110.The wind

The wind moves from place to place,
Touches whatever falls in its way,
The flower gives it fragrance in return,
The thorn pricks it in vain.


Garbage gives its stink to the wind
Which carries it with poise,
But sheds it when it can
For something better to spread and share.


The pond, the river, the ocean - 
The wind takes coolness from all,
Relentless it moves, tireless it works,
It bothers not who gives it what.

126. Anti-corruption initiatives

In the Times of India today, I read an article about how more and more initiatives are being taken to enable citizens to narrate their corruption-related experiences. It is no secret that an ordinary citizen has to face corruption at every step- while obtaining berth/death certificates, driving licence, ration card, passport, gas connection and so on.   Often, he/she has to succumb to the demand for bribe to avoid stress and inconvenience. There are also rare instances where people fight such demands at great personal cost to themselves.


Bribe is often demanded and paid in a hush-hush manner. Everybody knows, but no one talks about it. Even accepting that one paid bribe is not easy. People may not be able to resist the demand for bribes, but if they do not feel ashamed of talking about why and how they had to pay bribe, that itself may make a big difference.


The Times of India article talked about a website which was started by the Bangalore-based NGO,Janaagraha about a year ago. Aptly named "ipaidabribe.com", it encourages people to talk about their experiences of paying bribes. In a short period, over 15000 experiences have been posted on the website.


The initiative has started showing results. According to the report, the transport department of Bangalore has changed its system of conducting driving tests based on the feedback received from this site. The NGO has been approached by some neighbouring countries to start similar websites there.


The Anna Hazare movement may be criticised for its methods, but there is no denying the fact that it has given a push to the anti-corruption fight in the country. It has encouraged people to speak out against corruption. People are shedding inhibitions and admitting that they paid bribe. Small initiatives which are now being taken  may make a big difference.

15.At the Kaup beach near Mangalore, Karnataka

109.Let me fly

Don't hold me so tight, mother.


Let me see the earth from above,
Let me feel expanse of the sky,
Let me talk to drifting clouds,
Let me move closer to the sun.

My wings are no more tiny and weak,

Time is ripe now to flap them,

They must be put to test now,

They must now justify their being.

The sky has got its share of danger,

But is there a place fully secure?

It is time to shed your fear, mother,

It is time to let me fly.

125. On old prisoners

In this week's "India Today", I read a moving article on old prisoners. Rajasthan jails have 141 convicts who are seventy plus and many of them have committed crimes like attempt to robbery. These convicts suffer from infirmities like knee problems, deafness, vision disorders and so on. They need assistance to move around. Many cannot even go to the toilet on their  own. Many do not have the teeth to chew chapatis they get in jails.They cannot do their daily chores like fetching water and washing clothes. Many die of illness in jails.


The jailed geriatrics, especially women, do not have many visitors. Even if they are eligible to be released on parole, there is no one to give surety for them. The India Today article says that the jail manual does not even allow shifting of such convicts to open jails and court orders have to be obtained in individual cases to do so.


Obviously, this problem is not limited to Rajasthan jails alone. In some other States, the problem could be worse. The country-wide figure of old prisoners must be running into thousands. I wish, someone takes a close look at the problem and comes up with remedial measures.


Keeping old and infirm people in jails who pose no threat to society makes no sense to me at all. They may have committed some crime when they were able-bodied. But our criminal justice system takes so much of time before a case is decided that by the time one is convicted, one becomes totally unfit to be kept in a jail.


I was aghast to read that until June 2011, Gorakhpur jail had India's oldest prisoner who was 108. I shudder to think, someone may argue someday that the dead body of a convict needs to be punished if he/she could not be punished during his/her life time.

108.Flower's reply

(please relate to poem no. 107)

Mischief of the wind!
Indifference of the branch!
Why should I imagine?
Why should I bother?
A life rather short
Why should I squander?


The branch gives me life
Until I am shed,
The wind makes me dance
Until I am dead.


It matters not to me
If I hit the dust,
Don't they bury the body
Once someone is dead?


Let the spring be unhurt,
Let new flowers bloom,
The world must not end
Once I am gone.

124. Struggling to be on Facebook

     I have made desperate efforts to be active on Facebook. I thought, I needed to be where the whole world was. I had to deactivate the first account I opened on Facebook, because I found myself saddled with a staggering number of 'friends'.Total strangers were sharing their personal details with me and sending me messages at an alarming speed. I hardly found anything interesting in what they were doing in their offices and homes, where and with whom they went for their vacations, in which hotel they stayed, what they ate and so on. I was sick of looking at their family photographs, their children's birthdays, marriage anniversaries, 'mundan' ceremonies, 'hawans', 'griha pravesh', their kitchen wares, dining tables, bathrooms, pets and what not. 


      I thought, I needed to start all over again and opened a fresh account. I was very choosy about accepting friend requests. But without my knowing, the list kept swelling and soon went beyond manageable proportions.  People whose intelligence and maturity I trusted let me down. Many of them were posting the same trivia. I have now given up.


     I think, people post trivia, because it does not take much application of mind. One can do it while eating, watching TV or doing anything else and have the satisfaction of having done something. For most recipients, personal details of others are welcome. People are generally happy if they can have a peep into others' private lives. I find that on Facebook, people post details and photographs they may not easily share otherwise. They say things they may not say face to face. Facebook can remove artificial layers and bring out the real self.


       I don't mind peeping into the lives of those I know very well. But I am not interested in anything more than the most spicy details. Also, I have no patience to put up with any of the personal details of those in whose lives I am not at all interested.

14.From Gurudwara Data Bandi Chhod, Gwalior Fort