My fateful encounter with F1 VISA

It was 16th of November 2010.
I had slept at 5:30 AM after arranging a series of documents in files with neatly written labels to have it easy later that day. Having put my papers at work and booked the tickets already, I was a tad nervous.
Got up at about 8 AM for a 10 AM interview some 12 KMs from my place. Dressed up formally, I gulped a glass of milk to satiate my ever so growing apetite and left the place with a friend (who by the way had a sprain on her leg, relevant to the story later :) ). As soon as we came down, we had this divine realization that we are late. The auto fellas didn't pick up the phone (yeah, I do call them up, courtesy the great transportation system of Hyderabad) and so we were forced to walk down till the main gate of the township from where we could catch an autorickshaw. It was 9:15 by the time we reached there and my nervousness was increasing every passing minute. An autorickshaw agreed to drop us at one and a half times the actual fare seeing the urgency on our faces and I almost agreed. And then he says, 'nahin jaunga madam' (I will not go, Madam). Frustrated already, my friend led the way crossing the street and I followed.
Twist in the story, a bike from right, another from left and poor me in between. I saw the shock on my friend's face first, the hazy outline of the bikes later, felt the dizziness next and had my hands clutching my moth tightly eventually. It was then that I realized the sentence I had read so many times in numerous books, 'I felt the warmth and tasted the saltiness and realised that something is trickling down my mouth.'
Although all the swear words on the tip of my tongue, I just moved on. Reasons?
1) I was in a hurry folks, thats what I have been telling you since the beginning of the post.
2) I couldn't dare to open my mouth.
I crossed the road and stopped at the place where my friend was still haggling with another auto wala, my hand still held firmly at my cheek. An auto finally agreed to go to the consulate at more than twice the actual meter rate, seeing a bleeding mouth and urgent expressions.
We finally sat down and I removed my hand. That was when I understood my friend's shock. My plam was completely covered but for my fingers with the red hot liquid drying superfast. I took a tissue and starting dabbing away the dried blood at the corner of my mouth. Some five minutes later I tried to check if I could speak. The first statement was, 'what's the time?'
Glancing at the watch on one hand and trying to move my lips on the other, I lost the track of location.

I was running late for my VISA interview with the US consulate.
There was a huge traffic jam till where my eyes could scan.
I had a distorted face stained at corner.
I was hardly able to open my mouth and speak.

Wow, what a day!
And to top it all, our auto rickshaw driver threw the googly, 'Madam, I don't know the way!'
Thankfully, we had checked the route on google maps the day before.
I reached the consulate (after consulting 3 cops and 2 other people on the way) at 10:15 AM
Beyond a certain point, you had to walk down. I took my docs and left my friend to deal with the auto and rest of the stuff. Poor thing, with a broken leg and broken friend in front of the US consulate!
Anyways, there were some 8 people in front of me in the queue to enter the consulate. I requested a few to let me go ahead as my scheduled time was already past. I ran in, got my documents checked, had my fingerprints taken and sat in the waiting hall for my turn. Finally the call - C130.. 4 questions -

1) Any backlogs?
2) Undergrad percentage?
3) Which Universities dod you apply to?
4) Why Carnegie?

That's it. Visa approved, back to the bus stop, to my waiting friend with broken leg.
ah, my fateful encounter with F1!

The world is changing, Why aren't we?

The World is changing, why can’t we?


I think about these words every now and then ever since I first heard them at a meeting at the Forest Department, A.P. by Mr. Raghuveer, IFS. I had the pleasure of being in the esteemed presence of enthusiastic environmentalists, IFS officers, NGO representatives and decision makers of some of the renowned corporate houses, in discussion about the action plan for celebration of 5th June, the World Environment Day(WED).

Why was I there? Why I am writing about it? Does it concern any of my readers? These questions need to be answered before I go any further.

I am a graduate in Environmental Engineering. I have been studying about Environmental issues- Climate Change, Ozone depletion and pollution since past 5 years in detail. The more I read about it, the more I get scared. Not anxious, not worried, but scared. Because the way it is, future seems scary. So, I make it a point to attend relevant meetings, programs, workshops as and when I get the opportunity. This is why, I was there. This answers my first question.

The second one is- why am I writing about it? Here, I want to ask you a question. If you realize that there is a fire in the building you are living in, what do you do? If you sense an earthquake coming, what do you do? If you get to know of a flood warning, what do you do? You run and you shout- so that maximum numbers of people get to know about it and get an opportunity to protect them. This is exactly why I am writing about it. I sense the danger and consider it a moral obligation to let others know about it too. I sense the danger of extinction of various beautiful species from the earth. I sense the danger of glaciers melting and submerging the coastal areas under the vast spread of water. I sense floods at some places and draught at others. I sense long dry heat spells and extreme harsh cold coming in the near future for us and the next generations. This is why, I am writing about it.

Does it concern any of my readers? People differ in their opinions about this question. Some don’t believe it is happening. Some say it is just a natural phenomenon, we have experienced ice ages before. I beg to differ. I say it as many times as I can, to as many people who are willing to listen. Climate change is for real. It is there. At a rate which scares me. And it affects as all, it is affecting us all, it will affect us all. The receding glaciers will cause potable (suitable to drink) water shortage. The coastal lines, when submerged will render millions destitute. The floods and draughts will take lives of fellow humans. Why fellow humans, it could be us; ‘You and Me’! The heat strokes, increase in vector borne diseases, extreme cold will all add up the numbers. The species on the verge of extinction form an irreplaceable part of the ecosystems. If they go, we all suffer. I saw this movie on leopards being killed mercilessly by people in the name of senseless fear that they are man-eaters. Not all of them are! And the very few which have turned man-eaters are only because there are no preys left for them in the jungles! This is but another instance of the impact of the change I am talking about. Why should they suffer for the crime we are committing? Pardon me friends; I got a little deviated from the topic because the movie touched my heart. But I am back on the track now. The change in climate will reduce crop yields, resulting in shortage of food. I have presented all the facts I could think of at the impulse. I leave it up to you to decide whether it concerns you or not.

