Ellora: Do not Visit unless you have spare batteries for your camera.

400 Kms and 10 hours' drive from Mumbai, and you can be at Ellora. The roads are good and the driving is pleasant. If you want Baba’s blessings, then side trip to Shirdi will not add too many kilometers to your odometer.

One can take 55 minutes' flight costing approx. Rs.4000/- to Aurangabad. Alternative is an overnight train that drops you at 4.00AM or a day train called Intercity taking you to Aurangabad by 2.30, afternoon. On reaching Aurangabad by plane or train, you can hire an air-conditioned taxi for Rs.1200 to 1500 for the day and head to Ellora

but I would say

Do not visit Ellora if you don’t have spare batteries for your cameras.

 Mumbai-Aurangabad

It is not 'Pawar' but vehicle No. 4912

Kailash Temple. Main cave, carved out of single rock, starting from Top to lower levels.

The magnificent pillar. (The shadow reminds you of the moving shadow from the movie Mackenna's Gold)

wall was painted 1400 years ago. All temple walls were smoothly coated and painted; but now we can see only small patches.

The carvings similar to these are everywhere and in large number. Each one is different and better than previous one.










Wall painting ( Nobody is looking after nor has any protection)

To get this view , one has to climb the hill from which the entire temple is carved. The view is spectacular and one can get true idea of the magnitude of the caves.

The finest creation by the man and The God

500$ : Found

My sister found $ 500, nicely clipped together, in a parking lot outside a shopping mall in Sydney. She inquired around if anyone has lost any cash. Nobody claimed. She went to a nearby police station and deposited the money there. Even policeman on duty was surprised to see somebody bringing money to police station and not quietly taking it home.

 He said, “Madam, there is no precedent for such and I cannot give you receipt for this. All the same, give me your address and phone number. If anybody comes to claim the money we shall hand over the money after careful verification of facts”. Then he took out an envelope from the drawer , wrote my sister’s address and phone number on it, kept the money inside, sealed the envelope and said to my sister,” Madam you can go now. We shall do the needful and inform you accordingly”.

My sister came home very pleased at herself for being an honest citizen, but at the same time, somewhere in a corner of her mind, doubting the policeman’s intentions.

Three months passed and my sister had completely forgotten the incidence. One fine day, she received an envelope by post from same police station. The envelope contained a letter from Police station praising my sister’s action and 500$ bank pay order.  The letter also said that nobody had come to claim the money; hence they were sending the money back to her.

How many of us can think that following is possible

(1)    One would look around to find out if anyone has lost money

(2)    Nobody will try to claim money when some idiot is moving in public place inquiring if anyone has lost money

(3)    One would go to police station to deposit money

(4)    Nobody claims money in three months

(5)    POLICE RETURN MONEY TO THE FINDER AFTER THREE MONTHS

What would happen if one finds equivalent of 500$ in

(A)   India: (Rs.25000): Too many people will notice the fallen cash at the same time and there will be riot. Police will come after some time and take money to police station. What happens next is anybody’s guess.

(B)   Pakistan: (Rs.45000) Too many people will notice at the same time and there will be riot. Police will not dare to come, and all the same, people will burn police station and blame it on USA

(C)   Nepal:  (40000 NPR) : In all likelihood, it will be Indian currency and nobody will pick it up because all will know it is fake currency printed by Dawood in Pakistan and is on the way to India.

(D)   Bangladesh: (40000Taka) Too many people will notice at the same time but nobody will dare to touch. The local Landlord will send his servant to collect the money and the matter will end.

(E)    China: (3150 RMY) somebody will quickly take it home, start new industry for making Apple or Microsoft products, and export those around the world.

(F)    Russia: (15000RUB) Nobody will touch the money. KGB will keep all round vigil to find out if money is planted by CIA

(G)  Dubai: (does not matter) Nobody will pick them up as everybody would know that the notes must be thrown by some Shaikh after using them as toilet paper.

(H)   Afghanistan: (24500AFN) The fastest man picks up and runs to buy brand new AK47.

(I)     Saudi Arabia: (does not matter) some poor Indian worker picks up and then they chop off his hands for robbery.

