'Voluntary Exit'

As part of daily routine in her new cherished abode , Sumakshi woke up from a afternoon sleep , adjoining to her bed was board draped with a blank canvas sheet ready to be drawn upon,colours to be laid on and her imagination to be transported.Sumakshi was painter by hobby and along with her husbund had shifted from mayhem of large city to a small city called Umani Nagar . Two things were in abundance in this small city , lush green mustard fields and ample SILENCE , which both of them yearned from when living Bhadrapur -One of the largest cities of the world . When their son moved from Bhadrapur to pursue Engineering on Schwaze Fully paid scholorship to United states , they were jubilant , not that their son got fully paid scholarship but since both of them harbored a dream of shifting to some small city after they are done with so called "worldly duties" to pursue their Interests , "Unwind" ,slow down or Escape ! Afternoon was usual , Sun rays enveloped all over mustard fields , sleep was sound but then the feelings were not usual .Sumakshi was battling with an occult Upheaval ,where in the only thought coming to her mind was of that of moving beyond life . Exit .A rendevouz with Death . A sudden feeling leaving her Body had crept in her , with out any external stimuli . Though for world it meant "suicide" , for her it meant Exit . She rummaged her inner self , left right and centre ,up and down but answers were all elusive , why such thought suddenly . Was she worn out ,was she turning to be a mystic , was she playing with the realms of abstract or but suddenly some sane or insane voices knocked her door and raised some questions .. Why can't we voluntary exit , why a reason for exit , why to live whole life and so and so fourth .. Internal turbulences were rife , and suddenly her husbund approached her , two mugs of coffee in his hand and some new colors bought for her painting ... Behind the balcony Sun receding .. PS - was at cofee shop waiting for a friend , thought of writing a short story here it is.

WILL Nandan Nilekani be India’s Next PM?

The forthcoming General elections were projected as Presidential type of elections between the BJP’s Prime Minsiterial candidate Narender Modi and heir of congress Rahul Gandhi . The grapevine is ripe that congress wants to scale town the tone and doesn’t want this fight to be seen between Narender Modi and Rahul Gandhi , for wide variety of Reasons. Congress is well aware of the Untouchable status of Narender Modi amongst some former and Potential allies of NDA, the polarizing factor he brings in, and the state level political arithmetic’s, hence would not like to lose these advantages for sake of projecting Rahul Gandhi as Prime Ministerial candidate .Rahul Gandhi’s Popularity has been waning,not only amongst the congress cadre but amongst the masses , hence congress can ill afford the risk of projecting him as Prime Ministerial candidate. Using the OLD secular card , congress will tie a loose coalition and will re implement the formula of having Prime Minister other than Gandhi family , that too a NON Politician , technocrat kinds. It meets several objectives, projects Gandhi family as NON greedy of power, by “EMPLYOING” Non politician as PM circumvents the risk of Political coup, and more importantly enjoys Power with accountability/Responsibility. In light of these facts, my assessment of Nadan Nilekani as Next PM might not be a Pigment of Imagination but a realistic possibility. PS- The Dual centers of POWER have been instrument in KILLING the Economic Growth of India and is sure shot recipe of Disaster. rajumoza@gmail.com

HOW HE MUST HAVE FELT

Recently I lost a “Near and Dear” One , lost to the reality of life i.e Death . I was aggrieved at the hand of this reality, a detached so to say “emancipated soul” individual like me couldn’t withstand this “irrecoverable loss” . I have seen so many people depart to the eternal abode but never felt similar feeling, a void, a feeling inexplicable, beyond expression. Every time those excruciating feelings were moving up and down within me , my mind used to make a journey to two events which my friend had faced earlier . First let me talk about this friend , ( not sharing his identity since he is a very private person , might not like sharing this in public ) , we have grown together from the early days of our childhood of Malapora ,Srinagar to infatuations at sarwal jammu , to working together at Mira road , Mumbai , to our struggles in liver pool ,United Kingdom . About the two Incident s, he was just in 7th standard when his father passed away, another cruel incident was when he was doing his MBA and his mother passed away . During my recent tumultuous times, when I was mourning the demise of my “near and Dear” one, my mind used to transcend to those times, how he would have felt, how he would have reconciled with those moments of Mourning. It must have been painful, even though I vividly remember how i felt bad during those two events but perhaps now after so many years I can connect, relate and identify what he must have gone. In retrospect, I again want to condole, albeit, with a different feeling. A feeling, which even my thoughts cannot express, let alone talk of Pen. Let those remain sublime, occult, unexpressed... Rgds

