Kerala Floods: Ensure relief reaches those in distress

Reaching out to those ravaged by floods in Kerala. Account for every penny sent to CM's relief fund

There are two opinions about the fact that recent Kerala floods are man-made disaster. These disasters are hard to escape given man's repeated nudge to nature's template.

The magnitude of disaster that has visited the Southern State of Kerala is yet to be known and what is being dangled out are figures like one million people taking refuge in over 5000 relief camps . A detailed rehabilitation plan needs to be drawn as the number of dwellings that have been brought down by flash floods is roughly 8,000 and counting. Repairing and constructing houses would be a herculean task as what would be found wanting would be resources that would be hard to come by. Though loss is estimated to be rs 20,000 cr (preliminary estimate), with the state seeking rs 2600 as immediate assistance and the Centre sanctioning rs 600 cr to tide over the crisis. The worst affected districts in Kerala include Chengannur, Kozhencherry, Alappuzha and Chalakudy.

The trauma that visits the residents hit by floods is hard to overcome and they are essentially drained out physically and mentally and it takes months if not years to rebuild their lives. No doubt it is a man-made disaster and more would be sucked in if we continue to fiddle with nature's mandate. Large concrete structure replacing green cover and green grace being repeatedly mowed down in the name of development and what we have is a disaster that leaves imprint from Bihar, Uttarakhand, Assam, Chennai and now Kerala.

The water woes emerging from incessant rains is a leveller as it remove inequalities palpable on surface in normal times and make each entity irrespective of caste, colour and gender chip in with whatever imagination they can travel forward.

MPs cutting across party lines need to donate one month salary towards rehabilitation and if possible bureaucrats need to follow suit. From Large business houses to common man on the street all need to chip in. What would be on everyone's mind would be every penny donated to CM's relief fund reaches to the last man in the last row despite cacophony of voices emerging here and there that they have been left out. Even a token gesture to CM's relief fund should be welcome. In this state of affairs it is important to see that middlemen don't intrude and try to take away the benefit meant for those in distress and discomfort.

Hope the people of Kerala are able to tide over this crisis and get on with life filled with hope and aspiration. It would be a monumental task but well within their reach.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee: Adored by one and all

Atal Bihari Vajpayee: Adored by one and all

It  was in May-June '96 the 13 day experiment of BJP came to a halt given its inability to shore up numbers in Lok Sabha (Lower House). I was returning from Tirumala. Having taken Sapthagiri Expresss from Tirupati to Chennai i read about Vajpayee govt putting in papers in a newspaper of the South and paving the way for a new combine to take office. The  13 day access to power period was also witness to one of his cabinet colleagues Sikander Bakht showing distress at the portfolio handed to him.
A moderate face in a hardline party who preferred to walk the middle path in the heydays of Mandal and Mandir agitation which meant to singe the fabric of the country. His affable nature, his modest arguments often replete with poetic posts seem to take sheen away from arguments put by other side. On occasions he was a man of few words and his ability to read the situation better than his counterparts proved his grip in areas like foreign affairs. A filibuster campaign which he least adhered to and his poetic postures were enough to win hearts across country and the world.  Whenever he took to mike his extempore speech was all that his audience rooted for craving for more of such creative creations. Some of those occupying the opposition benches were in effusive praise of him when he went on Lahore bus trip and the camaraderie he shared with Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharief was not to be lost.

I came across Vajpayee in Parliament House Annexe  (PHA)in 1995 and that was the only time when i saw him in person. Those days entry to PHA was without much hassles.

Not nudged into a corner he went ahead with nuclear tests undeterred by international brouhaha and in no time the sanctions imposed by a host of nations were scaled down. Pakistan too went with nuclear tests and that showed South Asia all but sitting on a powder keg. His oratory skills much of which got noticed in Parliamentary debates showed him a man of true wisdom and character. Taking a strong line against corruption the muddle the telecom ministry found itself in he changed the Minister at the helm. A solitary vote loss in the no confidence motion in 1999 could not keep him down and he was all prepared to start afresh whenever polls happen. In between Kargil happenned and when Nawaz Sharief and US President spoke on the finality of Pak Army withdrawing from Kargil Vajpayee was the first to acknowledge the Kargil conundrum had been fixed. I wrote a piece on Vajpayee in HT titled "It's all about governance."

Less had been said and heard ever since he decided to bid goodbye to active politics in 2005 and had it not been for his failing health he would have provided the much-needed ammunition to campaign strategy of his party which had been lying in tatters. NDA lost in 2004 and when questioned in Kullu in Himachal State on why the party lost so badly, he was blunt to admit that Gujarat riots had cost the party dear. When results were declared for 2004 polls his security personnel pacing up and down the corridors of 7 RCR to find out the modalities to vacate the premises, Vajpayee cut them short by stating Bistar Bandho aur niklo (Pack bags and make room for others).  He belonged to that school where giving space to opposition, giving succour to the disadvantage and giving the much-needed ammunition to economy set the stage for a statesman to lead a non cong govt for close to four and a half years (Oct 1999 to May 2004).  Having secured best parliamentarian award in 1995 it would be hard for any politico from opposition to bag such award in the polarised times we live. He  did not take to foreign travel as leaders from ruling to opposition benches hit on these days and yet having the courage to show that in diplomacy India was second to none. A politico of his genre would be hard to trace these days and a politico of his sentiment would be hard to chase.  Vajpayee would remain embedded in our memory for a long time and three cheers for the strong leadership he provided on the political firmament.

It would take more than 100 years for a nation of this size and sensitivity to have a statesman and an orator like him.