So, what do we do? And this brings me back to where I started from. Take Action. Now, before it gets too late.

“You cannot drink the word ‘water’. The formula H2O cannot float a ship. The word ‘rain’ cannot get you wet. You must experience water or rain to truly know what the words mean.” These words by Dr. Wayne W. Dyer from the book-‘You’ll see it when you believe it’ make me stand up and do something about it. I don’t claim to change the world. But I am proud to do my part.

I avoid wasting natural resources.

I switch off the light and fan, when I move out of the room, even if for a few minutes.

I turn off the tap when not in use.

I don’t waste paper and don’t print unless absolutely necessary.

I don’t charge my phone and laptop unnecessarily.

I optimize the power settings of my laptop.

I unplug my VOIP when I leave for the day.

I try not to waste food.

I have started carrying my own bags to departmental stores and I request them not to give me polythene.

I request you all to suggest me to improve. Add to my list. Take away from it if you feel it is not too much of effort. The planet is yours-save it, before it is too late!!

The Scene outside my window

Reminds me of the good old times when the street actually used to look like as I have written below, when I used to sit in my room, wondering about a thousand questions, lost to the world, when things were beyond comprehension but promiseful.. ah the good old times!
P.S. The photo in the post is courtesy http://travel-cities.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/07/pk15.jpg

A big pillar,
with a lot of wires.

A huge gate,
street beggars' fate.

A long street,
not looking sweet.

A lot of hustle and bustle,
eveytime, a crowd of vehicles.


A noice of trin trin of bicycles,
horns - of cars, scooters and bikes as well.

Thrill and excitement of the children playing on the road,
pushing each other, shouting, looking each one odd.

Hawkers, selling fruits, vegetables and various other items,
ladies bragaining for the price, each one as if in a rhythm.

On the corner of the street, are lanes of shops.
Buy whatever you want, a notebook to write in, a knife to chop.

Just in the front, tinkling of bangles can be heard.
On the top of walls, or on TV antennas, nests are made by birds.

The more I watch, the more I can see,
Still it is not visible - Who are you? Who is me?

Rachna
10th April 2003

But where, but when?

I want myself to be there.


Where? one may ask, where?

Of course there, where I want to be.

But where that place is supposed to be?

Is it somewhere near the zone of peace?

Near the abode of God, a bit like heaven?

Or somewhere near the zone of feelings?

Near the holy place, likely to be a museum?

Somewhere, where I can feel my existence.

where I can have a talk with myself, nonsense.

of course there, where I want to be.

but where that place is supposed to be?

Somewhere, where I can communicate with myself,

where I can discover myself,

where I can do whatever I want,

where there is no one to block my hand.

of course there, where I want to be.

but where that place is supposed to be?

Near a flowing stream or offshore,

some other place which is not so bore,

near a snow covered mountain,

maybe near a natural fountain,

of course there, where I want to be.

but where that place is supposed to be?

I don't know, when I 'll be there?

I don't know, then I 'll be where?

Perhaps, I 'll reach there sometime

Perahps, I 'll reach somewhere then,

But where? But when?

Rachna

3rd September 2002

Effective Communication: Why and How? - My CC2

How many of you like a pizza?

Which brand, Pizza hut/ Dominos/ Pizzeria/ Papa John

I pity those who like Dominos: Why

Ok, here is a story:

Some 2 months back, there was this guy and girl sitting in a dominos outlet, terribly bored.

They decided to have some fun. Now don’t let your imaginations run wild. The girl started shooting the guy as he did something like cheese in his nose, dough under his armpits, inside his trousers, spitting and sneezing loudly on the pizza. Yuck right, this was exactly the reaction of millions of people, Who, in April 2009, saw the videos of these two Domino's employees, Kristy Hammonds and Michael Setzer, in, North Carolina tampering with customer food.

Result- A single video on net, the fastest and most wide spread means of communication put the reputation of more than 1.462 billion USD revenue company with 8,500 corporate and franchised stores in 55 countries at stake in less than few hours. The videos spread quickly online through blogs and Twitter and highlighted the vulnerability brands face today.

What did Dominos did then? They used the same tool updates were distributed through Twitter, the company’s Face book page and a response from Patrick Doyle, President of Domino's USA was posted on YouTube. Later, the duo were arrested and charged.

Would it have been possible but for the appropriate and timely action to communicate by Dominos?

This is what effective communication can do.

Communication is everyone's panacea for everything; Tom Peters said.

Whatever we say, no matter how small, has some effect. Take an example; when you dip your hand in a bucket full of water, take it out and leave it on top of the bucket, small droplets fall from the tips of the fingers. These droplets also create ripples on the water surface. Not waves, but ripples. It is not necessary that what we say may reform the world, but it sure can make a difference.

Now, as we know effective communication is important, the next logical question is- How do we do it?

“we want a wonderful wow wait-wait

you see the whole country of the system is just

opposition by the dev glowing

because you are spasticated by reparation”

What?? All the people shouted the same ‘What’ when Mr. Bachchan sang this in his famous movie- ‘Amar Akbar Anthony’.

There are two basic problems with it.

