Gadchiroli, LOC Within the Country!

“The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.”… G.K. Chesterton.

Gilbert Keith Chesterton, KC*SG (29 May 1874 – 14 June 1936), better known as G. K. Chesterton, was an English writer, poet, philosopher, dramatist, journalist, orator, lay theologian, biographer, and literary and art critic. Chesterton is often referred to as the "prince of paradox". Indeed there is no paradox in his above sentence as this must be the feeling of every man who wears uniform & carries a gun which is aimed at the so called enemy in-front of him or her! When I get to read the news about nearly thirty plus naxlites killed in a battle between State’s C 60 police force, Chesterton’s quote came to my mind, not that I am an authority on the subject & no way this is something I ever had written about; yet my good friend Dr. Abhinav Deshmukh who is an IPS officer & is SP of Gadchiroli district ie where all this action happened, so thought of writing him on his success. But then while writing to him, I started to think about the subject & started realizing the complexities of this success! Those who doesn’t know  (and most don’t know), Gadchiroli is a district in very State of Maharashtra at the eastern end of the State. Known just as punishment posting for “sarkari babus” I wonder how many residents of our State from Pune Mumbai has ever visited to Gadchiroli & even knows how to go there in first place! And I don’t blame them as after reading the news about this part of State no sane person will be interested to visit Gadchiroli considering it as no less that Palestine or Syria, a sad statement but truth. Well it’s very much a place just like any other district in Maharashtra’s rural parts, with some more forest & illiteracy as well poverty! Few decades ago a movement started by the locals (read tribal’s) in the triangle of three States ie Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh (now Chattisgarh too) & Andhra Pradesh against the establishment which now has taken a violent face called as Naxlisum run by group of men & women named as Naxlites. In nut shell this is the story & as usual there are people who speak for both sides of this story.

I don’t want to enter in debate about naxlites as enough is going on that front but one thing is sure, this is a war which is being fought in our very backyards & not on border of the country, is an alarming thing for every one of us which we are ignoring. And this war is not for just police forces, every one of us has a role to play in it as police alone won’t be able to win it! Because recently one more news I read & that was unemployment rate getting doubled, especially in rural parts of the country! On face these two things i.e. naxal issue & unemployment may not seem to have anything in common but will put forward one age hold Hindi fraze, “Khali dimak, shaitan ka ghar hota hai” i.e. “An empty mind is devils residence’, need I write more to explain further? The entire life in these parts moves around three “J” ie Jungle, Jal & Jamin (Forest, Water & Land) as the life of the tribes here is attached to all these three factors. In these parts there is nothing to live for except the three J’s, not even education & even if you have education then no front to use & no jobs too & this is scene in most eastern districts of the State. In no way this means every unemployed boy or girl should take gun in hand & become a naxlite (which actually for most is a dakait in the mask of robin-hood) but this situation on the social front is making job of the policemen difficult, is a bitter fact!

Sharing my letter to my friend i.e. SP, Gadchiroli just to make us realize that each of us has a duty towards this war which is going on right within our borders & if we can’t actually go & fire a gun (that’s last thing though to win a war), we can surely contribute in our own way so that no gun should be required to fire in the first place as that’s the only way to end the war!...

24 4 18

To,

Dr. Abhinav Deshmukh, IPS

SP, Gadchiroli.

“Do something every-day that you don't want to do; this is the golden rule for acquiring the habit of doing your duty without pain.” … Mark Twain.

Dear Abhinav,

Well, what better quote I could have chosen while writing to you about the achievement (though I am sure you won’t be considering it as an achievement) yet above words of great writer who is more famous for his humor, you must be definitely living them! When I open news paper specifically on 23rd April, the front page carried news of Gadchiroli, a rare thing unless something about death is there Pune-Mumbai news papers hardly cares about places like Gadchiroli. No wonder this news also was no exception but for a good change this time the news of death was that of bad people & not of policemen! Again I am no authority to call the died men as bad or good but then we do have thing named law & any segment (group of men/women) fighting with the men who are there to maintain the law itself, are considered as bad people & so were the died ones!

