Jagriti Yatra Musings

Months of anticipation finally culminated into the event that was the Jagriti Yatra 2011. Several uncertainties and apprehensions existed prior to the journey. While this blogpost was scheduled to appear about 2 weeks earlier as I sat writing it in the AC compartment of this one of a kind train called the Jagriti Express that was customized to include sleeping areas, bathrooms, washrooms, pantry cars, conference halls..you name it! But what really was the driving force behind this journey you may ask? I think it was the 450 odd strangers turned friends-for-life on the train which come from such varied backgrounds in terms of nationalities, personal backgrounds, walks of life, age groups et al.

Never before had I met such a vibrant group of people brimming with energy and enthusiasm to bring about a change in the society rather than just be bystanders and dinner table "wannabe" change makers.

A typical day would start at around 7 a.m with a rather mellifluous wake up call blaring on the PA system announcing 'Yatris, it is 7 am and it's time to wake up. I REPEAT, it is 7 am and its time to wake up. Our train will be reaching by 8 am. Please have your breakfast and de-board the train as soon as we reach since we have only a 10 minute halt. This was followed by a frenzy of sleepy people trying to hog the bathrooms and wash basins amid the background music which included 'Yun hi chala chal rahi', 'Aashayein', 'Kya Karoon' and 'Kandisa'. On most days, it was almost felt like you were inmates in the Bigg Boss house (in a nice way)!

By 8 am we would have reached our destination, still rather sleepy, the cold winter mornings fuelling the same. But 'Team Disha' armed with their super shrill whistles and motto of 'keep moving' ensured that by the time you reached the buses you were wide awake!

We covered 12 destinations in 15 days which meant covering the circumference of this country called India. Here's who-what we visited in a nutshell:

Mumbai: The starting point of the yatra. When I first walked into the IIT convention hall and saw this sea of people none of which seemed to be a familiar face, little did I know that 15 days later at Kalyan station it would be so difficult to say goodbye to the same people who had become family!

December 24, 2011 was also the day when we first rehearsed the 'Yaaron Chalo' song. The song is an anthem for all the yatris now and will surely be remembered for many years to come!

Dharwad: The next pitstop of the Yatra (Bigg Boss and the Amazing Race rolled into one) found us visiting SELCO which lit up the lives of people with solar power making it accessible and affordable to those who need it the most. What fascinated me was their 'Light to Education' program under which every child enrolled in government schools was given a solar powered lamp to study but which had to be recharged by bringing it to school the next day. This ensured a steady attendance of pupils.

Bangalore: The Silicon Valley of the East was next. We had an interactive session with Mr. Narayana Murthy who poured his heart out to us. What an unassuming man, what a powerful visionary and such a humble human being. We were super impressed with the Infy campus and inspired by the man who made it all possible.

This was followed by a panel discussion on technology start-ups comprising of the founders of Redbus, Babajobs and Ekopay. It was fascinating how seamlessly they had managed to integrate technology into successful entrepreneurial models.

Madurai: The city of temples brought with itself a visit to Aravind Eye Care, the pioneer in elimination of needless blindness. The model started by Dr. V has become a pilgrimage for millions of Indians who suffer from preventable blindness but who did not have the resources to avail medical facilities. There is no discrimination on the basis of the financial status of a person. The poorest of the poor and even the rich are given free medical aid if they so desire.

Kancheepuram: The damp, dark morning of Kancheepuram, a quintessential small sleepy town interspersed with small temples at every nook and corner. We met Gouthami who runs Travel Another India which is an enterprise engaged in rural tourism.

Vishakhapattnam: Vishakhapattnam is the home to Naandi- possibly India's largest kitchen which has also tied up with the government to provided hot midday meals to children in government and municipal schools. The Indian Navy hosted us in the evening and led us through some behind the scenes action.

Behrampur: By now we had come on almost the same latitude that we had started on. We were now on the eastern coast of the country in Orissa, a 180 degrees journey so far. We had the privilege of interacting with Mr. Joe Madiath, the founder of Gram Vikas whose story was truly inspirational. Gram Vikas has established sanitation facilities in the interiors of Orissa, one of the most backward regions of the nation. He calls toilets 'houses of dignity'

Patna: The dreaded North Indian winters awaited us in Patna. Wrapped in two-three layers of warm clothing we made our way to Nidan, an organisation striving to empower the underprivileged sections of the society including unorganized labour through community programs.