1) Speed

2) Unnecessary use of big words

Many people think that loud words make them sound intelligent. But the truth is we all want to hear or read easily understandable sentences.

As for speed, every one of us (counting me) wants to say so much at so many occasions that we speed up unconsciously.

Communication can be understood as process starting from source, encoding, channel, decoding and then receiving.

A problem with any of these result in wrong information or message being conveyed.

The most common barrier to effective communication can be summed up by this quote by GEORGE BERNARD SHAW: The problem with communication ... is the illusion that it has been accomplished.

We generally assume a lot of things while communicating which makes things complicated. So, when speaking we can take advantage of facial expressions and body language. We should speak like the other person knows nothing at all and listen as if we are on the same level as the speaker. This helps a speaker as well as a listener prepare for the conversation and hence ensures better communication.

Also, when communicating, it is also very important to give due credit to quotes/ views/ ideas if they do not belong entirely to you. This ensures a healthy relationship between individuals and prevents conflicts. Here I take the opportunity to thank Mr. Kiruba Shankar, CEO Business Blogging from whom I took the idea of this speech.

Lastly, I cannot talk more about communication in the assigned time, it being a vast topic and respect of time being one of the must followed rules of the same, I shall stop here with just one statement to ponder upon, The quote from ANNE MORROW LINDBERGH, Good communication is as stimulating as black coffee, and just as hard to sleep after.

( This speech was delivered at Deloitte Hyderabad Toastmasters Club on 12th of June 2009)

Independence - India's & Mine.

The patriotic in me woke up this morning @ 10:30 AM with slight headache courtesy the excess untimely sleep I had been enjoying. Why the patriotic - Hello!! Good Morning.. Everyone has been shouting at the top of their lungs right? - It is our Independence Day..

Jai Hind!

With my morning cup of tea in hand I was glancing at the paper all decorated in saffron, white and green. Ohk.. All right.. Celebrating 63 completed years of Independence.. Not bad..

The supplements too carried articles on what celebrities think of Independence Day and what youngsters associate this day with. What do they think about being free? What does Independence & Freedom mean to them?

Facebook was overflowing with the independence day status updates, The Jai Hinds, The patriotic songs & Video links being shared and what not.

Office team had Independence day celebrations too. Breakout areas crowded with all shouting (I am sorry, singing) - Vande Mataram to declare the patriotism.

TV had these programs on telling us what our beloved leaders would be conversing about if they glanced at India from the heavens (hopefully).

Our public speaking clubs had meetings on this theme to remind us of our patriotism.

The point is - it is loud and clear for all those who aren't deaf dumb or blind - that we are celebrating our Independence today? Now don't get me wrong. I am proud too. Damn proud to be an Indian. Happy about celebrating our independence day. I have been listening to patriotic songs all the while on you tube as I am writing this down. Its just that while I am doing that, I am trying to think about my independence.

Living on my own, 1750 Kms away from my place, having enough paper & plastic money in my wallet to buy what I need and not being answerable to any one about anything - cool!

But what else -

Am I free to act my heart out?

Am I free to speak my mind?

Am I free to wander about as & when I please?

Am I free to say 'NO' when I wanna?

Maybe Yes..

Ah hell, I am pretty hapy with my life and enjoying every bit of it.

Just wanted to know if everyone else says a YES to all these questions.

Actually just wanted a head start for my thoughts.

Yesterday we had a meeting, theme 'Your Country' talking about different kinds of patriots we have:

1) The 20-20 patriots - who declare their patriotism only when there is a cricket match being played between India & Pakistan

2) The Achievement Patriots - who come out with - 'I Love my India' or 'I am proud to be an Indian' quote when there is a scientific discovery or a sports achievement credited to an Indian.

3) The Braveheart Patriots - who remember the sacrifices of the soldiers when there is a war anniversary or mishaps at borders

4) The Slogan Patriots - who would miss their country and the leaders and the greatness in a speech or a discussion only
5) The World lovers - who think of the country, but only after the global wellness.

6) The Day Patriots - who wake up on Independence day or Republic day to love India

And while the Emcee of the meeting was talking about all these, I was thinking of the truth behind these words. A simple question - Bollywood Vs Hollywood or Sania Vs. Maria will only be answered in favor of the former by few. Thailand Vs. Manali would come out in favor of the later only for the lack of money or time by the honeymooners of today. And I am no different!

The sparks of patriotism come alive on particular days, at particular moments for particular reasons..

And so do the thoughts of country and country men.

The other meeting for instance had us thinking aloud on the freedom from poverty and terrorism.

And I realized that I talk of those, not unlike many, only when there is a coffee table discussion or a speech.

But then, is this wrong in any way?

Well, to each his own perspective..

For now, I am back, enjoying my independence with a hot cuppa tea and some crispy smacks, who someone must have labored for in this free country and hopefully had been paid for.

Hail India..

Proud to be a free citizen in this wonderful country :)

Wish you all a very happy independence day!

Back to BB

"Chalo yaar, am really really bored- let's do someting".

The usual dialogue, everyday I come back from work..
Life @ Work has been like this for a while.
And We keep thinking of ways to thrash the boredom with all sorta things - be it cooking, bitching or watching a series ... Helps?? Maybe..
So, when there was something different from the usual - thought of putting it on my blog :)

Last night, back from office at 8 in the night after walking 5 Kms in my 3 inches high Catwalk because I did not get an auto from office till home after waiting for 40 odd minutes already had me in a great mood...

