Colours....Hues and shades of self and Holi....

Colours....Hues and shades of Holi.....

Holi is Vishnu's favourite festival, perhaps the only festival for which he waits eagerly throughout the year. Maybe because he and his friends are able to just let go and have a lot of fun. Also the fact that all members of our society come together for celebrating it and are with each other from morning till late afternoon.
The ladies are specially happy as they have to neither make breakfast nor lunch as all arrangements are made by the society.
Our day on Holi starts with a sumptuous breakfast in the common area of the society. This is followed by a celebration with colours dancing and games. The icing on the cake are dumb charades where.we have great fun in guessing names of movies. A mouthwatering lunch is followed by a game of tambola housie. Simple, harmless joy and revelry reflecting the true spirit of Holi. That is what it evinces, celebrating together forgetting all the grudges and blending together like a spectrum of colours.
Honestly , Imagine a life without colours! No reds, blues or greens, nor yellow and orange and no violet or Indigo. Not even black and white to give it the depth, how would our lives be? The profundity of colours makes our life beautiful.
Nature in all its bounty is so colourful so also our festivals. Amongst them is Holi, the festival of colours.
Holi is also associated with the onset of spring when nature is at it's best. Flowers in full bloom make Holi special.
Legends associated with it tell us about Holika and the burning of the evil and with it all.our negativity on the night before Holi. The next day is dhuleti or dhuli vandan when humanity is consumed in a riot of colours. Krishna is the centrifugal force around whom the celebrations converge. Natural colours, mystical music and raas leela were the driving points in that age. With the passage of time colours became synthetic and unnatural and the festivities lost that spirit. Of course , what has remained is the desire to let bygones be bygones, forget the grudges and enmity and soar with the spirit of , "Buraa naa maano, holi hain."
At times apparently harmless festivities get transformed into unpleasant experiences often scarring young minds. The boisterousness associated with it is akin to treading on a thin line. It is therfore important to maintain equilibrium during the celebrations.
Our lives are no different as the balance has to be maintained there too.
Really speaking colors are devoid of
property by themselves. What we see as colours is the reflection or absorption of the property of light. A particular colour is seen by us because the prevalent light is unable to absorb that colour.
Our lives too are reflections of our thoughts and emotions. At times we laugh with joy, or cry with sorrow. Sometimes we are angry and sometimes upset. We are loving at times and afraid on some occassions. Sometimes we hurt others with our harsh words. Our emotions are coloured with our thoughts and our actions are based on them. We fall prey to these and end up reacting instead of responding to situations. The tone of our voice, the words we chose are either absorbed or reflected by the person whom we are interacting just like colours.
The colours of Holi may fade away for sure and as humans we may forget what someone has said to us but how we are made to feel by someone remains with us all our lives.
So let's try and be like the rainbow reflecting all colurs of joy,  the VIBGYOR in all its glory. Let the colour of wheel of our emotions drive us to positivity. Let us revel in the colours of joy and true Holi spirit....Happy Holi.....

Convocations and commecements, at the Public Degree College, Santacruz ....

Convocations and commecements....

Convocations have something about them. The flowing robes, the square shaped motor boards, students gleefully throwing them in the air with fulfillment on their graduation!!!!
Every person graduating dreams of doing this but not all have the fortune to experience it. Somehow, I too had missed that in my life. I was therefore very excited when I was invited to be the chief guest at the Convocation ceremony in Hind Seva Parishad's Public School and College at Santacruz , Mumbai.
My memories of this institution are more than a decade. Twenty years ago, when I was posted as a Deputy Collector in the Mumbai Suburban district, one fine morning, I was greeted by a professor with a request for intervention in some land matter. That was my first interaction with Mr.Yagyanarayan Dubey. I was intrigued by his persistence, his struggle to get the title of a piece of land which had been encroached. In all eagerness, he asked me to visit the place to understand his case better. The bearings of my parents made it impossible for me to refuse a teacher and so very soon I went to the location.
I ascertained the facts and gave my decision soon not knowing that a simple , matter of fact decision would ultimately be an edifice transforming the lives of thousands of children from the localities nearby. I had the opportunity to visit the school often thereafter and each time I visited I would be pleasantly surprised by its growth.
It is an organisation which has been working since 1980 for the education of students from the poor families of the slums and hutments including children of hawkers, labourers and other needy people.
Beginning from a small hut in Alka Nagar of Santacruz, it now runs courses from pre- primary, primary to secondary Junior and Degree College.
Mr. Dube takes great pride in the fact that his institute is from KG to PG. It works from 7 a.m in the morning till 10.30 PM at night in three shifts and is therfore also sunlight to tubelight.
He began with a night school and college for those who studed upto seventh in the 16 Municipal schools nearby but were unable to complete their education since they did not have the means to travel elsewhere in Mumbai. Establishing the night degree college in 1998 was a great step. Today the institute has graduate and postgraduate courses in Arts, Science, Commerce and Management. Among the 3000 students being taught there almost 85 percent of the students are girls.
It was a moment of great satisfaction for me as I could not only don the convocation gown but also confer degree certificates to 90 graduate and postgraduate students in Commerce and 6 students in Management. The pride and satisfaction on their faces was so fulfilling. It was a milestone in their lives and the beginning of a new phase.
The foundation of our lives rests on education and theirs had been laid thanks to their alma mater. Today , the college is an eight floor building with state of art facilities. The change brought into the lives of the poor and the needy due to their efforts was extremely laudable. My head bowed down in reverence for their  contribution to this cause.....