(J)     Zimbabwe: (25000 Trillion Zimbabwe Dollars, rate at the moment) One cannot drop equivalent to 500US $ in Zimbabwe in local currency. Equivalent to 500 US $ means one 20 Ton truck load.

Paying Respect at Kargil War Memorial

Many of us have seen film ‘Lakshya’ starring Hritik Roshan, Preeti Zinta and AB. In the film, it is shown that some shepherds notice infiltrators from Pakistan and report the same to Indian army. In other scene, we see bodies of ‘5’ Indian soldiers who were tortured to death by Pakistanis. We all watch this thinking them to be just the fictional parts of the film, not knowing that these are the actual incidences which took place on May 03 and May 05 1999, respectively.  Our country is permanently indebted to those shepherds and the five brave soldiers.

Though it is very well known to all, I feel I have to state some details about the Kargil War. The war was fought between May 03 and July 26, 1999. Since then, July 26 is celebrated as Kargil Vijay Divas. The major offensive by Indian army started on 06 July, 1999. Indian Air Force lost one MIG21, One MIG27 and one M17 and total 8 crew members, during Operation Safed Sagar.  Total 30000 Indian troops were involved in Kargil war. The official casualty figures as 527 dead and 1,363 wounded.

Two years back, I and my wife were on our road trip, Mumbai-Leh-Mumbai. The trip was stretched over 35 days and 7000kms in our sweet little Tata Indica. We were on our Srinagar-Sonmarg-Kargil section. The completely unadulterated nature, lofty peaks, chill in the air, constant company of Indus River and everything else about the drive was divine. The complete loneliness, isolation and the thoughts of being so near to the line of control (LOC) was little scary. Naturally, we were discussing Kargil War and bravery of our soldiers. As we were approaching kargil, suddenly on the left hand side, emerged this beautiful ‘DRAS WAR MEMORIAL’.  

 (This wall has names of martyrs engraved on it)

 I got down asking the guard at the gate if we could go inside, while my wife parked the car, in tree shade. (One can see me wearing shorts, standing near the guard)

We were allowed inside. We were also given a guide to explain the details of the war and significance of the memorial. There, a wall is erected on which the names of all the martyrs are engraved. We were moved. We stood in front of the wall for a while, with our heads bowed down with respect and gratitude for those who gave away their lives so that people like us can enjoy our freedom.  Then, we were escorted to the room where “Shahid Kalash’ (Ashes of Martyrs) was kept.

(Shri.Ombir Singh, who was our guide, needs special mention. We could feel his intense feelings when he was narrating the entire war to us)

It was our most natural reaction to remove our foot wares and to pay our most heartfelt respect by touching our foreheads on ground in front of “Kalash”.  Our actions were noticed by the commanding officer who was standing in the next room. He called us to his cabin and offered us some snacks and a warm cup of tea. We were surprised to receive such hospitability, and wondered if they offer such treatment to everyone who visits the memorial.  Our doubts were soon cleared when he said,” Saab, many people come here. They move around, take photographs, joke and laugh, touch a few things here and there and leave. They treat this place as one of the sightseeing spot they have to visit and no more. This is the first time I am seeing somebody paying honest, heartfelt respect to my dead brothers.”

Please Do Not Tell Anyone!!!

There was an old man who was very gentle and kind.

 
who had nothing but an elegant horse as his only companion.

 Then there was a rich, greedy baron, who desired to get that horse by any means.

In spite of all persuasion, force and hefty offers the old man refused to part with the horse. One day baron dressed himself as sick person and collapsed in front of old man's shack. Old man offered to help in whatever way he could. The baron said that he was very sick and was going to the doctor in next village who had remedy for the sickness.
As sick man was unable to walk, the old man offered that he could ride his beloved horse to go to the doctor. The baron promised to return the horse on the way back  and rode off.
Many days passed but the baron obviously did not return the horse.
The old man was heartbroken and had stopped helping other needy persons, as well.
After a few days, the crafty baron came to the old man's house, riding the very horse he had stolen from the old man.
The old man was shocked beyond imagination when baron told him that he stole the horse disguised as the sick person.
After recovering from the initial shock, he did not curse the baron but said " Sir, you can keep the horse, but please do not tell anyone that you stole the horse disguising as a sick person; because if many people hear this story, then they will stop helping those who might be really sick and needing help." 