Wow! that was an incredibly long sentence.. :P

And then, there wasn't anything good to eat (that's all I am bothered to think about now a days :) )
So my temper was rising ever so slightly.
When the steaming hot cup of tea did not help, my sweetheart room mate said  (in her cute hindi accent, she is a tamilian) - let us go play badminton..
That was at 10 in the night I believe!

Ohk.. all right.. we forced the second kid in the home (the three of us take turn in behaving the kiddish brats every now and then..) to change and get up..
All decked up to play, complete with shoes and socks, the moment I was dragging my second room mate outta home, we glanced out of our balcony door & lo - it was raining cats n dogs..

:( :( :(

But ab to tayyar ho gaye, ab to khelna hai.. (Now that we were ready, we had to play!)
My roomie - who will go an extra just so she doesn't step into a water puddle on road was forced to come out to play in the rain courtesy the sweetest of us - me :P

Now obviously badminton was out of question.. and so after 2.5 long years - it came out of the bag - My lovely BASKET BALL..
yuppie..
next problem was - there wasn't any basket ball court..
Koi ni - ab jab thaan hi liya hai to kuch to ho hi jayega - spirit :) :)
(No problems, Now that we had decided, we would figure out something)

We went out and just started with dribbling, saw a ring some where in the nearby block..

Started off with shoots - Man, the feel of the green & blue beauty in my hands with rain pouring in - I was loving it.. Did a few shoots when the sentence came -

"Ladies, it is a private property"

:@  By that time the downpour was moving from drizzling to nothing..
Racquets and shuttle in hand- we headed to the badminton court but alas - no lightning :(

Played the game for 15 minutes or so, when all of us were starting to feel tired...

We ran back to our place and a quick shower later a hot cup of tea with steaming butter oregano maggie added spice to the dish - drizzling night!!

Ah.. long time since we had let ourselves out..

Definitely - A night to remember :)

A musing...

आज क्यों पुकारा दिल ने

क्यों याद तुम्हारी फिर आई

क्यों न पाकर तुम्हे लगा जैसे

खो गयी कहीं मेरी परछाई

क्यों ख्याल तुम्हारा यूँ आया

आया मेरे ख्यालो में

क्यों उलझ गया फिर मन मेरा

कुछ अनसुलझे से जालो में

क्यों याद तुम्हारी ले आई

संग अपने शिकवे और आँहे

क्यों सहर ने फैला दी

आगोश में लेने को बाहें

क्यों खता हुई ये अनजानी

क्यों जस्बे दिल के आम हुए

क्यों सच्चे अरमान दिल के

दुनिया भर में बदनाम हुए

क्यों नहीं था सच को मान लिया

क्यों किया था इतना इंतज़ार

क्यों नहीं कहा एक सच सच्चा

जो था.. वो था .. प्यार..

रचना

२६ सितम्बर २००५

A beginning!

Arms stretched, eyes closed,
with a deep breath I start.
I am feeling different,
with pleasures and shock,
I stand aghast.

All over the world, I have searched,
And am still doing the same.
This search, I feel,
is going to drive me insane.

My heart aches, my eyes cry,
words don't come out.
I still try to keep calm,
my soul though shouts.

Working on my own desire,
trying to find the best of all,
I have ruined the worthy life,
My dreams are now being invaded,
with strange thoughts of unruly strife.

I wish this could come to an end,
Now, I open my eyes, my elbow bends...

Rachna
19th January 2005

I Me Myself - An Icebreaker

To be true to my work, my hopes, myself

To bring a smile on my parents’ face;

To live as if every moment counts,
And still not be a part of mad rat race;
To look up to the good and great and hope,
To contribute my part in all the ways;
To strive hard for what I want,
Is all that I wish for, is all that I chase.

One of my problems is to find the self, Max Beckmann had once said and I could not have agreed more, not because I have not yet found myself, but because I keep on playing hide and seek with me all the time. And that is why, I had been putting a lot of thought as to what should I say about myself as it is indeed tough to cover a journey of almost 22 years in a few minutes. And so I just started scribbling whatever came to my mind and came up with a small picture of my life to be shared among you all.

I was born in a typical middle class orthodox Brahmin family on a hot summer day as the second child to my parents, and was much eagerly awaited hale and hearty as my elder sibling did not spend more than a few days with the family.

My grandma tells me often that our house was under construction at the time of my birth and hence she named me Rachna, ’The Creation’. My name has this funny story too; my last name is Sharma, while my family name (or the gautra) is ‘Bhardwaj’. During my std. 10 board exam registration I wrote my father’s name as Mr. R K Sharma, my mother’s name as Mrs. Nirmala Sharma and my name as Rachna Bhardwaj. While verifying this form my teacher asked-‘Are you adopted?’ When I told this to my father he suggested me not to use my last name at all & so I did. And because of it all my documents (X, XII certificate, PAN Card, Passport) just had my first name. But during recruitment the HR people said, we have to have a last name and so, I again adopted my last name, Sharma. Thus I started from Rachna Bhardwaj, met Rachna and became Rachna Sharma; who is standing before you as of now.

I have two younger siblings, a sister and a brother. My father is a civil engineer and my mother is a homemaker. I did my schooling in a Convent, Government and Public School on my mother, uncle and father’s wish respectively, was a good kid throughout my student life (or so my report book said). Although I wanted to study Psychology and Forensic Sciences in my undergrad years and was given full liberty to do so, I ended up doing my BE in Environmental Engineering from DCE because of peer pressure and the lucrative option of on campus placement & job security. It is then that my interest in the subject grew and continues to do so all the more with time. The campus placement part did pay well by my being recruited by Deloitte.

