Nilgiris, not just a Movie but a Warning!

 

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“The only biodiversity we’re going to have left is Coke versus Pepsi. We’re landscaping the whole world one stupid mistake at a time.” ― Chuck Palahniuk

“I always say that the Earth is not our home, because the term "home" has the connotation of permanent ownership. Rather, it is a dormitory where we need to learn to live together by sharing with each other and caring for one another.” ― Shivanshu K. Srivastava

“Neither Superman nor Captain America is real. Real heroes who will save our planet are activists and biodiversity savers.” ― Hakan Kapucu

Charles Michael Palahniuk is an American novelist. Shivanshu K. Srivastava is an accomplished writer, poet and legal professional based in Lucknow, India. Hakan Kapucu is Technoversal Leader at VC Law & Consultancy, Istanbul, Turkey. Interestingly, two of the above quote writers represent the Law fraternity also & the subject of sharing thought isn’t law making or such (thankfully) yet it has lots of social law thingy involved in it & how animals are far better on that front than the humans! And the subject of sharing merges two of my most favourite topics (no, it’s not tadoba & cricket) i.e. movies & wildlife at large! I bumped (that’s right word) on a movie named Nilgiris, though the names sounds like of some beautiful lady (that’s true actually), it’s a documentary film about Nilgiris mountain ranges which lays in southern peninsula of our country & joins eastern & western ghats! The name Nilgiris must be because of the bluish haze its most of the time covered in i.e. Blue Mountains!  Well, this is like the way they teach us geography in school to get marks but such words hardly make us realize the kind of heaven this place is & they fail to make us know the importance of Nilgiris in not just our lives but in the lives of thousands of species of every kind & many of them are found only in these mountains! At the same time geography textbook words fail to make us realize the scale of this wonderful heaven & its relation to so many things which makes the entire world's life a shade better, that’s the object of my sharing!

Well, Nilgiris as I said, is a documentary made by Indian Technicians, Photographers, Director & all such crew & first & foremost, hundred percent marks for their efforts in making a film about this hidden jewel of our country. Hidden I said because, not just the wild lifers (read as common wild lifers which has good gear of camera & thinks they know everything about wildlife) but forest dept & lastly our rulers (do they know ever any such thing, sarcasm) doesn’t know such forest exists & it’s under great threat (as usual, sarcasm) & problem is because of its remoteness & lack of tiger sightings, not many are aware about the damage its being put under! Needleless to say, the threat is none other than we the humans & reasons are Tea/ Coffee in & plantations around Nilgiris as well as tourism & so-called developments such as roads, railway lines & many more. Best part of the movie is the efforts they have put in visuals of road crossing efforts by Indian Gaurs & CCTV footage of Sloth Bear entering a vacant farm-house amidst tea estate & a Leopard hunting a domestic dog from a bungalow’s veranda. All such moments make us know the desperate efforts which these wild species are trying to keep themselves alive among the humans which are surrounding their home (and polluting too) from all directions & these animals have no means to protect themselves but to learn the rules of human beings & start living by them!

