Once a father…

Interesting stuff to share…Finally, after almost a month of hectic weekdays & more hectic weekends, I finally got 4 royal hours yesterday to spend the way I want; thanks to Bosky and her half day work on Saturday.

Predictably, I ended up in Landmark; but interestingly I ended up spending most of my time in Kids’ section..purchasing toys for Mishtoo and believe it or not, not even a single book for myself (record of sorts)! And I actually wanted to leave Landmark early..unbelievable!! Life changes…and how?

And then there was this moment of enlightenment…’You can take man out of the house, but you cannot take house out of a man!’ असेच अवचितअनिल अवचट आठवले…”आता मी इतका बाप झालोय की बाप नसतांना मी कसा होतो ते आठवतही नाही”! In my case, I do remember vividly…but the process is irreversible now! Here’s my happy Santa

Mishtoo - My happy Santa!

दिल की ही राह पकड कर चलिये…

ये बुझी, बुझी से राख मे,
क्यों ये अंगारे दहकने लगे,
अपनी हसरतों की आग है शायद;
जो ये शोले फिर सुलगने लगे|

दफना कर तमन्नाओं को अपनी,
जीं रहे थे बेमतलब जिंदगी युँ ही,
पनपते रहे दिलमे वो अरमान शायद;
जो पत्ते सुखी शाख पर, फिर फुटनें लगे|

मंजिल के लिये दिल फिर तडपने लगा,
फिर अनजान राहों से प्यार होने लगा,
मंजिल मिले, न मिले शायद;
नामुमकीन सफर के लिये फिर तरसने लगे|

दुनिया की रस्मों को छोड भी दिजिये,
अब दिल की ही राह पकड कर चलिये,
अपनी खुली सांस का असर है शायद;
जो मुरझाये हुए फुल फिर महकने लगे|

© Manish Hatwalne
(Originally written on : 25 Feb 2010)

Sharmila Irom – incredible fight!

I got to know about Sharmila Irom and her fight with the system only couple of days ago and I am still not able to come out of the shock. I got to know about her through Lokayat Group that I am part of, and I am cursing myself how can I be so ignorant about such a serious issue in my own country. But I am sure, unfortunately I am not in minority.

Sharmila is a poet and a journalist. She is on Hunger Strike since November 2, 2000 – yes, that’s right! She has been doing it for the last 9 years and this is her 10th year of hunger strike. Her fight is against the atrocious act – Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFPSA ). This act allows not just officers but even Junior Commissioned Officers and Non-Commissioned Officers of the army to search, arrest, and even kill any person on grounds of mere “suspicion”.Yes, they can kill anyone with impunity, without fear of persecution! And I am still unable to come out of shock after knowing this existence of this act in 7 north-east India for last 5 decades, yes – that is more than 50 years. And we talk about freedom and all ourselves world’s largest democracy???? And these are the facts that the media seldom discus – talk about all those omnipresent news channels and their “breaking news” coverage!!!

The least we can do is to spread awareness about her fight and support her in whichever we we can. That’s the purpose of this tiny post!

You can read more about here here -

• Wikipedia – Some details about here.
• Manipur Freedom – This is where you can really get exhaustive details about this courageous lady. You can also find out how you can support her.
• Sudeep’s Diary – An old post from Sudeep. Worth reading!

Justice Jeevan Reddy judicial commission appointed by the Indian government recommended repealing this atrocious act, AFPSA. But government is not acting on it. I believe Sharmila’s fight will be fruitful when this law is completely withdrawn. And that can only be done through public pressure, when we pressurize our government to do it – it’s still a democracy, right? Let’s hope it happens soon.

Here is my bit – Repeal AFSPA!

A article worth reading – Sevagram to Shodgram

An excellent article by Dr. Abhay Bang published in Marathi magazine Anubhav. You can read original article here –

http://www.eanubhav.com/Abhay%20Bang.htm

An excerpt -

महात्मा गांधींच्या विचारसरणीचा परिणाम माझ्यावर माझ्या जन्माच्या आधीपासूनच झाला, असं म्हटलं तर अतिशयोक्ती होणार नाही. माझे वडील अर्थशास्त्राचे प्राध्यापक. नागपूरला गांधींजींनी सुरू केलेल्या राष्ट्रीय कॉलेजात ते अर्थशास्त्र शिकवत. ते गोल्ड मेडलिस्ट होते. 1946चे दिवस होते. भारताला स्वातंत्र्य मिळेल, हे जवळजवळ स्पष्ट झालं होतं. वडिलांना अर्थशास्त्रात अजून बरंच काही शिकायचं होतं. त्यांना अमेरिकेची फेलोशिपही मिळाली होती. अमेरिकेत जाण्यापूर्वी एक आठवडा अगोदर वडिल म. गांधींना भेटायला सेवाग्राममध्ये दाखल झाले. भेटीसाठी दोन मिनिटांचा अवधी मिळाला होता. वडिलांनी आपण अर्थशास्त्र शिकायला अमेरिकेत जातो आहोत असं सांगितलं, तेव्हा बापू म्हणाले, “”अर्थशास्त्र शिकायचं असेल तर अमेरिकेत कशाला, ते भारतातल्या कुठल्याही खेड्यात जाऊन शिकता येईल.” वडील आश्रमाच्या बाहेर आले आणि त्यांनी आपलं तिकीट तिथंच शांतपणे फाडून टाकलं.

या सेवाग्राममध्ये माझं लहानपण गेलं.

गडचिरोलीत ना कोणी गांधी, ना कोणी विनोबा होते. पण त्यांच्या विचारांतून 6000 खेड्यांतले 6 लाख लोक एकत्र झाले आणि त्यांनी हा पराक्रम करून दाखवला. ज्ञान, संघटन, आंदोलन, परिवर्तन हे आपोआप घडत नसतं. लोक आले, शोधग्राम अस्तित्त्वात आलं.

Buying a Skoda? Think again…

Well, I am not really in market as of today to buy a Skoda, but have been reading horror stories about Harish’s experience on Team-BHP in last few days, and I am really horrified to say the least. He mentions that in his Skoda, parts worth almost Rs. 4 Lacs (Yes, INR 400,000) were replaced by spurious parts by the dealer, and Skoda just washed their hands off it. You can read the whole story here -
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/54881-skoda-dealer-changes-parts-my-car-consumer-court-car-not-returned-year.html

Moreover, it seems that it is not just one off exception. Many people have reported on Team-BHP forums about their horror experience about Skoda and its After Sales Service. In fact, Team-BHP has decided to stand up for the truth and they are prominently putting it up in a separate thread on their forum. You can read about it here -
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/55796-team-bhp-stands-truth-but-skoda-wants-instigate-team-bhp-its-users.html

There are just too many bad experiences posted by different people to shrug it off -
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/technical-stuff/56107-skoda-trouble-uh-oh.html
http://www.consumercomplaints.in/complaints/constant-problem-with-engine-c29800.html
http://www.consumercomplaints.in/complaints/skoda-fabia-c153945.html

You read, and decide yourself if some Auto Manufacturers are indeed taking premium Indian customers for a ride! As for me, I really do not know real facts of this matter; but I have decided that I’ll never, ever buy a Skoda in my life!