Abhinav, first of all let me congratulate you for not losing a single man from your force in this fight & for the first time (as the media has claimed) nearly 26 plus naxalites has been killed in this action & the figure increased to nearly 37 by next two days. While all the media & society is busy in congratulating your team as well entire police force involved in fighting naxals in eastern part of our State, I am very sure the people over there in uniform must not be considering this as victory or achievement as it’s a war where victory won’t be decided on a day’s fight! And then any war is bad, especially when fought within the border of our own country, which you guys are fighting! I am not taking side of naxals, no sane man can do it but when I get to read your name along with Mr. Sharad Shelar, IG as well Mr. Ankush Shinde , DIG , the first thought came to me was what must be going through your mind! Indeed no law & order job is ever easy & it becomes very tough when you have to kill another human being (many will ask do these men deserve to be called as human beings?) while doing your duty & my respect for you & your team grew more after thinking on these lines. My native place is Nagpur & I had been to these parts of the State which very few Pune-Mumbai residents ever care to visit. Because all the so called progressed citizens here know about Gadchiroli is its punishment posting for govt officers! Well, if it’s so then what must be the life for a person who has been born there & supposed to live his or her entire life in Gadchiroli & surrounding area? Again, who cares, as for the person living in city where problems are very different for e.g. petrol prices, traffic jams, property taxes & home prices, I wonder many even have time to think about place like Gadchiroli!

And this ignorance of our so called civilized world towards life of places like Gadchiroli is what makes your duty hundred times more creditable & yes dangerous too! As while even a constable on his Bullet (bike I meant) when roams on streets of Pune, good people look at him with respect & bad people gives way with fear (though that’s fast vanishing from here also). When an officer of your rank DCP or SP arrives at any place with his official car with Amber (now Blue) light on top, people admires your post’s power here in Pune. But how many knows the risk or danger of wearing that “khaki wardi” in naxal areas & how it feels when someone has put a prize on your head or one has to swipe the road ahead for land mines before passing your vehicle from any road! Well, I know this situation as I have seen it & that makes me respect you as my friend in uniform hundred times more than any other job!

Do mind, our country is strange, as one day if they praise you for killing naxals & success of this fight but very next day they will condemn you for the blood shade & question you only, was there not any other way to control the naxals or is the gun-war only solution to end the naxalisum? And I am sure you know all sides of the coin named duty in naxal area (here coin don’t have just two sides) & are prepared to face it as true war is not with naxalites but true war is with the system named our society which instead doing something concrete by themselves to fix this problem expects few people in uniform will find the solution for it!

My all wishes with you & your team, I agree right now I too am not much different than the society as I also do nothing by myself on the front of naxlisum or the situation which generates them yet I felt to share my feelings with you & do convey my heartfelt wishes to your entire team for the most difficult job you are doing, fighting a war with your own self!

Do let me know by any way I can assist, though I will be sending some goodies to your C 60 team , not for celebration but just to let them know in this war somebody do thinks about them & understands the burden they carry along with the gun & ammunition on their shoulders!

Proud to be friend of yours dost, take care of yourself as well every member of your team! Do share my feelings with all you team...

Warm regards.

Sanjay & Team Sanjeevani

-- 

Friends, if you can’t do anything for the police forces in places like Gadchiroli then at least don’t think that this is war of police only! Rather try to think how you can contribute, even you can write to the personnel in the forces & increase their moral because ammunition & guns can be bought but moral has to be built, as that’s what wins the wars finally!

Sanjay Deshpande 

Sanjeevani Dev.

Please view my sharing about real estate in Pune at U-Tube link below..

https://youtu.be/g3lx1Nq7pBs

Please do visit my blogs to know about our philosophy at Sanjeevani ! (Click the links below)

http://visonoflife.blogspot.in/2017/06/conveyance-unique-get-together.html

http://jivnachadrushtikon.blogspot.in/

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A Crime Named Illegal Constructions!

“You can’t build a reputation for yourself on, “what you are going to do”, “… Henry Ford.

