the runway in sight all through the process. In Leh, this was not possible because of the mountain ridges all around. The ground is sloping all around with hardly any flat stretch. Thirdly, the Leh runway is sloping - this has its own implications on takeoff and landing - you could only land one way at Leh and takeoff only the other way, that is towards the Indus river. This has implications - slope may be favourable but then winds may be totally unfavourable for takeoff. Leh gets very strong winds during the day, and mostly adverse for take-off, and even the temperatures go beyond 30 deg Celsius during summers - not a good combination for aircraft performance during take-off. Lastly, on short finals one flies over the Indus river, where normally wind shear is encountered as the day progresses.
Anyway, the landings were successful and we were now ready to find a room and rest, as per the doctor's orders. We could hardly see any building in the area - there was sand all around and some mud hut kind of structures. We were taken to the Officers mess - a small outfit catering to the small contingent of Air Force officers permanently based at Leh (2 year hard area tenure), and for helicopter crew operating on detachment out of Leh. Helicopters, Cheetah and Chetak had been there for some years before us - for how they reached there you can visit this page. The rooms were thus in short supply in the mess. We were assigned two to a room - small rooms with two beds each and a kerosene bukhari in the centre - the bukharis kerosene supply ends on 31 March, irrespective of outside temperature - audit requirements. It had an attached toilet but no water pipes or taps. There were two buckets to store water in the toilet. Water had to be collected from two big open drums kept in the courtyard, which in turn were replenished by water bowsers twice a day. Temperatures at night were still sub zero, and thus the water would freeze in the metal buckets. In case one wanted to have a bath in the morning, we had to insert the bazooka (a local innovation - a long wooden stick on which a 2000 W heater element was wound and which could be plugged into the socket - served the purpose of an immersion rod) in to the bucket before going to sleep. There was no 24 hour electricity, but a generator supplied electricity for a few hours during the morning and evening hours.
Having put our luggage in the assigned room, and looking at the state of our accommodation, we went and had lunch followed by the saunf. It was interesting to see some vitamin tablets in the same tray. On inquiry it was revealed that until the roads to Leh open, fresh vegetables are scarce and thus most of the food cooked is from packaged tins. This food causes digestive problems and it is thus advisable to partake a tablet of Vitamin B, along with the meals. Anyway, went back to the room for some rest.
In the evening, my Flt Commander and I went over to have a look at our airmen's accommodation - it could be termed as 'just to survive'. I was getting agitated now and my senior told me to relax and wisely told me that "water will eventually finds its level", and it eventually did. Our clothing was pathetic for the climatic conditions. The local base issued us coat parkhas and monkey caps which became our survival kit. The airmen had to be briefed not to touch any part of the aircraft or metal at night or early morning, lest one looses the skin of his hand - we did not have the requisite gloves - the move was at very short notice, and also to a place we were never planned to operate from.
We rested on 06th May and my log book shows that I flew a handling sortie over the Leh runway on 07th May. Each one of us had done a sortie each, and the Leh valley was reverberating with jet engine sound and Hunter aircraft doing aerobatics over the airfield. We were trying to adjust to operating the aircraft at higher heights - the handling characterstics change; of course, the terrain at Leh is also imposing and needs to be pictured in your mind's eye to make one comfortable operating there. After landing we decided to investigate our surroundings, now that we were destined to stay at Leh for an extended duration. All of us piled up in the jeep and headed to the Army movie hall. We were still in our anti g-suits. When we got off the jeep, we were received by the army who termed us as their biggest saviours - they told us how they feel re-assured now that our Air Force is here. The movie was on and we were ushered in to the last row of seats and were told that this row would always be kept for us. Our reception by the Army jawans was spontaneous and heartfelt - it felt nice to be wanted. Later we pieced together information about Op Meghdoot and how the Army had pre-empted Pakistan and moved on to Siachen Glacier on 13 April 84. Sometime after this 4 Pakistani Mirages had overflown the glacier and that is when the Army had sent in an SOS for the IAF, and we were selected at short notice, with that phone call on 25 April 84.
The next day we had a severe dust storm and the visibility dropped to less than 10 metres. The wind was howling and the there was sand all over. Our aircraft did not have the requisite protection for these conditions and so despite all our sea level protection, we had sand in every opening in the aircraft. A lot of time and energy was thereafter spent on cleaning and ridding the aircraft of the sand. In the mean while Pakistan army had launched an attack, which was repulsed by our troops, as we were sitting at higher heights. We were planned to be taken on a glacier recce trip in the helicopter to get to know the conditions where we were required to operate. We were picked up in a Mi-8 from Leh and were transported over Khardung la to the Base camp. At base camp, there were two Cheetah helicopters that were assigned to take us up the glacier, and show us the two passes - Sia La and Bilafond la at an elevation of about 17000 ft - these passes were overlooking the Pakistani troops stationed 3 -5000 ft below.
A Cheetah helicopter over the Siachen glacier. Image courtesy - Bharat-rakshak.com
...................................To be continued.
Our first landing at Leh was an experience. We were still relatively shielded from the army and thus at least I had no clue about Op Meghdoot. We were ready to ferry back, now that the trial landings were a success. Instead we now had orders to continue at Leh until further orders. These further orders were received on 25 Sep 84, when it was no longer feasible or required to operate from Leh - five day trial landings became a five month sojourn at Leh - this is not abnormal in the fauj. Faujis don't complain because they make the best of the worst that is meted out to them - it is this 'never give up' and 'make the best of everything, with very minimal complaint' spirit that I love about the fauj. Coming back to Leh...
We had flown in the valleys North of Bagdogra and Tezpur, but had never landed at such high altitude. Some of us had landed at Srinagar, elevation about 5000 ft, but Leh was close to 11000 ft. What's the big deal? Two things come to mind; first is the mind itself, which happens to be the biggest problem, and secondly of course are the physical limitations, which can be overcome; and the limitations of the machine, which should not be transgressed under normal conditions. However, this was not a normal condition. In this instance, the mind had got no chance to be prepared for this mission - this normally happens in the fauj, because surprise and secrecy are two of the basic principles of war.
Mind says its never been done - this is the first time; we don't know the risk involved; what are the problems; we did not even get time to study and ask the experts about solutions to the problems; we've never been there; the terrain; the obstacles; the pressure altitude; the runway without arrester barrier and Indus river in the take-off path; and finally 'what if?'; we told our near and dear ones that we are going for 5-day trial landings at Leh. None of us had been there - fear of the unknown. Well the fauj trains you in how to deal with such situations. This is where squadron, izzat (honour), esprit de corps, nation and the other higher sentiments come into play automatically and one is ready to do what is needed, and the doubts in one's mind are put to rest. The families also understand the meaning of the term "service exigencies", and are generally very supportive.
The physical limitations were not insurmountable but just to highlight a few that were encountered. For one, the aircraft flies in the medium of air and any changes in the pressure and temperature (pressure and temperature reduce with altitude) of the air has an impact on the performance of the aircraft and engine - suffice it to say that the aircraft performance at altitude is less than that at sea level. Secondly, Leh is in a valley at 11000 ft, with even higher mountains around it, peaks touching about 18000 ft. Khardung La pass is at 18380 ft, just NNE of Leh. Fighters typically do a circling approach to land, and aim to keep the runway in sight all through the process. In Leh, this was not possible because of the mountain ridges all around. The ground is sloping all around with hardly any flat stretch. Thirdly, the Leh runway is sloping - this has its own implications on takeoff and landing - you could only land one way at Leh and takeoff only the other way, that is towards the Indus river. This has implications - slope may be favourable but then winds may be totally unfavourable for takeoff. Leh gets very strong winds during the day, and mostly adverse for take-off, and even the temperatures go beyond 30 deg Celsius during summers - not a good combination for aircraft performance during take-off. Lastly, on short finals one flies over the Indus river, where normally wind shear is encountered as the day progresses.
Anyway, the landings were successful and we were now ready to find a room and rest, as per the doctor's orders. We could hardly see any building in the area - there was sand all around and some mud hut kind of structures. We were taken to the Officers mess - a small outfit catering to the small contingent of Air Force officers permanently based at Leh (2 year hard area tenure), and for helicopter crew operating on detachment out of Leh. Helicopters, Cheetah and Chetak had been there for some years before us - for how they reached there you can visit this page. The rooms were thus in short supply in the mess. We were assigned two to a room - small rooms with two beds each and a kerosene bukhari in the centre - the bukharis kerosene supply ends on 31 March, irrespective of outside temperature - audit requirements. It had an attached toilet but no water pipes or taps. There were two buckets to store water in the toilet. Water had to be collected from two big open drums kept in the courtyard, which in turn were replenished by water bowsers twice a day. Temperatures at night were still sub zero, and thus the water would freeze in the metal buckets. In case one wanted to have a bath in the morning, we had to insert the bazooka (a local innovation - a long wooden stick on which a 2000 W heater element was wound and which could be plugged into the socket - served the purpose of an immersion rod) in to the bucket before going to sleep. There was no 24 hour electricity, but a generator supplied electricity for a few hours during the morning and evening hours.
Having put our luggage in the assigned room, and looking at the state of our accommodation, we went and had lunch followed by the saunf. It was interesting to see some vitamin tablets in the same tray. On inquiry it was revealed that until the roads to Leh open, fresh vegetables are scarce and thus most of the food cooked is from packaged tins. This food causes digestive problems and it is thus advisable to partake a tablet of Vitamin B, along with the meals. Anyway, went back to the room for some rest.
In the evening, my Flt Commander and I went over to have a look at our airmen's accommodation - it could be termed as 'just to survive'. I was getting agitated now and my senior told me to relax and wisely told me that "water will eventually finds its level", and it eventually did. Our clothing was pathetic for the climatic conditions. The local base issued us coat parkhas and monkey caps which became our survival kit. The airmen had to be briefed not to touch any part of the aircraft or metal at night or early morning, lest one looses the skin of his hand - we did not have the requisite gloves - the move was at very short notice, and also to a place we were never planned to operate from.
We rested on 06th May and my log book shows that I flew a handling sortie over the Leh runway on 07th May. Each one of us had done a sortie each, and the Leh valley was reverberating with jet engine sound and Hunter aircraft doing aerobatics over the airfield. We were trying to adjust to operating the aircraft at higher heights - the handling characterstics change; of course, the terrain at Leh is also imposing and needs to be pictured in your mind's eye to make one comfortable operating there. After landing we decided to investigate our surroundings, now that we were destined to stay at Leh for an extended duration. All of us piled up in the jeep and headed to the Army movie hall. We were still in our anti g-suits. When we got off the jeep, we were received by the army who termed us as their biggest saviours - they told us how they feel re-assured now that our Air Force is here. The movie was on and we were ushered in to the last row of seats and were told that this row would always be kept for us. Our reception by the Army jawans was spontaneous and heartfelt - it felt nice to be wanted. Later we pieced together information about Op Meghdoot and how the Army had pre-empted Pakistan and moved on to Siachen Glacier on 13 April 84. Sometime after this 4 Pakistani Mirages had overflown the glacier and that is when the Army had sent in an SOS for the IAF, and we were selected at short notice, with that phone call on 25 April 84.