Reminiscing about stay in South India

Reminiscing about stay in South India

A day to cheer and none to fear was all i was up against as i left New Delhi for South India.  A modest observation i came across at New Delhi Airport: Think of everyone as your equal and the world will become a better place. In the times when there is growing restiveness in certain locales of the country with increasing incidents of those taking law into their hands this minor and not mighty reminder should be imbued by one and all. The Supreme Court has set a ceiling on reservation and that is 49.5 per cent and those politicos who are promising the moon (reservation for their state residents) should bear in mind that there can't be any tinkering with this reservation ceiling  and it is as good as done and dusted. Employment opportunities have dried up across country, agriculture sector is showing signs of  recovery still not significant by any yardstick and here you have plush offices/residential quarters and luxury sedans the latter pacing up and down the state highways and big metros and this is bound to make the unemployed class struggle/wrestle with unmitigated anger and release the same on whoever comes its way.

Flipping through pages of inflight magazines

During my sojourn in South India i flipped through the pages of different inflight magazines. Some came with the caveat that those women in the age group of 18 to 27 were eligible to join the cabin crew needed to be relaxed so that they (women) could remain employed for a large number of years; definitely not exiting at 27 from work sphere. Other stories in inflight magazines featured Mysuru in South India voted the cleanest city to Clean India Campaign meant to impress upon each citizen to do his/her bit on this front.  The first port of call happenned to be Bengaluru in South India. A tidy and neat room in Shubhodaya lodge in Gandhi Nagar with a reminder that check out time was 24 hours and not something like 12 in the afternoon gave me the benefit of paying for a day instead of two days. Mr Jagdish and Mr Anand come out as easy to reach managers with no pretensions. In the city besides visiting Hotel Adora and Hotel Kamat i quite often visited Gandhgava Upahar for tea and snacks. I am able to get the number of Mr Shivanna who has served in Hare Krishna Vegetarian restaurant in the past located near Bengaluru railway station and he hails from Chikmagalur in Karnataka State. Cobbler Mr Ramachandra was helpful so was Mr Kamat of Kamat Hotel. Going to 16th Cross Vyali Kaval in Bengaluru where TTD temple is located it was automan Mr Syed Mastan who gave the ride. The food from Swathi Deluxe restaurant which is on first floor in Majestic bus station was something to relish.

Strategically placed boulders in Anegundi

Ananda Rao circle in Bengaluru city has hints of green. In late evening set out out for Hospet by a train that took over eight hours. Ms Madhu from Yelahanka boards the train. Meet Mr Keerthiraj who works for NGO WeWorld. From Hospet i head to Anegundi and take a room in Vaibhava Guest House. Here it would be prudent to mention about Mr Khwaja Pasha who enquired about purpose of my journey and told me the stop where i should deboard for Anegundi.  Later i head to Anjaneya Parvat (Lord Hanuman Temple). There are in all 550 steps to be chased to reach Hanuman Temple. Mr Parushram, son of Mr Malappa, i meet him after a while who was kind enough to dish out a room when i visited Anegundi in September 2014. There are strategically placed boulders/rocks which you come across quite often in Anegundi and going to No 1 river cross to Hampi the sighting could well make you engineer a step closer to these boulders. Meet Mr Gangadhar and Mr D Subbaya in Anegundi who wish to travel by ferry boat to other side.

Reaching Virupapura gaddi 

In Hoova cafe i meet Shreya studying in class 7 who helps me to collect soaps, writing pad from adjacent store. Thursday before leaving for Virupapura gaddi i come across Sapna who is in IInd year in a college. In Virupapura gaddi (VPG) i stay in Mowgli guest house where i am told the rents hit the roof when the season is on. Mowgli guest house/restaurant employs a large number of people from Nepal. In VPG i meet Mr Farooq who runs a small restaurant and here the veg thali comes for 100 rs as against 180 rs at other places. In the same restaurant i happen to meet Mr Gil from Israel who has a desire to go back to New Delhi by travelling in a sleeper class in a train as the air fare has set him back by more than thousand fears.  Meet Mr Naga Babu who is into farming, meet Mr Archit who is a bike enthusiast.  Meet Mr Abey who is a Judicial Scrivener, Mr Shuttle, who is a novelist (some of his works go by the name Manapu and Nakano). Both have come from Tokyo.


The next day i leave for Hampi and take a room in Pushpa Guest House. The place where i board the vessel for Hampi i meet Mr Sujit and Mr Pawan both from National Institute of Creative Communication, Bengaluru who are supposed to complete a project report for which they are visiting Hampi and nearby areas. Mr Abhishek who is a guide too joins us in the vessel. In Pushpa guest house seeing the pictures of Lord Venkateswara i tell them i am also an ardent devotee. In Hampi Meet Mr B Gangappa who has worked in AIR (All India Radio) and he is able to place me. Meet Mr Prasanna Patil staying in Hampi for over 30 years, meet Mr Prakash Kulkarni staying in Hampi for 50 years. Meet Mr Parmesh of Shambhu Guest House. I stayed in Hampi for three days before heading towards Hubli.  In Hampi visit Vitthala temple and other places. Take dosa from Naivedyam restaurant before boarding a train which would take me to Hubli.

The findings from NRC (National Register of Citizens) should be handled tactfully and the line that differentiates between an alien and native doesn't get blurred. All for histrionics relayed here and there these four million people would continue to reside in Assam or dispersed to other places in the country in the times to come.

TMC MPs being beaten up by securitymen in Silchar airport is highly unfortunate. These securitymen should be taken to task. This shows the times we live in.