Me and Salsa?–(II) Day 1

From the title itself, you would have understood that I made to this class, and as they say, rest is the history. Indeed literally and figuratively, it is the history now.

I was nervous in daytime. I had not shaved for good 10-12 days. Although a shave is really due this weekend, but not today. But this class made me shave. It is like a child joining a new school, and should look good on the very first day. I was looking at the watch every hour initially, and as it approached 6 PM EST, I started looking at it every 5-10 minutes. I had more water than the normal, so went to washroom more times than the normal. All this because I had made up my mind that the salsa class might not see the sun light today, but it will see me.

The first day, when you think you should be in time. The first day, when you think where will you sit or stand. The first day, when it all starts. So on that first day, I dressed in my blue jeans, and white polo round neck t-shirt. Shoes were a question (?), but as I had seen people dancing in movies and at mango tropical, I knew formal shoes are a better bet for salsa. The place is just five minutes drive from my place, right next to Firehouse Sub and Dunkin Donets. I started at 5-45, and reached there at 5-50. The instructor was waiting, I had signed up online, so they gave me a yellow paper band to put it in my right hand. It was like a ticket for the class. I was still nervous and was smiling continuously for obvious reasons. There were some old ladies in their 40s and 50s, and men who were bald, they must also be in their 40s or 50s.

The clock hit 6, and the lady instructor started giving some instructions on mike. I looked around and found that there are some 20-21 people, males and females in equal number. One girl, may be 18 or 19, one boy, around 20, must be her boy friend, one Indian guy, must be of almost my age, and the other oldies. One person looked like mentally retarded, with her mother giving him company. I saluted to dance, as I felt people of all kind are into it to forget their sorrows, and enjoy the greatest gift of God – The LIFE.

Ok, so the class started. Instructor performed some steps for the warm up, and then the party began. We learned few forward (1,2,3) and backward (5,6,7) steps. Then we performed same in pairs. Rotation was the policy for pairing, so basically you have to do one or two rounds of these steps with each lady out there (and vice versa for ladies, i.e., with each gentleman). Then came the second step, which involved changing hands, and then a round about 360 degree turn, and then finally a combination of all these. All in all, it didn’t feel like one hour has passed. Time progressed pretty fast.

Enough about the class. What about me stading there, going forward and backward? Honestly, I felt out of place, and felt really like a big big beginner. Thought why am I here. The Bollywood / Barat dance is a much better form of dance. But then, realized that this dance form (salsa) is meant for couples, and it would be good to learn as I’m a married man now. It would be fun, though not today.  No wonder, I missed her.

Tomorrow morning, there is a ‘Zumba’ (another dance form) class, but for sure I’ll give it a pass. Salsa for beginners is good enough for me for now, so next class is on Monday. I think now that I’ll be able to make all 6 salsa classes, and that is not going to be enough. I have understood that it is very hard to learn dance, your God gifted natural moves will always remain your life savers.  Anyway, let’s see how it goes. I’ve to go to kitchen and cook something, something. Happy Dancing.

- Neeraj Mathpal
Oct 1, 2011

Me and SALSA? – (I) Introduction

 ‘Me’ and ‘Salsa’ – these two quite don’t go with each other. But what happened which might lead to this untouched territory, and a not so much interesting combination? Let’s see how this tale starts.

In my childhood days, I was not into songs, music, dance, not any co-curricular activities related to these. Of course, there was no natural talent for this, and no interest. Talent is still not there, but interest started in teen years, and most of it is a gift from hostel days. Almost everybody listens to loud  music in hostels, almost everybody dances without any reason. Generally, the dance style is only of one category - ‘BARAT’ dance’. A relative is getting married, a friend’s relative is getting married, a new puppy born in the hostel, a friend’s birthday, a friend is not so well, a friend is in love, a friend just had break-up, there is always a dance to follow. Basically, you don’t need any reasons to perform this variety of dance. And not to forget, if you are drunk, you are going to witness some of the most inventive dance steps, never shown on big screen in Bollywood. 

There are times when we all feel shy to dance. There are times when we all feel it is time to forget everything and just dance, and enjoy. There are people who appreciate your inexplicable dance steps, there are people who laugh at your crazy dance steps, there are people who get inspiration from you and join you in dancing. But other than with this Barat group of friends, it becomes tough to show your true steps with full enjoyment. In those tough times, it can help if you know some good steps. The good steps are a must when you have equally (or more) enthusiastic girl friend or wife.  Then there are other external factors, which put you under pressure. One of the big external factors is the television. Numerous television programs such as Nach Baliye, Dance India Dance, Jhalak Dikhla Ja, Just Dance show that there are so many talented people in our country. Cinema always have had positive impacts on our dancing skills, but these shows have taken it to the next level. In simple terms, Bollywood / Barat dance in not enough!    