The next day we had a severe dust storm and the visibility dropped to less than 10 metres. The wind was howling and the there was sand all over. Our aircraft did not have the requisite protection for these conditions and so despite all our sea level protection, we had sand in every opening in the aircraft. A lot of time and energy was thereafter spent on cleaning and ridding the aircraft of the sand. In the mean while Pakistan army had launched an attack, which was repulsed by our troops, as we were sitting at higher heights. We were planned to be taken on a glacier recce trip in the helicopter to get to know the conditions where we were required to operate. We were picked up in a Mi-8 from Leh and were transported over Khardung la to the Base camp. At base camp, there were two Cheetah helicopters that were assigned to take us up the glacier, and show us the two passes - Sia La and Bilafond la at an elevation of about 17000 ft - these passes were overlooking the Pakistani troops stationed 3 -5000 ft below.
A Cheetah helicopter over the Siachen glacier. Image courtesy - Bharat-rakshak.com
...................................To be continued.
Monday, July 27, 2009
FROM MY LOG BOOK - A SANITISED GLIMPSE
25th April 1984.....around 2 pm; Hasimara, West Bengal. We had finished flying for the day and were getting ready to packup when the phone rang. Command Headquarters on line asking for the Commanding Officer. Boss took the phone and we could all hear him saying, "Yes sir". We instinctively knew that something was on. He puts the phone down and tells us that we were required to fly to Srinagar for trial landings at Leh...an airfield at 10734 ft. elevation. (Some of us in the Air Force had never heard of Leh back then. As per us, only the Army ventured there - hard area. The transport and helicopter fleet also landed there to support Army operations, specially in winter when the roads all shut down due to snow). When? We need to fly out tomorrow early morning. Get everything ready - 4 aircraft with 230 gallon tanks on and 100 gallon tanks to be carried in the AN-12, which will be landing here tonight. How? Nobody could understand, but one does not question on operational matters. Everyone gets busy... men getting aircraft ready, pilots getting maps and briefings ready.... will be staging through Kanpur, as we cannot make it direct to Srinagar.
My thoughts...my wife with our four year old daughter is booked to go to Delhi by Tinsukia mail from Alipur duar (about 40 kms away) in the first week of May. Our trial landings, we are told, will last for 5 days and so should be back by the time she has to leave. No sweat...lets focus on the task at hand. Personal life thoughts......put away.
Doubts linger in our minds....trial landings are not time bound....so, maybe we will not leave tomorrow...in any case there is no AN-12 anywhere close and we cannot leave without transport support. At night, we hear an AN-12 landing at Hasimara - a rare event. We now know that something serious is on. The AN-12 crew tell us that they were in Kanpur in the afternoon and had already loaded a glider to transport to some destination when they were ordered to throw the glider out and mover ASAP to Hasimara and take further instructions from our boss. It is late at night by now. Next morning...
The AN-12 is already loaded and we are ready to ferry out. Kanpur - land, refuel and off to Srinagar. On landing at Srinagar, we are informed to move to the satellite base. Take off Srinagar...land at sattelite base....aircraft are parked in blast pens. As we come out, we hear a helicopter coming in to land. Out comes a 3-star General who tells us that don't worry... in case you eject over the glacier, I will have my ski troops pick you up in 15 minutes....we are all flabbergasted...what glacier?....we thought we had come all the way for trial landings at Leh. The Base Commander steps in, and tells the General that we are unaware of the mission and could the General wait until we reach the underground, secure base operations. Our heads are already spinning...what's going on here?
We are given a 'need to know' briefing that tells us that our Army may need our presence at Leh and thus we need to do trial landings there, so that in case they need us, we would be ready for operations ex-Leh. It is still trial landings and then return to Hasimara. Leh is not a normal airfield for fighter operations, to say the least. Our aircraft are checked out and configured with 100 gallon tanks... 230s being stored for the return flight to Hasimara.
Next few days, we are briefed by our Packet stalwarts about the terrain, the route and the take off and landing considerations at Leh. We are all given an aerial reconnaissance trip in a Packet from Srinagar to Leh. This trip was absolutely mind boggling. The aircraft took off on two engines and once airborne the flight engineer started the jet pack, the aircraft orbited in the valley to gain altitude and then got into the valley heading towards Kargil. As it crossed 10,000 ft, the Captain asked us to have a hookah inhale....we were given a tube through which we inhaled oxygen through our mouths...like smoking a hookah. The aircraft is not permitted to enter clouds and the rate of climb, even with the jet pack on, was so little that we fighter pilots were feeling suffocated in the valley between tall mountains on either side; valley with clouds and the aircraft with no capability to climb .... we admired the guts of our Packet brethren to fly such an aircraft is such hostile conditions. It seemed that the wingtips of the aircraft would touch the mountains any time when the pilots were manoeuvring to avoid the clouds. Eventually they gave up and we returned back to our departing base. We were then briefed some more and we were ready to do it on our own, and we were happier, as our aircraft atleast had the capability to climb above the high mountain peaks.
Packet with a jet pack on top at Leh airfield.
Image courtesy Bharat-Rakshak.com
This was followed by a couple of handling sorties at high altitude; followed by overshoots at Leh. Our CO and flight commander land at Leh... in true military style...leader leads the way, always. On 05 May 1984, all four aircraft land at Leh and we are proud to be the first fighter squadron to have landed at Leh. The doctor comes and tells us to stay resting in the room for atleast 24 hours to let the body adjust to the high altitude...when one reaches above 10,000 ft, without acclimatisation, from sea level, it could lead to complications of water in the lungs due to inadequate partial pressure of oxygen at that altitude.
What happened to my wife and daughter? She got to know that we would not be coming back before her departure. She requested friends from the Air OP flight to have her dropped at Alipur Duar. The train was at night and that region is not very friendly, specially at night. 4 of our friends took time off and saw her off at the station and she reached Delhi. Service exigencies.....she, like most fauji wives, had understood the meaning of these two words very early in our marriage.....we generally brief them before the marriage itself.....there are cases where some weak hearted then have had doubts about marrying a fauji.
...................To be continued.
My thoughts...my wife with our four year old daughter is booked to go to Delhi by Tinsukia mail from Alipur duar (about 40 kms away) in the first week of May. Our trial landings, we are told, will last for 5 days and so should be back by the time she has to leave. No sweat...lets focus on the task at hand. Personal life thoughts......put away.
Doubts linger in our minds....trial landings are not time bound....so, maybe we will not leave tomorrow...in any case there is no AN-12 anywhere close and we cannot leave without transport support. At night, we hear an AN-12 landing at Hasimara - a rare event. We now know that something serious is on. The AN-12 crew tell us that they were in Kanpur in the afternoon and had already loaded a glider to transport to some destination when they were ordered to throw the glider out and mover ASAP to Hasimara and take further instructions from our boss. It is late at night by now. Next morning...
The AN-12 is already loaded and we are ready to ferry out. Kanpur - land, refuel and off to Srinagar. On landing at Srinagar, we are informed to move to the satellite base. Take off Srinagar...land at sattelite base....aircraft are parked in blast pens. As we come out, we hear a helicopter coming in to land. Out comes a 3-star General who tells us that don't worry... in case you eject over the glacier, I will have my ski troops pick you up in 15 minutes....we are all flabbergasted...what glacier?....we thought we had come all the way for trial landings at Leh. The Base Commander steps in, and tells the General that we are unaware of the mission and could the General wait until we reach the underground, secure base operations. Our heads are already spinning...what's going on here?
We are given a 'need to know' briefing that tells us that our Army may need our presence at Leh and thus we need to do trial landings there, so that in case they need us, we would be ready for operations ex-Leh. It is still trial landings and then return to Hasimara. Leh is not a normal airfield for fighter operations, to say the least. Our aircraft are checked out and configured with 100 gallon tanks... 230s being stored for the return flight to Hasimara.
Next few days, we are briefed by our Packet stalwarts about the terrain, the route and the take off and landing considerations at Leh. We are all given an aerial reconnaissance trip in a Packet from Srinagar to Leh. This trip was absolutely mind boggling. The aircraft took off on two engines and once airborne the flight engineer started the jet pack, the aircraft orbited in the valley to gain altitude and then got into the valley heading towards Kargil. As it crossed 10,000 ft, the Captain asked us to have a hookah inhale....we were given a tube through which we inhaled oxygen through our mouths...like smoking a hookah. The aircraft is not permitted to enter clouds and the rate of climb, even with the jet pack on, was so little that we fighter pilots were feeling suffocated in the valley between tall mountains on either side; valley with clouds and the aircraft with no capability to climb .... we admired the guts of our Packet brethren to fly such an aircraft is such hostile conditions. It seemed that the wingtips of the aircraft would touch the mountains any time when the pilots were manoeuvring to avoid the clouds. Eventually they gave up and we returned back to our departing base. We were then briefed some more and we were ready to do it on our own, and we were happier, as our aircraft atleast had the capability to climb above the high mountain peaks.
Packet with a jet pack on top at Leh airfield.
Image courtesy Bharat-Rakshak.com
This was followed by a couple of handling sorties at high altitude; followed by overshoots at Leh. Our CO and flight commander land at Leh... in true military style...leader leads the way, always. On 05 May 1984, all four aircraft land at Leh and we are proud to be the first fighter squadron to have landed at Leh. The doctor comes and tells us to stay resting in the room for atleast 24 hours to let the body adjust to the high altitude...when one reaches above 10,000 ft, without acclimatisation, from sea level, it could lead to complications of water in the lungs due to inadequate partial pressure of oxygen at that altitude.
What happened to my wife and daughter? She got to know that we would not be coming back before her departure. She requested friends from the Air OP flight to have her dropped at Alipur Duar. The train was at night and that region is not very friendly, specially at night. 4 of our friends took time off and saw her off at the station and she reached Delhi. Service exigencies.....she, like most fauji wives, had understood the meaning of these two words very early in our marriage.....we generally brief them before the marriage itself.....there are cases where some weak hearted then have had doubts about marrying a fauji.
...................To be continued.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
GRAND PARENTS DELIGHT - GRAND CHILDREN
It's been sometime since I blogged and the reason is ... we are too busy these days ... our grand daughter 'Meher' is here. She reached Bangalore on the night of 01/ 02 Jul and our world was transformed by her magical presence. The last few days have delightfully slipped by, no complaints. She along with my wife and daughter have left for Delhi this morning and I am back to blogging for the next four days.
She was all of 09 months old when she got here but she could teach a number of lessons to the two of us. We have brought up two kids but being a grand parent is different.....by the time one becomes a grand parent, the perspective changes... you seem to enjoy the child more, because one has generally seen what life is all about, and one starts valuing the TRULY valuable things of life... like the little ones and what they bring into our lives and relationships - their innocence; their bewitching smile; the magical twinkle in their eyes; their unique ability to have full conversations with you without speaking a word, and all through gestures and expressions, without ever losing eye contact. (This is the privileged grandparents world - all perks without the responsibility, which can sometimes be overpowering - we were also parents once).
