Memories Relived

Am I missing something? Am I succumbing to my own emotional outbursts? Perhaps this can not be denied. The day I went along with my friends of ISME to Laalbagh and Vishweshwaraya Electronics museum, the time I spent there, it reminded me of all those incidents which I happily experienced 4 years before, with some of my old buddies.

Manoj’s smile, Debdipta’s gigle, Satya’s pranks, Dipti’s humour, Ruchi’s fashion fundas, Sagarika’s sunken face, Madhusmita’s unnatural sobs, Sweta’s boldness, Jagdish’s bulging biceps, Srimayee’s coolness, Bijay’s crave for love, Shiba’s wilderness, Krishna’s flamboyance and a little struggle of mine to get a bit closer to some girls who I never talked to before.

Things seemed to be a little out of place for some time. But I’m recovering from them gradually. And the good thing is I’m adapting myself to the changing environment.

But what to do with those incidents, which have filled me with utter disgust, shaken my mind with  unhealthy thoughts? Well, I’m adult enough to restrain from indecent acts, but I’m not strong enough to prevent others from doing these things. I’m especially disturbed because of the remarks passed by my friends to some  of the girls that day. Are not we civilized enough to treat women with respect? Can’t we abstain from commenting each and every move they make? And din’t our parents teach us to be gentle?

In my view, all these things have a direct or indirect relationship with our upbringing. We learn from our surrounding. But that doesn’t mean that we are not exposed to good ideas or environments! The thing is, we take immense pleasure in exploring the other sex. Then there is no difference between dogs and us! We the so called human beings, the best ever productions of the manufacturer called The Almighty have committed all sorts of crimes that are possible in this world. You name it, and we have it! We have  left no stones unturned, yet we are more comfortable in leading a dog’s life.

I’ve not been a great optimist in my life, but atleast I can think of and swear to be a good human being.

It is easy to be evil, but it is not that difficult to be human.

Whomsoever it may concern?

Since time immemorial I’ve been subjected to many bad things,I’ve been doing not so good jobs. Initially I din’t mind, but now it is enough. In an era where people depend on machines for everything,
why should I suffer, why should I do all those things which my counterpart has not done atleast for once? Well, I’m very happy for people like Amitabh, Sachin and Bill Clinton for they have not neglected me.
Are you people getting an idea about me? I’m your left hand. You people have not used me in a proper way. It may not be your fault. It may be your cerebrum, your parents, the society but, atleast try to
understand my concerns! You know, I’ve been asking God about my very existence since Adam ate that forbidden apple on Eve’s persuation! But I’ve not yet got any answer. I’m  suffering the most in the Indian subcontinent.
All my services have gone in vain.

Don’t you think it is a physical and mental torture to me? Why would I be forced to touch all those nasty things, which you would never use your right hand for?
I need an explanation.

Construction of AIRCEL tower on my land

It has been almost 5 months since Aircel authorities approached me for the construction of a tower on my land. The proposed height of the tower is 50 metres and they took lease of 55*54 sq. ft of the plot. Initially I got quite excited about the project but it took me lot of time and pain to arrange documents regarding the plot. I’m enlisting them below.

1. Khatiyan/Pata/Original Deed
2. Property Tax receipt
3. Conversion receipt for the change of  agricultural land to domestic/commercial land
4. Encumbrance Certificate (EC)
5. Trace Map of the plot  signed by Revenue Inspector and  Amin.
6. Power of Attorney
7. Death and Legal heir certificates of the land owner
8. No Objection certificate from Sarpanch
9. Electricity bill and receipt with no dues .
10. SBI account no.
11. Voter ID card.

The work is in full swing now.

A trip to Bhitarakanika

It was the month of April. I was in BTech last semester. I was not so happy to leave the college where I studied and made many friends. Everybody was in a mood of celebration and tried to enjoy as much time with each other as once out of college we would hardly meet each other. I was just back from a trip to SAPTASAJYA.

We randomly decided to go on a trip to Bhitarakanika Wild   Life Sanctuary famous for Crocodiles. Without any prior information on our hand we set out, though it was not the right time to go there.

In the estuary of Brahmani river covering an area of 672 sq.kms. the marine sanctuary was established in 1975. Situated at a distance of about 35 kms from Chandabali, Bhatarakanika sanctuary comes around Baitarani river. It is home to a large no of salt water crocodiles. The forest of Bhitarakanika is like the Sunderbans and consists mainly of mangroves.

However, we were 10 people on 5 bikes and started from Cuttack. At morning there was a little shower and it provided some relief from the scorching heat of sun. Till 2 PM we had already reached near Bhitarakanika outskirts. But there started the real adventure. The soil structure of Bhitarakanika is quite different from what we get to see in other coastal areas of Orissa. In between our journey we again had a little shower which made the soil so moist that we found it hard to drive any more. Mud slipped into the tyres and blocked the gaps making it difficult for the tyres to roll. However, we put aside the bikes and searched for shelter. The local people were cordial enough to help us. They were perhaps migrants what seemed from their language. We spent the night in one of the huts. We even had a delicious meal of rice and chicken cooked by some of my friends. All the stuffs came from the locals. We din’t have much sleep that night as everybody was excited and spent talking their own adventurous stories.

