Travels & travail in Bihar/Bengal--6th trip.

Greenery belies the hunger and poverty which is all pervading, this whole as annexed by British as the Diwani of ‘Bengal, Bihar & Awadh’ still seems to be living in same Colonial or rather Mughal era, travel starting from Bagdogra and ending in Patna with focus point of course the Corn grainery which this area is symbolizing increasingly, for simplicity purpose area incharges of Bengal and Bihar would be known as Sirajudaula and Sher shah suri all great rulers of their era and area but felled by their follies.

Amar Sonar Bangla:
Be it Rabindra Sangeet or Nazrul geeti it all glorifies the physical beauty of Bengal and which it is, for perfect 5 minutes you admire that and than potholes get you, road to Maldah from Dalkhola is full of that, Congress flags, Pukurs(The village ponds) and of course small boats its really is all ethereal,Maldah is a big transhipment point.

Border :
Dusty road to Sonamasjid from Maldah is treacherous , and come this monsoon villagers can think of harvesting the corn which got spillaged from trucks whole of the way, the small border village dotted by mango orchards famous for ‘Maldah Aam’, daily does a commerce of around 250 trucks to Bangladesh which is just 100 mt away from Zero point, these days around 1500 MT of maize also crosses over.

Color of Lungi can differentiate between two religions but everyone is proud of Bangla heritage.

Monsoon wedding :
Road from Purnea towards khagaria, I notice many a decorated jeeps, full of gun totting boisterous males sitting everywhere except the tyres, blaring horns, showing every other vehicle on road their standing, that’s what whiskey does to you in 43 degree temperature these were the marriage parties and the lagan was for two days, Shershah phones to inform no hotels are available anywhere in the 250 km stretch from Katihar to Begusarai to Barauni, standing in no where land..mulling over the situation I note in India marriage is a big economic driver, hotel boom should be coming to Bihar anytime.

Gangajal :
Off the beaten track me/Sirajudaula find shelter in Bhagalpur, big ex army moustached guard guides us to the room, ‘Babu saab’ as upper castes are known in Bihar in new socialistic dispension are getting reality checks, this proud guard did stretch his hand for Bakhshish.The town bordering big corn belt of Naughacia is famous for blinding of prisoners and communal riots,with marriage season in full swing we thought better to stay in room rather than explore.

Lal Badshah :
Hasanpur our red fort is very near to Big corn belts of Mansi/Khagaria..road is full of villages and potholes, in front seat of the car I could hear Sirajudaula and Sher shah both scaring pants off the customer representative who had come all the way from Rajnandgaon with the stories of Kidnappings &naxalites found on this way and than suddenly hush fell, both had stopped play acting.. it was a bamboo jungle 4 kms long , made famous few years back when kidnappers used it frequently, I could hear sigh of relief from customer when we came to populated area once again.

Ek Duje ke liye :
Near Barh district on road to Patna whilst coming back, I notice a TN no truck in its efforts to save a pedestrian swing towards right and in process disoriented a fast moving marriage party jeep(Score TN-1, Bihar 0), it did hurt the pride of jeep driver and in its hurry to settle score one of guy jumps from moving jeep..albiet on wrong side falls and hurts himself(Score TN-2, Bihar-0),jeep stops.. truck stops two stick wielding man pull down the drivers and get first blood(Score TN-2, Bihar-1), mob joins.. situation seems bad driver and entrouge apologises(Score TN-2, Bihar-2), Truck starts, speeds and drivers takes out his head out of window says something in Tamil which I am sure is a profanity but do not understand(Score TN-3, Bihar -2), Jeep driver by now had lost the zeal still shouts which is a profanity and I perfectly understand(Final score TN-3, Bihar-3).

Imagine our team from different states settling matters this way!!!

Some how make it to Patna in time, harried and distraught from the traffic jam, the ‘Desi Blonde’ airline recepitionist greets me, I smile and think again of the graffiti

Neem ki dali chandan se kum nahin.
Aur…………………………………………………..
Hamar Patna bhi London se kum nahin.

Balwant Rai Mehta committee-Chapter IX

Kharagbahadur woke up to the chirping of Mynah on the Deodar tree beyond his garden across the street, it was late morning but in Nainital in Decembers are like that only and December 2008 was no different, woe to rains of last evening and the chilly winds somehow were able to penetrate the protected valley.He loved Naintal this time of year, hills stations were clean, hills sides were carpeted green enjoying the idleness after maddening crowd of summer, schools were closed for winter vacations and high court too was enjoying siesta of winters.
Its been five years since he left Chandigarh., life was moving along steadily in Chandigarh..Tony was a good paymaster but restlessness of doing something worthwhile always remained, enrolment in Law faculty of Chandigarh university was a dream come true, running a grilling regime ..he could not believe his eyes when three years later he was the distinction holder in many a papers doubling the joy was lapping up of Kharagbahadur by solicitor firm..”just cause” with pure intention of fighting for any cause which might be just or unjust but justified the fat money which came up with that.He rose up fast in hierarchy with a house in NCR, big car and career zooming up, he was the legal hawk, the back door manipulator, analyst cum risk manager all put together, he was the valued asset justifying all unjust causes of “ Just Cause”.
Padma his mother stayed with Kharag in Noida , Kharag still could not fathom the sadness in his mothers coupled with his own sense of restlessness..he wanted to run away, the move to bureaucracy of Uttranchal government in Law ministry seemed like a blessing , real contentment came up with move to Naintal..seat of high court of Uttranchal.Backdoor analysis changed to real court dramas, the theory was practiced by self now, in this era of economic doom..he relentlessely now waged a battle for state, doing a mamooth job of searching/identifying all old leases and land grabbings in state of Uttranchal, taking his professional bearings to status quo of bureaucracy..he was the blue eyed baby of principal secretary law and revenue, the billions worth of land in new era was aiding the government.
Kharag the ever analyst had never out of deference had churned his mind to sadness of his mother, with his energies now more synergized to his being he wanted a solution this uneasiness as well, maybe a Bahu for her solves the problem but girls were never forte of Kharag, he laughed to self remembering Huma.. the Chandigarh girl, how on his scooter that day he had stopped besides her to propose while she walked faster..it was really hilarious the way he hopped tagging along the heavy scooter and giving her the card..the disappointing reply of “Sorry I don’t make boyfriends” still could hear clearly, more heartbreaking for him seeing Huma come to Tony’s restaurant with a handsome male in the evening, all he could do was to hide in the shadows.(..to be contd)
(Purely a work of fiction any resemblance to persons living or dead is incidental)