Poonam had done the necessary spade work for her arrival... all glass and other breakables were removed from below 3 feet height and the floor was generally kept clear for her to crawl. She has this fascinating crawl. She puts her hands forward and then bounces forward like a rabbit... of course during the course of her stay here, she has perfected crawling and it is evident that she now hates to crawl. Given the slightest vertical support, she would rather stand, and attempt walking. She learnt how to stand at our place. It was a lesson in management for us adults. Our centre table is her pet. Watching her learn how to stand on her wobbly legs has really been very enlightening.
On the first day she tried to stand, she crawled towards the centre table - stopped at a distance of about three feet and stretched her left hand forward - it did not reach the table; she crawled forward a little more and attempted the same again - same results; she continued doing this until she could reach the top edge of the table. She then put both her hands on the top edge and dragged herself up - we were all waiting for the inevitable to happen and it did happen - she collapsed under her own weight. No problems - try and try again until she finally managed to wobble up - the look on her face was worth noticing - a look that said that this was something she really enjoyed accomplishing.
After this it has been normal for her to come up to the table - reach out (her 3D image of estimating distances is slowly inching towards perfection - her reaching out range is getting closer each time; sometimes she does it perfectly now) and then stand up - she still falls once in a while, when she thinks she's got it, but she never gives up. For a few days she did not dare move her hands but slowly she started moving one hand to reach out to objects on the table or just to thump the table top - her confidence seemed to be growing.
One day she started to walk while still holding on to the edge of the table, initiating the move with one hand followed by the same leg and then shifting weight - each manoeuvre that we adults take for granted is such a beautiful act of co-ordination for her. The other day, I offered her my hand and she left the table top and hung onto my hand and walked away from the table. I then gave her my thumbs and she did the same - though the wobble in her legs increased and her grip on my thumbs was very tight. Couple of days later, I attempted giving her only one thumb - she held on with one hand and moved forward for five steps and then fell down - loud wail - thump the ground where she fell, and she is all smiles again.
Eyeing the newspaper - she is teething and enjoys chewing on the newspaper
Watching her learn to stand has many valuable lessons for us - aim (always slightly more than what you can comfortably accomplish); plan; act; revise plan; act; persevere; try and try again; 'you never fail, until you give up'; know your capability, and improve it every day; trust; communications without words; the power of a smile; focus on the job at hand - karma; and the biggest of all - living in the present moment. Thank you God for grand children.
She was all of 09 months old when she got here but she could teach a number of lessons to the two of us. We have brought up two kids but being a grand parent is different.....by the time one becomes a grand parent, the perspective changes... you seem to enjoy the child more, because one has generally seen what life is all about, and one starts valuing the TRULY valuable things of life... like the little ones and what they bring into our lives and relationships - their innocence; their bewitching smile; the magical twinkle in their eyes; their unique ability to have full conversations with you without speaking a word, and all through gestures and expressions, without ever losing eye contact. (This is the privileged grandparents world - all perks without the responsibility, which can sometimes be overpowering - we were also parents once).
Poonam had done the necessary spade work for her arrival... all glass and other breakables were removed from below 3 feet height and the floor was generally kept clear for her to crawl. She has this fascinating crawl. She puts her hands forward and then bounces forward like a rabbit... of course during the course of her stay here, she has perfected crawling and it is evident that she now hates to crawl. Given the slightest vertical support, she would rather stand, and attempt walking. She learnt how to stand at our place. It was a lesson in management for us adults. Our centre table is her pet. Watching her learn how to stand on her wobbly legs has really been very enlightening.
On the first day she tried to stand, she crawled towards the centre table - stopped at a distance of about three feet and stretched her left hand forward - it did not reach the table; she crawled forward a little more and attempted the same again - same results; she continued doing this until she could reach the top edge of the table. She then put both her hands on the top edge and dragged herself up - we were all waiting for the inevitable to happen and it did happen - she collapsed under her own weight. No problems - try and try again until she finally managed to wobble up - the look on her face was worth noticing - a look that said that this was something she really enjoyed accomplishing.
After this it has been normal for her to come up to the table - reach out (her 3D image of estimating distances is slowly inching towards perfection - her reaching out range is getting closer each time; sometimes she does it perfectly now) and then stand up - she still falls once in a while, when she thinks she's got it, but she never gives up. For a few days she did not dare move her hands but slowly she started moving one hand to reach out to objects on the table or just to thump the table top - her confidence seemed to be growing.
One day she started to walk while still holding on to the edge of the table, initiating the move with one hand followed by the same leg and then shifting weight - each manoeuvre that we adults take for granted is such a beautiful act of co-ordination for her. The other day, I offered her my hand and she left the table top and hung onto my hand and walked away from the table. I then gave her my thumbs and she did the same - though the wobble in her legs increased and her grip on my thumbs was very tight. Couple of days later, I attempted giving her only one thumb - she held on with one hand and moved forward for five steps and then fell down - loud wail - thump the ground where she fell, and she is all smiles again.
Eyeing the newspaper - she is teething and enjoys chewing on the newspaper
Watching her learn to stand has many valuable lessons for us - aim (always slightly more than what you can comfortably accomplish); plan; act; revise plan; act; persevere; try and try again; 'you never fail, until you give up'; know your capability, and improve it every day; trust; communications without words; the power of a smile; focus on the job at hand - karma; and the biggest of all - living in the present moment. Thank you God for grand children.
Sunday, June 28, 2009
INDIA - DIVERSE MODES OF TRANSPORTATION
Diversity and India are synonymous - most of us know that for a fact. However, when one starts thinking about it, one is amazed at the number of ways this diversity strikes us in our day-to-day life. I had been on a short trip to Delhi-Noida-Chandigarh over the last four days and had to travel distances from a few kilometres to thousands of kilometres. I travelled by various modes of travel and on my return tried to recollect my experiences - diverse, in every way. This post will only focus on the transportation, although diversity was also experienced in the languages, weather, culture and the usual other markers.
My trip started from Bangalore by Easy Cabs to cover the 18 km distance, followed by travel in a Spicejet Boeing 737-900 for the travel from Bangalore to Delhi - both these can be classified in the contemporary world class mode of travel category. The drive to the airport from my home, and the Bangalore airport itself, can be safely termed as world class, as far as the infrastructure goes. The temperature at Bangalore was about 20 degrees Celsius at 7 am.
Our flight reached Delhi at around noon and the announced temperature was 40 degrees Celsius. Getting off the ladder one was hit by the fury of the mid summer hot, sand laden blast, called 'loo' of Delhi. I commuted in a prepaid cab, - a 1990s Maruti van, and all this while the temperature kept soaring while we covered the 17 kms distance. After completing my work the only quick means(it was a blistering 43 degrees by then and one could not stand outside) of conveyance available for the 5 kms distance was the Delhi auto-rickshaw. The ride was HOT - Delhi summers are dreadful, specially after Bangalore.
The transportation to my next destination was even hotter, what with the auto exhaust leaking under the seats and the hot blast hitting my right calf - highest temperature on that day indicated 46 deg. Celsius in Delhi. Borrowed my friends 'Hamara Bajaj' scooter - 'the petrol cock off, choke half out, tilt fully right for 30 seconds before you kick start' kind. Work in Delhi completed by 7 pm. Walked around (popular mode of transport in our child hood - bus number 11).
Met friends and then took a neighbourhood cab to the Inter State Bus Terminus - a terminus crawling with buses from the ancient industrial era to the latest Volvo buses. Similarly, there were people of all colours, sizes, and means trudging along trying to find transportation to cities around Delhi. Took a Volvo bus to Chandigarh - the roads and the bus were once again close to world class - we have this funny habit of carrying all our luggage to our seats - doesn't matter if we, and everyone around, gets inconvenienced for most part of the journey.
Returned to Delhi by Shatabdi - it has always amazed me as to how the railways always run full and carry people of all classes - a microcosm of India. However, Shatabdis try to insulate the middle class from the other classes, while travelling, but one cannot but notice them on the platforms of stations that it whizzes past, or in the fields, or in the shanty towns on the outskirts of every city - temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius, lived in air conditioned comfort, feel bearable when one sees families living their entire life under sheets of blue plastic.
Had to visit a bank branch in Delhi - nearest one to the New Delhi railway station being at Pahar Ganj, I took a cycle rickshaw to manoeuvre through the narrow, potholed, overcrowded, encroached upon streets around New Delhi railway station. Many years ago I had read that the human pulled rickshaws were to be banned in the then Calcutta, as these were considered inhuman. Cycle rickshaw is also considered as one such contraption by some people.
The trip in the rick was followed by a Call cab to Delhi International Airport Ltd. Having travelled, I can say that DIAL has really built an international standard terminal - very impressive indeed after the experiences one has had at the other older terminals at Delhi. Read about the DIAL experience in a magazine, and tried to understand what it took to make the change in look, experience and feel at DIAL - had some idea, but was stunned by the facts - in short, it took a LOT to make it happen. Feel proud that we could make it happen, like so many other things, notable being the metro in Kolkata and Delhi. Management guru, Gurcharan Das's, statement, "with bold ambition, quick thinking, meticulous planning and brilliant execution - all the skills that are making Indian companies successful on the world stage" is so true today. It reminds me of another saying, "Government's job is to legislate and enforce legislation and not to get in to means of production, or in to providing services that the private sector can deliver". India is finally waking up to this fact.
The modes of transportation during this short trip included some that were at par with the leading edge any where on the globe while some were at the other extreme, or from another era - and the rest falling in between. We still have bullock/ camel/ elephant/ horse driven carts with wooden wheels as modes of transport. Has any one experienced any others too? Can we do away with some of them, right here and now? I do not believe so.
I believe, India is far too diverse in means, terrain, needs, wants and requirements and that all these modes of transportation will stay with us for some more years to come. What do you think?
Images: Courtesy Image search on Google. In case any one has any objection to the use of these images on this post, please do let me know and they will be removed immediately. Thank you.
My trip started from Bangalore by Easy Cabs to cover the 18 km distance, followed by travel in a Spicejet Boeing 737-900 for the travel from Bangalore to Delhi - both these can be classified in the contemporary world class mode of travel category. The drive to the airport from my home, and the Bangalore airport itself, can be safely termed as world class, as far as the infrastructure goes. The temperature at Bangalore was about 20 degrees Celsius at 7 am.
Our flight reached Delhi at around noon and the announced temperature was 40 degrees Celsius. Getting off the ladder one was hit by the fury of the mid summer hot, sand laden blast, called 'loo' of Delhi. I commuted in a prepaid cab, - a 1990s Maruti van, and all this while the temperature kept soaring while we covered the 17 kms distance. After completing my work the only quick means(it was a blistering 43 degrees by then and one could not stand outside) of conveyance available for the 5 kms distance was the Delhi auto-rickshaw. The ride was HOT - Delhi summers are dreadful, specially after Bangalore.
The transportation to my next destination was even hotter, what with the auto exhaust leaking under the seats and the hot blast hitting my right calf - highest temperature on that day indicated 46 deg. Celsius in Delhi. Borrowed my friends 'Hamara Bajaj' scooter - 'the petrol cock off, choke half out, tilt fully right for 30 seconds before you kick start' kind. Work in Delhi completed by 7 pm. Walked around (popular mode of transport in our child hood - bus number 11).