No need to give an introduction to this name, the all time greatest business mind (not just industrialist) has put in perfect words about making a name & I think his this quote should be carved on our every govt’s office, especially those which governs real estate! As usual my most of writing get initiated from our “mai baap” govt’s actions which media is so eager to publish & when it’s the subject of illegal constructions then more so! As since long, illegal construction has haunted every govt in ruling; I used the term haunted because the people who calls themselves as govt still not sure that how to project their stance about illegal constructions? As every govt clearly wants illegal constructions but can’t accept it openly (read legally, thanks to the Hon Courts still exists in this country). The reason why I am saying this is there were two news in recent about illegal constructions, one was Mumbai Municipal Corporation will be using satellite survivelance to keep an eye on illegal constructions.  Well great, superb, wonderful, innovative, and thoughtful all such terminology’s came to my mind when I read the news! By the way before that also some planning authority (I have forgot the name also as mostly our brain doesn’t stores useless information, as per one survey) has made announcement which promptly has been carried by media that it will be keeping eye on illegal construction via Drones! Well, first Drones now satellite & what next, call aliens to keep watch on illegal constructions! Problem with our rulers is they are getting so shameless that the very same rulers (read govt) first allows illegal constructions & then announce such foolish plans of keeping eye on it, as a common man I ask how in first place so many illegal constructions happens around so easily that you need a satellite to keep an eye on them? As we are not talking about illegal constructions in some remote inaccessible area but very much in city in-front of our very eyes! And using satellites for keeping an eye on illegal buildings is just like presently every Police Chief is telling the societies or shop keepers or banks to fix CC TV in their premise for the safety. I presume the job of CC TV is to capture crime happening as evidence but that doesn’t stop the crime happening which is more important! But police now days are holding responsible the complainants’ that he hasn’t got fixed the CC TV in or around his home so the burglary happened. Agreed CC TV does help in detecting crimes but what about police vigilance & fear of the law in mind of criminals which is main factor in curbing the crime from happening in first place?

And then comes my second question that if in CC TV which are effective only if someone is keeping constant eye on them & monitoring the wrong things being captured in it, & if such person sees a murder being happened on CC TV; then will he wait for order of court o act or give notice to the person who is murdering someone or shoot the criminal? I think here lays the gist of attitude of our govt when it’s controlling illegal construction. Someone might think mine is farfetched logic i.e. applying murder, CC TV to satellite survivalance for illegal constructions but let me tell you, more than murder or burglary, illegal construction is far serious crime. As when you build an illegal structure where hundreds of families will be living or working (if commercial building) then look at the crimes you commit in doing so! First you are encroaching on govt’s land ( most illegal buildings are build on govt’s land, that’s safest place) means its people’s property (read money) & has been reserved to serve the entire society which won’t happen now as the land is being used for crime. Second is the builder (read the one who has build the illegal structure) makes money by selling units  in such building to again people from the society by cheating them as no sane person will buy illegal homes/ offices with his hard earned money. Means cheating is involved in the crime along with looting public money. Third & foremost can you except good quality construction form the cheater or burglar attitude person, definitely answer will be “No”, means such person will build a building which will be dangerous to the users as fatal accident can happen with such building & refer all the major accidents (actually we can’t call them accidents, its murders) happened with buildings taking lives of hundreds of occupants & most of them you will find were illegal! And lastly by allowing illegal constructions happening in the city, we are making mockery of all the legal constructions, as in a way we are sending a message that those who follow or respect the law are fools! And by doing this we are in a way leading the entire society away from its basic purpose i.e. making ourselves a cultured peaceful living community, which we won’t ever be with this crime of illegal constructions happening around us! I hope I have tried to make you understand why I referred illegal constructions as more serious crime than murder & burglary as all these end results occurs when a building is illegally built!