Some 6 years back, I saw people started to go to Salsa classes in Bangalore. Especially the people like us, the IT men. They had different reasons to pursue for it. Some of these are -

1. Starting a new hobby. Good to have hobbies.

2. It will mean you are doing some exercise. Good for the belly.

3. You are far away from home, not with many friends. Good way to kill time in weekends.

4. You are a bachelor and have no girl friend. Good place to find one.

5. You would never get a chance to dance with girls. Good place to dance with girls, you don’t even know.

6. You have a girl friend, and she put you under pressure to learn Salsa. NO Good. Helpless. 

7. You want to impress your friends in next Barat. NO Good. Salsa steps won’t help you in Barat. Your natural moves will. 

Most of these folks don’t make it to classes after first day, some after first month, and rest learnt but never really show cased it. Another story of some average time pass with no real output. Now after six years, I’m also on the verge of trying it. What happened? What are my own reasons? Let’s figure out.

1. I like dancing, and watch dance shows on television / laptop (not every episode, but at least the good ones). It feels good to see people dancing, and good to know about different dance forms.

2. Lucky, my wife, also likes dancing, so that added to the weight. In fact we gathered information about salsa classes last year in our area, but it never materialized.

3. There is a nice restaurent / pub in Miami named "Mango Tropical" where professional dancers perform latin american dances with the tunes of Maxican / Spanish music, they look nice. In fact few scenes in one of the songs of movie "Dostana" were filmed there (Priyanka Chopra danced in same place). We've been there 4-5 times and had great time. But when it came to dance, we showed our Barat steps, and always thought what if we would have known Salsa.

4. Thought of giving Lucky a surprise by enrolling for both of us, once she is back from India for some 4 to 8 classes. But I can’t keep surprise a surprise. It also has not materialized, but there’s a chance it will based on success of next point.

5. I got an online deal today – $10 for 10 days for unlimited classes starting from today. It’s like 90% cheaper than the normal rate. I checked the schedule and found that there are 6 Salsa beginner classes in these 10 days. Only thing lacking was the inspiration, so called Lucky and get truck load of that inspiration thing. Deal is grabbed. 

So these are my not so different reasons. It will be a test for the “Casa Salsa” classes to teach me some of the classy steps. It will be a test for me also to “show up” in time for the classes. At this moment, I do not know if I’d be able to make up my mind to go out of home and head into the dancing direction. If everything goes well, who knows, once Lucky is back, we might enroll for some regular classes.

Let’s see “Me and Salsa?” series sees the day 1 chapter or not. I shall know in 5 hours from now and you will in 8 hours.

- Neeraj Mathpal
October 1, 2011

Blah Blah – I

As the time tells me from the right bottom that it is 9:24 PM on Sep 24th, I feel a lot of time is passed. In a golden way, I might say that lots of water has flown through the great river Ganga, though can’t comment about it in cubic terms. The life is going on slowly, nicely. So what’s the difference? Well, one, a big one, is first time in life after my marriage, I’m here in Florida, and my wife is there in India. What else? Nothing, everything else is same, but boy, that is a big difference. Once you are married, you get into habit of living life in a different way, a nicer way, at least for me, when you are miles away from your country.

So today, I just thought of writing a tidbit, rather than talking about a place, a happy moment, or anything in general. This came right from the heart without using any brains. Well, went to watch a real life story ‘Moneyball’. A nice movie indeed. Not a typical sports movie, where the story ends with a triumph of player or team or game against all odds. It was about management, a very effective one.

With my career spanning for a period of more than seven years now, I learnt a management lesson, which was very much visible in the movie also. If you have to decide about something, in fact anything, almost always research and analysis scores over instincts. Experience counts, but that also is, in a way, a different form of research and analysis. With time, brain has done the research, and that experience might result into instinctive decisions. But again the rule is experience counts only in your area of expertise, and for all others it is about doing research and analysis. Yes, the planning is very important as it can lead to desirables results more often than not. Genius minds are not that much into the process, but still process can help them to achieve more out of their brains.

All this is known well and applied well by many great men in the history of human. For now, I want to cut it short rather than writing a management lesson which is published in great details by thousands of men. There is only one sentence, which is knocking my head every alternate second, as of now. This is not entirely related to what I've put above, but I can't help if it is knocking at the door. Knock knock, who are you? Ae, you don't know me. You are an inglorious...  forget it, here it goes:

“Beneath the rule of men entirely great, the pen is mightier than the sword”.