Met friends and then took a neighbourhood cab to the Inter State Bus Terminus - a terminus crawling with buses from the ancient industrial era to the latest Volvo buses. Similarly, there were people of all colours, sizes, and means trudging along trying to find transportation to cities around Delhi. Took a Volvo bus to Chandigarh - the roads and the bus were once again close to world class - we have this funny habit of carrying all our luggage to our seats - doesn't matter if we, and everyone around, gets inconvenienced for most part of the journey.
Returned to Delhi by Shatabdi - it has always amazed me as to how the railways always run full and carry people of all classes - a microcosm of India. However, Shatabdis try to insulate the middle class from the other classes, while travelling, but one cannot but notice them on the platforms of stations that it whizzes past, or in the fields, or in the shanty towns on the outskirts of every city - temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius, lived in air conditioned comfort, feel bearable when one sees families living their entire life under sheets of blue plastic.
Had to visit a bank branch in Delhi - nearest one to the New Delhi railway station being at Pahar Ganj, I took a cycle rickshaw to manoeuvre through the narrow, potholed, overcrowded, encroached upon streets around New Delhi railway station. Many years ago I had read that the human pulled rickshaws were to be banned in the then Calcutta, as these were considered inhuman. Cycle rickshaw is also considered as one such contraption by some people.
The trip in the rick was followed by a Call cab to Delhi International Airport Ltd. Having travelled, I can say that DIAL has really built an international standard terminal - very impressive indeed after the experiences one has had at the other older terminals at Delhi. Read about the DIAL experience in a magazine, and tried to understand what it took to make the change in look, experience and feel at DIAL - had some idea, but was stunned by the facts - in short, it took a LOT to make it happen. Feel proud that we could make it happen, like so many other things, notable being the metro in Kolkata and Delhi. Management guru, Gurcharan Das's, statement, "with bold ambition, quick thinking, meticulous planning and brilliant execution - all the skills that are making Indian companies successful on the world stage" is so true today. It reminds me of another saying, "Government's job is to legislate and enforce legislation and not to get in to means of production, or in to providing services that the private sector can deliver". India is finally waking up to this fact.
The modes of transportation during this short trip included some that were at par with the leading edge any where on the globe while some were at the other extreme, or from another era - and the rest falling in between. We still have bullock/ camel/ elephant/ horse driven carts with wooden wheels as modes of transport. Has any one experienced any others too? Can we do away with some of them, right here and now? I do not believe so.
I believe, India is far too diverse in means, terrain, needs, wants and requirements and that all these modes of transportation will stay with us for some more years to come. What do you think?
Images: Courtesy Image search on Google. In case any one has any objection to the use of these images on this post, please do let me know and they will be removed immediately. Thank you.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
A MIND NUMBING DISPLAY!!!!
This video has been received as a forward. It shows a SU 30MK aircraft perform manoeuvres that would............ don't have appropriate words.
Watch it and ENJOY!!!
Hope no copyrights are being infringed. If they are, please let me know and I would delete the post. THANK YOU.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
KARMA AND DESTINY - MY UNDERSTANDING
Life continues.... even after the most horrific tragedies, like the one we witnessed on 28th May 2009. The loss of a 22 year old son in a motorcycle accident was a very big blow to the parents, relatives and friends. I had written about this in my previous post, "Life, Astrology and Destiny". Many questioned the existence of God and the seeming injustice, when God is considered to be all merciful..... How can God take away a young son ahead of the older relatives and parents?, specially when the parents are God fearing and have never done any thing wrong or harmed any one in their lives.
These and many other similar doubts are expressed whenever such an incident occurs, and these kind of incidents happen with great regularity in this mortal world. The only sane answer under such circumstances is that it is God's will and that we mortals have no control over these incidents. It is also stated that it is all linked to individual 'karma'.
What is Karma? Most Indians intuitionally understand the 'karma' philosophy. However, it is difficult for people who are more intellectually inclined to translate this into understanding of life and living. Most of us educated people want a scientific explanation of this word, & the philosophy behind this potent word, and how it functions. I too fall under this category and have been/ continue to try to understand this philosophy. My understanding so far is based on my readings, discussions and my own thinking and I am sure I would benefit by inputs from more curious/ knowledgeable others.
As I understand, 'Karma is action'. Every action creates an equal and opposite reaction, or thinking of it in another way - every action is a cause for a susequent effect, or reaction. The action could be in the form of thought, word or deed. Thus all my actions, knowingly or unknowingly, create a reaction. Unknowing actions also create karma - an analogy to understand this is taking poison unknowingly - poison will kill whether taken knowingly or unknowingly.
As we continue to live, we indulge in various actions, and each of these actions have a fruition period - from immediate to over a prolonged period. An analogy of poison would help one understand the import of this - immediate effect of poison, like taking cyanide; or a delayed effect of poison like effect of pollution, which takes its toll after many years. Every action thus has a different period after which it becomes ripe and ready for a reaction. We keep accumulating all these karmas over a lifetime; some give their effects during the same lifetime and others keep accumulating for effect in another life time (sanchit karmas). As per Hindu philosophy, the soul never dies; only the body dies. The soul cannot be destroyed and has to be reborn to live through the effects of the accumulated karmas, until it reaches a stage of nil karmas or a stage of zero debit/ credit balance, when it merges with God.
Karma philosophy and re-incarnation are thus inextricably linked. Hindus always believed in re-incarnation, based on the Gita. All other faiths which originated in this part of the planet believe in a very nearly similar philosophy. It is now being accepted by other faiths too that re-incarnation is a reality, as there have been many instances of kids who could re-collect their past lives, and these re-collections have proven to be true. Also, past life regression is a branch of science that is lending credence to the re-incarnation philosophy.
Birth and death are pre-destined, based on our previous karmas. How else would one explain the varying circumstances and attributes with which each one of us is born. God is all merciful and treats every one of us the same way. He would not put any of us in seemingly favourable/ unfavourable circumstances, based on His likes and dislikes. I believe, He has created a karmic system, which dictates our life. His Grace is the same for each one of us, but like the sun it affects us differently, based on our particular circumstances. The same sun affects the people in the plains, mountains and deserts, etc., differently.
We are ourselves responsible for our own karmas and our future lives. Some of us are born in a rich/ poor family, beautiful, handicapped, as Indian/ American/ African, etc., as we are under the effects of previously accumulated different karmas. Similarly, we die under different conditions and circumstances based on our previous karmas and these events are pre-destined, as per my understanding. After our death, our soul, with the entire record of our 'sanchit' karmas is liberated from this body. Due to attachment developed by the soul to this body, the various rituals, including consigning the body to the fire, are performed so that the soul could continue on its evolutionary process without attachments. Our (referring to the soul in this case - the body is like clothes - our soul keeps changing bodies, like our body does clothes) karmas lead us to different planes of existence, beyond earth, some better, some worse. The effect of good karmas lead us to lead a life in what is called heaven to enjoy the fruits of our good karmas and the effect of bad karmas are lived through in lower planes, or hell in common parlance.
Our 'sanchit' karmas are like fixed deposits of different terms. As and when they come to maturity, some of these are bunched together as 'prarabdha karma', for us to be reborn in a body to live through the effect of our karmas. The maturity terms after which these karmas effects are felt are fixed, and thus our birth and death are fixed, and pre-destined. During the lifetime, we live through the effects of our previous karmas. In life, like Sri Sathya Sai Baba says, "what you meet in life is destiny, how you meet it is self effort" (karma). So, in short karma is in our control and these karmas are what are going to decide our future destiny, if we continue to consider ourselves to be the Doers. This is one important point.
It is believed that in case one does all work as His, without any thought of the fruits thereof, then this kind of karma does not bind and does not create any further destiny.
These and many other similar doubts are expressed whenever such an incident occurs, and these kind of incidents happen with great regularity in this mortal world. The only sane answer under such circumstances is that it is God's will and that we mortals have no control over these incidents. It is also stated that it is all linked to individual 'karma'.
What is Karma? Most Indians intuitionally understand the 'karma' philosophy. However, it is difficult for people who are more intellectually inclined to translate this into understanding of life and living. Most of us educated people want a scientific explanation of this word, & the philosophy behind this potent word, and how it functions. I too fall under this category and have been/ continue to try to understand this philosophy. My understanding so far is based on my readings, discussions and my own thinking and I am sure I would benefit by inputs from more curious/ knowledgeable others.
As I understand, 'Karma is action'. Every action creates an equal and opposite reaction, or thinking of it in another way - every action is a cause for a susequent effect, or reaction. The action could be in the form of thought, word or deed. Thus all my actions, knowingly or unknowingly, create a reaction. Unknowing actions also create karma - an analogy to understand this is taking poison unknowingly - poison will kill whether taken knowingly or unknowingly.
As we continue to live, we indulge in various actions, and each of these actions have a fruition period - from immediate to over a prolonged period. An analogy of poison would help one understand the import of this - immediate effect of poison, like taking cyanide; or a delayed effect of poison like effect of pollution, which takes its toll after many years. Every action thus has a different period after which it becomes ripe and ready for a reaction. We keep accumulating all these karmas over a lifetime; some give their effects during the same lifetime and others keep accumulating for effect in another life time (sanchit karmas). As per Hindu philosophy, the soul never dies; only the body dies. The soul cannot be destroyed and has to be reborn to live through the effects of the accumulated karmas, until it reaches a stage of nil karmas or a stage of zero debit/ credit balance, when it merges with God.
Karma philosophy and re-incarnation are thus inextricably linked. Hindus always believed in re-incarnation, based on the Gita. All other faiths which originated in this part of the planet believe in a very nearly similar philosophy. It is now being accepted by other faiths too that re-incarnation is a reality, as there have been many instances of kids who could re-collect their past lives, and these re-collections have proven to be true. Also, past life regression is a branch of science that is lending credence to the re-incarnation philosophy.
Birth and death are pre-destined, based on our previous karmas. How else would one explain the varying circumstances and attributes with which each one of us is born. God is all merciful and treats every one of us the same way. He would not put any of us in seemingly favourable/ unfavourable circumstances, based on His likes and dislikes. I believe, He has created a karmic system, which dictates our life. His Grace is the same for each one of us, but like the sun it affects us differently, based on our particular circumstances. The same sun affects the people in the plains, mountains and deserts, etc., differently.
We are ourselves responsible for our own karmas and our future lives. Some of us are born in a rich/ poor family, beautiful, handicapped, as Indian/ American/ African, etc., as we are under the effects of previously accumulated different karmas. Similarly, we die under different conditions and circumstances based on our previous karmas and these events are pre-destined, as per my understanding. After our death, our soul, with the entire record of our 'sanchit' karmas is liberated from this body. Due to attachment developed by the soul to this body, the various rituals, including consigning the body to the fire, are performed so that the soul could continue on its evolutionary process without attachments. Our (referring to the soul in this case - the body is like clothes - our soul keeps changing bodies, like our body does clothes) karmas lead us to different planes of existence, beyond earth, some better, some worse. The effect of good karmas lead us to lead a life in what is called heaven to enjoy the fruits of our good karmas and the effect of bad karmas are lived through in lower planes, or hell in common parlance.