Desh ka tyohaar, Celebration of Democracy....

Desh ka tyohaar, Celebration of Democracy....

I reached Vigyan Bhavan at Delhi in right earnest yesterday for my training as an Election Observer. This would be the fourth time I was going but the scene at the registration desk every time is of carmederie, with friends and batchmates meeting, finding out the constituency to which they are posted. An air of enthusiasm is always there. More so this time as even the Election Commission has named the Lok Sabha elections as "Desh Ka Tyohaar",
India has always been looked up to as an icon by other democratic countries. Elections are conducted every 5 years but with each passing year the process has become more refined.
No doubts, it was Mr.T.N.Seshan who gave free and fair elections the face it has in India today. The efforts he made to strictly enforce the code of conduct will never be forgotten. However in the past few years, a definite advancement and improvement in the conduct of elections has certainly taken place. Effective steps have been inititaed to make it more scientific and inclusive.
While enrolment as a voter is a continuous process and revision of rolls is done every year, people take it seriously only after declaration of polls. It is the responsibility of the voter to ensure his name is in the rolls but most of us rarely do it. And then begins the blame game if their names are omitted or deleted in the rolls. The ECI has therefore made a number of apps not only to create awareness but to make voters  more vigilant and ensure their name is not  excluded, deleted or omitted from the voters list. So we now have a helpline 1950, a website , www.nvsp.in, various apps like #GoVerify, # GoCall, # GoRegister, # GoVote.
These proactive measures speak a lot about the sincerity and seriousness of the ECI to ensure that elections are more and more inclusive.
Just as efforts are made to have error free rolls , efforts are also made to have the best people working for the conduct of elections. Requisitioning of staff is done carefully and efforts are also made to train them sufficiently.
Most government servants and officials get an opportunity to participate in this jamboree at least once in their service period.
The election law being succinct and clear, conduct of elections is like operating a well oiled machine. The roles and responsibilities being specific makes things easy.
The Election Commission came into existence one day before India became a Republic under article 324 of the constitution. About 500 people work for it. However, once the elections are announced, officers and staff from all departments are requisitioned for the conduct of polls. Thus, when elections to a newly independent India were conducted in 1950 the services of about 1.3 million persons were requisitioned. Today over 11 million officials and staff are deployed for the conduct of poll.
No wonder it has become the biggest event of the globe in any democratic country.
With each passing year conduct of selections have become more demanding and challenging and therefore entail elaborate preparations.
Apart from making it free and fair, the emphasis is also on making it more transparent and inclusive. Election Observers are appointed in the constituencies to reinforce the faith of the people and the candidates on the process. It is also done to bring in the element of externality, to neutralise any element of partiality and maintain credibility of the processes.
This is also to create a unbiased, conducive atmosphere for conduct of polls, ensure law and order is maintained as also to curtail muscle power, money power and malpractices.
Efforts are also made to ensure that voters have assured minimum facilities by way of water, electricity, ramp, furniture, help desk, signages and toilet. Special efforts are made for facilitating persons with disabilities and women.
Booth level officers are appointed to reach out all voters in their homes. People can also get replies to their queries through the call centres.
Software like the ERONET for error free electoral rolls, CVIGIL citizen vigilant app to capture live violation anywhere with a facility to upload along with a brief description are revolutionary.
The Voter helpline app which gives all information to the voter about his name, polling station, way to reach has become the 7th highest rated app. A single window system, SUVIDHA has also been established to issue permissions to contesting candidates in 48hours. Samadhan, the national grievance portal is accessible at all times. Most importantly 100 percent use of EVMs, Electronic Voting Machine and VVPATS, Voter verifiable paper trail to verify the vote has gone to the person one has voted are significant. Service voters also have the facility to vote via electronic postal ballot.
No stone is left unturned to ensure a systematic conduct of elections for the
90 crore voters of the country.
Very aptly it has also been named as a festival of the country in the hope that all people will participate enthusiastically.
Instead of joking on WhatsApp about long weekends and holidays and being apathetic by not voting, it is the duty of every citizen to ensure that each one of us remains present in the city where they are enrolled as voters and exercise their right to vote.
Franklin Roosevelt has said that , "Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a President and senators and congressmen and government officials, but the voters of this country."
We are fortunate to be born in a democratic country without fear of our freedom being throttled. We must therfore learn to respect the echelons of this edifice. It is upto us to achieve what we desire. If we desire democracy then we must make efforts to respect the processes connected with it. And this can only be done by being active voters and participating in the process of voting.
The benchmarks of the Election Commission for the conduct of polls are no doubts the highest. Whether the voters rise to the occasion depends on them.