My reluctant Journey to Kabul - Story of Snow

First let me give some brief introduction about myself,its not that its required,most of the inhabitants of this Planet Know me.But,still let me do it. Depending on which Language you use ,in English they call me "Snow", in Persian they call me "برف" and in Kashmiri they call me "Sheen". I am usually found in mountains,in some cities found seasonally,and in some rare locations for whole of the Year.Reason I am here,is to share my reluctant journey to a Unique city with a Unique History- My reluctant journey to Kabul.A city with History ,Culture ,birth place of Invaders , and what not .. As I make descend towards Kabul , crossing Hindu Kush mountains ,my reluctance is quite palpable otherwise I am quite happy to show my presence elsewhere even in far away kashmir , where last two Decades have also seen what Kabul has been facing for several Decades. I remember the Era when soviets had not arrived on the scene,it had not become a "ring" for settling Cold War ,internal Fights of mujahedin ,was not part of Strategic Depth , neither was part of Islam v/s west nor war on Terror. It was hunky dory place with Gay Faces. Oh , I really Miss those days ... I am aghast when people, away from this land, want to use it for furthering their arguments, interests ,novels, write ups, narratives, political and religious affiliations.It pains me . Next two years are crucial , I cant make any prophecy but it seems situation will not come back to the Era I aspire for .. I sense , I will have to make these reluctant journeys for some time to come ... an unfortunate witness to the miseries of Afghans -

PS - These photos are of November,2012 and are taken by ZOHRA NAJWA,resident of Kabul.I had met her during my Visit to Kabul

OH emperor of maladies!

You are what life is, nobody knows what you are, why you are there, your birth, your progress , your death ! Though you bring pain with you, what I like about you is, you’re a metaphor of life. How! Nobody knows why we exist , why we come and go ,why we live life which in any case has to cease .Similarly, nobody knows why you arrive and do what you do…….and eventually cease with the very life. Beside that what I like about you is a shrouded mystery, yet to be unveiled, similar to that of life. Another aspect I like about you is non-discrimination –which is what life is all about on this earth. You don’t discriminate between organs , ( you can make home in any organ ) , ages , gender , Nationalities , caste , Income group( Rich or Poor) ,religions …………… This Non Discrimination aspect is what sets you apart from life, which is based on discrimination basis religion, language, Gender, Income, nation, state, district, Mohalla, etc. … It is said you make your presence when a normal process of cell growth fastens ,isn’t it paradoxical , every human being aspires to outpace the normal growth ,and here a Smallest unit of life ,wants to grow faster that it’s predisposed genetic growth and consumes the very life. I bow before thee! Before I leave, Cancer is a kind of derogatory word in this world and unfortunately human being calls you with this name.

The Unhappiness factory of kashmir -Usual reactions

http://inpec.in/2012/05/07/the-unhappiness-factory-of-jammu-and-kashmir/ ,written by a dear friend as anticipated has generated responses which are typical of any piece on Kashmir , where one sees Kashmir as it is . The responses are ,its written by Neo Ikhwani ( Ikhwani's were the renegades in kashmir ),its conspiracy of Indian state , Indian media , etc etc ... Most of you those who don't follow Kashmir ,such responses have become raison de etre for such People . But what worries me , do they actually belive in what they say , closing their eyes to the reality or they are just doing it for the Audience. If its for audience , I reserve my comments but if they genuinely believe then its a cause of worry .Blaming Indian media continously is quite surprising since most of the media houses in India are filled with people from Kashmir , just few days back Indian express had carried a full details about pathribal incident which provided a graphic details of the alleged fake encounter ,yet the indictment of Indian Media continuously baffles me.I implore upon my fellow kashmiri's to look beyond conspiracy , take cognizance of reality .Aspiration for azaadi can go hand in hand with the reality , it doesnt entail distorting the facts ......

Girls filmed, clips sold Parents beware: Porn racket hits Valley- INDIA

This is one of the Headlines of one news portal and apparently it gives some insight into how Everyday many clips of young men and women in compromising positions exchange hands through cell phone transfers and via Bluetooth. Many a times these clips are sold for as little as Rs.10 or as high as Rs 500 with buyers available across the valley.This new MMS scandal phenomena is not new in fact now people have become immune to such videos in whole of south asia. But what struck me how this is debated and discussed in various forums of Kashmiri people. Rather than introspecting it and looking at holistically, they have started attributing this social problem to India as well .Here is one such comment by one individual" Besides, all this we have to understand that we live under an occupation of a nation whose religion teaches them to worship sexual parts of their gods and their political, and economical culture is outcome of a "Brahmin-Banya Civilization" whose sexual appetite is far worse than the church and whose love for Laxmi is has blinded them of every thing. These factors have direct influence on our culture which is injected into our children via various means. I remember Mahabarata and other such programes used to be telecasted DD 1 everyone used to watch them eagerly. It was before cable tv came to kashmir" This comment is not an aberration , its reflection of the mindset of vast people of kashmir , where every problem is today attributed to India . In short run ,it might assist in deflecting the core problems and get some poltical mileage ,but in Long run such mindset will deimate the analytical assessment capacities of the society,which no "Azaadi" can repair . follow on twitter :rajumoza