- Neeraj Mathpal
September 29, 2011

एक पति - अपनी पत्नी के प्रति

कभी कहती हो तुम हो 'परफैक्ट'
कभी कहती हो तुम में हैं कई 'डिफैक्ट'

कभी कहती हो तुम ही बने मेरे लिए
कभी कहती हो कैसे तुम पल्ले बंध गए

कभी कहती हो पैसा कम कमाते हो
कभी कहती हो पैसा क्यों लुटाते हो

कभी कहती हो जीना मरना साथ साथ
कभी कहती हो दूर रखो मेरे हाथों से अपना हाथ

कभी फ़ोन पर घंटो बातें करती हो
कभी फोन को सर पर पटक देती हो

कभी कहती हो मेरी जान हो तुम
कभी कहती हो बुरी आदतों की खान हो तुम

कुछ भी तुम कहती हो, पर प्यार तो बहुत करती हो
मुंह से भले ही न बोलो, मन में तो मुझे हरदम रखती हो

तुम कभी हंसकर बोलती हो, तो बहारें आ जाती हैं
तुम कभी गुस्सा होती हो, तो रातें डूब जाती हैं

मैं क्यों गुस्सा होऊँ इस बहती जिन्दगी की मुस्कान से
इसी मुस्कान से मुझे तुम मिली हो, तुम्हें मैं मिला हूँ

तुम भी क्यों गुस्सा होते हो इस जिन्दगी के रास्तों से
जब हमसफ़र साथ है तो रास्ते भी खुशी से साथ दे जायेंगे

फिर चाहे मुझ में हो कितने भी 'डिफैक्ट'
और जिन्दगी चाहे जितनी भी हो 'इम्परफैक्ट'

- नीरज मठपाल

सितम्बर ६, २०११

Road to India - 8 days to go [Dilli]

Capital of India. One of the liveliest cities of our nation. The historical city famously known as Dilli.

As a child, when we used to live in different places of Kumaon region of Uttarakhand, Dilli always sounded like a dream city to us. Though Mumbai is famous as dream city of India because of its flashy and fast life, beaches, lively people, image as a business magnet, and mostly the cinema industry, but it was far away from us and we were really not able to relate ourselves with Mumbai. Not sure if I am echoing the sentiments of most of the pahadis, but at least for me, the truth is that Delhi was the dream city.

As soon as you are grown enough to know about your nation, the first thing you know about is its capital, the most important place for any nation. With so much history behind it, it was impossible to not get impressed with the city. From the mythological cities of Hastinapur and Indraprastha to different buildings starting from 11th century AD, its every page has significance in making today’s India. Watching it on television, I was always mesmerized by the sheer beauty of the place next to Yamuna river. Every January 26, it gave the feeling that Delhi is the soul of India, a mixture of all different states and people. The personification of unity in diversity.

My first visit to Delhi was in December 1989, when I was in 5th class. My chhoti bua was getting married, and because my fufaji was from Delhi, it was decided to arrange for marriage in Delhi itself. My other bua and fufaji also used to live in Delhi (at Shahdara) so their home was the base camp and it was planned to have tent for the wedding near their place. Because I had seen only small cities of hill areas such as Pithoragarh, Almora, and Nainital, it was going to be a life time experience for me. The best, I had witnessed, so far in terms of big city was Haldwani (a place with plain area situated 40 miles from Nainital). The tallest manmade structures, I had seen so far, were 4 storey houses or hotels. Those days, our long journey from Pithoragarh to Delhi couldn’t be completed in one shot. After 11 hours of bus marathon, we reached Haldwani, the door from hills to plains and stayed at a relative’s house, a place for night halt.

Next day, one of its kind journey started with another bus. I remember vaguely that it was a Kathgodam Dipo bus. My starry eyes were all blue with the dreams of big red fort, Shahjahaan and Shershah Soori roaming around in that place on their Arabian horses, the Qutubminar where Iltut Mish is putting few last bricks on its top most storey, the Yamuna river where young Kauravas and Pandavas are taking rest after a big hunt in the jungles. Bus was running with at least 60 km per hour, but it felt like it’s running like a super jet. When you are used to curvy roads of hills, where bus crawls with speed of 15 to 30 kilometers per hour, speed of 60-70 really feels like a jet. It is the great relative theory of great Einstein and I was seeing the live example of that. With the first few rays of sun in early morning, some high storey buildings welcomed us. We had reached Ghaziabad and were trying to count number of floors in each building from the running bus. The highest one, I counted, was a 26 storey building. We finally reached Delhi bus station (ISBT). Anand Vihar bus station didn’t exist at that time, so we had to travel by auto / taxi for 1 hour to reach bua’s house in Shahdara.

We stayed in Delhi for almost 8-9 days and had loads of fun. First time in my life, I saw people from different states. We used to play a lot with children of a madrasi family (my bua’s neighbors). Important point is every south Indian was madrasi for the senior people of our family, and I used to tell them that they are from Tamilnadu, they are not madrasi. We played a lot of ‘chhuppan chhipai’, ‘chhune ki’ in those days, and got two days to visit all the nice places at Delhi. Lal Qila, Chandani Chawk, Jantar Mantar, India Gate, Raj Ghat, Qutub Minar, Lotus Temple, Cannaught Place, Palika Bajar from that time is still crystal clear in my memories. Really, I found Delhi more beautiful than I thought, it will be.