Time, A teen and a grown up.....

Time, A teen and a grown up.....

Two instances in the day brought many smiles to my face and also set me athink. My son ,Vishnu's first day in school in class nine and my just married nephew, Ananth's settling in his new home in the USA.
Vishnu, my only child, born many years after my marriage and Ananth, my brother's second son have a lot in common apart from being cherubic.
Ananth has always been a kid of the family. Vishnu being much smaller than all his cousins has the added advantage of being adored.
Their endearing ways could fill pages and pages. But today I was awestruck with sheer satisfaction and joy to look back on their growing years. My mind became a pot pourri of beautiful memories.
Vishnu's birth was a miracle, for me he is God's child. As I woke him up for school today morning, my thoughts were was coloured with emotions. Today, he would be joining the ninth grade. I went to wake him at his usual time. In his slumber he looked very much like any cute and cuddly baby. Out of the bed, a growing boy , I was awesticken. So much had happened since the day he was born, his sitting, crawling, baby steps, first day at the play school.
His admission into Smt. Sulochanadevi Singhana School into junior KG when he was 4 and his first public speech in school when he boldly addressed an audience of 1200, welcoming them. Such moments can only moisten my eyes. Ten years as a student of the renowned school has moulded him into an independent and thoughtful individual. His sensitivity makes him different and it is indeed our good fortune that we have a son like him. That he came into our life so late is the only lament or else life has been interspersed with several moments of joy.
Similarly with Ananth, who literally is still the baby of the family. Having completed his doctorate in chemical engineering from Massachusetts University in Boston, he has now joined post doctoral research at Princeton. He is recently married too.
A sense of pride emerged as he made a video call from USA to share his beautiful house. The neat little sofa, a nice bed, a television. It surely felt like a perfect home. And with the car coming soon things would be complete. Beaming ear to ear both of us smiled, one at the accomplishment and two at his joy. Soon he would be settled in the new house. From a sweet child to a sweeter grown up time has flown
As rightly said by Alexander Pope, swiftly fly the years and we are left wondering at our own selves.
Three instances of time, my son raring to go as a teenager, my nephew on the threshold of a new life after marriage and myself realising that much needs to be done as the clock is ticking away.
The sooner one realises the value of time and spends it carefully the better. Yesterday is the past, tomorrow is the future but today is the present, a gift. How we unwrap the wonders in it and use them is totally upto us.
"Carpe Diem" , seize the day , make the most of it in the best way possible with no room for regrets should be our motto. And of course,  follow your heart and your intuition. Breathe in and out and say, "I am healthy, positive and happy!!!!" Life's beautiful , make use of every minute and live it fully.....

Women's Day....

Women's Day....

