सफ़र

मैने तो घर बना दिया था  रेल्वे को. पिचले १४० घंटे मी १०३ घंटे ट्रेन मे था. क्यू? पता नहि. शायद कद्दू जैसा मुह बना के झूठ मूठ का साहिब बनकर २-४ घंटे में पुरा देश घूम के, लाखो रुपये कमानेका नाटक करने वाले माशिनोंसे घीन आ गयी थि. 

लगाव हो गया था , ३ लोगो में १ पराठा बातंणे वालों का ,  नाम पूंच ने से शुरू कर के कुच मिंटो मे गर्लफ्रेंड को पटाने कि सलाह देने वाले देहरादून के फौजी का , १ फ्रुटी खरीद के २१ साल कि बिवी और ४ - २ साल के बच्चोंको घुट घुट पिलाने वाले (लेकिन खुद एक बुंद न पीने  वाले) मजदूर का AC दिब्बे के बहर आलमारी मे बैठकर दारू पीने  वाले और १५ मिनिट में ७५ रजाइया ठीक से रखने वाले attendant का … चंबळ कि किनारे दिखने वाले सूर्यास्त का …। 

जब तक मैने लगभग एक स्टेशन पार किया ,  तब तक मेरे दोस्त दिल्ली से मुंबई से गुवाहाटी से चेन्नई जा कर आगे निकाल चुके थे  … मैने इतना तो नहि देखा ……पर 

चावल और नारियल को गोद  में लेकर तमिलनाड , 

सुपारी  और सागवान को पेहना हुआ  कर्नाटक , 

संत्रा और केले को प्यार करता महाराष्ट्र , 

निंबू , तमातर और मिर्च का तिलक  लगाए मध्य प्रदेश , 

सरसो और मकोसे भरपूर हरयाणा और 

गंगा यमुना के गोद मी खडा उजाड उत्तर प्रदेश …. 

इन सब को देखकर में जब दिल्ली पहुंचा और आसमान मे देखा , तो ५-६ विमानो मे उडते ५-६०० लोगोंको अभीभी लग रहा था कि वो इस देश को चला राहे है !

भारत मी एक दिन मे ३००० ट्रेने चलती है . एक ट्रेन १५ दिब्बो मे ७० के हिसाब से १००० लोगोंको ले जाती है . मतलब मै जब रात को घर में सोता हु और सुबह उठता हुं उसके बीच ३० लाख लोग अपने शेहेर से १००० कि. मि. दूर जा चुके होते है . 

चावल कि भारी गंजी के बाजू मी जब खेत में मजदूर को देखता हुं तब परिंदे और बाज कहां दिखेंगे येह समज जाता  हुं .  

सागवान के पेड देखता हुं तो बांधवगढ पास है येह समज जाता  हुं . 

साफ सुधरे शेहेर से गाडी गुजरती है तो शेहेर के बाहर कितनी गंदगी दिखेगी येह समज जाता  हुं . और सामने वाले के पूंचे गये पेहेले सवाल से उसका प्रांत , और अकल समज जाता  हुं  !!!

हिमालय से केरळ तक के सारे लोगोंसे , पेडोंसे , पान्छियोन्से , रंग -गंध से पेहचान करवाने वाली , सूरज तारे , नदी , पर्वत , तालाब इनसे बाते करवाने वाली , और खुद से बाते करने का मौका देने वाली येह सफ़रे ……. अफसोस … अब बहुत कम दिखाई देगी …। !!!!!

Right click... + Refresh !

Childhood of my generation was spent in front of Windows ! As kids; looking at park outside through it & as teenagers; on screen ! In later phase, in (most often) situation when we felt like throwing hot water on computer because it just moves the mouse but behaves like a brainless Dumbo or it fails to open so called heavy photo or it keeps on & on loading some simple excel sheet..... a command always came for our psychological rescue to make us feel like saving our world...RIGHT CLICK+REFRESH !

If I remember well, it did not do anything specific & I am sure even Mr. (Richy Rich) Gates also have remotest idea what his engineers had drunk when they manufactured REFRESH command. It was never related to the root cause of the slow down of machine. But, it definitely provided us a feeling that in extremely devastating situation, there is still something in your hand to be controlled.

To relate this with real life, I spent past two weeks in such brain exploding days. The weather was cyclonic, no electricity, no water & being victim of everything frustrating which can possible happen to single person at single time. This 'not so welcoming' rain had screwed up routine pretty badly & similar to a 'hanged' computer which collapses more deeply with every new 'click', we were doing more & more mistakes in panic to make our life miserable.

