Agra - A predicament to India's tourism?

I have often been told that the Taj Mahal is the glory of India and when I knew my folks were planning a visit in between my semester exams, I did not think twice when it came to making a decision. All I wanted to do was to see that one marvelous architectural wonder and satisfy my eyes and senses. I’ve been planning a trip to the Taj for sometime now and finally, I got an opportunity to make it happen. Speaking frankly, I’m someone who doesn’t complaint much and would just make-do with whatever is being provided to me. But a visit to Agra just gave me a blunt shock and a reality check of where exactly our country is in terms of concrete development and where we’re heading towards. 

Our train to Agra, the Bhopal Shatabdi Express reached Agra from Delhi at 08:30 A.M., as soon I walked out the station a pungent odour gave me an instant headache. Apparently, Agra does not have a sewage treatment plant which in simple words means that water from toilet drains flow through the open gutters on roads which gives the whole city an unbearable stink. Outside the station, you are not-so-happily greeted by a bunch of taxi drivers and guides who start charging you an exuberant Rs. 4,000/- a day for just renting an Omni and touring around Agra. Thankfully, the pre-paid taxi stand came as a blessing in disguise where I managed to get ourselves taxi service for one full day i.e., till our train back to Delhi at 08:30 P.M for about Rs. 2,000/-.

Our first stop was Fatehpur Sikri where we hired a guide licensed under the Archaeological Survey of India for about Rs. 350/-, the guide made it look like he was doing us a favor free of cost by coming with us and showing us around with his major attitude problem and a bloated ego about how he knows the place in and out. Fatehpur, Akbar’s palace for his three queens was a delightful experience since it let people inside only with tickets and hence it wasn’t too crowded and was quite peaceful. Sikri on the other hand was a dreadful suffering! The place is a Durgah built to glorify Chisti Salim’s legacy and does not live up to holiness it seeks to portray. Entry into Sikri is free of cost and hence you find a range of street hawkers (mostly little kids) who chase you into buying things from them to sweepers and beggars who end up emotionally blackmailing you until you give them some money. The guide informed us that once in the Durgah people make wishes by buying a shawl; some flowers and a sacred thread and place the same on Chisti Salim’s crypt, at that moment I knew this dude was spinning a tale and would definitely take us to one such dealer from whom he would without a doubt collect a commission from later. My intuition came to be true when he actually did the same. The dealer showed us shawls ranging from Rs. 1,000/- to Rs. 8,000/- reminding me of my moral obligation of pleasing god and the consequences if I failed to do so. I was however not satisfied with his offer and told my family that we should just skip buying things from this guy and walk away. On seeing us do that, he came behind us and brought the price of the shawl down to Rs. 300/- and asked me if I wanted one for myself. When I refused, he said that Chisti Salim is going to be very disappointed with me and I am going to be cursed with a life of sorrowfulness; I was amused to say the least! 

After spending about 3 hours in Fatehpur Sikri we headed back to Agra which is about 40 kilo-meters away. On reaching the Taj Mahal complex, we were told by our taxi driver to get off the cab and take a cycle rickshaw. The rickshaw took us through the south gate and I’m more than sure that memories of that disgusting hell hole will haunt me for the rest of my life. The road was extremely narrow filled with tiny shops on both sides. There were about three mutton shops right outside the Taj infested with flies and the other shops basically included handicrafts and souvenirs all overpriced. The road was filled with people, few tourists and several vendors and beggars. The Agra stench I mentioned earlier, lets multiply that by five; this road did not have gutters and the sewage water was seeping past the stores on the road. As we reached the end of the road we saw a really huge queue, that wasn’t really an issue considering it was a Sunday. I was looking for the ticket counter but couldn’t locate it. Finally, after asking someone I was asked to walk towards a dark dingy office and I managed to get the tickets. Tickets for us Indians was priced at Rs. 20/- and tickets for foreigners (wait for it) Rs. 750/-!! I don’t get how the price varies that much. After we got into the Taj Mahal, again the sea of mankind brought itself together and it ended up giving me one bad headache. Quite ironic isn’t it, once at the beginning of my trip and once at the end of it! 