Now coming to the news aspect of using satellite or drones to keep an eye on illegal buildings; well, to keep an eye on traffic I can understand that as traffic is a flowing thing & an accident can happen in a flash moment & by keeping an eye means monitoring the traffic not just remain the observer of traffic. Same way in a society CC TV acts as additional support to the watchman whose job is to stay alert & restrict entry of any outsider in the building premise as can you accept the logic that there is no watchman & just CC TV will protect the society from thieves? You will laugh at such idea so just keeping an eye won’t curb the crime rather it’s a post crime effort as I said earlier. Now consider illegal constructions, like the traffic jam or road accident or theft in society, does an illegal building gets build in over night or in some flash moment? Even a small kid can tell that even a single storied structure needs at-least a month to build then what the so called watchmen (read officers) who are supposed to stop illegal constructions were doing for one month when this building is being build? Rather look at all the constructions happening in & around our Pune city & who is taking any effort to stop the illegal constructions rather what checking system we have to check in first place which is legal & which is illegal construction, is the question we should ask. I remember, few years back when one such illegal building has been collapsed (most of them meet same end) the then concerned officer at top (read boss) called as usual meeting of all the interesting parties for action plan against illegal construction. First thing was making a list of all the so called illegal buildings in Pune District & in that meeting only one junior officer has jokingly commented, “Sir rather we should list the legal buildings first, that will be a easy task”, I think need I required to explain more about scene on this front of real estate? I am not worried about the scene on illegal constructions front as even in so called best country like USA, crime was on rampant & Mafia’s (The Mob) were used to rule the cities like Chicago. But the then USA govt took hard action against criminal & curbed entire criminal world, agreed crimes is second name of human nature & it won’t ever vanish but at least we can reduce its existence as that’s what we call a livable society. So it’s not the numbers of illegal constructions around us which bothers me but attitude of our rulers towards them is what main concern! Because all our rulers are like the myth of two faced snake, where one heads speaks sweet the other head spits venom, as on one head of our govt tries to show how innovatively & seriously it want to fight against illegal constructions where as the other head is busy in allowing the illegal constructions flourish as well regularize them! 

As, recently I got to read a news regarding some petition filed by an NGO challenging the decision of our State Govt, for regularizing illegal constructions till 2015. The Hon Court in first hearing itself has rightly asked, why up to 2015 only, what yard stick has been applied in doing so? And our this very govt (read rulers) now is busy in defending their love for illegal construction so why waste money in keeping eye on the same first, by applying satellites or drones, is I will like to ask.

Instead we have thousand of unemployed educated youth force with us, so why are we not using it to strengthen the so called anti illegal drive by forming a special squad at every city level? On one side whenever there is order from Hon High Court to demolish the illegal buildings the very same govt  under name of PCMC, MMC or Collector, starts crying about inadequate staff or infrastructure to remove the millions of illegal constructions & then issues a notification to regularize the illegal buildings, as that’s easier option. The problem is not of adequate infrastructure or man power as just like our public transport system is deliberately kept week so people has to buy private vehicles, in same way the anti illegal construction squad or drive (if at all its there) is kept weak, so people can build illegal buildings easily! As the illegal buildings helps two ways to the govt (read rulers), most of these builders (read the people who constructs illegal buildings) are some way related to some political party, so the "karyakartas" are kept happy & then homes or units in such buildings are way cheaper than legal buildings, so the buyers (read voters) are happy. And then every govt from 1995 has done one thing promptly & that is to keep the dead line of regularizing illegal buildings extending & now it has come to 2015! So in a way you keep securing vote bank & then tell me which party doesn’t want a happy vote bank?

Frankly illegal buildings is outcome of every govt’s failure to make affordable legal homes available to the masses & as govt fails to do this, so it turns a blind eye towards illegal construction & that’s the sole cause we are seeing more illegal buildings around than the legal ones! As on one side the govt keeps real estate bombarding with near impossible policies like parking provision, delaying development plans of the cities, 12% GST, ever increasing ready reckoner rates (though this year even govt didn’t dare to hike them as few voters lives in legal homes too & elections are nearby), no control on rates of essential materials like steel/cement as well land itself or not providing basic civic infra like roads, water & drainage to root level & yet expects affordable homes from the developers! And when the poor home buyer can’t afford to buy the legal homes the very same govt not only allows illegal buildings to be build but eventually regularize the same which in a way is killing the legal home & such legal home builders! I think high time like Cine/Movie Industry has united against piracy of movies same way CREDAI & such developers associations must unite against illegal constructions & take only available solace i.e. Hon High Court or Supreme Court. Though one hitch is there as even if court orders to demolish then it’s very same govt which is supposed to do the demolishing & we all have witnessed the enthusiasm of the govt for doing this. But till then at least we can keep fighting & making people aware about such two mouthed approach of govt towards this crime named illegal construction or else one day we will forget the term legal itself! Finally, I repeat I am not against use of technology like satellite or drones (even taking help of aliens, I don’t mind) but remember no technology will curb the hideous crime named illegal constructions but our will & wish to do so can only do it. Technology is just a weapon but finally any weapon’s effectiveness depends on the hands which held it & unfortunately our ruler’s (past & present) hands are not only weak but dirty too, so “God Bless the Legal Buildings & its Builders”, is all I can say!

Sanjay Deshpande 

Sanjeevani Dev.