Then, I got multiple chances to come to Delhi throughout my childhood (almost every 2nd or 3rd year). We visited more and more beautiful places, and started knowing about the ugly side of Delhi as well. There was pollution (pre CNG and pre metro era), increasing crime rate, careless blue line buses (Dadaa faced the brutality of these buses and couldn’t walk for one year because of these buses in 1999), and endless crowd. All in all, a tough city to survive. My longest stint was for almost 6 months in the first half of 2004 during my last semester of college (training period). I used to live in Maharani Bagh / Kalaka Ji area with 4 of my friends, and had some great time. People sometimes call it struggle time, but for us it was a fun time. It would need a separate chapter to write about that six month period; I have to move on for now.

Now for last 7 years, is Delhi for me another place for night halt? Technically ‘Yes’, but in reality ‘No’. Whenever I have to go to Nainital from US or Bangalore (and then return journey), I stay in Delhi for at least two days. I’ve my dear relatives staying there. I’ve me dear friends staying there. I still feel that this is the soul of my nation. I still feel like visiting Chandani Chawk, though time does not permit. I still feel like sitting on the benches of lotus temple, I still have thirst to touch the Rajput swords at Lal Qila. Dilli is still a Dream City!

- Neeraj Mathpal
July 13, 2011

हिमांशु के प्रति

कोहरे के पीछे सरकती आकृतियाँ
उन घुमावदार मोड़ों पर खतरे का निशान थी
लेकिन दिन के घंटे ही आठ थे
उस पर वो २० किलोमीटर प्रति घंटा की गति

उन चंद गोल घूमते पैरों पर
कम से कम ४६ लोगों की जान का जिम्मा
वो पतली प्राणहीन सड़कें
पता नहीं कैसे उन कनखजूरों को थामे रखती थी

एक खबर पढ़ी थी कि ऐसे ही
३० लोग घाट कि खाई के हवाले हो गए
कुछ ऐसे ही गोल घूमते पैर
मुश्किल समय में भरी आँखों से दगा दे गए

जैसे कोहरे में डूबी वो सड़कें
यातायात का माध्यम नहीं
मौत की सफ़ेद - भूरी सजावट हो
गोल घुमते पैरों को जैसे
यमदूत की चुपचाप साथ दौड़ती आहट हो

एक दोस्त हमने भी बचपन में ऐसे ही खोया है
उन्हीं सड़कों के गोल घूमते पैरों में
वो आज भी हँसते हुए ही सोया है

- नीरज मठपाल
जुलाई १२, २०११

Road to India - 9 days to go [Packing]

The countdown has really begun. One of the fun parts of vacationing and moving places is ‘The Packing’. Yes, it deserves a ‘The’. It is a common question for everybody who is moving to a different place or going for long vacation, “it the packing done?” Answer depends on what kind of personality you have. It shows how disciplined you are, how casual you are and how careless you are. Let’s take these case by case.

How about if I start with careless types? There are many people I know who like to pack in the very last hour or last minute. It is fine if you are going for a short vacation within your state / country to have some good time. You only need to have few basic things such as tickets and money. But what if you are returning back to India from US? I have seen people forgetting their passports on the way to airport, getting late for airport because they hadn’t packed their stuff earlier. I remember, I was going to drop one of my colleagues at airport for a 4-45 PM flight once, so I took some time off from office and reached to pick her up at 2 PM, but she was nowhere to be found. Got to know that she went for some last min shopping; finally she came back at 3 PM and most of the things were not packed. Some of her neighbors finally helped her in packing and somehow she got ready at 3-45 PM; I had to drive fast to drop her at airport. Fortunately she was able to enter into the plane in time, but not without forgetting some of her stuff in the apartment. Only few things were later couriered to her, and rest of it faced trash bags, but that didn’t make any change in her life. So there is a class of people, who do not really care if they miss something, if they (or others) have to face consequences of their carelessness. Sometimes it is good to be careless, but most of the times, it is a pain not only for that person but also for others. So if you fall into this category, it’s time to be a bit more planned. Again, it is ok if you are going to a nearby place for a short vacation, but not if you are going for something important or going for long vacation.

Second type is the people, who over plan things. It is good to have everything planned, but, in too much detail, sometime takes the fun out of it because it reduces the surprising / exciting factor. You should have Plan A and Plan B, but there should be little flexibility in it so that you can take dynamic decisions to enjoy your trip and vacation more. If you fall into this category, relax a bit, take less tension. Have faith in your decision taking abilities and be fun.