I had never been too athletic in school but picked up basketball and badminton in college to the amazement of many. Don’t go my stature, I did play; not just these, I love all sorts of adventurous activities and was the fastest to cross Burma bridge, a rope some 15 feet above the ground and 15 feet in length, among all present. I have tried my hand at tire climbing, trust fall, rope climbing, zorbing, spider’s net, Tarzan fall and intend to a lot more of it and other in future. My hobbies include reading (mainly fiction), writing poems, cooking and working towards betterment of environment. The time limit would be long over if I start talking about my favorite books, but I don’t want to miss this opportunity to talk about Fountainhead on such a platform. I had been dying to talk about this book to people ever since I read it some two and a half years back and today would be very appropriate as this book has given words to my thoughts in a manner which I couldn’t find before.

I very much stand by the philosophy of objectivism which Ms Rand talked about. I firmly believe that if everyone starts giving his or her best, the Whole surely improves. I also believe that if you have a sharp mind, it is your moral responsibility to make yourself happy. The protagonists of Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged, Howard Roark and Dagny Taggart have been as close to role models as I could have.

Talking of role models, I aim not to copy anyone but to emulate the best I can find in others to improve and the first name that comes to my mind, without any second thought, is that of my father. He has taught me all I know of world and woes, love and life; I try and live by his teachings as much as I can.

My ambition in life is to pursue my hobbies, work in the field of environment and be successful at my workplace, giving my best in all I do. Bob Dylan has rightly said, “A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and gets to bed at night, and in between he does what he wants to do. “; and this is how I take my life.

In the end...

In the end


With all smiles, and those lovely moments,
With raised hopes and wish that torments,
With the best of words and deeds and love,
                      I hope to leave, with a smile in the end.

Having spent the time of my life in good,
Having been in the sky, in oceans, in woods,
Having done all that my heart wished for,
                     I hope to leave, content, in the end.

To those who matter, by giving heart full of love,
To what I want, having been true and pure as a dove,
To the time and place and feelings, being faithful
                    I hope to leave, honest, in the end.

Being good in all roles I played since I was born,
Being decisive, accurate at these crucial junctures and not torn,
Being fun and nice, helpful, successful, yet down to earth,
                    I hope to leave, innocent, in the end.

Not in the path of happiness, pride, achievement of any one,
Not jealous, stupid, childish, never spoiling the fun,
Not on the wrong side of what I know to be bad,
                    I hope to leave, intact soul, in the end.

Rachna
1 Nov 2009

विचित्र चाह

Tried my hand at hindi and urdu.
This one was written when I was a little low.
But one of the very few which I wrote without thinking about the explanation part.
(As I wrote it  urdu :) )








नम चश्म क्यों, क्यों दिल गवाही से इंकार करता है?

सामने है कश्ती भला फिर क्यों भंवर से प्यार करता है?

सैंकड़ो की भीड़ में किसी की नज़र को ढूँढने की आस में,

क्यों ज़माने का तस्सवुर बार बार करता है?

निगाहें झुका कर चल तो दें, हमे फ़िक्र डगर की नहीं,

पर उसे कैसे कहें, वो दिल जो दीवानगी सा ऐतबार करता है?

शौक नहीं है इस जहाँ के बाशिन्दोँ के दीदार का हमें,

पर ऐसे लिहाज़ का क्या फायदा, जो खुद पर वार करता है?

ऐसा भरोसा जो ख्वाहिशें छीन ले, मिटा दे जड़ से आस को,

क्यों ऐसी दीन राह का रुख तू भले इंसान करता है?

वो जो खुदा का इशारा समझा, न किसी और की आरज़ू,

तू ऐसे किसी से दर्द - ए- दिल और ख़ुशी का इज़हार करता है?

खबर नहीं थी की यूँ अधूरे से अंजाम में सिमट से जायेंगे,

अब न एक और कदम, रूह का, दम साथ भरता है!

खुद से न बयां किया कभी, हर वो राज़ अब गैर हो गया,

छोड़ा ऐसे हाल में, कहें क्या?, लफ्ज़ न फासला होठों से पार करता है

कुछ और कहने करने की जान बाकी नहीं अब,

एक साँसों के काफिले के थमने तक, अक्स बस साथ चले,

यही दुआ सहमा हुआ हर सांस करता है......

रचना.

१६ मार्च २००८

रात्रि सौंदर्य

Wrote this one some ten years back.
The oldest one I have a written record of.
I am posting it in Hindi to enable a proper reading.
If you find any issues in reading devanagari script, transliterate to English :)

नित नियत समय पर निशा,

मात देती प्रभात को,

या कहो जाता प्रकाश,

लाने अँधेरी रात को,

रात को ठंडी हवा,

जब लहर लहर लहराई,

यों लगा रति सी रजनी,

हँसी और मुस्काई,

चाँद की चांदनी दिव्य,

ऐसी दी दिखाई,

की जिसके सामने दीप्ती ज्योति की,

लजाई और शरमाई,

जब ऐसा शोभायमान हो,

प्रकाश अंधकार का,

तब कैसे नाकारा जा सकता है,

सौंदर्य अनुपम रात का?

रचना

Poetry

It has been along time since I wrote anything.
The itching to write is getting stronger every day.
And to get back to the track, I finally found a way.
Am gonna post my old writings. Maybe they will help me get inspired.
Comments most welcome.
Will try and be regular.