The next day we reached the Bhitarakanika wild life sanctuary. And only after we reached there, we got to know that we have chosen a wrong time to visit this place as the right time is in winters when crocodiles come out of the water to spwnd time in sun. But it was not enough to bring down the excitement though we were disappointed a bit. We arranged a BHUTBHUTI ( motor boat ) and set out.
The boat driver doubled up as a guide and started describing about the place. We all tried to pile up under the small roof of the boat to avoid the sun. After sailing for almost 2 hours we reached the Dangamala Crocodile rearing and rehabilitation center. There were cages to shelter newly born hatchlings. We got to see only two of them.  We found two ponds there which had one crocodile in each.

This was the first time that I got to see the crocodiles and it was a memory of life time for me. To add more to my excitement one of the ponds contained a large white crocodile and this is the prized possession of the farm. The other one was 30 years old.

We then moved on to the mangrove forest of Bhitarakanika. This forest shelters spotted deers, rhesus monkeys, pythons, king cobras, wild boars and different species of birds.  The number of Crocodiles is estimated to be around 1500 in the region. We were exhausted after the day long journey and decided to come back. But I was still longing for more.

While coming back in boat I noticed something moving around at the bank of the river and asked my friends to have a look. At first it seemed to be a crocodile but when we went a little closer, it started moving and I immediately found it to be a Komodo Dragon. The large size of it created an impression of crocodile. It was unmoved by our approach and stayed there for a long time.

We had to cancel the trip to Gahirmatha due to lack of time and preparation. So we came back from there with tons of memory to cherish all through our lives.

The crocodiles of Bhitarakanika have made us proud but due to lack of proper road communication, lodging facilities and faulty conservation policy the spot still remains out of reach for wild life lovers.

The images are not mine and collected them from the following resources to whom I remain grateful.

Religion, Mythology and Truth: Where do we stand?

From various resources that I found by studying mythology and legends and different research papers, Hinduism is believed to be the oldest religion in the world. Because almost all religions of today go back to a particular time period to find their roots but the roots of Hinduism do not belong to a particular era.

Islam was founded by Muhammad the Prophet around 622CE (Common Era), or about 1,382 years ago in Mecca.

Christianity was founded by Jesus Christ approximately 1,971 (33CE) years ago.

Buddhism and Jainism are the newest additions.

Hinduism is said to have its origins in Dravidas who were the natives of  India. The Aryans are said to have come from the Caspian region and displaced Dravidas, but this belief has been contradicted by many people as they say that Indian history has been manipulated by Western scholars to depict that whatever is good in India has come from Western region as Aryans are the race believed to be the creator of Vedas.

Anyway, Hinduism survives mainly through the ancient scriptures like Vedas, Ramayana and Mahabharata. The rules of this religion have been manipulated by Pundits to suit their way of living.

The inherent tendency of mixing myths with facts is so intense in Hiduism that we hardly see in any other religion. The people of India have always been submissive to the Pundits without questioning their directions and preachings. Lack of logic and cause behind the actions of these Pundits and innocence of their followers filled the religion with many uncultured practices.

We know Valmiki wrote Ramayana and Vedavyasa wrote Mahabharata but we are unable to find their exact time period. To make things more complicated Valmiki and Vedavyasa mixed them with supernatural characters and happenings which are hard to believe in this age.

If we take into account all the religions and the myths surrounding them, we would be surprised to find  innumerous Gods, Goddesses and Demons which are so ridiculous and unbelievable that a proper conclusion can not be drawn from them. At last one takes a deep sigh and asks himself did these things really exist?

As long as we continue proving things logically and scientifically we will never be able to get a positive outcome from the Mythologies. To keep people aware of things like DHARMA and ADHARMA we have only stories to read, there are virtually no instances where God has punished somebody for any wrong doing. People commit rape, murder, robbery and easily get away with their crimes and still remain unpunished.

Another dark aspect of Hinduism is the concept of Reincarnation. As scholars say “PUNARAPI JANAMAM, PUNARAPI MARANAM, PUNARAPI JANANI JATHARE SHAYANAM”. It means a soul takes birth after birth till it gets the ultimate salvation and does not rebirth again. It is also said that a soul gets in to 84,00,000 bodies  through this process until it gets MOKHSHA or salvation. During this process the soul in the body gets reward and punishment depending on its actions and most of the time the sufferings of humans are attributed to their previous birth.

But at this instance one question always pops out in my mind that how a soul will know whether it has done anything wrong in its previous birth? And is there any proof that a particular soul was born as a human in its previous birth as we know that humans are the only ones who have the capacity to judge right and wrong?

There are many things which need to be justified or more specifically falsified before we reach a decision.

For me the conscience is the only spiritual guide. Humans are blessed with enough logic and intelligence to judge the vice and virtues in everyday life. And by using them one can easily justify his/her action.