new era begins

"A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new, when an age ends, and when the soul of a nation, long suppressed, finds utterance." said Nehru on the eve of first independence day. Nehruvian era was marked with hope and idealism.
That hope prolonged for a decade and gradually decayed and Indo-China war of 1962 brought the utter despair to Indian mindset.

With the exception of intermittent surge of hope during the time of Lal Bahadur Shastri or Indira Gandhi, Indians were more or less indifferent towards the governance and the government. JP movement brought new energy in the youth and Janta dal came to power. But within the short span of 2 years, their imprudence brought Mrs Indira Gandhi back to the power. After Rajiv Gandhi, it was the age of coalition government. Regional parties became more relevant.

2014 parliamentary election is the watershed moment in the post-independence history of India. Full majority government in the leadership of Narendra Modi is formed in the centre after 1984 where Congress had gained sympathy votes after Indira Gandhi's assassination.

Change is in the air. First decision this government has taken is to invite all SAARC nations in the swearing-in ceremony. Hopefully this will lead to normalization with the relation to neighbors. New chapter of India-Pakistan relationship is about to begin. Number of ministries are curtailed in order to provide efficient governance.

This election also saw increase in voting percentage. People are becoming more aware and want to participate in democracy.

It would be too early to compare NaMo with Nixon in America who was exemplary during his first term or Deng Xiao Ping in China.

Lets hope for the best. Finger crossed. :)   

few lines in hindi

This morning, I found my old diaries. Years ago, in my teen age, I wrote following. though I have changed a lot, but these were part of me, Once.


एक  बार  तन्हाई मेरे पास आई , कहने लगी अब ख़ामोशी का साथ गवारा नहीं । बहुत चुप चुप रहती है । मुझे कोई और चाहिए जो मेरे खालीपन को भर दे । जो हँसे, मुस्कुराए , मेरी सुने और अपनी सुनाए ।  मैंने कहा कि मैं भी अकेला हूँ, आओ हमतुम दोस्ती कर लें । अकेलेपन से मैं भी डरता हूँ ।
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बंद दरवाजे के पीछे मैं और आइना बातें कर रहे थे । अचानक तुम आ गई आईने के पीछे । कहा तुमने कि एक दिन आइना बन जाऊंगी तुम्हारा । शायद दिलासा देती थी तुम ।

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कभी कोशिश की थी खुद को समझने की ,
दिन पर दिन, साल दर साल बीतते रहे
जैसे ये कभी रहे ही नहीं, सपनो की तरह
आज भी वहीं खड़ा हूँ
 जहाँ से चला था ।

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आज सफाई की घर के उस कमरे की
जहाँ कोई नहीं जाता, प्रवेश निषेध है
पुराने अख़बार, रद्दी , बचपन की यादें
कुछ किताबें मेरी हैं वहाँ
एक चिठ्ठी मिले उसमे तुम्हारी
नहीं, तुम्हारे नाम की
वही घिसा पिटा प्यार का इज़हार
हाँ, तुम्हे देने की हिम्मत नहीं हुई थी
अब मैं तुम्हे प्यार नहीं करता
किन्तु वो दिन, वो स्मृतियाँ
मेरी धरोहर हैं ।

In the crossword during office hour

I was bored in the office. so went to nearby crossword. was browsing the books in the 'Indian fiction' shelf. R K Narayan is well-known.
Found a book of short stories, under the banyan tree.
read two stories,  'fruition at forty' and 'under the banyan tree'.

The first story was about a guy who will turn forty tomorrow. He has
heard this notion that after attaining forty years of age, an individual gets settled. His behaviour, his thinking, his bias everything is fixed for his entire life. It is expected that after forty, person is mentally stable. He takes leave from the office early, so that he can buy gifts for his family. In the crowded bus,
he is thinking that on birthday, one receives gift but i will gift everyone. he reaches to shop. chooses few provisions and comes to pay-counter. He finds his purse is missing. In the crowded bus, someone took his purse. He is upset. Comes home without presents. The only present for his wife is now, he will not disclose the pick-pocket incident otherwise she will be upset. He is angry. He thinks that nothing has changed in the last 10 years.

The second story is 'under the banyan tree'. Story of an old guy, who is illiterate but he has the talent of story-weaving. every full-moon he recites stories. One full-moon he finds that he is not able to tell the story. his mind is deceiving him. he is unable to recall.

One should know when to stop. He becomes the living example of conssumate silence.