Deoria: The headquarters of the Jagriti Sewa Sansthan, we were greeted with much fanfare at the station with dhols and flower garlands. This was my first experience in an actual village. Lush green fields with bright yellow mustard flowers and freezing cold mornings, this was nothing short of a Yashraj movie set. I also made (in collaboration with others) my first ever business plan on rural tourism! We also had the opportunity to witness the traditional Alha performance which was one of the most entertaining dance performances I have ever seen in my life! Post this, we danced the night away.

New Delhi: The capital city was enveloped in thick fog the day we reached resulting in a 2 hours delay which proved to be a boon since we could catch up on some sleep. By now, deodorant cans had begun replacing buckets of cold water! The morning had sessions scheduled with the Ministry of External Affairs and a panel discussion with entrepreneurs such as William Bissell of FabIndia. What mesmerized me however, was the talk given by Anshu Gupta of Goonj. His words about how people are unable to afford clothing, the basic facet of human dignity and well-being still echo in my ears. A deeply moving session and a wake up call to face the reality!

Tilonia: The Barefoot college started by Bunker Roy in this discreet part of Rajasthan is responsible for lighting up remote villages all around the world. He started the concept of Solar Engineer Grandmothers who were handpicked and trained to bring about electrification of villages where no government programs had reached. In addition to this, Tilonia manufactures items of daily use as well as handicrafts. The yatris indulged in much longed for retail therapy.

Ahmedabad: The penultimate day of our journey brought us to the Sabarmati Ashram in Ahmedabad. The serene environs of the ashram resounded with Gandhiji's favourite bhajans, his way of life and teachings as we delved into trying to understand our life's purpose and all that we had experienced in the past fortnight. The evening session consisted of an interaction with SEWA, the women's self help group that aims at empowering rural Indian craftswomen. This was followed by the valedictory ceremony amidst loud cheers but somewhere deep down it was difficult to accept the fact that we would have to get back to our 'normal lives' the following day. It was an emotional moment for most of us when we sang the Jagriti anthem for one last time.

A few yatra moments I will never forget:

• The announcements over the PA system which were always followed by 'I repeat'
• The Fire Drill. "This is a drill", "this is a fire drill" (James Bond, much?)
• The long queues outside the tent bathrooms and the struggle to take a bath with ice-cold water in a moving train including the relentless sounds of "Does anybody have an extra bucket or an extra mug?"
• The hilarious and random conversations with the awesome people who lived in 15/7 and 15/8
• The endless hours spent on random platforms "networking" with people when the train was supposedly scheduled to arrive in 5 minutes
• The scramble for seats in the AC chair car sessions
• The new year celebrations inside a moving train replete with dance et al.
• The ever so cheerful catering guys who ensured that the 15 day 'diet' went for a toss!
• Learning Afrikaans and teaching my 'sister from South Africa' Hindi
• The sound of shrill whistles courtesy Team Disha
• The paparazzi moment at the Barefoot college at Tilonia where hundreds of children gathered to greet us
• The folk dance at the Gram Vikas school at Berhampur, Orissa
• The Jagriti anthem steps which I thought resembled Tai-chi at times!
• The Aquafina water bottle collection which 'is to be recycled and used to create an installation for the London Olympic Games'
• The Lifeline exercise with the group
• Not more than 6 hours of sleep in a day (luxury!)
• The beautiful countryside of India

My biggest take-away from the Yatra? Do what you are really passionate about. You couldn't care less about the world.

"Yaaron chalo, badalne ki rut hai!"

ps: Wish to be a part of this once-in-a-lifetime experience? Apply here http://2012.selections.jagritiyatra.com/register/jagriti/

Rockstar

I personally think Rockstar- the movie was sort of over-hyped. However, the songs were excellent and Ranbir Kapoor was phenomenal. Afterall, which girl wouldn't find a stubbly, brooding musician who walks around in a boho avatar adorable?

So for those, who aren't Ranbir Kapoor fans or Rahmaniacs but would like to know what Rockstar is all about without spending precious time and money, here's a snapshot...

Why I want an Armadillo

My laptop has a weak immune system. It is subject to attacks both internally and externally. Internally because it suffers from a lot of near death experiences which translates into me getting mini heart attacks and externally because it is constantly subject to peeling paint (which the Dell customer care executive says cannot be helped) and ant attack! Yes, you read it right.

I think my laptop is actually a camouflaged anthill and those tiny six legged creatures are guerilla warriors trying to seek revenge for some godforsaken reason because as far as memory can recollect, I have never ever harmed their kind, never subjected them to a watery death, never tried focussing sunlight on their colony through a magnifying glass, though I must admit I've been tempted.