The only thing to our relief should have been a sponsored weekend to exotic resort in Bali so that special scientists from NASA under supervision of Mr. Modi rebuild my town when I was enjoying my pina collada in an Hammock on whitest beach sand on mother Earth. As we know that only two species get these kind of services. Drunken Macaca Fascicularis & James Bond.

So obviously, nothing of that sorted came to me. But then; while cleaning moisturized wooden cupboard of my old documents with extreme tiredness & reluctance, I found a piece of small note written by my teacher to my dad when I was 12 years old saying; “Handwriting of your Son is so pathetic that each letter reminds me of Picasso”. This reminded me not only my awful Hand Writing but whole childhood, school, Teacher, punishments & everything.

After couple of minutes looking at the beautiful memories of my school days through that paper note, I was refreshed & all set to happily finish the cleaning. No more a trip to bali was needed !

Here is a thing ! The note & content on it had absolutely no connection with the problems I was facing that moment. It could not give me solution how to protect my house from leaking roof, How to save my expensive equipments from Thunders, how to pump out water logged in my basement. But, it definitely proved a thought process which ran through my nerves & gave me energy & temorary motivation to just finish the job I was doing. There are many simple things which can trigger your hormones like this. A 2 minute call to your mother, Last piece of your favorite chocolate, A blossom on your garden plants, An unexpected article about your favorite singer, An old family photo & so on...

The funniest part is we always find so much satisfaction, joy, happiness in very very simple, basic things generally around us. We do not need to buy a new computer every time it behaves weird. The solution often lies in the mouse right below your right hand towards the right side !

Fun of the fun !!!

दिवस: रविवार 

वेळ:  रात्रीचे १२.००

ठिकाण: घर . 

पात्रे: बंडू , बंडूची बायको आणि बंडूचा १ वर्षाचा मुलगा - छोटू . 

बंडू : आज गडबडच झाली ना . चायनिस खायला नाहीच मिळालं . परत नेहमीच्या इडल्या घ्यायला लागल्या .

बंडू ची बायको : गडबड काय त्यात . मज्जा आली . छोटू  बीच वर काय खेळत होता ना . माझे तर पाय दुखायला लागले मागे पळून पळून . हा हा हा. 

बंडू : पण भारी जेवायचं  होतं  ते राहून गेलं पुन्हा . 

बंडू ची बायको : तुझी सटकलीये का ? मी बीच वरचा फोटो दाखवत्ये आणि तू काय जेवायचं बोलतोयस . भूक लागली आहे का . मस्त इडल्या तर चोपल्या कि मगाशी . . . झोप आता . 

बंडू : ????

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वेळ: रात्रीचे ७.००

ठिकाण: चाईना टाऊन हॉटेल .  

बंडू ची बायको :  आपण परत जाउया. इथे खूप चांगला मेनू नहिये. आणि AC पण जास्त आहे. ग्लास काचेचे आहेत, छोटू  फोडेल. खाली गुळगुळीत फारशी आहे, त्याला खेळता पण नाही येणार. आणि खूप वाजले आता . तो रडरड करेल. 

बंडू : OK . पण जे आपण नेहमी घेतो ते सूप्स आहेत .  बाहेर पण बसू शकतो. आणि लगेच मागवलं तर २० मिनिटात होईल जेवण . तसाही तो ९ वाजता झोपतो. 

बंडू ची बायको : अं . . . . . . .  नाही , नको .  आपण जाऊ . 

बंडू : चलो . इडली पार्सल घेऊन जाऊ . 

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वेळ: दुपारचे ३.००

ठिकाण: घर . 

बंडू ची बायको : ........... आणि आज फक्त सोय म्हणून नाही जेवायचं काय बाहेर … फुल कोर्स मस्त जेऊ  . ५-६ महिने झाले कुठे गेलो नाही . लवकर जाऊ ७.३० ला म्हणजे निवांत बसता येईल . 

बंडू : बेस्ट . चाईना टाऊन , पिझ्झा हट , किंवा तू सांगशील तिथे जाऊ . 

बंडू ची बायको : आज चायनीस खाऊ ....... हुर्रे . . .  झक्कास पैकी AC हॉटेलात , चांगल्या डीशेस मध्ये जेवण . येस . . . .  !!! 

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Lessons for all Dads....

• Whatever you heard in afternoon, is true for afternoon. Don't apply in evening.
• You want to treat your wife, treat your son.
• Your son's slightest real OR assumed discomfort ... You are in trouble.
• Your comfort safety factor : 1.5% (When 7.00pm is decided return time, till 7.30pm is late).
• Your kids's comfort safety factor: - 15% (When 7.00pm is decided return time, 5.30 is already late).
• When you head out hoping for full course dinner, please leave home after eating 1 Maggie, 2 pieces of cake, Glass of milk, & a bar of 5 star chocolate at HOME.
• Sit back & relax; No matter whatever happens with your weekend evening. You are neither a reason nor a cause. You just happen to be there.
• Most Important: For your wife, Your kid, his comfort, Schedule & happiness is everything. Nothing else matters !!!