Usually when not many people go to such wildlife films in movie theatre or talkies & those who goes usually gets mesmerized by the cinephotography of such films & thanks to NatGeo or Discovery or Animal Planet, even Indian people have got lot of exposure of wildlife photography & comparison of all those things are bound to happen with Nilgiris! I will tell to all of them, please don’t expect exotic photography of tiger hunting or some underwater diving type shots or chase for life type drama in Nilgiris! Indeed, there is some wonderful footage of the drone of a tiger & its unsuccessful hunting as well as rare documentation of wild dogs’ pack lifestyle but watch Nilgiris for the day-to-day photography of nature around us & its destruction! This is where Nilgiris is different & special as it shows us wildlife living right within the humans & reasons behind it. How these wonderful biodiversity rich mountains/ hill ranges got under tea & coffee plantation due to British Raaj & how that changed the core of this habitat, which is core of the film. This one single aspect is enough to make us know the damage the British have done to our country & even when they have left us the damage is continued due to the way they have done it & we are carrying it ahead! British may have taken away Kohinoor & gold & jewellery from us but that’s one time loss, the encroachment they did on our culture & nature, we are paying the price even today for the same & Nilgiris shows this aspect in a naked crude way to us which till now nobody has shown.  As till now the Coorg, Kannur, Madikeri, Uti all these locations are considered as tourists paradise for the greenery & scenic beauty of the green hills the coffee/tea plantation resorts offer to the visitors but what price the surrounding wildlife is paying for this development that no-body has tried to show, which Nilgiris dared to do! Another aspect is the way wild animals are adopting to live with humans which not many urban people are aware of & with the help of local CCTV footage Nilgiris shows us the scene on the roads of towns here, after the sunset. The way wild animals have adopted to shrinkage of their homes due to humans is admirable & sad also, as leopard hunting domestic dog or Indian gaur trying to cross the road adjusting its vision to floodlights of moving vehicles hits us hard, if we care for these things a bit in the first place! As well, the way sloth bear family & leopards have adjusted their own living according to seasonal changes of human movements in & around tea plantations, is also very touchy & informative!

Last but not least, Nilgiris is not a mere film or documentary but it’s a message (read as warning) to the entire man-kind (especially our country) about the destination we are heading to, under the name of development which actually is destruction! In Nilgiris’ script it’s not the people, not animals, not trees but Nature (read as Biodiversity) is in the lead role, rather is the only character in the entire movie! Nature is also the main lead in our lives but it is mostly in the background & silent, until it screams! And once nature starts screaming then we must pay attention & pay the price of these screams also.

 Nilgiris also touches on an aspect of ever-increasing human population about which every ruler & every political party is silent & has turned a blind eye but nature hasn’t done that! One day or other if we don’t learn to accommodate the wildlife in our growth then one thing is sure & that is not development but disaster, I think that’s the warning Nilgiris has given us! And yes, thanks to Mr.Nandan Nilekani & his family as they have funded this project & wildlife even awareness needs lots of money & not many rich people’s pockets are open for this cause which Mr.Nilekani did, so sincere thanks to him! And thanks to the forest depts of respective States also for supporting the project! Speaking about the movie review, all I will say, everybody must watch “Nilgiris”, & adopt just one aspect of living after watching it & that is, learn to coexist with wildlife, if you want to live in a world which has butterflies, birds, flowers, grass, trees, streams & yes tigers too; adios with this note!

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Sanjay Deshpande 

smd156812@gmail.com

Sanjeevani Dev.

Please view my sharing about finding a Right Home/ Office in Pune, at YouTube link below & share if liked...

 

https://youtu.be/27j3I3rwGPQ?si=-ODYBxVI2Dl_C345

 

Please do visit my blog links below to read about real estate & home buying! 

https://visonoflife.blogspot.com/2024/12/right-home-buying-in-2025.html

https://jivnachadrushtikon.blogspot.com/2024/12/2025.html

Creating Togetherness; team Sanjeevani Way (Click link below) 

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Art of Right Workamanship !

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“Resources are hired to give results, not reasons.”