I breezed out of my home today morning like a cool cat. My son and husband smiling at me affectionately making my demeanour calm and composed,. The positive energies endowed by their warm support make me the person I am. That I am a woman becomes secondary. My recognition as an  individual, respecting me for being what I am, accepting my long hours at work, my trying days, mood swings, insecurities and enabling me despite all my flaws so that I feel sufficiently empowered to do my work is a blessing.
Yes, I work for the empowerment of women in rural areas but would that have been possible if I was not truly empowered???
And so even as I stand tall today, my head bows in gratitude to my parents- amma and appa, my family , my friends, all the men and women in my life without whom this could not have been possible.
Gone are the days of radical feminist intellectualism or gross gender inequality which existed. Society has to a large extent transformed itself to accept women as equals in all arenas of life . While cobwebs may still exist as also people who obliterate the true essence of this liberation by being mental slaves to women remaining in servitude, much water has flown over the bridge. Women as harbingers of change is not a myth any more. Whether in their hearth and homes, the corporate world or in all fields of life, women's contribution to society is recognised and acknowledged.
Of course greater milestones may still be there to achieve as also removal of the gender bias in some forums. But by and large one can daresay that equality has come to stay.
And why not with several forums working for that cause. With society learning to value the worth of a girl-child thanks to all the efforts made by our reformers, administrators, government and NGOs,   the days of gross discrimination are certainly a thing of the past.
MSRLM is one such organisation which works for the empowerment of women through community based organisations. The self help groups it forms are to promote social, financial and economic inclusion leading to sustainable livelihoods. Whether enhacing productivity, providing alternative livelihoods or skillimg youth,  the ultimate aim is economic prosperity of the woman so that she finds her true place in society.
MSRLM has over 3.8 lakh SHGs and 40 lakh households in its fold. It essentially works to promote the overall development of the woman, her family and society through 'Dashsutra". These include social aspects of health, sanitation, education apart from inculcating habits of saving, lending, repaying and writing books of accounts. The consistent efforts made for the capacity building of the women has ensured increasing their overall awareness in general and given them the strength to speak on all forums, specifically in the gram sabhas or panchayati raj institutions in particular. That women can speak out their minds and unflinchingly ask for electricity, water, roads or prohibition speaks highly of their growth. This, perhaps is the most satisfying aspect of our journey.
In a patriarchal society and a man's world being born into a good family has been my good fortune. Our family has enabled me to be an achiever in my own right without the discrimination of being a woman. However millions of women in society at large are still victims of physical abuse, domestic violence, sexual deviousness and covert or overt exploitation.
Women's day can be an occasion to highlight such social problems and work towards their eradication from society. It is only when each woman feels secure 24 x 7, when her work as a home maker is recognised, when her looks are not means to market goods at large, when voyeuristic men stop to look at her as an object of  pleasure, when her rights of land and heirship are transcribed on paper, when her voice as an individual is heard on all forums without ridicule, when lip service on one day and back biting women in power on rest of the days cease, when a women's worth as an individual is recognised despite her feminity, only then would we reach the utopian state of gender equality. Everyday and not just a single day would then be a day for every woman.

Gram Vikas Bhavan, Kharghar and The Mahalakshmi Saras Mart.....

Gram Vikas Bhavan, Kharghar and The Mahalakshmi Saras Mart....

Two years ago, I was called by Mr.Aseem Gupta, our techno- savvy and dynamic Secretary to the Department of Rural Development, Government of Maharashtra for a meeting to operationalise and put to use Gram Vikas Bhavan at Kharghar. It was followed by a visit to the place.
One look at the imposing structure, the blue skyline from the open terrace and the green Golf course across the building, my heart was into the hole akin a perfectly hit golf ball and I was ready to putt with the tee.
Holed or souled, I lost no time in accepting the responsibility to operationalise it despite the innumerable questions and doubts raised by my colleagues. The task was stupendous as the building though constructed well was not in use for over a couple of years. However our committee sat together and submitted the action plan immediately.
The onerous task of executing it was given to MSRLM and I was more than happy. Our team made every effort to liasion with the CIDCO authorities who were the architects and as well as executors of the building. We also followed all procedures to procure the services of different agencies for repairs and renovation and within a span of 6 months the structure was ready to use.
There has been no looking back after that with all our training and capacity building programmes shifting to the Gram Vikas Bhavan, now popularly known as GVB. The state of art auditorium has been a witness to many interesting programmes.
Along side the training hall and the beautiful auditorium were 34 galas or stalls for exhibition and sale of products made by SHGs which were also not in use.
The Department of Rural Development and
Umed MSRLM organise the Mahalakshmi Saras every year to provide a marketing platform to SHGs to market their products. However there was a constant demand to have a place where products of SHGs could be kept for sale throughout the year. The unused galas , stalls at GVB appeared perfect for the cause.
We executed a plan to equip and refurbish the stalls with storage and other facilities and launched it ambitiously with the name, " The Mahalakshmi Saras Mart.
Initially SHGs from all districts of the state were provided space there. However logistics and coordination proved to be difficult. So we finally came up with the plan to allocate 21 stalls for 10 days in circulation to each of the 34 rural districts so that they could show case their products. We began with Thane district last week which complained of poor response. A strategy was worked out immediately for adequate publicity which improved the footfalls.
21 SHGs of Palghar district are now there at GVB. I went there to have a look at their products, the sale and find out about the response from the local people and was greeted by the chirpy women who were truly happy to be there. They said the response was good on some days and bad or average on other days but nevertheless they had been able to sell a lot of their products.
Together all the stalls had managed to make a sale of of Rs.14,000 in 6 days which by itself was a great achievement.
The products included hand pounded rice, pulses, millets, rice flour for diabetics, papds, fryums, different types of ecofriendly cloth bags, colourful garlands made of wool, beauty and health products. Two SHGs had been making mouthwatering rural cuisine of rice or raagi bhaakris, veg and non-veg dishes, pooran polis and specially gaavraan chicken. They were even delivering it to the homes nearby.
What stood out among all these products were the hand woven godhadis, cotton quilts in different colours reflecting our age old Marathi tradition. They resonated the vibrant mood of our women from the SHGs of Palghar who happily posed for pictures. Business may not be so brisk every day but they were making a mark, learning how to improve themselves and definitely earning much more than what they would have in their villages. Their excitement on my visit and their innocence in posing for pictures with me was similar to what I felt after the GVB was inaugurated by the Hon'ble Chief Minister.
The Mahalakshmi Saras Mart, may not be a very sought after place now but I am sure it will definitely be buzzing with business some day and make lives of rural women more prosperous and happy.
My mind drifted to thoughts of a very famous poem by Robert Fost, " The Road not taken",. I mulled over it and remembered the lines...."Two roads diverged in a wood, and I....???? I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference"