Rachna

Nilgiris Diaries Part 8

30 Jan 2010
The last day :(We were comparitively relaxed as we were not travelling anywhere.After breakfast we had a walkthrough of the declaration to add/ modify any points we deemed necessary.After that everyone changed into traditional dresses. We all prepared for our presentations. A few champions presented what they had got for the camp representing their projects. One tribe had a skit to show their presentation and it was just amazing. After the valediction everyone started clicking pics. We were given our certificates, a mug , a CD and one information brochure from British Council. The photo session continued for long. After lunch, I came back to room by about 3 and started packing. It was a tough job mind you! At 430 or so we were supposed to start for coimbatore. This extended till 530 I guess. Finally with all the bags loaded on the bus, we sat in our respective seats and talked and sang. Eventually everyone slept off. Around 9 we stopped for Dinner at one very nice hotel (I forgot the name :( ) Me, Sohini, Godwin and Bannick talked a lot on the dinner table. Later we reached our hotel - Alankar at coimbatore. We all spoke to each other, bade goodbyes to many, scribbled each others shirts/ notebooks/ envelops and then retired to our rooms. Next morning 6 'O' clock was supposed to be the strating time for airport to reach chennai. Bannick's ticket was cancelled by mistake, Bharadwaj took a loong break before checkin, Bannick had to keep some of his cabin luggage stuff in checkin, however, after all these things, we finally boarded the flight. Having reached Chennai at 0930, we were wondering what to do. My next flight was at 1130, Angu's at 2, Shruti and Sundeep were in their hometown, Bannick, Bharadwaj and Sohini were to take a 12 'O' clock flight to Mumbai. These five decided to go to Chennai and me and angu stayed back. No place to kill time :(. And we were supposed to be at different terminals for departure. So that one hour was quite boring. But finally I boarded the flight to hyderabad, reached at around 1245, got my baggage and everything by 1 and waited for 0130 aeroexpress. And this is how my eventful, memorable journey to the blue mountains ended !!!

Nilgiris Diaries Part 7

29 Jan 2010
Having seen a bear on my way back the last night, having had a nice talk with Angu and Sohini, having took a refreshing soothing hot water bath at 1 in the morning and having slept for 4 and a half hours, I was woken up by the screeching sound of my alarm. Reason - > 6 AM safari. I was damn sleepy. But I wanted to attend the safari too. So just rushed and ran to the bus. On the way, Godwin shouted - 'Hey Look, Elephants!!' and I woke up to a pleasant surprise - some 5 -6 wild elephants some 10 metres away. It was such a nice sight. We started again, reached the interpretation centre and took the safari from there. I was again sleeping on the bus before all of us stopped to see a herd of deers. Too many of them! And then Mayo falls. It was beautiful. Then we saw a few birds, an eagle, a peacock.I was so hoping to see a tiger though :( Anyways. It was time for us to go back before I realised. We were back at the resort by 1030, had our breakfast, packed our stuff and started for an event at Charing Cross. It was the garlanding of Gandhiji's statue. Various statements like 'Nature has enough for everyone's need but not for everyone's greed' and 'Be the change you want to see in the world' were floating around. Following this we went for shopping - oils, soaps, incense, tea, home made chocolates and what not!I bought two mufflers as well. We saw the bee museum and then rushed off to the bus to be taken for another lecture on economy and climate change. It turned out to be a discussion more than lecture. At lunch the media people (deepak et al) left. We finished and reached SAH. It was almost 7 by the time we reached. There was a beautiful arrangement for dinner that night at SAH with folk songs, dance and camp fire. There was a lot of electricity wastage though :( Then we had a lot of work. Presentations, declarations, discussions and so on. Our tribe sat in my room to work on the presentation. We agreed on a basic framework and Colin agreed to do the photos. The hectic yet enjoyebale day ended at 2 AM.

Nilgiris Diaries Part 6

28 Jan 2010

This day was for the visit to Dry Deciduous forest.
There was a small talk by IISC Research fellows on their project work in that area. After that Gokul sir told us about the basics of acrylic painting of landscapes. Many of us tried. It was great fun. Then we had another one of our sessions of outdoor lunch. Larissa and Caroline missed this because they were not feeling well. Even Colin and Amy were a little under the weather :(. Following this we went to Mudhumalai Interpretation Centre. We had a session with the field director there. This session was highly motivating and inspiring. Afterwards, we saw elephants being fed as per their dietary requirements. There was one small baby elephant who was really cute. She seemed hungry and after being fed, looked adorable. Tuskers looked awesome. We clicked a lot of photos. We were supposed to take an evening safari to the Mudhumalai forest but unfortunately we couldn't. We went to Bear Mountain Resort where we were supposed to rest for the night. It was an amazing place. I, Dinju and Sohini were roommates. Many people opted for a tree house. The place was beautiful!! We had a small campfire. Everyone shared a lot of interesting stories! Angu in particular had an eventful day. It was also Ayan's birthday the next day. So we cut a cake for him. Zhao topped his exams and was about to experience the Indian way of congratulating - bumps- but Anu Ma'am saved him. Then few people went for dancing and rest came back to talk. All in all, another fabulous day spent at a beautiful place.