Our 'sanchit' karmas are like fixed deposits of different terms. As and when they come to maturity, some of these are bunched together as 'prarabdha karma', for us to be reborn in a body to live through the effect of our karmas. The maturity terms after which these karmas effects are felt are fixed, and thus our birth and death are fixed, and pre-destined. During the lifetime, we live through the effects of our previous karmas. In life, like Sri Sathya Sai Baba says, "what you meet in life is destiny, how you meet it is self effort" (karma). So, in short karma is in our control and these karmas are what are going to decide our future destiny, if we continue to consider ourselves to be the Doers. This is one important point.
It is believed that in case one does all work as His, without any thought of the fruits thereof, then this kind of karma does not bind and does not create any further destiny.
Monday, June 1, 2009
LIFE, ASTROLOGY AND DESTINY
The last few days have been very trying. A family known to us lost their 22 year old son in a motorcycle accident. It was a freak accident - the bike skidded and fell on the right side. Both the rider and pillion were thrown off the bike. The pillion fell on sand and escaped with minor bruises and driver fell on concrete and was fatally injured on the spot. The grief of the parents, relatives and friends was unbearable, and most of us were not sure how the parents could be consoled after such a grievous loss. Conversation seemed futile and very shallow, as the grief was unfathomable to most of us, and each one of us felt that injustice had been done to the parents. The funeral was conducted on Thursday itself. Friday was tough. On Saturday, the parents had organised a 'havan'. The 'havan' helped in coming to terms with the grief, and slowly life seemed to overtake the grief that had seemed insurmountable initially.
During the course of these days, we were exposed to a variety of experiences of life that each individual had had during the course of their lives. We visited the 'karma' theory and how our own life is not under our control and our destiny decides the broad pattern of our life, and as Sai Baba says, "What you meet in life is destiny, how you meet it is self effort (karma)".
I was reminded of a fatal air accident involving one of my pupils in 1980. I was a new instructor and AM was one of my first pupils on Kiran aircraft. His first few dual sorties were not up to the mark, and thus when he came up for solo check, I suggested to my supervisor that he was not ready and that he should be given a change of instructor for two sorties and then retested. The supervisor took him up for the solo check and cleared him solo, against my suggestion. Inspite of my reservations, AM cleared his progress test and all other tests.My doubts were rested, when my supervisor told me that I was a new instructor and did not know the standards required and that I was expecting too much from pupils flying jets for the first time.
My daughter was born during this period and I proceeded on 10 days leave to fetch my wife and daughter from Delhi to Hyderabad. On the day we boarded the train from Delhi there was a news article stating that, "Flt Cadet M killed in an air accident". I told my wife that this had to be my pupil. She reasoned with me that there were four cadets by that name and how was I so sure that this was my pupil. My worst fears were confirmed when we reached AFA the next day. AM's mother was inconsolable at the funeral and was looking for a ring that AM always wore, despite my asking him to remove the ring while flying, as it could lead to a fractured finger if he happened to slip on the ladder.
Later, I was told the story of the ring by B......
AM's mother believed in astrology and would do everything after consulting her astrologer. AM applied for NDA; passed the exam and was selected for the IAF. His mother was advised by the astrologer to not let him join, as his life was under threat from aircraft. Mum prevailed on him and did not let him join NDA. Instead, AM joined an Engineering College. While doing his engineering, without his parents knowledge, AM once again applied for NDA; appeared for the exam; cleared and was selected for the Army this time. His mother was very upset and did not want him to join NDA, but AM managed to convince her that he was joining the Army, and not the Air Force. She finally relented.
AM joined NDA and in his fourth term opted for a change of service to Air Force, which was accepted. When he went on leave and told his parents, his mother was very upset, but had been given a fait accompli. She again consulted her astrologer, who told her that this was not good for AM. He suggested an 'upaya'(remedy) - AM should wear a ring at all times made of iron that had been taken from the horse shoe of a black horse, and this shoe should be removed only on a full moon night and should contain a certain stone of a certain weight. This was the same ring that AM used to wear despite my disapproval. The ring could not be found after the accident but I have no reason to believe that AM was not wearing this ring on that fateful day.
I believe in astrology but do not believe that 'upayas'/remedies can help in overcoming pre-destined events. Life continues.... and the 'Gita' philosophy can help one understand the true import of events that are unfathomable... Body dies but the soul does not. During the 'havan', the family dog was very uncomfortable and it seemed that the dog could sense the presence of my friend's late son. As humans we can only sense the body; dogs can probably sense the soul too. Each one of us has had various experiences in life; have our own beliefs about astrology and destiny.
I believe astrology to be a very exact science but am not too sure if all practitioners of this science are suitably qualified. I am a firm believer of destiny BUT like to do my karma, because I believe my karma would create my future destiny.
What do you think and believe? I would be keen to hear about your experiences and beliefs about life, astrology and destiny.
During the course of these days, we were exposed to a variety of experiences of life that each individual had had during the course of their lives. We visited the 'karma' theory and how our own life is not under our control and our destiny decides the broad pattern of our life, and as Sai Baba says, "What you meet in life is destiny, how you meet it is self effort (karma)".
I was reminded of a fatal air accident involving one of my pupils in 1980. I was a new instructor and AM was one of my first pupils on Kiran aircraft. His first few dual sorties were not up to the mark, and thus when he came up for solo check, I suggested to my supervisor that he was not ready and that he should be given a change of instructor for two sorties and then retested. The supervisor took him up for the solo check and cleared him solo, against my suggestion. Inspite of my reservations, AM cleared his progress test and all other tests.My doubts were rested, when my supervisor told me that I was a new instructor and did not know the standards required and that I was expecting too much from pupils flying jets for the first time.
My daughter was born during this period and I proceeded on 10 days leave to fetch my wife and daughter from Delhi to Hyderabad. On the day we boarded the train from Delhi there was a news article stating that, "Flt Cadet M killed in an air accident". I told my wife that this had to be my pupil. She reasoned with me that there were four cadets by that name and how was I so sure that this was my pupil. My worst fears were confirmed when we reached AFA the next day. AM's mother was inconsolable at the funeral and was looking for a ring that AM always wore, despite my asking him to remove the ring while flying, as it could lead to a fractured finger if he happened to slip on the ladder.
Later, I was told the story of the ring by B......
AM's mother believed in astrology and would do everything after consulting her astrologer. AM applied for NDA; passed the exam and was selected for the IAF. His mother was advised by the astrologer to not let him join, as his life was under threat from aircraft. Mum prevailed on him and did not let him join NDA. Instead, AM joined an Engineering College. While doing his engineering, without his parents knowledge, AM once again applied for NDA; appeared for the exam; cleared and was selected for the Army this time. His mother was very upset and did not want him to join NDA, but AM managed to convince her that he was joining the Army, and not the Air Force. She finally relented.
AM joined NDA and in his fourth term opted for a change of service to Air Force, which was accepted. When he went on leave and told his parents, his mother was very upset, but had been given a fait accompli. She again consulted her astrologer, who told her that this was not good for AM. He suggested an 'upaya'(remedy) - AM should wear a ring at all times made of iron that had been taken from the horse shoe of a black horse, and this shoe should be removed only on a full moon night and should contain a certain stone of a certain weight. This was the same ring that AM used to wear despite my disapproval. The ring could not be found after the accident but I have no reason to believe that AM was not wearing this ring on that fateful day.
I believe in astrology but do not believe that 'upayas'/remedies can help in overcoming pre-destined events. Life continues.... and the 'Gita' philosophy can help one understand the true import of events that are unfathomable... Body dies but the soul does not. During the 'havan', the family dog was very uncomfortable and it seemed that the dog could sense the presence of my friend's late son. As humans we can only sense the body; dogs can probably sense the soul too. Each one of us has had various experiences in life; have our own beliefs about astrology and destiny.
I believe astrology to be a very exact science but am not too sure if all practitioners of this science are suitably qualified. I am a firm believer of destiny BUT like to do my karma, because I believe my karma would create my future destiny.
What do you think and believe? I would be keen to hear about your experiences and beliefs about life, astrology and destiny.
Thursday, May 21, 2009
WOULD YOU.......................?
Have you also felt that we Indians are very negatively biased towards systems that we have in India? In our personal life too, we are very demanding of our own; be it our cricket team or our children; we always tend to compare our own with the best. We tend to believe that irrespective of the circumstances, we have to compare favorably with the best, and tend to become critical of our own if this does not happen.
Whatever be the system, we always tend to denounce/ denigrate it - whether it is our democracy, our politicians, our government or any thing that we have created over the years. It is difficult to fathom the reason why this is so. Do you have any idea?
The recent elections and the posts and comments on various blogs bring out so many negative things about our democracy and politics, and makes one wonder, "we must be doing at least somethings well to continue growing and prospering in spite of the many handicaps and challenges that are unique to our country". Why do we always tend to focus on the negative rather than the positive? Does any one have an answer to this question? Is it a mind set problem? How can we change this mind set?
This dilemma reminded me of a situation where a majority of the young officers in my squadron had major grouses against our system of annual appraisal. Every officer felt that extraneous factors played a major role in the annual appraisal and that the guidelines for appraisal are generally never followed.
The year was 1991 and the day was a Monday - maintenance/ training day. On this day, all my officers were invited to a seminar in the squadron, and were sitting in a semi-circle trying to explore the answer to a question, "Is our annual appraisal system fair"? In slang, it is variously called; the most common being 'number banana'. Nobody likes to belong to this category and thus most people would not do things that would even remotely bring them close to earning this epithet. This has very negative consequences for the individuals and the service. It is also felt that the whole appraisal exercise is farcical and that only people who 'number banao' get ahead in the service. Have you noticed this tendency else where too?
My experience has been totally opposite of the above statement and thus I wanted to separate the chaff from the wheat, as far as my squadron officer's were concerned. The seminar continued for a long time with every one expressing negative sentiments towards the appraisal system, and how only non deserving people get the benefits of the appraisal due to extraneous factors. I just sat as a mute witness to let my squadron officers resolve this very vital dichotomy on their own. This was not happening and I was slowly getting frustrated. After nearly two hours of seemingly endless discussion, T's voice asked an open question, "If you were the appraising officer would you base your appraisal on reality and performance, or would you base it on extraneous factors"? There was a hushed silence, and I was elated to have finally got my clincher. This question was then asked to each of the 25 odd officers in turn, and everyone replied that he would complete the appraisal as honestly as possible, without any consideration for extraneous factors.
This was heart warming for me, as also for the person who had asked this question. After this round, he finally summed it up by saying, "If each one of us sitting here would do the right thing when in the chair, then how do we feel that the people senior to us are not doing the right thing too. They have been through this same system a few years before us and have the same value system". This was the turning point that I had been waiting for and I waited for the message to sink in - it took some time for the effect of this message to sink in. It was also pointed out that the appraisal form had to assessed based on certain skill and attribute criteria, and if done honestly, like everyone finally believed, there was no way extraneous considerations could alter the assessment.