YMCA - the first encounter

My first excursion beyond Astley hall happened when mom was taken to Kalhan hospital for a surgery. Private hospitals were still rare in Doon back then, and also the measly income often made the middle class junta to go to the government run Doon hospital situated in the heart of the city. But for specialized surgery, we decided to take mom to a private nursing home. We opted for Kalhan as it was one of the most popular in those days. Now, of course, the choices are not limited.

On the way to the hospital, sitting on the scooter behind my dad, I curiously looked at the shops in the area, and noticed that the name of the locality was Dilaanwaala baazar. This is not too far from Jakhan where the elite like Mayank and Dinu went for schooling and started right after the hathibarkala circle. Also, on the way, I noticed an old church where bunch of boys clad in white uniform were performing martial art routines. Commanding them was an old friend. At first I couldn't recognize him from far, but when I got closer, I was glad to see Anil, again - the same Anil who fixed up my bully, the giant, and who encouraged me to join his class. When I went up to him to say hello, he asked me to hang around and watch the class. The energy there was phenomenal, and when students yelled ‘Ayeee’ after their every determined move, the sound echoed through the fresh morning air and gave me goose bumps. I was sold without any marketing talk.

After continuous urges, dad got me admitted to the morning batch. They had one in the evening, as well, but it was full because of the summer vacation rush. I was not necessarily a morning person, but I had enough motivation to make it for this one. Having taken the specifications of the uniform from the accountant inside the church, we bough the cloth from Girdhaari lal's clothing shop in Paltan baazar and got the dress custom made by a tailor in the Kamal market who was an expert in sewing Taekwondo dress. This was immediately after my high school board exams were over and so there was plenty of time at hand - 3 months to be exact.

I stood in front of the mirror in the bedroom with white top and trousers, and carefully tied the top up by looping the white belt around my waist and tying it up in the front into a neat knot. I was determined to at least get to the next level of belt, which was yellow in color, by the end of the vacation. I felt a new chapter in my life was about to begin.

Next -> YMCA Taekwondo Routine

Path less travelled-Picturesque valley and alluring hills

Beautiful flowers on road to Dhanaulti, this road is called 'Phal patti' its an horticulturist paradise and many a research station wau alongwith resorts and restaurants, one fearture is 'Rhodendron juice' you get.


'Retiwala' , the lonely village as seen from farmland in Belonwala, this view can beat Kashmir anytime.

Thick Pines of 'New Tehri' fara away you can make out lines of Tehri Dam, spot it !

This tree a very old one, wanted to relive climbing over it after twenty five years in 'Belonwala'

Remeber it!, its our own 'Asan Barrage' while moving out of doon taking Chandigarh highway after crossing Herbertpur.

The 'Yamuna Canal'.

This would be difficult to you, its a path not so frequented, if you take highway from Kulhal on Himanchal border and reach 'Paonta sahib' and rather than moving towards Nahan-Chandigarh, want to reach Yamuna nagar faster , this is the way for all picturesque.

Have you ever used this road to reach doon from Rishikesh, its not your usual Doiwala highway, you take a very well made road from 'Rani Pokhri' to 'Bhogpur' from there to 'Thano' village and crossing 'Barasi' reach Raipur, its traffic free and keeps you hassle free.

View from 'Thano range'

Doon travellers generally miss, road from Haridwar to Rishikesh..Our Raiwala jungles might be thickest in world!!!

Rafa falls at French

The way Federer express never slowed down, once it picked up top speed, I had sort of become used to the idea that great players, once they are on the rise are unstoppable until their inevitable fall starts. That's why I had almost believed even before the French open started this year that Nadal would be in the finals, and I had also hoped for his clash there once again with Federer. The latter doesn’t seem to me to be in the same form, I am used to seeing, yet his victory over Nadal on a recent clay court duel had raised the hopes that another match between the two greats was quiet possible. However, Rafa fell today to 23rd seed Soderling, who played the biggest match of his life to reach the quarterfinals of any grand slam ever. In my opinion, this is a historic moment in the world of tennis. Chances of Roger Federer winning French open are much higher, now, and if that happens, he equals Pete Sampras's grand slam total.

This also shakes Nadal's confidence a bit and at the same time raises Federer's that Nadal is surely beatable especially when he has just beaten Nadal a few weeks ago. Even though, over the last few year, Nadal has improved significantly on the other types of courts than clay, and has filled up the gap between him and Federer, my assessment is Federer still has an edge over him, and he has shown that over and over again. This years Australian open is a clear example where he had an upper hand but gave away a won final in the last set. I believe he choked and couldn't handle Nadal's weight that he has been carrying on his mind for many years, now. So, with his recent win over Nadal, the latter losing on his own court in the fourth round, and a French open title under his belt (provided he wins), Federer can regroup himself and go on winning other grand slams that will make him the man with the most no. of grand slam titles, making him the greatest ever of sorts. Only time will tell.