After we were done with the Taj Mahal, we were taken to the Government Shopping Center; the prices here were way more expensive than the pricing we saw at the tiny little shops outside the Taj. The reason for the exuberant price – “Sir, original, aatenttic dejign sir!”. Since we had come all the way, it was only practical to take back something which would remind us of a few happy moments spent in Agra.

Our train back to Delhi left at 08:30 P.M. sharp (thankfully), I’m not going to get started on the condition of the railway station. While in the train, I thought to myself about how many people are probably employed in and around India in the name of the Taj Mahal. A minor approximation in my mind gave me the figures of somewhere around 10 million people who are directly or indirectly (travel agents et al) employed gainfully because of the Taj Mahal. It definitely is one among the primary sources of income for the tourism department and the condition of the Taj Mahal is far from being clean, hygienic and well maintained. India sells itself in the name of the Taj Mahal at an international platform and all that Madam Mayawati does is construct elephants of her own size. Cholera, Dengue and other water borne diseases was ubiquitous around Agra while we were touring the place and we talk about meeting international standards. “Athithi Devo Bhava” and all that, Give me a break! The only memories the international tourists went back with in my opinion is the stench, the pathetic lax of infrastructural development around the Taj Mahal and finally, a testimony to the truth and authenticity of how India truly is as shown in the movie, Slumdog Millionaire.

Overall, my trip to Agra was a plain reality check on where India is right now and what lies ahead. Our country is in dire need of some change. We are trying too hard to place ourselves on international platforms and meeting global standards without addressing key issues like public health, hygiene and infrastructural development. By keeping in mind the development of only metropolitan and cosmopolitan cities we are overlooking the presence and importance of smaller cities and towns like Agra. Its time for some rapid change; how and when that will happen, only time can tell.

The Wannabe Files =)

Just like all other exam holidays, I thought this is perhaps the best time to put my ideas together and come up with a blog post or two. 

Off late, I’ve been rather intrigued by the language used by the younger generation in their day-to-day vocabulary. One such word which drew my attention instantly was the word “Wannabe”. Just the other day, after I heard a friend of mine use it on another apparent “Wannabe” friend I came to think of one big wannabe I personally know of – ME! 

Lets go back in time, perhaps back to the year 1997 when I was all of 8 years old. The thing that used to fascinate me the most back then was the limelight cine-stars happily enjoyed. I would often be so fascinated with every single thing they did and how the television in total would give them so much of popularity that I would really hope I made my debut on TV one day. A big ten years later, thanks to Daiji Global Panvision ;-) That dream to a certain extent was realized.

I remember my sister always enjoying the thunder wherever she went. I always looked at her in awe with a lot of admiration and respect hoping someday that I could enjoy the same position. My sister got the popularity because she had the smartness and intelligence to make it big in life. To my dismay, intelligence was something I lacked when I was in school. To me intelligence meant excelling in language or public speaking which my lecturers and parents whole heartedly disagreed with back then. Science and math wouldn’t even dare go above my head considering how horribly convulsed with a lackadaisical attitude my mind was.  I wouldn’t however EVER miss an opportunity to be something or do something which would earn me some credit, even in pittance. My mother still tells me of instances where I would sweep the school on special occasions such as sports day or school day to simply impress my teachers and hear a few words of praise. It was somewhere around this time that I with such earnestness managed to earn the title of being an attention seeker. A few people still think I’m an attention seeker, but in my defense, when a person seeks attention by deeds of goodness or by doing something that is worth it then to hell with the world and Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD)! :P 

 

I’m 21 now and I’m 6 months short of being 22. I’ve lived forever in a world of fascination and enthrallment with a great spirit of ambition and enthusiasm. I had often wished to accomplish a few things in life, small and big. To a certain extent, with gods grace, I’ve managed to achieve a wee bit so far and I still see the journey isn’t even quarter complete! The matter of the fact now is that I proudly declare myself to be a "pukka" Wannabe and every day, every moment I want to be someone that I am not so that I can be better and do better and achieve something that has not been achievable so far. If having a burning desire to constantly be someone better than who you are is called being a wannabe then I'd take all the pleasure in calling myself one.

So to all the wannabe’s in the world like me – L’Chaim, Salut, Cheers! :-) Together, lets paint the world Red!

Paramahamsa, Really!?