“A good swordsman is more important than a good sword.”
― Amit Kalantri

Amit Kalantri is a professional magician and mentalist, known for his unique and sophisticated shows that involve audience participation and subtle humour. He also teaches magic and other intelligent arts through his organization, "Beautiful Minds". More importantly from Wikipedia only I came to know that he also is from Akola, a town near to my hometown in Vidarbha! Rarely have I used two quotes of the same writer for one sharing but that shows Amit’s command on the subject i.e. humans & their attitude not just towards work at hand but at life at large! Now, if you are 9 you must be) wondering where I am venturing this time from my favourite topics such as Tadoba & of-late Cricket, then thanks to my friend who by her conversation pinched me hard & made me realize I am an engineer & a businessman (read as builder) too & there are issues, topics which needed to look after. Fun of the human mind is, with repeated frustration or negativity about any particular topic or subject, your subconscious mind makes you avoid that subject how much so ever important it may be for your work or business, such is the power of our mind! And I am sure you must be still wondering where this mind is going, then it’s about workmanship in real estate & it’s not just site or construction related workmanship but on every front of this industry, from marketing, to maintenance to even admin/ HR also! It all started with some repairing work in the home of my friend’s maid where we helped to replace/ repair tiles of her home by sending labourers/ masons from one of our sites.  Indeed, it was a great help to the poor lady & they did complete the work but with lots of follow-up & eventually when the work completed my friend called me to convey thanks yet she said there had been few issues. The cleaning work after tiling work completed hasn’t been done properly (read as not done at all) & those people broke frame for fixing TV on one of the walls while removing it for wall tiles fixing & her maid needed to take half day leave to get that job done as she was a single parent person with no helping hand at home! And my friend asked me, indeed it was a big help to the maid yet can’t your people complete the work in the right way & why they leave behind such residual things which hardly needs any additional efforts, especially when main job they have done, but such small lacunas leave bitter taste in the end? This question awakened the hidden (read as I have hidden) subject in my work which is real estate & it is fineness in the job & understanding right workmanship! Frankly, more than traffic, water, garbage, or urban planning the major frustration I get is, from this subject i.e. workmanship at present in real estate & that is why I was avoiding to write, even to discuss about it & now you will understand the prologue gyan.com about that subconscious mind thingy!

Though I sent again the workers & the issue at that maid’s home got sorted but it remained in my mind as of-late whenever there is gathering of my age group people in the industry or say site related personnel who are on other side of age of forty-five, the only common topic is “apane time aisa nahi tha” (work was different at our times). And trust me, our time doesn’t mean some thirty forty years back, it’s just some ten / fifteen odd years & there is a sea change in the entire working system (I call it as attitude)! And I am not the only person who feels so, but every that person who loves or care for his or her work, may it be site or office or documentation or billing or sales or maintenance, any damn thing, he will feel the difference while dealing with the people around when it’s about finishing the job or work at hand. I am not saying we were from another planet or superior, rather today genre is more smart, effective, fast & practical but they use all their skills only when they think there is something of their interest in any work, then only they are effective or else they care a hang about the work, is a statement I am making in my full senses! And I am not intending to insult today’s genre nor doubt their motifs or skills, it’s just something is missing in defining the workmanship or how to complete a work at hand, is my subject of sharing!

And the problem may be with us (my genre) as we failed to pass on the baton of right workmanship to the next genre, the way it’s been passed to us but that doesn’t change the fact & problems it’s been creating at work places. May it be having a thorough check at site for cleaning the waste material after the day’s work ends or may it be switching lights at site on when it's darkness or it may be filing properly all the concerned drawings or even it can be getting some document inwarded or returning call of anybody, the list of leaving the work at hand incomplete or say not taking it to right destination is bigger than Hanumanjiki Punchh (plz google)! This is where the attitude towards workmanship comes into play as most of the people (read as staff or working team) don't understand (or don’t bother) what outcome is expected from the respective individual from the task given to them! Workmanship is about giving the result the way some job has been told or given to you & for that most important is understanding of that job, which is the weakest link of today’s genre! And I am not saying this just because I am the boss of some company or sit on the other side of the table named employment but because I too have worked as an employee for a long time & have seen the way people used to work. There always will be people who just work for the sake of working or for salary but there were people who used to work not just because they get paid for that work but for something more & that something more is missing today from most peoples’ working, is my subject of sharing!