Soo anyway after lying dormant in the Dell anthill for a while, family Formicidae has launched an attack stronger than ever before. The first time I noticed this phenomenon was when I thought Patrick Dempsey's irrestibly good looks were jeopardised by a mole on his face and a mole that moved! On closer inspection, it turned out to be the nasty six legged creature.

But seriously, do ants feed on metal these days? because I certainly don't devour those chhota Hide and Seeks or bhakar vadis in the vicinity of my laptop.

And this is not a stray case of ants. There probably exists a Formicidae Co-operative Housing Society nestled in the confines of my laptop's motherboard. I've tried boric powder, using a brush

to get rid of the ant menace. Unfortunately the All-in-one Hit will not reach the crevices of my laptop.

A friend suggested I call India TV to unravel the mystery behind the ant attack!What do you recommend?

The India Against Corruption Rally.

"Dhuan chhata khula gagan mera nayee dagar naya safar mera
Jo ban sake tu hamsafar mera, nazar mila zara"
-Roobaroo, Rang de Basanti

It was a damp evening in Mumbai today. And there was a rally organised by India Against Corruption that was to begin at Bandra(W) and culminate at Juhu. For a city that's well known for it's spirit and resilience, there was no way that the rains or the crater laden roads or even certain open manholes were going to deter the will to join the movement against corruption and support the bill for a stronger ombudsman.

Let me tell you, the last time I saw so many people on the roads was when India won the World Cup. However, this time around the gathering wasn't revelling in victory. Rather it was a gathering of people who were angry. Angry and frustrated with the state of affairs of this country. The lack of governance. The corruption that has engulfed everything. Even the very roads on which the protestors marched bore signs of corrutpion. The so called infrastructure on which crores of rupees are spent for repair and other purposes and which were repaired just 2 months back were nothing short of kuccha roads. And this time, there were people from all sections of society. Young and old, rich and poor..it was India that poured onto the streets. I wonder what the struggle for independence was like.

And since no protest march is complete minus slogans, this rally too had it's fair share of interesting slogans besides of course Inquilab Zindabad and Bharat Mata ki Jai! Sample these:
1. Gali Gali mein shor hai saare neta chor hai!
2. Hamara neta kaisa ho? Anna Hazare jaisa ho!
3. Desh ka youth yahan hai. Rahul Gandhi kahan hai?
4. Desh ki beemari...Manish Tewari!
5. Kapil Sibal..maaro chappal! (x2)
6. Saari sarkar nikammi hai...Sonia iski Mummy hai!

It was a rally of responsible citizens. They made sure that the streets were not left littered. They made sure that ambulances were allowed to pass. They made sure that there were no untoward incidents in a gathering of over a lakh people.

It is on days like these that my faith in spirit of the nation is reaffirmed. We too are capable of bringing about a revolution. A billion voices. United!

Why I Love and Hate the Rains

It's been a while since I've blogged. This was thanks to my internship which consumed the entire week and left me so exhausted by the end of it that all I wanted to do was sleep and watch TV and sleep some more.

So anyway, the monsoons graced Mumbai in the last week of May bringing much respite to the EXTREMELY sultry weather which was so bad that I'm told even the sight of those ridiculous deodorant adverts which feature 'hot' women drooling over the deo owner would repulse them. Hence, you can imagine how bad it was.

As usual, the Municipal body was less than prepared to handle the fury of the rains because in our city, when it rains it pours. And the bylanes and more often than not even the main roads start resembling the Venice of a third world country. And no, these waters don't discriminate. So there are frequent sights to marvel at like the ones when a BMW gets stuck in the middle of the mini pool and the humble autorickshaw is able to manoeuvre it's way through like a badass machine.

Believe you me, if you really want to experience the monsoons Mumbai style, it is highly recommended you travel by public transport just so that you can experience those everlasting memories.

Here are the top 5 reasons why I love the monsoons:

1. The breeze doesn't dehydrate you by the time you reach your destination because more often than not you will NOT find public transport.
2. Since you sweat less, your face doesn't look like that of the Bride of Frankenstein.
3. The rains make it impossible for the eunuchs to corner you at traffic signals and force you into giving them money.
4. The abundant craters and potholes ensure that every part of your body is given adequate workout before you reach your destination. Who cares about those Telebrands exercisers nowadays anyway?
5. And we can be assured that there won't be a water cut next year unless a certain industrialist decides to channelise every drop into his 22 storey Altamount Road wonder.