Dearest Adi Shankaracharya,

First and foremost, I would like to offer my most respectful salutations and obeisance to you, the greatest of saints who attained the peak of salvation at quite a young age. You were the very epitome of the Bhakti Movement and through you, Hindus all around the world were made acquainted with the Advaita Vedanta. In your short life of 32 years, you managed to survive temperatures ranging from less than zero degrees, while scaling practically the whole of India with nothing but a staff and your two trusted feet. Your aim was clear, and your vision was true, all you wanted to achieve was a clear understanding of the human soul. You said, “Brahma satyam jagat mithyā, jīvo brahmaiva nāparah”, the soul is the only truth, the world is an illusion, and there is ultimately no difference between the soul and individual self. You were very successful in maintaining your prominence which very much differs from the saints of our time and also, you were successful in coming up with wonderful and expert commentaries on all the sacred texts that can be found in Hinduism. Your soul left your body paving way to the revival of the highly gruesome social practices which were followed back then in the name of Hinduism. You brought about a radical change, you lived the life of a saint, and you lived the life of a true swami.

Today a complete thousand years after your very sad demise, the entire concept of a guru, has been absolutely tainted by the so called god men of recent times. Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita, has said that if any person wants to live life and grasp its essence it is quintessential for him to accept for himself a guru, but my question to you is, is there any single person who lives the life of a guru in its truest quintessence for us to accept? The world today is in a severe state of confusion where people have no time for themselves and their personal lives; they choose to adopt a course of spirituality in order to de-stress themselves. The authority which holds a supreme position in the Guru-Sishya relationship, The Upanishads, clearly states that a Guru must strictly follow what he preaches. You often stated that life is but an illusion and that, the human body is prone to give away to certain desires and in order to fulfill your desires you were married once, but today, the supposed guru’s very sadly advertise their celibacy while on the other hand constantly involve themselves in under the table businesses quite literally.

I would like to bring to your knowledge the issue of the Kanchi Paramakoti case which today is long forgotten although it involved the brutal murder of an honest temple accountant, Sankararaman in broad day light within the temple premises for pointing out to the concerned authorities the amount of misappropriation of funds that is being shamelessly carried out by the seers of a temple which was initially established by you. What followed was a series of investigations which led to a woman openly claiming to be sexually involved with the head seer besides unearthing over a dozen of compact discs containing pornographic material. The seers who have today inherited your great religious empire have completely forgotten your basic principle of austerity. You would be surprised to know that the High Seer of the Shringeri Mutt sits on a tiger skin which has been neatly pasted over a Mercedes Benz during his public processions, the car seats also, have been furnished using only tiger skins and today, quite ironically we hear people venting tears for the less than 1411 tigers that we have in our country. You on the other hand had no option but to walk across all four corners of this beautiful nation called India. Coming to the killing of tigers, you also preached that the so called Guru’s must practice the theory of Ahimsa and refrain from causing any sort of a pain to another living creature, right? Funny that they don’t seem to understand what you laid down in such simple words.

It will completely sadden you if I told you about the type of atrocities that are present in the Shabari Malai temple of Kerala. I still remember the day when I embraced the sacred necklace and chose to maintain cleanliness of body and mind for forty one days, I expected a Shabari Malai of utmost religious fervor and sacredness. On entering the temple premises and asking if I could render services to the deity by performing any pooja, the temple priests who have been ordained through the lineage of pure blood to maintain the supreme most purity began to act like selfish, greedy individuals bargaining with us the rates of the Pooja we chose to perform. Thanks to the lords presence, we managed to bring the rate down from a whooping Rs. 10,000/- to a quite lump some Rs. 5,000/- when it is in fact worth less than Rs. 500/-. In actuality, such is the spotlessness and purity we find in our temples and holy shrines today.