Now the third type, they are the people, who plan well but not in too much detail. It is good to be in this category. Away from extreme of both types (first and second). You would find most of the funny stories for the people in this category. Sounds contradictory? How come funny stories involving people who plan well? That happens, generally, due to mistakes, overconfidence, lack of re-verifications, external factors. One of my friends (who is a responsible person and always plans well) missed an early morning flight (6 AM), because he was gossiping with friends till 2-30 AM, then thought of taking rest for 15 minutes. But those 15 minutes were costly as he woke up at 9 AM. It has happened to me also once. When I was flying to California from Bangalore via multiple airports, my first flight was at 5 am per my itinerary. I even thought what kind of international flight goes at 5 AM, but never bothered to check my tickets. Anyway, my plan was all set and I reached airport at 2 AM, only to know that the flight was at 12:05 AM. I had a long chat with airlines customer service and finally looked back at ticket that was showing 00:05 hrs, and I had interpreted that as 5 AM. What more can be said? I had to wait in Bangalore for 2 days to get the flights again. So, if you fall into this category, don’t be over confident, verify the important things at least once yourself (and if possible second pair of eyes would be great).

Now coming back to packing, plan is ready for this time as well. Separate list of items for my wife, for myself, for the stuff / gifts we have to drop in India, important documents, etc. Isn’t this funny? This cycle goes on for each person in life. We do have many firms to provide ‘movers and packers’ help for permanent moves, but we still do not have professionals who can help you in packing for vacations (of course, there are few exceptions specially if you are rich enough, you would have personal secretaries). Doesn’t it sound like a good business idea?

“We provide online packing services for your vacations. We have a step by step online guide and professionals to help you for this. Hire us and our experts will pack it for you in few minutes. Powered by Skype”.

- Neeraj Mathpal
Jul 12, 2011

Road to India - 14 days to go [Florida]

Florida is one of the most beautiful states to live in United States. It never gets cold here except may be for 5-10 days. It rains a lot here for 3 - 4 months making all kind of spicy snacks such as Pakoris tastier. It has many great beaches on the east (Gulf of Mexico) and west side (Atlantic Ocean). If you are into water sports, this place is your paradise. It is very popular for the retired people, who love to spend twilight of their lives under the sun, sitting near beaches and having margarita.

My first interaction with this beautiful state was during thanksgiving vacations of 2006 (late November). Weather was very pleasant, no rain, no hot Sun. In summer, you might convert into a humanized lobster under the hot sun, but in November, you don’t need to worry about sun screen lotions and their quality. I used to live in New Jersey with my apartment mates. Three of us and one more friend took a flight from Newark airport to Miami airport and went straight to one of the South Miami Beach hotels near ocean drive.

The very first moment, I went to Miami Beach, I was in love with the place. I wished and told my friends that what it would be like to get a project in such a beautiful place, and as they say, be careful about what you wish for, the wish was fulfilled in Mar 2009. I came to Florida, that too near Miami, and staying here for more than 2 years now. My love for Florida increased with each trip to a different beach. It turned into even more beautiful place, once I got married in Nov 2009 to my lovely wife and came back with her to this beautiful place.

On the west side, there are Miami beaches, Hollandale beach, Hollywood beach, West Palm beach, Paradise beach, Aruba Beach, Boca Raton beach, and a very beautiful Fort Lauderdale beach. There are many more. You can never get tired in exploring all these beaches. Beautiful shades of blue water are all over the ocean. There are nice sea side drives, pathways, and lively restaurants. ‘Mango tropical’ at the Miami Beach and fries at ‘the Deck’ of Fort Lauderdale are our all time favorites.

On the east side, there are some beautiful small towns and islands with white sand beaches. The green and blue shades of water give spiritual experience. It is a great delight to mention Naples, Fort Meyers, Sanibel, Marco Island, Sarasota, barefoot beach, and many more. Shelling is one of the best time pass in these beaches. Mollusk seashells, and Bivalves are plenty, but searching for Shankh is an amazing experience.

Apart from these beach side places, there are many more beautiful places in the center and northern part of Florida. Just to name a few are the lovely Jacksonville, scenic old city of Saint Augustine (and the St Augustine beach), the ever busy theme park city of Orlando (it would require a separate tidbit to say anything about the famous magic kingdom of Disney parks, and Universal Studios). One honorable mention would be the south most city 'Key West' and the bridges over the sea to reach there (another separate topic). List is too long.

I know my days at Florida are approaching the expiry date, but this place will always have a great place in our (mine and Lucky) hearts. Just want to thank the beautiful state today. Thank you, Florida!

- Neeraj Mathpal
July 7, 2011

Road to India - 15 days to go [Vacations]

Life has an important function in terms of the work, we do. At one step, there are some very hectic days when you think life is no good, then there are some fine or cool days, when you think, life is good and little bit boring. In any case, brain demands for a refreshment every now and then, and as we have seen so far in our short life, weekends are not often enough for this refreshment. That is the reason, you have some long weekends during the year, you can add a day before or after the long weekend, and you have a nice 4 day vacation. But even that is not enough; you still need some more refreshment in terms of a little longer vacation. So you get some leaves depending on what kind of career you are in, what level you are in, etcetera. Whatever be the case, vacations are always great and what is best in them depends upon person to person. For us, the Indians, it mostly means spending time with family during festivals and weddings.