Interestingly when my frustration levels were running high because of the subject in mind, I came across one wonderful article about Bossism, which writes about the wrong way of boss, means wrong workmanship of a boss & I do value that aspect of workmanship also. Because a lot matters in your earlier days, who was your boss & how he trained (read as treated) you as those teachings (read as scars) remains for long time but then it's your choice as why are you working in any place in the first place, as that’s what going to define your future! This is era of gains & that to fast, nobody is ready to wait & this creates big problem in learning process of your work as there is no fast forward in workmanship learning, so first learn patience, this I will  tell to the bosses (boss in me too) as well to the employees as if you acquire skills that will be helpful to you in any job you will be doing, so learn the right workmanship for your own sake & in the process it will benefit to your company also, is simple logic! But for that give time & concentrate on the minute details of the job, whatever it may be. Right from returning a call to arranging your table to maintaining a work diary, the smallest things matter a lot if you want to become a perfectionist in workmanship! Another major problem of many people is laziness or reluctance to write as on one side our memory is remaining unused (thanks to google & smart phones) & on other side we don’t take on habit of writing down things & causing errors, mistakes & forgetting tasks & outcome is stress, for your own self & for your boss too! And do mind this is applicable to the boss also as today you may be working under somebody but tomorrow somebody will be working for you & if you don’t have cultivated the right habits for yourself how you can expect your juniors will adopt them, right?

Last but the most important, learn to become the owner of any job given to you or undertaken by you, as unless you do that you will never master the Art of Right Workmanship! And this statement I am not making just for sounding my words great nor are they cut-pasted from some Management Gurus’ book neither written with the help of Chat GPT (today’s buzzword), but that’s what I always feel for my work! What I mean taking ownership is, don’t think about in what capacity you are working & for whom or how much you are getting paid for the job, just think that this is your job & you are the boss of it & then you will start seeing the things about that job which no B’ School can teach you! Will give a small example of my own set up, many a times when my team member (staff, I don’t like to call them) get some quotation or workorder for finalization to me, may it be electric bill or some tile contractors rate or insurance renewal of a car & many such, I just ask them one simple question, check it first thinking it’s your own expense & then come to me! Means, if its electric bill then you will check every unit & rate of the same has it been your home electricity bill, do the same for whichever electricity bill you are checking. If it's a car insurance renewal, then check the terms & conditions & premium amount as keenly as you would have checked for insurance renewal of your own two-wheeler. And, think that you are fixing tiles for your own home & now decide the rate of the contractor, this is what I call taking ownership as after this if you make a mistake then that’s ok as you have given your best & then the mistakes will make you better as now, you own those mistakes too! And this attitude is applicable for every aspect of the work which unfortunately is missing for the employees & the employers too which is the major problem of today’s working! And the only solution for this problem of mastering workmanship is patience, training & lead by self-example & if you are a boss then you only will have to take the lead, this I tell to myself every morning when I look in the mirror! Will share a wonderful story, which I have come across in the Zen Speaks book & it wonderfully explains the advantages of Owning the Job attitude, again what to or whether to take from the story, your choice, adios with this note…

An old carpenter was about to retire. He told his boss of his plans to quit carpentry and house building and live a quieter life with his family. Of course, he would miss the monthly payment, but he needed the pension. The owner of the company felt the loss of one of his best employees and asked him to build one last house as a special favour. The carpenter consented, but over time it was easy to see that his thoughts and heart were not on the job. He did not commit himself to the service and used inferior-quality labour and raw materials. It was an unfortunate way for him to conclude his career. When the carpenter finished his work, the builder came to inspect the house and handed the carpenter the door key. “This is my gift to you,” he explained. What a shock! How embarrassing! If he had known he was building his own house, he would have done it completely differently, he wouldn’t have been so relaxed. Now he would have to live in a house made anyway….

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Sanjay Deshpande 

smd156812@gmail.com

Sanjeevani Dev.

Please view my sharing about finding a Right Home/ Office in Pune, at YouTube link below & share if liked...

 

https://youtu.be/27j3I3rwGPQ?si=-ODYBxVI2Dl_C345

 

Please do visit my blog links below to read about real estate & home buying! 

https://visonoflife.blogspot.com/2024/12/right-home-buying-in-2025.html

https://jivnachadrushtikon.blogspot.com/2024/12/2025.html

Creating Togetherness; team Sanjeevani Way (Click link below) 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/albums/72157627904681345

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India England Test Series; Test of Self Belief!