The most recent episode of “Paramahamsa” Nithyananda is however the icebreaker, the magnum opus of all forms of atrocities that I have mentioned so far. A man who in the eyes of the public has chosen to be a celibate and to refrain himself from any “impure” act choosing the same for himself without an pressure in all his competency, was caught through hidden cameras engaging himself in sexual activities with a woman. What is shocking is that, reportedly, several storage devices containing videos of him engaging in sexual activities with various women was recovered along with copies of contracts, binding a woman or any devotee for that matter to him, with a disclaimer that no alarm shall be raised when any form of a sexual act is performed. The “Paramahamsa” also has an astonishing Rs. Thirty Two Crores to his name while I write this letter to you. When questioned about his acts with the woman on the video he claimed to be in a trance of extreme bliss, and apparently was performing a type of an experiment. An experiment it sure wasn’t, but the extreme bliss was very evident. The word “Paramahamsa” which in Sanskrit refers to the “Supreme form of bliss” that which can be attained only through spiritual enlightenment has been completely ridiculed through this shameless man! Today, he has claimed that he is impotent and that he must go through a potency taste to uphold his innocence, more so, he also claims to be transgender, isn't it rather traumatizing and disturbing that he is ready to stoop to such levels to prove his "supposed" innocence? Ultimately, a person once stained is stained for ever, and this person seems to have left no stone unturned in disgracing himself and the very essence of Hinduism. It was Oscar Wilde who aptly quoted, “Every saint has a past and every sinner, a future.” But in cases where a supposed saint is busy engaging in sinful activities, where is this distant, isolated future that is being spoken about?

This day, my heart goes out to you and to your greatness. In a time when there was no simplified medium through which a subject as vast as Hinduism could be propagated, you did with so much ease in the course of your small life. Today, when there is such a vast technological growth, when the true spirit of yoga and faithfulness can easily be spread all across barriers, these self-styled guru’s have just done every possible thing, to ruin it all. I wouldn’t think twice in saying that the Americans weren’t wrong in taking away the patents for yoga, at least, in all their gullibility and lack of actual knowledge, they are doing their best to preserve something as ancient, as pure as it. My apologies to you for this obnoxious state our religion is in and I really hope you aren’t crying blood tears looking at this ghastly, atrocious impression these foul souls have created of the Guru-shishya (Teacher-student) relationship and most importantly of something that is most dear to you, Hinduism – The way of leading life.

With Lots of Love and Respects,

Your Humble Student.

Crime & Psychology

“We are what circumstances make of us…”

Once upon a time there lived a small boy whose name was David. He had a very normal delivery, just how any other normal child would be born to normal parents. His life however, changed the moment he began to grow up. His parents, John and Catherine constantly engaged themselves in quarrels and fights. While he was a student in school, he was very frequently bullied over his appearance and his personality and as he grew up, the people around him only grew hostile to his very presence. It was David’s 16th birthday and the least he expected was for a wish, an acknowledgment by his parents. But what turned out was, a day filled with a very gory experience, with his parents drunk and beating themselves up while cursing David for his birth and existence. This is David’s life till he turned 16.

On the evening of his 16th birthday, when David could not endure anymore and in order to vent out the frustration that had been growing within him for the past sixteen years, David ended up murdering a child he saw playing outside on the street. David, is a monster, is what we may all come to think. But the question that comes to my mind through this small story is, whether or not a person’s psychology, a person’s growth or his mental element should be considered in cases of crimes especially while delivering justice? Well, the answer to this question is extremely critical and I strongly feel that it is of grave importance that the law be revamped in this regard.

In cases of crimes, there are two vital and very essential elements that are needed to prove a person’s guilt. The Latin maxim, “Et Actus Reus, Non Facit Nisi Men Sit Rea”, is the guiding principle on which the foundation for the understanding of crime is built upon. The maxim basically means that, two elements namely, Actus Reus, a physical element and Mens Rea, a mental element are essentially required in order to constitute a crime. Although this maxim has been a binding force for thousands of years, I have often felt that this maxim has not been construed in a right sense. The physical element in a crime basically includes the preparation for a crime and the actual commission. The mental element includes the motive, the planning and finally the execution. What the maxim absolutely ignores is the circumstances which drive a person into committing a crime. Let us look into the story that I mentioned above, David’s life hasn’t really been a bed of roses. He has often been ignored and has been subjected to a constant presence of violence and hatred which has etched very deep psychological scars on his mind. Psychology is precisely what is missing in the understanding of a crime. In my opinion the two elements mental and physical involves only the present situation in it completely overlooking the past and the importance of circumstances in a person’s growth. Personally, I do not opine that a person who has suffered from severe psychological pain be given an opportunity to evade punishment, but I strongly believe that, such a person must initially be given a thorough rehabilitation for psychological reformation.