And here's why I hate them:

1. Because the access-way to the local train stations resembles a landslide site which has to be carefully treaded over. This basically means that I have to trek in my 3 inch stilletoes which basically isn't the ideal situation.
2. Because the local train seats are dripping with water ensuring that you all you can do is stand and stare at the vacant seats while your toes get mutilated. It's like being forced to listen to a Himesh Reshammiya song on TV because you cannot find the remote. Seriously, MTV?
3. Because your phone has to wrapped in several layers to plastic which effectively reduces the ringer volume ensuring atleast 5 missed calls in the span of 2 hours.
4. Because Tata Sky almost never receives signal even during the slightest of drizzle which basically means that I have no access to television till the month of September while my neighbours who've subscribed to the local cable services get uninterrupted transmission. My life is so not jhingalala! x(
5. Because the freaking wind makes my house seem haunted!

And umm, since I can't think of an appropriate ending for this post why don't I leave something for you to chew on:

Ever wondered what would happen if Freaky Friday transpired between Manmohan Singh and Digvijay Singh?!

☺

Mumbai Blasts

When you're at the end of the road and you've lost all sense of control,

When your thoughts have taken their toll and your mind breaks the spirit of your soul,

Your faith walks on broken glass....

(21 Guns, Greenday)

Last evening when I was at work struggling to complete a note on the registrations required prior to the commencement of aircraft operations in India, my co-intern got a bbm saying that there had been a bomb blast in Bombay. Soon, the office was abuzz with news confirming that there had indeed been bomb blasts in three places in South Bombay. I refreshed the NDTV and IBN websites but they did not suggest anything to that extent had happened. Then the news channels started showing live coverage from the mauka-e-vardaat.

The cellphone networks had been jammed by now and there was no way I could contact anyone. Infact, I had to ask my friend on Facebook to call up my parents. Imagine the anxiety.

My journey back home that takes nearly an hour by road and a witness to a tired city still bustling with activity, took me less than 20 minutes to cross the island city. There was an eerie silence as darkness descended upon a bruised city.

Within minutes world leaders condemned the blasts. The politicos and our Mr. Mute Singh dashed off statements saying this is a very unfortunate turn of events. We condemn the blasts. Justice will be done. OFCOURSE you condemn the blasts. Don't add insult to injury by making such pointless statements!

While my twitter newsfeed was abuzz with comments such as 'Now the city lives up to the reputation of being 'BOMB'ay' and 'Happy Birthday Kasab, hope you had a blast', there were a few other prominent people condemning the blasts calling it an act of coward while they themselves sat in the luxurious comfort of their Malabar hill home or accessing Twitter on their iPads sipping a glass of red wine waiting for a news channel to call them and try to find out what is going on in the minds of the ordinary Mumbaikar. Funny though, how Shobha De and Suhel Seth are designated as the voice of Mumbai who are supposed to have a legit critical opinion on whatever happens in Mumbai, be it the blasts or the soirees or sanitation issues.

So what did the blasts actually do? Shake the spirit of the city whose spirit refuses to die? Shaken but not stirred, you would like to believe. Not true, I say. The reason I and scores of other Mumbaikars chose not to take a leave from work the following day was because we couldn't. It wasn't because we were very resilient. It was because we were forced to report back to work or wherever it is we had to go.

While some people took it to social networking to vent out their feelings as to how Kasab should be hanged, how the perpetrators of this latest incident should be subjected to public trial, how the world has but we have and never will learn a lesson on how to combat terrorism, how it was an intelligence failure, a failure of government machinery, the list is endless...

some others thought of carrying out peaceful protest marches and candlelight vigils espousing the cause of justice for Mumbai, a city anyone and everyone chooses to mess with at a whim, there were a few good samaritans who were actually on the field, lending physical and emotional support to the victims and helping the city get back on it's feet. I have immense respect for them. The unsung heroes whose sole aim in life is not to be featured on Television talk shows wearing D&Gs and Sabyasachis.

The skeleton of the city has been fractured and repaired several times but the scars remain and I don't know how resilient it is to withstand future dents. Our government's blue eyed boy has stated that we've been able to prevent 99% blasts. Considering inspite of this we're attacked almost once every year, I shudder to think how much hatred exists in the souls of the perpetrators against this city!

Carnival of Rust

Who would've thought that a ship on it's way to the scrapyard, would find it's 4 days of fame?

MV Wisdom, an unheard of merchant ship which broke away from the towing vessel and nearly collided with the Worli Sea Link, found it's fame during it's last days when it landed at Mumbai's favourite beach at Juhu.
And what followed at Juhu was the great Indian tamasha. People swarmed, journalists swooped in and hawkers never had a better business opportunity.

A Day in the life of India?

:)