Please view my sharing about real estate in Pune at U-Tube link below..

https://youtu.be/g3lx1Nq7pBs

Please do visit my blogs to know about our philosophy at Sanjeevani ! (Click the links below)

http://visonoflife.blogspot.in/2017/06/conveyance-unique-get-together.html

http://jivnachadrushtikon.blogspot.in/

Social Side of Sanjeevani ! (Click link below)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/sets/72157627904681345/

For any of your complaints about city, log in at link below

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Thanks to the Dead Black-buck!

“Every creature was designed to serve a purpose. Learn from animals for they are there to teach you the way of life. There is a wealth of knowledge that is openly accessible in nature. Our ancestors knew this and embraced the natural cures found in the bosoms of the earth. Their classroom was nature. They studied the lessons to be learned from animals. Much of human behavior can be explained by watching the wild beasts around us. They are constantly teaching us things about ourselves and the way of the universe, but most people are too blind to watch and listen.” … Suzy Kassem.

Suzy Kassem is an American writer, poet, philosopher, and multi-faceted artist of Egyptian origin. The granddaughter of a well-known sage in 19th century Cairo, mysticism and wisdom run through her blood just as the water of the Nile flows through her veins. Her above words from Rise Up & Salute the Sun tells us how every philosopher is connected with the nature & what better form than wild life can be there of nature! Unfortunate what Suzy learnt from wild life very few our countrymen learnt it even after being blessed in millions of hectors of forest & thousands of species of wild life animals in it! Why I remembered her quote about wild animals is recent Salman Khan blackbuck hunting trial; no, I am not in support or in oppose of Sallubhai as a person, indeed I am fan of his on screen presence but if he is guilty (that’s court to decide) then sorry, as a human being I won’t be respecting him anymore. Though this sharing isn’t about Salman’s case as enough has been written on every media about it, rather thanks to him that because of Sallubhai most of our fellow countrymen came to know that there is punishment of five years of imprisonment for killing a blackbuck i.e. a deer!

Unlike a human getting killed (read murdered) forest killings are very different case for trials; as to prove the crime is a tedious matter, getting witness is main problem. Because most of these wild life crimes happens away from human interference (not that it makes any difference looking at crimes happening in day light & still going undetected) & unfortunately neither the one which gets hurt or killed nor fellow animals can testify against the men who has made harm to them. So all forest dept (if at all it does) can do is relay on circumstantial evidence & if lucky can get actually some human witness who has enough courage to testify in court & needless to say not just courage to stand against the poachers or hunters who if can kill once are ready to kill again as well the witness should be able to refuse the ransom money offered in most cases. And on top of it the Hon Court should believe in the noble intentions of such eye witness against the crime then a verdict is possible. And all this thing should happen in time or else the Sallubhai case took twenty years to reach at verdict & that too in lower court, now there will be High Court & Supreme  Court, sure bhai will happily by then retired. I repeat I am referring Salman’s name just as a case study for the most neglected aspect of environment conservation that is poaching or let’s say wild life killing by human, knowingly or unknowingly & no personal grudge (rather it is, because by me any wild animal killer is as bad human being as murderer but that’s different aspect). On one hand all govt’s in the country, Central as well State are busy in promoting wild life conservation via appointing celebrities as brand ambassadors & spend millions in media with most popular tag line “Save Tiger” but like we have full-fledged police dept for law enforcement of human beings, the govt does nothing for protecting wild life or wild animals.

For e.g. refer the life of humans & the number of govt departments we have to make our life better, right from revenue to urban development to irrigation to water to roads to railways & what not we have millions of govt servants working for (or supposed to be working for, is right term) we the humans. And look at the wild life (including trees), all they has is just one forest dept which is supposed to conserve the existing wild life by protecting it from all sorts of human encroachments & poachers & hunters (which included celebrities as well figures in power) along with they are supposed to create more space for this wild life. And all of above things the forest dept is supposed to do single handedly with few IFS officers as well least of the staff & literally no infrastructure. If this is not enough then the govt’s for humans plans roads & railways right from the forests so the forest dept has to protect the animals from getting killed by the vehicles on these road/railways. Then there are villages which gets displaced by the reserved forests as well there are villages which are on the fringe of forests, so the forest dept has to balance the man animal conflict also, result of which is mostly death of wild animals! And yes on top of it this very same forest dept has to take care of tourists also which numbers are ever increasing per year as many thinks going in to forests & clicking snaps is what makes them a wild lifer!