When The Sun Is Setting

Beautiful, is it not? Setting sun brings so many happy memories to our mind. We think of bright hues of the sky, the pleasant breeze, and the company of friends or of somebody very special and close to heart. We see the red cherry changing colors of waves or peaks of distant mountains. We thank God for all creation, this land, this light, this water, this sand. We thank God for all those beautiful things He has bestowed on us. We thank him for life. We thank him for our past, present and future. We also thank him for the dark night that is on close heels of the setting sun. We thank him even for the darkness of the night because we know for sure that there is going to be a bright sunny morning to follow. But everybody is not that lucky. There are some advanced age seniors who think that this might be their last sunset. Worse still, is the fact that there are some seniors who want this to be their last sunset. We all are going to witness such sunset sooner or later in our lives. We all are going to experience a hopeless sunset with no future. Our bodies will be old and our joints will be painful. Our minds will be blank and our eyes will have no sparkle. Is it scary? I think not. Why should it be scary if all of us have to go through that? We have to accept it and help those who are old and tired. No, no, please do not think that I am talking about doing something noble or charitable.  There is a simple rule that when we supposedly help others we are actually paving our way for accepting help with dignity and with a guilt free mind when we need help, assistance or support.

One section of my mind is always occupied by thoughts about Cancer Prevention, Symptoms and causes and by cancer patient care. Palliative care of cancer patient is a very specialized topic. I have my own opinions based on experience, about the same. I shall be blogging about these as well but this post is about our responsibilities towards our very old seniors.

There are many things we can do for our aged seniors. We can spend few minutes daily with them chatting about their good memories, about sports and films or even juicy gossips as if they are of our generation. Reading a book or watching a film together on your computer will make them very happy.  Remembering them on their birthdays, anniversaries and festivals make them wholeheartedly enjoy special days. Gifts are always special, but at their age, electronic gadgets, collectibles, and clothes are not much important to them. Tasty food from the joints they like or sugar free cakes and sweets if they are diabetic will be highly appreciated by them.  The list can be big and everyone can think of numerous ways to make their lives more pleasant.

It is important that we must not harm our seniors' self respect and dignity. We must bear in mind that nobody is pleased to be in a position of needing help. I remember an incident in a Mumbai local train compartment to which I was witness. It was a practically empty compartment on a Sunday morning. An old man was slowly moving between the aisles leaning heavily on his walking stick. Suddenly the train jerked rather violently, probably it was changing tracks. The jerk made the old man lose his grip on the walking stick and he fell down on the floor with his walking stick tossed away to some distance. Many of us rushed to help him but he sternly said, “Please don’t, I can manage”.  With some effort, he got up, picked up his walking stick and sat on an empty seat. One could clearly see that he was not sorry for falling but he was proud of being able to manage his own affairs. He was telling all of us “I CAN”.

30 Minutes at Jaugram

On my way from Patna to Kolkata our train halted at Jaugram station for about 30 minutes, due to some problems on the railway line ahead. Jaugram is a very insignificant station and hardly any trains other than passenger trains halt there.
The compartment conductor was very prompt in switching off the air-conditioner as he was not sure of the duration of the halt and the juice in backup batteries.

Since it was not possible to sit in the compartment, I walked around and I was so very pleased that I did so.
This is a picture of the control room of Jaugram station. Impressive! Isn't it? I was told by the controller that from the control room, he can control trains within 40 Kms on either side.

While waiting, I was lucky to visit a small workshop nearby where they were making Durga idols.

Then I saw the state of art 'Rest Room ' at station and laughed :)

But my laughter vanished when I reached Kolkata. Now I know why life is better in the villages.

Shape Matters

I was on a short visit to Alang, Bhavnagar, Gujarat. Alang is the world's largest ship breaking center. My night halt was at Lion Lords Inn, Rajula. I had booked a room online after going through a very attractive website. The hotel was true to all the claims on the website but for the 'Swimming Pool'. I could not use the swimming pool because 'Shape Matters'!!!