Nilgiris Diaries Part 5

27 Jan 2010
The last night was still posing its pressure on my tiny weeny already tired mind. So I didn’t want to get up early. But 0600 AM had started looking reasonable by then. It was going to be an exciting day as per our schedule. We were going to go to Upper Bhavani. After breakfast all of us were –‘On the bus’ in Anu Ma’am’s words J. She is really great! And Rajani Ma’am! Managing a bunch of 38 people from across the globe at a place where we were to reach in a 3 hours drive on meandering roads. Hats off to both of them. We had decided to sit in groups according to our tribes but that dint help much as most of the travelling time was spent avoiding motion sickness. Most of the people (at least me) slept for most part of the journey. I sat with Amy first and later went on the last seat because the open window was making me feel cold at the first seat. We stopped twice on the way. Once for the Upper Bhavani dam and once a few kilometers from Upper Bhavani. There, me and Sohini went off to look around. We took a different path and saw an isolated house. I, being my inquisitive self, went ahead and knocked. It was open. When we didn’t get any response I went in and lo! We saw beer bottles and playing cards there. It didn’t look like a good option to stand there and invite any unwanted trouble. When we came out, we couldn’t hear anyone down the slope. It seemed we had been there for too long and so we started running towards our bus. As expected, we heard people shouting for us. We were the last ones to reach. Somehow we were spared any warnings. We reached Mukurthi National Park at 1130 AM. We were told that it is really tough to get permission to enter that protected forest area. Quite excited, the trekking began! It was an amazing place. We saw frost bite suffered tress, shoal forest patches in the grasslands, folded mountains, beautiful river, deers and heard Anu and Rajani Ma’am telling us about a deer being chased by a wild dog. We clicked lots of pics. Saw Rhododendrons – native to Nilgiris, elephant and tiger’s scat J . Somaiya gave us some wild berries to eat from there. They were really yummie. After the trek we were back at the entry gate of Mukurthi National Park by 1430 and had lunch. The river water was looking very nice, pristine and too tempting to resist. Me and Narmadha ran off thinking we will come back fast unnoticed. To our surprise there were already some 4-5 people down the slope. Godwin, Khaled, Anirudh all of them were there. I kept my feet in water. It was so refreshing and smoothening. All of them were throwing stones in the river to capture ripples in pics. When me and Narmadha were in water, stones grew bigger L . I got a little drenched. Godwin showed us how animals drink water from river. I tried that too! Back in bus, I slept all way through, to avoid motional sickness. Then we went to a Toda hamlet, saw toda home. It was a nice experience. Finally started for SAH, were really tired by the time we reached. But then we had a lecture on land slides. It turned out to be real informative. After dinner the tribe discussions continued and suggestions for declaration. Finally we all went to our respective rooms to pack for the next day – Mudhumalai

Nilgiris Diaries Part 4

26 Jan 2010
The arduous task of getting up early, way earlier than my usual time, was becoming a little easier by now. Got up at 0600, got ready and then off to breakfast. I don’t know how but I savored fruits for breakfast a lot. My mom would have been so happy had she been there. At 0815 we had a session by Mr. Edwin on journalism. That lecture was a real wow. He had done his background work well. He got all relevant stories with him and he had studied our profiles and projects pretty well. He gave powerful sentences with impact. He taught us about the relevance and magnitude, about responsible journalism, 5 Ws and an H and a lot of examples. Then we did a flag hoisting because it was our republic day :). We sang national song and national anthem. Then we went to CSWCRTI (Central Soil and Water Conservation, Research and Training Institute). The lectures there were quite scientific and technology oriented. We were supposed to go for a field visit there but the time went by in questions all of us had for the faculty and scientists there. So we directly went for Dr. Tarun's talk on Todas – quite an emotional one, looked like Dr. Tarun had a very passionate connect with the Toda tribe. At lunch table, Dina looked a little disappointed by all the scientific lectures, given that she was from Social Sciences background. We discussed on Politics, Policies and Education amongst other. After lunch we went to see the Tribal Research Centre. Some of the pictures there were really moving. Tired with a lot of travelling by then, we were back on our buses for Godwin’s house. He grows barley and other cereals down the slope of his house!! The flowers around were really pretty. One more thing everyone noticed there was his dog! We had tea and patties over there and then finally started back for SAH. Our republic day happened to be the most responsibility giving day for us at the camp too. We were told about the expected outcomes of this action trail at the Blue Mountains - the declaration – the general one and Nilgiris specific one and the team tribal presentations. Having known the expectations, all the champions got started the same day. Dinner after, everyone was seen discussing within their groups on their observations for the days so far. 2 people from each tribe were nominated for the declaration as the entire group doing one document would have been cumbersome to manage. Irulars sent Shruti and Somaiya for Nilgiri Specific and General Declaration. The long day finally ended and the warm room looked so pleasant and welcoming that all I could do after writing it was to sleep!!

Nilgiris Diaries Part 3

25 Jan 2010
The day began at 0600 AM in the morning. And it started with a cup of steaming hot tea, more than welcome after the crazily cold night, courtesy SAH staff (May God bless them all!) At 0630 I woke up my roommate Dinju. While she did her daily chores, I ironed my clothes. Then I took my bath and had breakfast. We left at around 0845 AM L 45 minutes later than the expected time; though it was our fault not getting ready on time. Every minute was being counted, especially by Sohini who wanted to spend maximum time possible in the virgin forest - The Longwood Sholas – otherwise out of bound. It was just amazing. The thick dense forests covered the entire canopy. The small swamps which, as we were told, turned out to be a huge source of water. We couldn’t see much fauna though - there was a Bisen and a giant Malabar squirrel. Sohini spotted a few birds and got a leech on herself. But otherwise it was great fun. We clicked a lot of pics. On our way back we were enjoying with songs. Sundar (Nepal) knew so many Hindi songs and old ones at that. We just got lost. Then we went to Sullivan Memorial and interacted with students of riverside school. One girl, Zen, was proving to be too hard to convince over the fact that climate change can be combated and sustainable development is possible. Her points of discussion were really thought provoking. A healthy discussion made us all probe deeper for the plausible solutions to environmental concerns. After lunch there we went to kodannad view point. It was simply superb. Gokul sir taught us how to draw a basic landscape and well I would like to think that I did a decent job J . From there we started for Wellington theatre to watch Avatar (the third time for me) I slept throughout the whole journey. Movie was good and we reached here at about 0945 in SAH. Had dinner and then a visit to Godwin's room to collect our kits. The jacket, t-shirt and pants – all were oversize for meL, but at least the cap fitted. And then, retirement to our rooms – greedily waiting for the next day adventure!