The IAF appraisal system is one of the finest - it has the best - numerical grading for skills and attributes that are vital for the IAF; it has a subjective pen picture; and a three consecutive level appraisal to rule out biases. Can it get better than this? but somehow the Indian mind does not perceive the system to be any good. We tend to over estimate our own, or we are not sure of ourselves, and feel let down when we do not measure up to the best. Does the answer lie in getting to know ourselves better?, or as far as our country is concerned - getting to know our country and its history, geography, handicaps and challenges better?
Majority of the individual Indians believe that they would do the right thing, but always believes that the others would not. Have you too noticed this? Why is it so? How can we get out of this mind set? I believe only positive thoughts about the state of our nation can change our nation because it is our collective thoughts that create our reality as a nation.
Whatever be the system, we always tend to denounce/ denigrate it - whether it is our democracy, our politicians, our government or any thing that we have created over the years. It is difficult to fathom the reason why this is so. Do you have any idea?
The recent elections and the posts and comments on various blogs bring out so many negative things about our democracy and politics, and makes one wonder, "we must be doing at least somethings well to continue growing and prospering in spite of the many handicaps and challenges that are unique to our country". Why do we always tend to focus on the negative rather than the positive? Does any one have an answer to this question? Is it a mind set problem? How can we change this mind set?
This dilemma reminded me of a situation where a majority of the young officers in my squadron had major grouses against our system of annual appraisal. Every officer felt that extraneous factors played a major role in the annual appraisal and that the guidelines for appraisal are generally never followed.
The year was 1991 and the day was a Monday - maintenance/ training day. On this day, all my officers were invited to a seminar in the squadron, and were sitting in a semi-circle trying to explore the answer to a question, "Is our annual appraisal system fair"? In slang, it is variously called; the most common being 'number banana'. Nobody likes to belong to this category and thus most people would not do things that would even remotely bring them close to earning this epithet. This has very negative consequences for the individuals and the service. It is also felt that the whole appraisal exercise is farcical and that only people who 'number banao' get ahead in the service. Have you noticed this tendency else where too?
My experience has been totally opposite of the above statement and thus I wanted to separate the chaff from the wheat, as far as my squadron officer's were concerned. The seminar continued for a long time with every one expressing negative sentiments towards the appraisal system, and how only non deserving people get the benefits of the appraisal due to extraneous factors. I just sat as a mute witness to let my squadron officers resolve this very vital dichotomy on their own. This was not happening and I was slowly getting frustrated. After nearly two hours of seemingly endless discussion, T's voice asked an open question, "If you were the appraising officer would you base your appraisal on reality and performance, or would you base it on extraneous factors"? There was a hushed silence, and I was elated to have finally got my clincher. This question was then asked to each of the 25 odd officers in turn, and everyone replied that he would complete the appraisal as honestly as possible, without any consideration for extraneous factors.
This was heart warming for me, as also for the person who had asked this question. After this round, he finally summed it up by saying, "If each one of us sitting here would do the right thing when in the chair, then how do we feel that the people senior to us are not doing the right thing too. They have been through this same system a few years before us and have the same value system". This was the turning point that I had been waiting for and I waited for the message to sink in - it took some time for the effect of this message to sink in. It was also pointed out that the appraisal form had to assessed based on certain skill and attribute criteria, and if done honestly, like everyone finally believed, there was no way extraneous considerations could alter the assessment.
The IAF appraisal system is one of the finest - it has the best - numerical grading for skills and attributes that are vital for the IAF; it has a subjective pen picture; and a three consecutive level appraisal to rule out biases. Can it get better than this? but somehow the Indian mind does not perceive the system to be any good. We tend to over estimate our own, or we are not sure of ourselves, and feel let down when we do not measure up to the best. Does the answer lie in getting to know ourselves better?, or as far as our country is concerned - getting to know our country and its history, geography, handicaps and challenges better?
Majority of the individual Indians believe that they would do the right thing, but always believes that the others would not. Have you too noticed this? Why is it so? How can we get out of this mind set? I believe only positive thoughts about the state of our nation can change our nation because it is our collective thoughts that create our reality as a nation.
Sunday, May 17, 2009
MESSAGE FROM THE INDIAN ELECTION RESULTS
The news channels on the TV held centre stage at our home yesterday. It was the day of reckoning, and the day when it would be known what our nation of over 1.1 billion people thinks; and what over 700 million eligible voters believe is crucial to this nation. This was even more important this time, than hitherto fore, considering the happenings in our country and abroad, in terms of political upheavals, economic downturn, and the overall security environment. It was even more interesting for me to watch the results as I had stuck my neck out on various issues in my post on 05 Apr 09. Relevant excerpts reproduced below.
"In case one of the major parties gets over 200 seats in the 546 seat Lok Sabha, then we have a chance of seeing progress on projects that have led to our recent growth rates. This scenario is the more desirable and feasible too. The major party would then be able to cobble a coalition and have a major say in deciding on national priorities. Looking at the present situation, I would be sticking my neck out to say that I have a gut feeling that the BJP would be able to come up with 200 + seats in the coming elections. I am neither a supporter of or against BJP, but am pro-India. Congress has put all its eggs in its own basket by deciding to go it alone in their national convention, and has ruined its own chances in the short term. What should the average urban educated do in such circumstances? One has to go for development and not against some issue or party. One has to try and make a national party gain over 200 seats in parliament (which seems tough this time) other wise there is more pain in store, with all regional parties colluding to make a joke of the office of Prime Minister (we have seen it at the state level in Karnataka and J&K), and the functioning of the government. No party with 200 + seats and running a coalition can take random and thoughtless decisions, that much is for sure. I would go with supporting a national party, than the regional ones in this election."
I had stuck my neck out about the BJP winning 200+ seats and have been PROVEN WRONG. I am very happy to be proven wrong, as the results are definitely pro-India. The reasons for the BJP's debacle could be many but what seems decisive to have tilted the balance in favour of the Congress are: firstly, there was a visible mismatch between the personal ambitions and the job dictates of the PM of India between the two main candidates - L K Advani and Manmohan Singh; secondly, projection of Narendra Modi as PM in waiting at the last minute; and lastly of course the BJP not distancing itself categorically from the virulent election speech of Varun Gandhi.
The election results have proven that at the macro level, the Indian people believe and want that India be secular, as envisaged in our constitution. The majority of the people have through their electoral verdict indicated that they do not support divisive politics on the basis of religion, and caste. M J Akbar in his article in TOI dated 17 May 09 has very beautifully expressed this thought when he says that, "India is not a secular nation because Indian Muslims want it to be secular. India is a secular nation because Indian Hindus want it to be secular".
So wisely said Mr Akbar - I admire, and value, your thought that the onus always falls on the majority community to be liberal in their outlook to give a sense of belonging to the minorities. This fact is so blatantly clear if we only look to our twins across the border where the majority community did not defend liberal thought and belief in the formation and growth of their independent nation-state - leading to the distressing state of their own nation. I had written about this in an earlier post, "News from Pakistan...Lessons for India".
Religion aside, caste factors have also been ignored by the people this time creating upsets in UP, Bihar and other caste conscious states. This augurs well for India.
I am happy though that India voted to give this mandate to the other national party. I am sure a lot of good will happen because of this mandate, without the stranglehold of the Left parties. India's primary concern is with poverty alleviation and this can only happen if we can grow our wealth - because one cannot distribute wealth without first generating it. This was covered in one of my earlier posts dated 11 Jan 2008. Our left parties are stuck in a time machine which has since been abandoned by most nations around the globe. The electorate have understood this fact clearly and have thus given a thumbs down to the Left parties.
The more I think about it the more I am impressed with the Indian people: the ones who consider voting to be their right and responsibility, and take pains and effort to discharge the same every time - majority of them seemingly illiterate and ill informed, and also backward and poor by our standards. The electoral results this time have taught me another valuable lesson and that is to never underestimate the wisdom of the Indian people, as also the wisdom of our founding fathers who gave us our Constitution. I have reaffirmed my belief that our foundations are strong and our people are wise. The challenge now lies in getting the seemingly better informed (like me), and the younger people in understanding India, and what it stands for. This election to me represents the winning combination to be one that can live up to the saying, "Act regionally and think Nationally". All parties that went against this dictum have suffered losses. 'Jai Ho' to the aam aadmi on thinking beyond himself.
In the end, I believe that elections in India are an affirmation of liberty and equality and "There’s an amazing grace and beauty about the way India goes to elections every five years" - TOI editorial, 17 May 2009. Pray and believe that this 'amazing grace and beauty' is generation proof in India, and spreads to other troubled parts of the world, including our neighbourhood.
THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA
PREAMBLE
WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens:
JUSTICE, social, economic and political;
LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;
EQUALITY of status and of opportunity;
and to promote among them all
FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation;
IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.
"In case one of the major parties gets over 200 seats in the 546 seat Lok Sabha, then we have a chance of seeing progress on projects that have led to our recent growth rates. This scenario is the more desirable and feasible too. The major party would then be able to cobble a coalition and have a major say in deciding on national priorities. Looking at the present situation, I would be sticking my neck out to say that I have a gut feeling that the BJP would be able to come up with 200 + seats in the coming elections. I am neither a supporter of or against BJP, but am pro-India. Congress has put all its eggs in its own basket by deciding to go it alone in their national convention, and has ruined its own chances in the short term. What should the average urban educated do in such circumstances? One has to go for development and not against some issue or party. One has to try and make a national party gain over 200 seats in parliament (which seems tough this time) other wise there is more pain in store, with all regional parties colluding to make a joke of the office of Prime Minister (we have seen it at the state level in Karnataka and J&K), and the functioning of the government. No party with 200 + seats and running a coalition can take random and thoughtless decisions, that much is for sure. I would go with supporting a national party, than the regional ones in this election."
I had stuck my neck out about the BJP winning 200+ seats and have been PROVEN WRONG. I am very happy to be proven wrong, as the results are definitely pro-India. The reasons for the BJP's debacle could be many but what seems decisive to have tilted the balance in favour of the Congress are: firstly, there was a visible mismatch between the personal ambitions and the job dictates of the PM of India between the two main candidates - L K Advani and Manmohan Singh; secondly, projection of Narendra Modi as PM in waiting at the last minute; and lastly of course the BJP not distancing itself categorically from the virulent election speech of Varun Gandhi.
The election results have proven that at the macro level, the Indian people believe and want that India be secular, as envisaged in our constitution. The majority of the people have through their electoral verdict indicated that they do not support divisive politics on the basis of religion, and caste. M J Akbar in his article in TOI dated 17 May 09 has very beautifully expressed this thought when he says that, "India is not a secular nation because Indian Muslims want it to be secular. India is a secular nation because Indian Hindus want it to be secular".
So wisely said Mr Akbar - I admire, and value, your thought that the onus always falls on the majority community to be liberal in their outlook to give a sense of belonging to the minorities. This fact is so blatantly clear if we only look to our twins across the border where the majority community did not defend liberal thought and belief in the formation and growth of their independent nation-state - leading to the distressing state of their own nation. I had written about this in an earlier post, "News from Pakistan...Lessons for India".