Well if you are thinking I am being over sympathizing towards forest dept then read this; in year 2017 nearly 431 leopards got dead in the entire country, out of which 159 got killed by poachers or died under speeding vehicles or killed by villagers means humans were the cause of their death. In this year on in Maharashtra State 21 leopards got dead out of which only 7 numbers has dies natural death.  In last decade nearly 482 wild elephants die due to electrocution, a major cause of death of wild animals by villagers using electric supply fence (mostly illegal). It’s not just elephants there are birds like flamingos, lions, tigers , sloth bears, dears & many smaller animals died every year (rather day) all over the country due to get electrocuted, again by human govt supplied electricity! If this is not enough then in last year nearly over 50 numbers of tigers (our wild life’s brand ambassador) also has been died due to humans & yes few of them has died due to electric fences as well under railways as speeding vehicles on highways which cuts through their homes i.e. forests. And this is just about big animals as well recorded deaths, I think the numbers must be in thousands if we count deaths of night creatures like jackals, fox, wolfs, civets & yes snakes (I doubt anybody even bothers about snakes dyeing due to humans) getting killed due to we, the humans! And now on this background tell me after reading all the hohallaha about Sallubhai killing one blackbuck & getting convicted for five years, all that publicity was not for the death of one blackbuck but for our loved Sallubhai!

Need is not just blaming forest dept for ever bad thing happening to wild life but reformation of our entire approach towards wild life conservation. Strengthen the so called forest dept just the way we have done with our demands related to human life. This doesn't mean stop development, this means accommodate wild life also in our definition of the development & not just for some advertising but on ground level. I think first & foremost need is formation of wild life police force at Central as well State level. Here at city level even for starting a restaurant one is asked for local police force’s NOC, same should be happened with this wild life police force for anything related towards forests. As well give this wild life force man power as well law power to curb the wild life related crimes as imagine a case going on for twenty years at lower court lever for killing a black buck, so when we will be going to punish the guilty faces responsible for above mentioned thousands of wild life death which are murders in their own way actually! At the same time there has to be a planning authority which will supersede other local planning authorities especially for issues like reviving wild life corridors connecting forests. As by proper supervision & conservation we can protect as well increase the numbers of wild life animals but then we will need more forest space to accommodate these animals which is not happening. Same is scene for another major killer of wild life i.e. pollution; we pollute rivers as well air by every possible mean & present forest dept has no authority or control to stop this killer. And all what we have is some Pollution Control Board, who is busy is giving some figures of chemical contents but turns a blind eye on thousands of fish getting dead by whatever we are letting in our rivers & this is just tip of iceberg named pollution! So we need a squad especially to locate the pollution caused deaths of wild life & curb them by punishing the culprits & fast! To achieve this like we have TADA courts for terrorists, there has to be wild life courts at district level as well State & Central level for giving punishments in time to the wild life criminals & yes in all of above establishments there should be special trained man-power about wild life conservation along with knowledge of law & enforcement & urban planning.  

Thanks actually to the blackbuck who gave its life to a gun shot fired at him just for fun but today at least whole country is talking about wild life killing crime & as there is a celebrity involved, so the matter is taken by media to head lines. But everyday somewhere some wild animal is getting murdered (yes murder is proper term) by us & its death gets unnoticed & never comes to trial for getting justice! I think it’s very very high time we need to rethink about our entire forest dept rather wild life policy (read attitude). We keep worrying for our oil reserves thinking what will happen if all the oil in the worlds dries up, it will be nightmare, isn’t it? Just imagine if all the wild life gets died in our country (the day isn’t very long with our human govt’s attitude towards the wild life), we can at least import oil from other countries or we have alternate sources of renewable energy but from where we will get import trees, tigers, elephants & flamingos; have we thought of that? Well, many will say who needs Tigers, Elephants & Flamingos around for living in first place? We have malls, factories, 4 G connectivity, Metro, Industries & jobs created by them, so does it matters if we don’t have few tigers, elephants & flamingos? I don’t mind this as we definitely are fool enough to ask such question & my only answer is a life without wild life & forests around will be worse than death which coming time only will tell; till that time, all I will do is, recite Jesus Christ’s words, ”Forgive them Oh Lord, they just don't know what they are doing”!