Nilgiris Diaries Part 2

24 Jan 2010
Got up at 0540, rushed, but fortunately or unfortunately electricity went off, so slept again and got up at 0620. It was almost time for the breakfast by the time I got ready so ran for it (can’t live without food off late ;) Since I was done with packing the previous night itself, came to board the bus for SAH. I sat with Haripriya (Chennai). Sohini (Pune), Gautham (Kerala), Dina (Norway), Angu (Assam), Larissa (Germany), Khaled (UK) and Mohammed (Libya) were all there.. a truly diverse international trip ;) - we were singing songs all the while. Dina joined us too. We stopped on the way to see landslides. Nilgiris has had a terrible encounter with the landslides in November 2009. There were a lot of monkeys too – and some lemurs. We had tender coconut on the way and a lot of fun :) But this tender coconut water came with its share of trouble. I had to stop the bus in between in search of a toilet :(. We reached coonor at around 1 PM. After being allotted the rooms (my room had a fire place and an antique feel:)), we started checking out the place. I was in room 3 with one cute girl from Kerala, Dinju Ann Sebastian , Anu Ma'am and Rajani Ma'am in 1, Godwin in 2, 4 guys in 4, that room was huge, Shruti, Dina and Haripriya in 6 and so on.. (That’s all I remember actually ;)). We had our lunch which comprised of rice, chicken, rasam, banana, soup, some curry. It was nice. Then began a series of lectures. We had a talk with Mr. Krishnan on environmental laws and policies. I was feeling damn sleepy (Sorry Anu Ma’am but I was really tired) At around 5 almost all lectures were over, including the inaugural one by the Nilgiris district collector. We came out for tea, then there was a skit in Tamil (street play) on afforestation. Later we danced on dholak - it was so much fun. I talked to Ranjeeta Buti ma'am. Later we were called in for a small briefing for tomorrow - a visit to Longwood Shola forests. Anu ma'am was speaking of leeches which scared a lot of people. We were advised to wear open toed shoes and full pants. This session was followed by a tribal meeting and then dinner. Dinner was nice too - noodles, soup, rice, daal, rasam and roasted potato. After dinner we had a session on NBR wildlife, which was really really nice. JP Sir (CR Jayaprakash) gave this presentation and he had been on over 75 treks. Wildlife photography and personal stories related to them, who wouldn’t like it? Then I took pics of beautiful paintings in the halls and finally came off to my room - talked a lot to my roommate – Dinju. She is an athlete! That’s why so fit. We were supposed to get up by 6 AM the next morning. So, all I did after writing this entry was to say - Good Night :)

Nilgiris Diaries Part 1

23 Jan 2010
I slept at around 1 AM, dead tired after coming from Tassu's reception. I wore a sari, pink one and I think I was looking kinda cute. Pavithra came along for it was quite late in the night. I packed all my stuff before going to the reception as I had to catch the 0835 flight in the morning. Put 3 alarms from 530 to 545 just so I don’t miss the flight. I took 0615 aero express and reached the airport at 7. And then.... my flight was delayed and delayed and delayed... :(
It was 1310 when I finally boarded the fight. I slept off the moment I got my seat. A person by the name of Balaji (another participant of the action trail) was supposed to pick me up. He came some 10 minutes late. Meanwhile I called up Dad and told him that I had reached the first stop of my week long trip - Coimbatore a 1440. The airport was not very impressive but ok. Balaji introduced himself and off we left for IFGTB (Forestry Genetics College). I saw Anu ma'am, Archana, Haripriya, Sunndeep, Shruti, Bharadwaj, Sohini , Angshuman , Gautham and so many familiar faces. I was thrilled. I just picked up my handbag and left with the group for a lecture on carbon sequestration and open top chamber. It was a little monotonous but later on with questions became quite interesting. We saw the open top chamber experiment. I liked the place. It was so green. I asked for the way the data was stored and analyzed and hopefully I plan to look at it from IT point of view. Then we visited Gass Museum - it was awesome. So many stuffed animals, birds, eggs, reptiles, insects, wood and God knows what. Sohini filled me in with the details of what happened before I reached. I missed tree plantation at SACON :(. We them started for KKID - it was BEAUTIFUL. I got a single occupancy room ground floor SG 4 I guess. It was very pretty. Sundeep and Ayan were on either side of me. Oh yeah, the journey from FGC to KKID. In bus I sat with Dina- A girl from Norway, 2 years younger to me, with really pretty eyes. We talked about our respective countries. And I realized I should do some background work before coming - I dint know the population of Coimbatore :(. Anyways, back to KKID. I got my allowance (1000 bucks), a mosquito repellant cream and a water bottle. Then we were briefed about our tribes ( we were divided into 4 tribes - mine is Irulars and our color is green & brown) we got our respective color bracelets. In my group I knew Gautham & Shruti. Then we went for dinner. It was good. I ate a lot as usual :) Back to the room. I was tired; Archana, Shruti, Bharadwaj and Sundeep came to my room for watching a movie. Sohini got her new laptop. Sandeep suggested some movie from his hard disk - which was yuck. We stopped it in between. We watched an episode of 'How I met your mother' instead and then everyone headed to their rooms. Shruti gave us all chocolates. And then, I packed rest of my stuff, kept alarm for 0530 to 0545 and slept off :)