Religion aside, caste factors have also been ignored by the people this time creating upsets in UP, Bihar and other caste conscious states. This augurs well for India.
I am happy though that India voted to give this mandate to the other national party. I am sure a lot of good will happen because of this mandate, without the stranglehold of the Left parties. India's primary concern is with poverty alleviation and this can only happen if we can grow our wealth - because one cannot distribute wealth without first generating it. This was covered in one of my earlier posts dated 11 Jan 2008. Our left parties are stuck in a time machine which has since been abandoned by most nations around the globe. The electorate have understood this fact clearly and have thus given a thumbs down to the Left parties.
The more I think about it the more I am impressed with the Indian people: the ones who consider voting to be their right and responsibility, and take pains and effort to discharge the same every time - majority of them seemingly illiterate and ill informed, and also backward and poor by our standards. The electoral results this time have taught me another valuable lesson and that is to never underestimate the wisdom of the Indian people, as also the wisdom of our founding fathers who gave us our Constitution. I have reaffirmed my belief that our foundations are strong and our people are wise. The challenge now lies in getting the seemingly better informed (like me), and the younger people in understanding India, and what it stands for. This election to me represents the winning combination to be one that can live up to the saying, "Act regionally and think Nationally". All parties that went against this dictum have suffered losses. 'Jai Ho' to the aam aadmi on thinking beyond himself.
In the end, I believe that elections in India are an affirmation of liberty and equality and "There’s an amazing grace and beauty about the way India goes to elections every five years" - TOI editorial, 17 May 2009. Pray and believe that this 'amazing grace and beauty' is generation proof in India, and spreads to other troubled parts of the world, including our neighbourhood.
THE CONSTITUTION OF INDIA
PREAMBLE
WE, THE PEOPLE OF INDIA, having solemnly resolved to constitute India into a SOVEREIGN SOCIALIST SECULAR DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC and to secure to all its citizens:
JUSTICE, social, economic and political;
LIBERTY of thought, expression, belief, faith and worship;
EQUALITY of status and of opportunity;
and to promote among them all
FRATERNITY assuring the dignity of the individual and the unity and integrity of the Nation;
IN OUR CONSTITUENT ASSEMBLY this twenty-sixth day of November, 1949, do HEREBY ADOPT, ENACT AND GIVE TO OURSELVES THIS CONSTITUTION.
Monday, May 4, 2009
NEWS FROM PAKISTAN - LESSONS FOR INDIA
In a previous post on Pakistan I had argued that, "religion and the affairs of a modern secular nation-state are not compatible, in as much as each of its citizens are different and diverse in thought and belief. Pakistan is a case in point wherein every individual is trying to exclude everyone else from Islam, based on his individual understanding. Who is the final arbiter in this? The government, which is already found wanting on this account"???
There have been more disturbing news coming in from Pakistan over the last few days. I have collated some articles from Pakistani newspapers and one from India giving out an analysis of the situation in Pakistan's North West. These are reproduced below. Each of these articles have some important message for India too.
The News: Monday, May 04, 2009
"Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) chief Maulana Sufi Muhammad has said there is no need for a Constitution in the presence of the Quran and Sunnah.
In an interview with the Geo News, Sufi said taking photographs is prohibited in Islam and the same is true for video footage and photographs in the light of Hadith. The system of the Quran and Shariah is known as Shariat-e-Mohammadi and “we will continue our struggle for its implementation,” he added.
It is the responsibility of each and every Muslim to struggle for the implementation of Shariah in the country, he said. The TNSM chief said there was complete Shariah in Afghanistan, but the US had attacked that country to end Shariah there. He said it is the responsibility of the Muslim Ummah to go for Jihad."
"He said there was a great difference between democracy and Shariah. “Many religious leaders, including Kashmiri was for a piece of land and, therefore, it was not Jihad. He said there was great difference between democracy and Shariah. “Many religious leaders, including Qazi Hussain Ahmad, Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Maulana Samiul Haq, are trying to find Shariah in democracy which is wrong,” he added."
Do you agree with the views of the TNSM chief? Are democracy and religion compatible? Is a secular Contitution a pre-requisite for a democracy in any country?
Dawn: Institutions and religion: By Kunwar Idris: Sunday, 03 May, 2009
"The best chance of bringing peace back to the tribal areas and Malakand Division (Swat, Dir, Buner, Chitral, etc.) lies in dealing with the tribes through their own elders following their own traditional codes and treaties with the government — not under special regulations.
The puritanical social values imposed by the militant clerics would give way to normal conservative but tolerant and hospitable behaviour once the tribal hierarchy regains its lost authority. The army can kill or drive away the infiltrating fighters but only an autonomous political service would be able to organise the tribes to exclude the fanatical mullahs from the power structure. Besides reinstating the rule of power vesting in institutions and not in individuals, parliament and the Supreme Court must undertake a review of the relationship between state and religion. It is hard to deny that violent campaigns for Sharia directly flow from the constitutional provisions that make Islam the state religion and also bind the state to bring all laws ‘in conformity with the injunctions of Islam’. Maulana Sufi Mohammad can justifiably claim to be fulfilling a responsibility that is imposed by the constitution on all citizens.
The path to terror in Swat and elsewhere is blazed by the constitution of Pakistan itself. In Khyber Agency, rival lashkars are pitched against each other with their competing interpretations of Islamic injunctions. Some 35 years ago the parliament of Pakistan determined that the Ahmadiyya community was not Muslim. Is it not poetic justice that Sufi Mohammad should now determine that the lawmakers of Pakistan, one and all, are infidels?
Come to think of it, all parties claiming to be religious are, in fact, sectarian and the Taliban is the most violent manifestation of this. In Pakistan’s political context, faith has proved more divisive than unifying. It is a different matter though of not much concern to Sufi Mohammad that the vast majority does not agree with him on what those injunctions are. Sunnis belonging to what is commonly known as the Barelvi school and Shias (who are believed to be one-fifth of the population) openly denounce Sufi Mohammad’s campaign and accuse the government of abject surrender to his blackmail."
Can religion alone be a unifying force in a modern nation-state? What are your views?
Dawn: Sharia and democracy are incompatible: Sufi: Gohar Ali Gohar and Hameedullah Khan: Sunday, 03 May, 2009
"The Tehrik Nifaz-i-Shariat Muhammadi (TNSM) and the Swat Taliban have rejected the setting up of Darul Qaza and appointments of Qazis as a unilateral decision of the government, saying Sufi Mohammad was not consulted before the announcement.
Talking to media persons, after TNSM Shura’s meeting at its headquarter in Bilal Mosque Amandara, Therik spokesman Amir Izzat Khan said the setting up of Darul Qaza in Malakand was a one-sided decision by the government and TNSM chief was not consulted prior to the announcement in this regard."
"Maulana Sufi Muhammad said on the occasion that ‘delegating powers of Qazis to judges is Ghair-Sharaee,’ adding: ‘we want Sharaee Qazis in accordance with Shariat Muhammadi.’ He said TNSM wanted to transform the present judicial system into Islamic Sharia system.
He said Sharia and democracy are totally different systems, adding we consider democracy as Kuffar (infidelity) and believe in system of Quran and Sunnah. He said constitution of Pakistan is Islamic and it was not practically implemented in the country."
Taliban raze houses of Sikhs in Orakzai: Abdul Sami Paracha: Thursday, 30 Apr, 2009
"The Taliban on Wednesday night demolished 11 houses of the Sikh community in the Orakzai Agency for refusing to pay ‘Jazia’. The action was ordered by the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan chief for Orakzai Agency, Hakeemullah Mehsud, after the deadline given to the Sikh community for payment of Jazia passed on Wednesday. Earlier, the Sikh community had postponed its decision about vacating the area following the demand of the Tehrik-i-Taliban for payment of ‘Jazia’ being non-Muslims for their protection.
The Taliban had asked the Sikh community living in the tribal area for centuries earlier this month to pay annual Jazia because ‘Sharia had been enforced in the area and every non-Muslim had to pay protection money’. The Sikh community comprising 30 to 35 families shifted from the Feroze Khel area to the nearby Merozai in Lower Orakzai Agency because they could not arrange Rs150 million demanded by the Taliban.
The Taliban had forcibly occupied shops of two Sikh businessmen, Sewa Singh and Kalak Singh, and houses of several Sikhs to force them to pay Jazia. Later, the Sikh community refused to pay Jazia and decided to leave Orakzai and settle in some other area.
Most of tribal families belonging to a particular sect have also migrated to different parts of Hangu and Kohat due to the fear of Taliban."
Hindustan Times: Issue of Sikhs in Swat is Pak's internal matter': 3 May 2009
"Even as more reports suggesting religious discrimination against Sikhs in the Swat valley filter in, Pakistan has brushed aside India's protest saying that it was an internal matter of the country and that India should not meddle in Pakistan's internal affairs.
The Pakistan foreign ministry said in a statement that the issue was of "no concern'' to India as the Sikhs were Pakistani citizens. The statement came in response to India's official protest on Friday expressing concern about the treatement being meted out to minorities, especially Sikhs in the Swat valley by Taliban, in Pakistan.
Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said his country had responded to India's "verbal demarche'' on the issue by making it clear that the Sikhs were Pakistani citizens. "Pakistan is fully cognisant of the issue of the Sikhs and of the welfare of all its citizens, especially the minorities,'' Basit told a news agency."
Does India have any role to play in protecting the rights of the Sikh citizens of Pakistan?
My interest in Pakistan only stems from the fact that our two nations are geographically and historically linked. Anything that happens in Pakistan will have an impact on India. I firmly believe that it is in India's interest to have a stable and democratic Pakistan and I also believe that it is upto the people of Pakistan to create, support and nurture systems and institutions that will help Pakistan move in that direction. The signs at present are very disturbing. India needs to facilitate stability in Pakistan and also needs to learn valuable lessons on the role of strong and stable state institutions in governance and also the need of keeping religion definitely out of governance issues, and out of politics too. Religion practiced by individuals in their personal life can uplift the individual, and thus the society and nation, but used in the affairs of a diverse, modern nation-state can have disastrous consequences. We are witness to the events unfolding.
Watching the South Asian region one feels that India is the only island of stability in this volatile neighbourhood. Our founding fathers and our politicians must have surely done something right. What is it that we did right? and what is it that we need to safeguard with our lives, if required, to continue to develop and progress as a modern nation state while at the same time maintaining our biggest strength - our diversity?
There have been more disturbing news coming in from Pakistan over the last few days. I have collated some articles from Pakistani newspapers and one from India giving out an analysis of the situation in Pakistan's North West. These are reproduced below. Each of these articles have some important message for India too.
The News: Monday, May 04, 2009
"Tehrik-e-Nifaz-e-Shariat-e-Mohammadi (TNSM) chief Maulana Sufi Muhammad has said there is no need for a Constitution in the presence of the Quran and Sunnah.
In an interview with the Geo News, Sufi said taking photographs is prohibited in Islam and the same is true for video footage and photographs in the light of Hadith. The system of the Quran and Shariah is known as Shariat-e-Mohammadi and “we will continue our struggle for its implementation,” he added.