-- 

Sanjay Deshpande 

Sanjeevani Dev.

Please view my sharing about real estate in Pune at U-Tube link below..

https://youtu.be/g3lx1Nq7pBs

Please do visit my blogs to know about our philosophy at Sanjeevani ! (Click the links below)

http://visonoflife.blogspot.in/2017/06/conveyance-unique-get-together.html

http://jivnachadrushtikon.blogspot.in/

Social Side of Sanjeevani ! (Click link below)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/sets/72157627904681345/

For any of your complaints about city, log in at link below

www.punecorporation.org

Think Green, Think Life

www.sanjeevanideve.com

Being a Good Father From Son's Eyes!

“I always wondered why God was supposed to be a father," she whispers. Fathers always want you to measure up to something. Mothers are the ones who love you unconditionally, don't you think?” … Jodi Picoult.

Jodi Lynn Picoult is an American writer. She was awarded the New England Bookseller Award for fiction in 2003. Currently approximately 14 million copies of her books are in print worldwide, translated into 34 languages. Agreed people don’t read fiction work for philosophy yet best of the philosophy I have encountered in fictions or even in animation & Jodi’s above quote do make my belief strong. Every year when it April & May, I wonder shall I stop writing to my sons, a ritual which I am doing since long! I even don’t know whether they read it as they rarely revert back but then neither I used to revert back to my father except replying in bare “Yes” or “No”, nay be that’s what Jodi meant as a father always wants his son (read daughter as well) to become something or always it’s an advise! This is not something any son likes, especially a growing one as here I remember a classic scene from “Indiana Jones & Last Crusade’, where the hero (super hero actually) Harrison Ford who has strained relation with his father Sean Connery, is trying to get hold of Holy Grail which has shown laying on a rock  leading to deep valley. Connery was holding his hand but Ford was keen on grabbing the grail, which was going to make him fall down in the valley; in the whole movie the father is shown teasingly calling his son “Junior’, means trying to show him that the son is not par with his father by achievements. In the last scene also Connery calls Ford, “Junior let it go”! The son didn’t look back & kept trying to reach for Grail, inching towards death, realizing this finally Connery calls him by his favorite nick name, “Indiana, let it go”! And hearing that Ford let the Grail go & Connery (the father) pulls him back from falling in the valley! I never realized the importance of this scene as I watched the movie for action yet somewhere the scene lingered in my mind & today I understand why it was lingered in my mind for years (more than thirty years) as in that one scene Spielberg (director) has shown the entire father son relationship, which I had lived now from both dimensions! As when the father realizes its his ego of being a better archaeologist than his son he has to let go & call him by his  name (not as  Junior) then only the son will let go his desire for that Grail & his life will be saved, that moment the father calls the son by his name & the son responds! This one scene tells entire story of father-son relation!

What a father wants from his son is the glory, the honor which he has wanted to achieve or has achieved by himself & what a son wants is, being free of comparison with his father or by his father as well just few words of appreciation by the father for whatever has been achieved by the son! Agreed no father (barring a few) will love to show his son down rather wants to see him doing better than the father itself, but most of the time the way to achieve or say to communicate this is a wrong way! Outcome is maximum sons ends up hating their father while they are growing up, though the graph of hatred eventually turn down when the son turns up a father himself but by that time the fathers life graph itself has headed towards the end in other words it’s too late!  A son-father is such a wonderful relation, a relation which is may not be full of love & affection or caring like the son-mother relation yet it has its own warmth of hidden emotions. One more wonderful movie rather all time classic is Disney’s animation “Lion King”, where a very strong father makes a brave king out of his slightly weaker sibling by sharing right things at right time & in right way which finely helps the son to understand his own capacities! I think what matters is the third aspect i.e. in right way as that’s where most fathers miss the train of bonding with their son, even I too have missed many of mine, I must admit! In recent times one more such animation movie “Good Dinosaur” revolves around father-son relationship. In our Bollywood, all father-son relations usually revolves around father disapproving son’s choice of life partner yet two wonderful movies, none other than that of Dilip Kumar & Amitabh Bachhan, yes “Shakti”! Where perfectly this relation has been captured & an end, memories of which still makes my eyes wet with dying Bachhan in arms of Dilipkumar has shown expressing his emotions about his father! And then very recent biopic movie of Amirkhan is Dangal, where a father tries to accomplish his incomplete mission of getting Gold Medal in world championship wrestling through his daughter!