Best part of childhood is the summer and winter vacation, again depending upon which place you live in. For the hills of Uttarakhand, we used to get 10 to 15 days vacation in summer (in later part of June). When we used to live in ‘Pithoragarh’ (1988-1995), it mostly meant I would spend time at ‘Nainital’ playing with small handmade cycles - take a small stick (used for charts), attached shoe polish box on one of the ends, and here you go, you have a Harley Davidson. My great grandfather (father of my Nanaji) used to make these for us in minutes. There were other multiple options as well like horse riding, be a shopkeeper, visit mall road / flats, play with Mamas, Mausis, Nanaji and of course, Dadaa was always there. List is endless, but it was always fun. In any case, as a child you always have multiple options, at least in the late 80s and early 90s. I still remember the delicious food, my Nani used to cook.

Another good time was 4 to 10 days vacation for Dashhara and then for Diwali. Diwali was the time, when we used to visit our village ‘Dwarahat’. It was fun spending time with grandparents. The best things in Dwarahat was going to the fields, spending some time with our cows (I still miss two of them - a white cow Champa and a brown one named Lachhima), playing ‘Gulli – Danda’, visiting the various temples (they are made in times of Pandavas) and one small market. Still that place can be a bit boring sometimes, but never with Dadaa. For countless days we have played bus service (Dadaa playing the driver and me playing the conductor), and ‘Pasaa’ (dice) cricket. So all in all, again it was quite a good time.

Then there was the mother of all vacations - the winter vacation ranging from 40 days to 60 days. These vacations provided one of the best times as well as one of the boring times. Boring times because if weather is too bad, light will go for 3-4 days and you cannot do almost anything, even if light is there ‘Doordarshan’ used to save this time to telecast the worst (read Art) movies like ‘Rudali’, ‘Sooraj Ka Satavaan Ghoda’, ‘Wo Chhokari’. Best times because plenty time to play cricket on sunny days, to roam around, to read comics, etc. Needless to say that it was more enjoyable because Dadaa and my sister, and all my friends were also having vacations.

Did I say 40 to 60 days vacation? Can you imagine that now what would a vacation for that much duration mean? Sounds Jabardast. Well, yeah… 40 to 60 days… keep day dreaming!!

- Neeraj Mathpal
July 6, 2011

Road to India - 21 days to go [Soccer]

August 3. Barcelona vs. Chivas. Sun life stadium, Miami. Of course, it is a great chance to witness one of the best teams of all time. Best thing? I have two tickets in my pocket right now. But these were bought in start of June, when I was still waiting for my visa extension papers and there were no plans to travel to India in near future. We heard that all the Barca players would be coming except the magician as he would be busy performing national duty in colors of Argentina. I was excited so as my wife to see the magic from some of the greats. Even a red t-shirt was selected with a picture of football and Spain written in it.

Things have changed in last 3 weeks and now I’m visiting the country of Sachin. A country where East Bengal and Mohan Bagan are the Barca and Real. A country where kids play football only in the rainy season. A country where I doubt anybody knows that India once qualified for world cup in 1950, though didn’t participate due to some comical reasons. A country where people wouldn’t know name of their own football players except Baichung Bhutia. A country where Cricket rules. A country where Sachin rules.

Like all other Indian kids, I’ve been involved in some gully style football (aha, let’s not mention gully cricket for now). That gully style football has a different meaning in hilly areas. You have the first figure out a decent plain place where 6 to 10 kids can play at the same time. 25 by 25 footsteps would be good enough. Anything more that that is a bonus and an actual size field is a luxury. Well, needless to say that I haven’t had such luxury for most of my life. Only once I got that privilege when I was in 8th class. There was a selection going on for the school team, so I also thought of trying my foot.

On the match day, I reached the Dev Singh field in Pithoragarh (Uttarakhand) in time dressed in my new white t-shirt, which was having collars. I thought I will get a chance to play for my class 8th ‘A’ with my friends. That was a match against 8th ‘B’. But as it turned out, there were too many friends who wanted to be part of the team and my small and thin frame was not a good match. But still I played that day, not as an extra, but as the starting player. It’s not a matter of shame that they gave me chance to play for 7th ‘A’ against 7th ‘B’. Well, I played as a defender for most of the game. Fell into mud couple of times, got some bruises on face and scratches on knees and hands. All in all, a rough one hour. I don’t remember who won that game, but yes, that was an experience. The happiness to have that luxury for the first and the last time in my life.