 

 

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“The beauty of Test cricket is all about playing an opponent in their backyard or defending home turf under challenging conditions over five days - dominating each session, dominating each day, picking 20 wickets to win a contest. That's historically been cricket's most fascinating gift”… Ravi Shastri.

‘Physically, Mentally, Emotionally, this series has taken away a lot from each of us, but in return it has gifted us something very important & that is character” ... KL Rahul.

“Battles are remembered not by their result but for the way warriors fought them”… Me.

Well, finally the five test match series between India-England ended yesterday & the words about them by two men, one is great critic as well a player by himself & other was part of that series & has lived it on the ground for twenty-five days of game & nearly forty days in that biosphere! And then my words which I used as my status for today about the series not just the last test match, such intense was the way it was fought, yes played will be a very mild word to describe the game! As in the fourth test Rishabh Pant batting with fractured right foot, barely able to stand & in the last minutes of final day of fifth test Chris Voalks with left shoulder dislocated & pain covering his face with every step he was taking yet deciding to play as his team needed him to bat, these images are not just game, its battle & yet full of sportsman spirit! Because the standing ovation which Pant got when his image appeared on the door of dressing room limping towards the crease or Volks coming out on ground after the ninth wicket fall & a hug given by Siraj to him after India won the last test, all these moments though are history but will be lingering in every sports lover’s mind for sure, even a diehard cricket hater’s too, such was the impact of this series!

Oh k, the sharing is about cricket & a record for myself as out of five test matches, four times I felt the urge to write about it & trust me I have been watching, following cricket for last forty years & I haven’t experienced (as seen or listened isn’t enough word) such series of games (matches) & I am not referring to records which have been made by breaking the age old records but the level of game & the commitment by every single player that too for all five matches, man oh man, it’s amazing, just amazing to feel! Fortunately, as the matches were being played in England, I could watch half part of the day’s play when I am back at home, again a rare thing for me. And all this when people were saying test match pattern of cricket is extinct! On fifth day of test match in the morning after our badminton game my friend who is Vaishali’s manager was discussing with me about probable outcome & I said we will win & I will give lunch to all the floor boys of Vaishali (sweepers, table cleaners) & one waiter who was listening he said, Sir knows, he need not have to give party, means we are not going to win is what he thought! In India, on three things anybody is allowed (and welcomed) to share his or her opinion, Politics, Movies & Cricket & this kind of series is very important to add on the popularity of not just cricket but entire sports at large, is what I personally feel! And of-late in the age of speed where interest of people is as paper thin as just 20-seconds (reels mania) making masses to sit for seven hours a day & for five days is a near impossible job but that also is possible, is what this test series has shown us!

Well, as I mentioned the series in the process of taking the game to battle level has broken many age-old records as well created new ones but more than that it helped many youngsters to discover themselves, & these are not my just observations but words of Captain of England team, who pushed himself to physical limits in making his team win & in the process has to sit out for the last test such tortured his body was! Before I share my take away from the test series one must know the level of excellence, individual as well team’s with which this series was played (read as fought) & here are few, I am deliberately not giving much importance to figures but achievements, so pardon me if some mathematical or parodical errors…

The total number of runs made by both teams jointly is second ranking.

The total numbers of hundreds as well fifties made by batsmen from both sides is also in tune with number one in table. And above are

The total number of balls played by the Indian team is maximum.

The victory margins by runs in the overseas is maximum for team India in the second test & so was with minimum margin in winning in the last test.

In recent times, this was the first five test series where all test matches went for five days.

Team India has never won the last match of five test series overseas.

For the first time Indian pace bowlers took five wicket hauls for five times in a test series.

These are a few of the team records made & broken & do mind we are referring to a nearly hundred plus years period here! On the front of individual records also this series was phenomenal as every team member stretched himself to limits, physical & mental & outcome is bound to be extraordinary on personal performance also!

Shubhan Gill as batsman has made place for himself in all time great performances with maximum individual runs in a series by Captain & in the process he has gone above, Sunil Gavaskar, Virat Kohli & Sachin Tendulkar & these all are no less than Gods for Indian cricket! At the same time he has made his entry into a list which has names like Sir Don Bradman, Sir Garry Sobers, that too at the age of twenty five!