Why I specifically mentioned above movies is a father’s emotional side is something never talked about & that is major cause as father’s especially Indian fathers are never known to open up & share their feelings with their siblings! That’s not done as having a dialogue with son has been always considered to be job of the mother (though a myth). I too was not exception & only after watching above movies I have realized my role as father is not just to pay for school/ college fees of my sons or scowl them for their studies but to make them understand what they are within & make them able to survive their own fight. And this realization is something most fathers miss as half of the life of an Indian father goes in establishing himself & just when he thinks he can spare some time for his own fun then the son has crossed teen age & it’s at this time the dialogue between father-son is most important which gets lapsed. As silently somewhere the younger genre, (which is lot smarter & mature than us than what we consider them) is observing us & building his own scale of respect in his mind for his father. I think for being a good father all one requires is, self understanding that it’s not what my son has achieved to make me proud but what as a father I have achieved to make him proud! As what better heritage you can leave behind for your son than respect in his mind for you for being a wonderful father!

I have always tried to write with my sons as today they may think it’s just one more lecture but some day when grown up they might go through these words again & think, their father was that bad after all; well, what more as a father I would want! Here is something I wrote to my younger son recently, sharing as some of the fathers’ reading this also can take up writing to their son….

Happy Birth Day "Rohan"

4th April 18

"I wonder what criteria do you use to divide people into good & evil"... Makishima Shogo.

Well Chota, I don't know this character but I know the character who keeps Shogo's dp! What a wonderful question as even after watching all my life Disney's, DreamWorks’s, Marvel's & DC's movies which are always based on fight between good & evil yet I couldn't find answer to this question!! But yes one thing I have realized these definitions one has to derive oneself as that's what in end defines what you are within, a good or devil. Chota, leave apart the question about Shogo has in his mind, I am more curious about questions in your mind & sometime  do try keeping your own questions as your dp ,as then I can know you better because it’s the questions you ask tells us about your thinking rather it makes us know that our thinking process is on. 

It’s your 21st birthday today & sometimes I wonder will I end up repeating the words which I wrote for dada on his that birthday two years back, every time I write to you on your birthday. But then you both are different, you are a dreamer & he is part dreamer & part practical!! You know what's your biggest strength, you are good at heart ( I still remember you buying ice-cream to the cleaner boy at Mayur paw bhaji on your last year birthday) but then life is understanding what we are bad at & then only we can improve! And your biggest drawback, that's your over goodness towards everybody but neglecting your own self! You are studying management & let me tell you a good manager is the one who can manage his or her own life first as then only you can manage others! And for that required commitment & dedication to bend our self in good habits & it can be right from arranging your clothes to following timing of any meeting, anything!   One more thing, nothing wrong in being a dreamer but if the dreams are not backed with a fire within to make them reality, the very same dreams can makes us a useless depressed man, which society calls a loser & you are not one! Chota, good & evil is what you think about yours & others & in what way! If a person is thinking all the time selfishly then its evil but that doesn't mean neglect yourself as that's being evil to our own self! Nothing wrong in trying to become a better person than what you are but for that you have to think what you are first!

I am sure today every time when you will be reading my letters on your birthdays, you must be thinking what "Ghisa Pita" advise every year but then some things never change as the way you are thinking about my words, I used to think in same way about my father's words (rather in more bad way) when I was of your age. But at this age I wish I should have listened my parents more seriously & like any father I don't want you repeating my mistakes but then it’s the mistakes we do makes us a better person, only if we accept them as mistakes in first place! So go on son, keep doing mistakes but get the best out of them as you are fortunate to afford mistakes, which many are not! As you know being lucky is not in anybody's control but what you do with the luck you have, is solely in your own control! 

Though I am writing all these words but the feelings are jointly shared by all your family, which includes even neeta aatya, nikhil & ketki & kedar kaka too & many more! Be grateful to them always & to every that person which wants to see you doing good, as that's one sure sign of goodness!

baba,aai, dada, aaji, aabbu.

-- 

Sanjay Deshpande 

Sanjeevani Dev.

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