The courts of law in the country more than often fail to analyze, how the growth of a person may in fact assist them in making an attempt to bring an end to large evils. Various members of terrorists groups have often stated in their accounts that it is the way they were brought in utmost poverty that led them to accept terrorism as an option to earn an income for their families, also the lack of educational facilities in a few instances. Although terrorism brings with it widespread violence and brutality, I tend to feel that it is in fact a very active eye opener to the passive citizens of this country. Through the whole Ajmal Kasab fiasco that has been taking the limelight for the past one and a half years, what I come to understand is that, if the Government chose to spend the money that which is being spent in looking after Kasab on the people from Jammu and Kashmir, we would have seen a change in the society and the rising of fewer militants. If the same had been spent in having talks with the Naxals and Maoists we would have saved ourselves from the carnage which ended up killing all those soldiers. The fact that the courts of law fail to thoroughly analyze a situation and go in to the grips of it by comprehensively grasping every minute detail is in fact slowing the entire process of judiciary and governance. A judge from the Andhra Pradesh High Court recently stated, that if, the Courts in India declined to accept anymore cases and if they chose to work and deliver justice to the cases that are already pending before them, it would take a excruciating 330 years to do so. Such is the case of our judicial system.

In a particular case, a woman who was ailing from a severely chronic disease attempted suicide by jumping into a well with her nine year old daughter. The daughter ended up dying but the woman survived. On being brought to court on the grounds of homicide, the court acquitted the woman without even considering to offer her a session of rehabilitation or certain health benefits. A similar case occurred when a man who was happily married to his wife murdered her with an axe while they were collecting wood in the forest merely because she threw her “mangal sutra” at him. The court again, acquitted the man because he supposedly acted at the spur of the moment in a fit of rage. The court absolutely fails to apply its mind and to look back into the history and circumstantial growths of such situations while delivering justice.

Therefore, if psychology per se was given higher importance in the delivery of justice, the judiciary in India would improve to a very large extent. A person is more than often cured only through a process of reformation. Besides, various predicaments can be sorted out in a very amicable manner if the root cause of the evil was discovered. In a way, a prevention of the same from happening may be achieved and on the other hand, awareness and change can be brought about.

Preamble Gamble

The Constitution of India proudly declares through its preamble that India is a “Sovereign”, “Socialist”, “Secular” and a “Democratic” republic. 62 years have gone past and today all that India has done is au contraire with the objectives of the preamble and is nothing but a sham and a farce. Sovereignty for every Indian seemed so dear when we were bound by the clutches of the British. 200 years of constant internal and external disturbances coupled with a divide and rule policy was the price we had to pay. The question today is, has the independence which we sought after so much of hardships and undertaking truly worth it? And are we doing any justice at all to the law of our land, The Constitution? Well, the answer is a reluctant ‘no’!

Maneka Gandhi had quoted in beautiful words, the India of her dreams where the poorest shall feel that it is their country in whose making they have an effective voice; …an India in which all communities shall live with perfect harmony. Where there can be no room in for the curse of un-touchability or the curse of Intoxicating drinks and drugs and where a woman will enjoy as the same rights as man." If seen through a perspective, these words spoken by her can in fact bring us back to the very provisions of the Preamble of the constitution which serves as a cleanser and a key to all of those who chose to interpret it. Today it is with great disappointment that we come to observe that nothing in the country is the way it is actually meant to be. The basic features of the Constitution have been manipulated shamelessly for the enjoyment and pleasures of a few thousands of people completely overlooking the majority of our population. The basic objective of our Constitution to portray to the rest of the world a “Sovereign”, “Socialist” and “Democratic” image is being made a mockery.