It is the responsibility of each and every Muslim to struggle for the implementation of Shariah in the country, he said. The TNSM chief said there was complete Shariah in Afghanistan, but the US had attacked that country to end Shariah there. He said it is the responsibility of the Muslim Ummah to go for Jihad."
"He said there was a great difference between democracy and Shariah. “Many religious leaders, including Kashmiri was for a piece of land and, therefore, it was not Jihad. He said there was great difference between democracy and Shariah. “Many religious leaders, including Qazi Hussain Ahmad, Maulana Fazlur Rehman and Maulana Samiul Haq, are trying to find Shariah in democracy which is wrong,” he added."
Do you agree with the views of the TNSM chief? Are democracy and religion compatible? Is a secular Contitution a pre-requisite for a democracy in any country?
Dawn: Institutions and religion: By Kunwar Idris: Sunday, 03 May, 2009
"The best chance of bringing peace back to the tribal areas and Malakand Division (Swat, Dir, Buner, Chitral, etc.) lies in dealing with the tribes through their own elders following their own traditional codes and treaties with the government — not under special regulations.
The puritanical social values imposed by the militant clerics would give way to normal conservative but tolerant and hospitable behaviour once the tribal hierarchy regains its lost authority. The army can kill or drive away the infiltrating fighters but only an autonomous political service would be able to organise the tribes to exclude the fanatical mullahs from the power structure. Besides reinstating the rule of power vesting in institutions and not in individuals, parliament and the Supreme Court must undertake a review of the relationship between state and religion. It is hard to deny that violent campaigns for Sharia directly flow from the constitutional provisions that make Islam the state religion and also bind the state to bring all laws ‘in conformity with the injunctions of Islam’. Maulana Sufi Mohammad can justifiably claim to be fulfilling a responsibility that is imposed by the constitution on all citizens.
The path to terror in Swat and elsewhere is blazed by the constitution of Pakistan itself. In Khyber Agency, rival lashkars are pitched against each other with their competing interpretations of Islamic injunctions. Some 35 years ago the parliament of Pakistan determined that the Ahmadiyya community was not Muslim. Is it not poetic justice that Sufi Mohammad should now determine that the lawmakers of Pakistan, one and all, are infidels?
Come to think of it, all parties claiming to be religious are, in fact, sectarian and the Taliban is the most violent manifestation of this. In Pakistan’s political context, faith has proved more divisive than unifying. It is a different matter though of not much concern to Sufi Mohammad that the vast majority does not agree with him on what those injunctions are. Sunnis belonging to what is commonly known as the Barelvi school and Shias (who are believed to be one-fifth of the population) openly denounce Sufi Mohammad’s campaign and accuse the government of abject surrender to his blackmail."
Can religion alone be a unifying force in a modern nation-state? What are your views?
Dawn: Sharia and democracy are incompatible: Sufi: Gohar Ali Gohar and Hameedullah Khan: Sunday, 03 May, 2009
"The Tehrik Nifaz-i-Shariat Muhammadi (TNSM) and the Swat Taliban have rejected the setting up of Darul Qaza and appointments of Qazis as a unilateral decision of the government, saying Sufi Mohammad was not consulted before the announcement.
Talking to media persons, after TNSM Shura’s meeting at its headquarter in Bilal Mosque Amandara, Therik spokesman Amir Izzat Khan said the setting up of Darul Qaza in Malakand was a one-sided decision by the government and TNSM chief was not consulted prior to the announcement in this regard."
"Maulana Sufi Muhammad said on the occasion that ‘delegating powers of Qazis to judges is Ghair-Sharaee,’ adding: ‘we want Sharaee Qazis in accordance with Shariat Muhammadi.’ He said TNSM wanted to transform the present judicial system into Islamic Sharia system.
He said Sharia and democracy are totally different systems, adding we consider democracy as Kuffar (infidelity) and believe in system of Quran and Sunnah. He said constitution of Pakistan is Islamic and it was not practically implemented in the country."
Taliban raze houses of Sikhs in Orakzai: Abdul Sami Paracha: Thursday, 30 Apr, 2009
"The Taliban on Wednesday night demolished 11 houses of the Sikh community in the Orakzai Agency for refusing to pay ‘Jazia’. The action was ordered by the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan chief for Orakzai Agency, Hakeemullah Mehsud, after the deadline given to the Sikh community for payment of Jazia passed on Wednesday. Earlier, the Sikh community had postponed its decision about vacating the area following the demand of the Tehrik-i-Taliban for payment of ‘Jazia’ being non-Muslims for their protection.
The Taliban had asked the Sikh community living in the tribal area for centuries earlier this month to pay annual Jazia because ‘Sharia had been enforced in the area and every non-Muslim had to pay protection money’. The Sikh community comprising 30 to 35 families shifted from the Feroze Khel area to the nearby Merozai in Lower Orakzai Agency because they could not arrange Rs150 million demanded by the Taliban.
The Taliban had forcibly occupied shops of two Sikh businessmen, Sewa Singh and Kalak Singh, and houses of several Sikhs to force them to pay Jazia. Later, the Sikh community refused to pay Jazia and decided to leave Orakzai and settle in some other area.
Most of tribal families belonging to a particular sect have also migrated to different parts of Hangu and Kohat due to the fear of Taliban."
Hindustan Times: Issue of Sikhs in Swat is Pak's internal matter': 3 May 2009
"Even as more reports suggesting religious discrimination against Sikhs in the Swat valley filter in, Pakistan has brushed aside India's protest saying that it was an internal matter of the country and that India should not meddle in Pakistan's internal affairs.
The Pakistan foreign ministry said in a statement that the issue was of "no concern'' to India as the Sikhs were Pakistani citizens. The statement came in response to India's official protest on Friday expressing concern about the treatement being meted out to minorities, especially Sikhs in the Swat valley by Taliban, in Pakistan.
Pakistan Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said his country had responded to India's "verbal demarche'' on the issue by making it clear that the Sikhs were Pakistani citizens. "Pakistan is fully cognisant of the issue of the Sikhs and of the welfare of all its citizens, especially the minorities,'' Basit told a news agency."
Does India have any role to play in protecting the rights of the Sikh citizens of Pakistan?
My interest in Pakistan only stems from the fact that our two nations are geographically and historically linked. Anything that happens in Pakistan will have an impact on India. I firmly believe that it is in India's interest to have a stable and democratic Pakistan and I also believe that it is upto the people of Pakistan to create, support and nurture systems and institutions that will help Pakistan move in that direction. The signs at present are very disturbing. India needs to facilitate stability in Pakistan and also needs to learn valuable lessons on the role of strong and stable state institutions in governance and also the need of keeping religion definitely out of governance issues, and out of politics too. Religion practiced by individuals in their personal life can uplift the individual, and thus the society and nation, but used in the affairs of a diverse, modern nation-state can have disastrous consequences. We are witness to the events unfolding.
Watching the South Asian region one feels that India is the only island of stability in this volatile neighbourhood. Our founding fathers and our politicians must have surely done something right. What is it that we did right? and what is it that we need to safeguard with our lives, if required, to continue to develop and progress as a modern nation state while at the same time maintaining our biggest strength - our diversity?
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
INDIA - FROM WAY UP IN SPACE......
We were invited to dinner at one of our ex-Indian Air Force friend's home recently and on reaching there realised that one of the other invited couples was Rakesh Sharma, the one and only cosmonaut from India, and his wife. I had met him earlier in the service but only after he had become an international figure and thus never did have a chance to actually interact with him. During the course of this evening I got my chance. He had just returned from Russia after celebrating the 25th anniversary of the space flight in the Soyuz T-11, which was launched from Baikanour on 03 April 1984.
I distinctly remember those days when we were proud to have sent one of our men into space, even though it was on a Soviet space craft. Then Sqn Ldr Rakesh Sharma was chosen to represent India in this joint venture by the Soviet Union. I remember watching him on television where he was shown speaking with our then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi via a satellite video link-up. Mrs Gandhi asked him as to how India looked from way up there, and he spontaneously replied: "Saare jahan se achcha." We felt very nice on hearing the first line of this famous song, although some of us did feel that he must have prepared this reply in advance and reproduced it to our Prime Minister. However, we all felt proud that a fellow Indian had made history.
In 1989, I was taken on an official trip to the NASA Space Center in Houston, Texas. Besides being shown the space station and other places in the center, we were also shown a video film taken from the space shuttle. It was indescribable watching that film of the earth, and how it looked from high up in space. The earth just looked beautiful, and guess what, when India came on view, I nearly had to hold my breath - it was breath takingly beautiful, and my thoughts immediately went back to 1984 and the words of Rakesh Sharma. There are just no other words to describe this mass of land, jutting out symetrically into the Indian Ocean, with the Bay of Bengal on the East and the Arabian Sea on the West. The sea looked a deep blue and the land looked just gorgeous. It is then that I could actually fathom the true extent of the emotions that Rakesh Sharma had expressed to our Prime Minister. These emotions must have been nothing but spontaneous, absolutely genuine and honest.
25 years later, I spoke with him on the subject on this evening. I told him about the "saare jahaan se achcha" incident, and how I felt in 1989 when I saw the earth in a video film taken from the orbiting space shuttle. I told him about how I too felt while watching India from high up there, and he asked me, "Isn't it true?" and he had a sparkle in his eye - guess what, he had seen it LIVE from way up there in space, in April 1984.
I distinctly remember those days when we were proud to have sent one of our men into space, even though it was on a Soviet space craft. Then Sqn Ldr Rakesh Sharma was chosen to represent India in this joint venture by the Soviet Union. I remember watching him on television where he was shown speaking with our then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi via a satellite video link-up. Mrs Gandhi asked him as to how India looked from way up there, and he spontaneously replied: "Saare jahan se achcha." We felt very nice on hearing the first line of this famous song, although some of us did feel that he must have prepared this reply in advance and reproduced it to our Prime Minister. However, we all felt proud that a fellow Indian had made history.
In 1989, I was taken on an official trip to the NASA Space Center in Houston, Texas. Besides being shown the space station and other places in the center, we were also shown a video film taken from the space shuttle. It was indescribable watching that film of the earth, and how it looked from high up in space. The earth just looked beautiful, and guess what, when India came on view, I nearly had to hold my breath - it was breath takingly beautiful, and my thoughts immediately went back to 1984 and the words of Rakesh Sharma. There are just no other words to describe this mass of land, jutting out symetrically into the Indian Ocean, with the Bay of Bengal on the East and the Arabian Sea on the West. The sea looked a deep blue and the land looked just gorgeous. It is then that I could actually fathom the true extent of the emotions that Rakesh Sharma had expressed to our Prime Minister. These emotions must have been nothing but spontaneous, absolutely genuine and honest.
25 years later, I spoke with him on the subject on this evening. I told him about the "saare jahaan se achcha" incident, and how I felt in 1989 when I saw the earth in a video film taken from the orbiting space shuttle. I told him about how I too felt while watching India from high up there, and he asked me, "Isn't it true?" and he had a sparkle in his eye - guess what, he had seen it LIVE from way up there in space, in April 1984.
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