Let’s come back to present. This Aug 3, I would be in those hilly areas, and you know the best thing, it would be a rainy season and it rains a lot in Nainital, almost non-stop. So I shall witness again some kids playing in the rain, running in those 25 into 25 foot step areas with their hearts pumping, with their restless energy and with the unending spark. They are no Messi, but even they do posses the magic. The magic of life in the magical rain. May be I shall also get a chance to kick the football in that magical rain!

- Neeraj Mathpal
June 30, 2011

Road to India - 22 days to go [Fixed]

When the long awaited moment is about to come, have I started feeling the same excitement? Not yet. There is little bit of ‘it’, but there is more of ‘that’.

‘It’ being the ‘excitement’, ‘that’ being the ‘exhaustion’. Why so? Do I need to tell again about the waste policies of the two governments? Actually, not just two, all the governments, who ruled these two nations in last 31 years, are responsible for this, and yes, if that is not enough, there are constraints all around put on you by holiday calendar, by festival calendar, by life events, by yourself, by family, by employer, by income, even by your pets.

Basically, we are controlled by too many external factors. Are there any exceptions? Oh, yes, I have heard of those great stories of great people and not so great people. But show me one who has no impact of these external factors. Aren’t they hiding somewhere?

Do I need to tell about where ‘do joon ki roti’ can take you? It can take you to different corners of your nations. What more? It can even take you to different corners of the world. It can take you to the sky; it can take you to the bottom of the sea. Is that ‘roti’ not overrated? As some sage has said,” When you feel hungry, may be you are just thirsty. So have some water, then see if you are still hungry”. Water is definitely not overrated! But, then what fun? ‘Roti’ takes you to places. It shows you how different are things in this world. It shows you the soul of human is still the same, whatever form it takes when it crosses the mountains, and the oceans, and the soil, and the jungles.

Well, honestly, the best time of the year is right around the corner. It is about time to stop enjoying the great services of ‘vonage’ for few weeks, and to say ‘pranam’, ‘namaskar’, ‘hello’ face to face. Does anybody need facebook?

- Neeraj Mathpal
June 29, 2011

छ: मित्र

छोटे परदे पर सरपट भागते चित्रों के साथ
एक गोलाकार चार इंच व्यास की आकृति
और छ: घनिष्ठ मित्रों का अबाध साथ
कुछ पता नहीं कई शामें कैसे निकल गई
उनके पूरे के पूरे दशक को
कुछ पतली गोलाकृतियों में सिमटा पाया
लेकिन उनका असर कितने लाखों में आज भी होता होगा

गजब है, गजब है, गजब है
छ: घनिष्ठ मित्रों का साथ गजब है।

- नीरज मठपाल
फरवरी १७, २०११

खबर २०१०

स्थान : भारत गणराज्य, वर्ष : २०१०, कुछ खबरें :

[प्रस्तुत आंकडे इंटरनेट स्रोतों जैसे गूगल, विकी से लिए गए हैं एवं असलियत से थोडा इधर उधर हो सकते हैं]