SOVEREIGNITY IN TODAY’S INDIA: Sovereignty if defined keeping in mind the words of Thomas Hobbes in his master piece, “Leviathan”, “Sovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided.” In simpler words, it was expressed by R.P. Wolff, “Sovereignty is the right to command and correlatively obey.” When I came across such definitions it took a few moments for me to find a bridge to connect the same with the Indian scenario and then it struck to me that India’s sovereignty is about upholding the latter from R.P. Wolff’s definition of merely obeying the words of country’s it feels is stronger than herself inter alia. When India agrees to offer refuge to the Tibetan’s its sovereignty is automatically brought under the scanner by the Chinese. Constant border territory infringements along with various war threats have always been laid across to India by the Chinese as a result of India’s decision to grant refuge to the Tibetan’s. Again, India’s sovereignty is jeopardized with the fear of being subjugated to war by the Chinese. On the other hand, India has constantly been putting up with various cross border violations being caused to her by Pakistan. Besides the infringement of India’s border territories the amount of violence she has been subjected to due to terrorism which finds its roots in Pakistan is extremely disheartening. Again, India’s sovereignty is being taken away from being exercised because of the involvement of the United States of America. Such is the mockery that is being made of our so called “Sovereign” status.

Internally speaking, India has never been a sovereign country. Sovereignty as a concept refers to a single pervasive authority. In the Indian scenario, every day, this concept of sovereignty is becoming brittle because of the number of people and entities claiming to be authoritative and sovereign. India is a country which is federal in nature with a very strong centralizing tendency; this feature completely fails to work in the Indian system of governance. Every single day minority rights are being spoken about and the majority is being ignored. People who have dire financial constraints are not even being looked upon whereas classifications on the grounds of caste and religion are being made every single day. India is getting further divided on the basis of language and every single day we have people crying out loud for their own SOVEREIGNITY. Therefore, when we speak of sovereignty in the Indian Constitution, we are in fact speaking about an allegiance of loyalty we make completely endangering or rather scorning the essence of what sovereignty actually implies.

SOCIALISM IN TODAY’S INDIA: The Socialism which Karl Marx viewed as a way to eradicate the capitalism which existed at a large scale in the society where wealth was available only to a certain section is precisely what Indian’s have interpreted of the Preamble. Mayavati’s grand 5 Crore garland along with a 200 crore “celebration” itself speaks volumes in this regard. Uttar Pradesh has statistically been viewed to be one among the poorest of the states in India and when the premier of the state itself chooses to hurt the wound of poverty further by rubbing salt against it by holding such extravagant ceremonies, where is the socialism, where is the dictatorship of the proletariat, where is the classless society, all essential components of socialism found? Marble statues of elephants are given paramount important with absolutely no concern shown towards the “aam aadmi”. The government in India instead of upholding the Constitution in fact seems to be playing the roles of Capitalists. The austerity drive apparently saved the Government a whopping 2000 Crores and the day the government declared that the economy has improved the ministers gave up this drive to remain austere and chose to go back to super luxury hotels and business class aircrafts. When the members of any governmental body are in fact, the people’s representatives why are they treated differently? The definition of socialism does not mean taking people and the taxes we pay for granted. Would continuing to remain austere and travel economy class cause any damage to their ego? And then again, if that is the answer, it is pretty obvious at the face of it that these “People’s Representatives” consider themselves superior in some way or the other and hence, they are nothing but capitalists. Thus, yet again, Socialism as portrayed in India is completely in contradiction with its very essence.

DEMOCRACY IN TODAY’S INDIA: The infamous words of Abraham Lincoln when he said “Democracy is the government, of the people, by the people, for the people” is perhaps always been laid down as the foundation for any state before it chooses to accept democracy as a form of governance. Perhaps, the framers of our Constitution also chose to tread in the path of the Americans while choosing a democratic system of representation for the Indian Citizens. The Indian system of democracy in today’s scenario is in a total state of confusion. Where on one hand we have various political parties claiming to be true representatives of the Indian citizens, the very concept of democracy doesn’t seem to have been well understood. Democracy involves a direct representation of the people however, in India when we vote during elections, we do not vote for a person, but we vote for a “party”. The idea of voting for a party lacks sensibility because, it is hard to judge a persons capability by looking at the party he comes from. This in a way leads to a tainted vision before exercising our fundamental right of choosing a representative, WE WANT.

Therefore, in conclusion, what can be drawn from the entire situation in the country today is that, India is being very ignorant about something as important as the Constitution. People are not aware of their rights, of their laws. The Constitution seems to be made so that people can follow everything, but the principles laid down there under. A solution needs to be implemented as soon as possible and the Constitution requires more understanding by every citizen. When we do not pay much attention to the very fundamental law of the land, we are in a way coming close to days of severe anarchy and public unrest.