P.S.- Please do visit the Mahalakshmi Saras Mart at Gram Vikas Bhavan, opposite ISCKON Temple, Sector 21, Kharghar, Navi Mumbai, Maharashtra 410210....Be the change, feel the difference....
https://g.co/kgs/H9D18K

Kumbh: overflowing joy....

Kumbh: overflowing joy....

My first thoughts regarding Kumbh are certainly cinematic. Those from my generation would possibly never forget brothers and sisters separating nowhere else but at the "Kumbh" in all the Bollywood potboilers. Despite living in Mumbai and staying so close to Nashik, I have never been to the Kumbh there also.
Visit to any holy place as per Hindu legends happens only when the Gods desire or as they say, "bulaawaa aayaa".
This time probably , I was being called by the holy ganges. No wonder, my son and me decided to join my husband for a pilgrimage which he and his fellow bhaktas had planned along with Swami Anantapamanabhacharya , popularly known as APN Swamy.
And so began my wondrous experience at the Kumbh.
I could only be struck by the magnitude of the event even before we reached the road over bridge on the sacred Ganga and Yamuna at Prayaagraaj. A multitude of tents lined along the roads greeted us. And then below the bridge, both the banks of the rivers were dotted with tents.
Our visit was almost towards the end of the Kumbh therefore many of the tents were being dismantled still one could not fail to observe the enormity of the Kumbh.
Another aspect was that this was an Ardh Kumbh which comes once in six years and not the Kumbh which is held once every twelve years in one of the four sacred sites of Prayaagraaj, Nashik, Ujjain and Haridwar. Taking a holy dip and bathing here resulted in purification from all sins .
At night the lighted paths and tents gave the place an ethereal look.
In the morning one could see a surge of people all around with the earnest desire to take the holy dip. We also headed towards the spot we had been called. That we had to undergo quite a few hardships till we finally reached the exact location identified by our Guru hardly mattered. This included getting stuck in a melee of people thronging the pathways to and away from the sangam for over 2 hours, reaching there only to realise that we had to go back to the spot we had originally come from,  taking a boat ride back to the place and walking with the swelling crowds on the river banks to reach the spot where the idol of Swami Desikan waiting for the holy dip. Amidst chanting of mantra we also joined the idol of our revered Acharya in the holy dip and ate delicious prasadam after the nitya aaradhana rituals.
The place was extremely calm with a sense of peace. The arrangements at the Kumbh were so meticulous with no flaws. All aspects whether security and safety, cleaning, sanitation, drinking water, medical aid, announcements, transport were so perfect that one could only be awestruck. Great efforts had been made by the local administration to organise this event.  And then beyond all this was the unfaltering faith of the devotees in the holiness of the Ganga, Yamuna and the sangam. Men , women, children, sadhus steering towards the confluence indefatigably and emerging deep-dyed in spiritual fervour behoved the greatness of the Ganga.
I stood before it in all humility, a kaliedoscope of thoughts, thinking about the origin of the Ganga, its legend, its greatness, the bonds of faith and belief it creates. My own fortune of being part of this wonderful heritage and my probable deliverance and moksha and all I could feel was overflowing joy....