१) जनवरी २,१६,१७,२२ - कोहरे के कारण ६ रेल दुर्घटनाएं - लगभग १५ की मौत, ६० से ऊपर घायल
२) जनवरी ३० - आंध्र प्रदेश में नाव डूबी - लगभग १२ मरे, २० लापता
३) फरवरी ५ - कश्मीर में मुठभेड़ - १७ भारतीय जवान शहीद
४) फरवरी १३ - पुणे में आतंकी हमला, बम विस्फोट - १७ मरे, ६० से ऊपर घायल
५) फरवरी १५ - बंगाल में नक्सलियों का हमला - २४ जवान मरे गए, कई लापता
६) फरवरी १७ - जलाऊं जिले में बस दुर्घटना - २२ की मौत
७) मार्च ४ - प्रतापगढ़ में मंदिर में भगदड़ - ६४ मरे, कई घायल
८) मार्च - कोलकाता में भवन में आग लगी - २४ की मौत
९) अप्रैल ३ - माओवादियों ने उड़ीसा में बस उड़ाई - १० पुलिस वाले मरे
१०) अप्रैल ६ – दांतेवाड़ा में नक्सली हमला – ७० जवानों की मौत
११) अप्रैल १३ - बंगाल में तूफ़ान - १४० से ऊपर मरे, ५००००० से ऊपर प्रभावित
१२) मई ७ - कश्मीर में मुठभेड़ - ७ मरे
१३) मई ८ - छत्तीसगढ़ में नक्सली हमला - ७ सी आर पी एफ ऑफिसर मरे
१४) मई १६ - छतीसगढ़ में माओवादी हमला - ६ ग्रामीण मरे
१५) मई १७ - दांतेवाडा में बस में विस्फोट, नक्सली हाथ - ४४ विशेष पुलिस कर्मी मरे
१६) मई १९ - तमिलनाडु में साइक्लोन - १० मरे, कई प्रभावित
१७) मई २१ - मंगलौर में एयर इंडिया का विमान दुर्घटनाग्रस्त – १५८ की मौत
१८) मई २८ - मेदिनीपुर रेल विस्फोट - १५ कि मौत, १५० से ऊपर घायल
१९) जून २ – गर्मी / लू का उत्तरी भारत में आतंक - १०० से ऊपर मरे
२०) जून १७ - महाराष्ट्र में भारी वर्षा - ४६ मरे
२१) जून २५ - पटना में ट्रक - बस दुर्घटना - १७ मरे, २५ घायल
२२) जून २६ - कश्मीर में मुठभेड़ - ५ मरे
२३) जून २९ - छत्तीसगढ़ में माओवादी हमला - २६ पुलिस वाले मरे
२४) जुलाई १९ - रेल दुर्घटना - ५० की मौत
२५) अगस्त १ - कश्मीर में मुठभेड़ - ६ मरे
२६) अगस्त ६ - लेह में बाढ़ - ११३ मरे, कई प्रभावित
२७) अगस्त १८ - कपकोट, उत्तराखंड में विद्यालय भवन गिरा - १७ मरे
२८) सितम्बर २० - शिवपुरी, मध्य प्रदेश में रेल दुर्घटना - २१ मरे, कई घायल
२९) अक्टूबर १० - बक्सर, बिहार में नाव डूबी – ३६ मरे
३०) अक्टूबर ११ – बुलंदशहर में बस नदी में गिरी – १८ मरे
३१) अक्टूबर ३० - बंगाल में नाव डूबी - १६ मरे, ७० लापता
३२) नवंबर १ - बंगाल में नाव दुर्घटना - ७४ मरे
३३) नवंबर २ - गुजरात में ट्रक दुर्घटना - १७ मरे
३४) नवंबर १५ - दिल्ली में इमारत गिरी - ६६ से ऊपर मरे
३५) नवंबर २१ - औरंगाबाद, बिहार में माओवादी हमला - ७ मरे
३६) दिसंबर २६ – बदायूं में बस ट्रक दुर्घटना - ३४ मरे
पुनश्च: २०११ का आरम्भ ही देखिये -
३७) जनवरी २०११ – शबरीमला, केरला में मंदिर भगदड़ - १०० से ऊपर मरे, कई घायल

पिछले कई वर्षों से तकरीबन इसी तरह की खबरें साल की सुर्ख़ियों में रहती हैं। इसके अतिरिक्त भी कुछ घटनायें रही साल २०१० की जैसे कि कुछ और भ्रष्टाचार के किस्से, राष्ट्रकुल खेल, सचिन के कमाल, आदि आदि, लेकिन जब २०१० का अवलोकन किया, तो ये दिल को दुखाने वाला ‘पैटर्न' मिला -

१) यातायात संबंधी दुर्घटनाएं - बस, ट्रक, नाव, दुपहिया, कार, विमान
२) आतंकवाद - कश्मीर में वर्षों से चल रहा आतंक, नक्सली, माओवादी
३) मानवीय भूलें - भगदड़, भवनों का गिरना / जलना
४) प्रकृति का प्रकोप – बाढ़, गर्मी / सूखा, तूफ़ान, भूकंप, सूनामी

ये वही समस्याएं हैं, जिनका वर्षों से निदान पाने की कोशिश में कभी एक कदम आगे बढ़ाया जाता है, तो अगले ही क्षण दो कदम पीछे खींच लिए जाते हैं। शायद हमारे पास लड़ने के लिए सामर्थ्य से ज्यादा ही चीजें हो गयी हैं और सब कुछ नियंत्रण में लाना हर बीतते साल के साथ मुश्किल होता जा रहा है। हम सभी के पास जब भी समय हो, दोष देने के लिए बहुत कुछ है - भ्रष्टाचार, जनसंख्या, भुखमरी, कुपोषण, अशिक्षा और न जाने क्या क्या। पर शायद एक चीज कुछ पीछे छूट गयी है - जीवन की कीमत। ये खबरें तो कम से कम इसी तरफ इशारा करती हैं। खबरें आती रहती हैं आज इतने मरे, कल उतने मरे। हम एक अखबार में कोई भी ‘टाईमपास' खबर पढ़ने की तरह उसे पढ़ जाते हैं (वो भी जरूरी नहीं), शेष उसका कुछ अर्थ नहीं। सरकार प्रयत्नशील है कि कुछ ख़बरें तो कम की जाएँ, लेकिन उन्हें भी नहीं पता कितनी खबरें कितनी नयी दिशाओं से आने का इंतज़ार कर रही हैं।

मौत का ये अट्टाहास कभी कान से हल्की हवा सा गुजर जाता है, कभी बिलकुल समीप से गुजरती रेल की तरह धड़धड़ाहट करता दिल दहला देता है। क्या हम कभी जीवन की कीमत समझेंगे?

- नीरज मठपाल
जनवरी २६, २०११