Jadeja became first batsman batting on number six position & aggregating more than five hundred runs against England in England.

Nearly five batsmen made their individual best in the overseas in one series.

Mohammad Siraj became the maximum wicket taking bowler in a single series in England, joining Bumrah at that position. And needless to tell, post this series, many of the Indian players have risen to their individual all time high positions in respective categories as per ICC rankings, that's a by-product of playing your heart out! BTW, all the names of the players, places mentioned in sharing you can google for them if want more information or introduction about them!

And, there are many more records, firsts', but I will skip that part as the sharing is not about records but about the attitude displayed by Indian team, again I am deliberately referring to Indian team’s attitude & character! That too because, one, we were visitors in a country where our track record is against us even with big players, two, the team was young, & three the opponent was not just experienced in every field but has proved themselves with Baz-ball way (plz google) & it was the Indian team who has to prove themselves as worthy to such opponent & last but not least, even before start of the series everybody has written this Indian team off from the series!  On all such backgrounds when the series gets tied, 2-2 & one draw then I must say, figures never justify the battle & its intensity, which was shown by team India. As had there been some more maturity & experience then this score would have been 3-1 & a draw or even 4-0 & a draw too in the favour of team India. Earlier many would have laughed at this statement but now after the series is over even the most critic of Indian teams also would join my opinion; I am sure & this is the biggest achievement of our team! And then, after the last match, the entire media not just the sports world, is buzzing with one word, “Believe” (now, trademark of M.Siraj) as that’s what this Indian team did & it can be the best motivation for entire nation’s frustrated souls who thinks, “yaha kuchh nahi badalnewala”! This shift of attitude from “hope” to “believe”, is the biggest & best outcome of India England test series & it’s not just for the players but for everybody associated with the game. Rather those who hate cricket should also watch its glimpses (thanks Jio Hot Star) as each of us has to face our hardest test which for some is bad luck & for the few is an opportunity to prove what we are capable of & those few are the champions! This young team India has nothing to lose actually, when they went for the team, even if they would have come defeated badly nobody would have blamed them & all just hoped that they will give some fight. But the team didn’t rely on hope, instead they believed in themselves & they delivered what nobody even hoped for, a series draw which is more than a win actually!! As KL Rahul very rightly said, this kind of battle takes away a lot from you but gifts you back your identity & character as that’s what is going to decide your fate forever! I don’t know about others yet even at my age which is on the other side of fifty, I learned a lot from this test series & it's definitely not how to play cricket but a lot more than that & that is, how to face the toughest of the challenges! Thanks, young team India for making me understand the meaning of “Believe” & its importance in fighting my battles, sure many more to come from you; keep fighting & keep growing with every battle, adios with this note!

(On a very personal note, the biggest satisfaction for me was watching two guys whose names are "Krishna & Mohammad", were pouring their hearts out, fighting shoulder to shoulder together to make the Indian Team win a battle which most must have thought lost already, and they did it together!! At Least now, all those fools who fight over religion & caste in this country must have realized what is the right way to victory, lets learn from this win!! Team Sanjeevani salutes Team India..!)

-

Sanjay Deshpande 

smd156812@gmail.com

Sanjeevani Dev.

Please view my sharing about finding a Right Home/ Office in Pune, at YouTube link below & share if liked...

 

https://youtu.be/27j3I3rwGPQ?si=-ODYBxVI2Dl_C345

 

Please do visit my blog links below to read about real estate & home buying! 

https://visonoflife.blogspot.com/2024/12/right-home-buying-in-2025.html

https://jivnachadrushtikon.blogspot.com/2024/12/2025.html

Creating Togetherness; team Sanjeevani Way (Click link below) 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/65629150@N06/albums/72157627904681345

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

www.punecorporation.org

Think Green, Think Life

www.sanjeevanideve.com / https://junglebelles.in/