Believe it or not, it is much more fun in letting your kid drive your day for a while than fulfilling your dreams, aspirations , wishes for the day. You may be missing many things & may wish to do lot many more, still it is more fun than NOT doing it just because you 'think' it might reduce comfort of your kid a little !!!

Ko Aham ???

Strong, hard, non penetrable form of life, Rock. Omnipresent, 

Emotionless !

You break it in pieces to see what is inside; 

And once you know it, it is never whole again. 

Rock is such unique that it literally does not have inside & outside. It is one & same. 

We do not know it, & even if we do, 

we do not believe it !

Sun goes another way. Omnipresent, dominating even at distance. 

Careless !

Reaching & affecting upto last possible point, last possible object. 

Scorching, Loud, proud, self illuminating but importantly; 

the source of all life.

Here comes the Air. Omnipresent, Visually nothing, but for life-Everything. 

Weightless !

The only life that breaths itself. Free flowing but not self motivated. 

The air blower is different than imagination & far from vicinity. 

. Scuttle, colorless, odorless, tasteless. 

Like water…But still not water.

Whole earth is full of rock in the core, Air on surface & Sun as a spirit. We are nothing but something or everything of these. 

Emotionless, Careless, Weightless. When combined,

Fearless !!!

Harshad.

61 Sundays in a row !!!

My son is 4 months... we already are in Auroville... We... Me & my wife with my son.... Megh !

Parents came & went back to their routine. We all had chillout time together. Rashmi & my mom cooked, me & my dad finished it, I worked a lot with no stress & Megh approved everything !!!

But now...

From making tea in morning to dessert after dinner, from cleaning room in morning to putting the bed ready in night, from making my son smile at sunrise to making him stop crying to sleep at sunset... It is two of us who are responsible for the events. No matter we are ready or not for the day, it is on !

Then.......

I started squeezing my presentations, phone calls, mails & so called “drawings” in this schedule. Nothing fits ! Then I try hard ignoring Megh's voice... still nothing fits ! Then I start pushing tasks one by one to the time slot called “After Megh sleeps” . Soon I am left with no work before he sleeps & no energy after. Then I convince myself that let's take three days off from work, concentrate on household work, help Rashmi & look after Megh & then restart the work with refreshed mind. No surprise, I start enjoying the later part so much that three days holiday become two weeks in no time. Soon I start replying long business proposal mails late night with single line & stop taking calls from contractors. Soon it is three weeks & I have forgotten that somebody needs to pay my bills & that somebody is the phone call I just rejected.

One fine day after a month, I found myself super tense & forcefully motivate myself to work late night with extremely low work efficiency. Still, it is better as it gives me a false feeling of doing something without compromising on spending time with Megh. No income for one & half month. I am digging into my reserves. Incredibly alarming thing is that I have no reserves but incredibly beautiful thing is that I am witness to all events in Megh's life. He started turning, he starting crawling 3 steps, He starting crossing door frame, he started chewing nothing & everything, he started yelling loud.... All important events possible in 45 days. Remember, when you are 360 months old, 45 days is just a waiting period for passport verification, or delivery time for material on site....Nothing else may happen. But when you are 357 months back, things are different ! Way too much faster !

Almost two months & my holiday is still on. Megh is about to cross 6 month benchmark, All the projects I started when he was born are still on same stage. A big loss ! Believe me...No regrets at all. I could have done 20 presentations to client, could have made 20 drawings, Could have followed it up real hard with contractors..... I am sure the projects would have been same stage. But I would have been in even more catastrophic loss. Not knowing how exactly did Megh's first teeth appear ….... !!!!!

Yesterday was 61^st Sunday consecutively I lived. Longest holiday after 10^th exam ! I am having kind of similar feeling. Lot of satisfaction for enjoying time, still having a feeling that it can be little more. Lot of motivation for new life & learnt lot of things in these 61 Sundays. They have given me a very important backseat to think a lot in to basics. Learnt valuable lessons for next life from son & his innocent behavior. Thought a lot about how exactly life should move ahead & ready to take the driver's seat again.

I know hence forth also, whenever I go out of the house for work, I will be missing something back home....But now I will be having less regrets as memories of last two months are so intense & fresh that they are no more memories. They are the present. A real time present !!!