SPRING - Leah West. Spring is in the air

Quotable Quotes - Jawaharlal Nehru

A moment comes, which comes but rarely in history, when we step out from the old to the new; when an age ends; and when the soul of a nation long suppressed finds utterance. -  Jawaharlal Nehru

A leader or a man of action in a crisis almost always acts subconsciously and then thinks of the reasons for his action. - Jawaharlal Nehru.

                                                                             
Crises and deadlocks when they occur have at least this advantage, that they force us to think. - Jawaharlal Nehru

                                                                                       
Facts are facts and will not disappear on account of your likes. - Jawaharlal Nehru

                                                                                      

Life is like a game of cards. The hand you are dealt is determinism; the way you play it is free will. - Jawaharlal  Nehru.

Rishikesh - Guruji's Satsang

These snaps were taken roughly one year ago when I had gone for Guruji's Satsang held in Rishikesh. Probably one of the best I've ever attended. Featured here are some pics with Harumi Koseki who was travelling from Japan. Harumi had come to Rishikesh on a personal visit and knew nothing about Guruji, but she was probably destined to attend it.
She met me as a co incidence, and on knowing about the Satsang expressed an immediate desire to attend. I immediately obliged and she was thrilled with it. Some other Japanese friends of hers were also present there in full attendance. She was very impressed with Guruji's Satsang.

Marvels of SPRING........

It comes with expectancy in the AIR; 

SPRING brings out the bloom;

new LEAVES spring forth;

exotic FLOWERS smile at the sun;

DANCING in the wind with gay abandon; 

KNOCKING their heads in frivolous love,

the COLORS are so vivid;

QUEEN of all seasons;

the SEASON of Spring is upon us;

                                                                   

Valentine's Day - 14th February 269 - AD - the beginning

                           
                                                                   

                                                                 



The story of Valentine and how it started; It's based in the third century in Rome. Saint Valentine was a priest who used to solemnize marriages in Rome which was ruled by Emperor Claudius.
The emperor was anti marriage and passed a law to that effect, as he felt more people would volunteer to join the army if they weren't married.
Nobody supported this crazy law, and neither did St.Valantine. He secretly got the willing couples married off.
One night while getting one such loving couple secretly married he was caught and sentenced to death. There was tremendous revolt amongst the people who chanted slogans in his support, threw flowers towards his prison window, and generally lined up to meet him in jail.
The prison guard who was guarding him had a beautiful daughter who used to come to jail to meet St. Valentine, and had taken a liking for him. She used to come and sit for hours in the jail with him, bolster up his spirits and agreed with his views of opposing the Emperor.

On the day St Valentine was to die, he wrote a note for his secret lady love and sympathizer before he was executed, which read,  -  'Love from your Valentine'.
This note started the festival of exchanging love messages and cards all over the world. The day it was written - 14th February 269 - AD.
The love notes are an expression of love, friendship, hope and anger against people like the Emperor Claudius, who opposed love. Even today, when two people in love want to meet, there are several roadblocks standing in their way.
Down with the Claudius and Cheers for Valentines'

Happy Valentine Day to all.

The Maha Kumbh Mela - act like Shravan Kumar...

                                                         

                                                             

It was indeed a sad and horrible tragedy which took place on the railing leading to railway platform No. 6 at Allahabad Junction. Almost 37 people officially declared dead, God knows how many missing, and dozens of them injured. The most auspicious Mauni Amavasya bathing day on 10th of Feburary 2013, although began well, but ended terribly when there was a stampede leading to the stairs of the Platform No. 6 as soon as a Mela special train came in. The huge rush of people who had been allowed to enter the platform without any checks and balances was too much for the limited capacity of the railway platform where the Mela special was scheduled to arrive. All of a sudden there was stampede and thereafter there was complete mayhem on the entire narrow steps leading to the platform. Scores of people tumbled on top of each other, the women, children and elderly were the worst hit. Most of them succumbed to their injuries, and those who survived, didn't get medical attention on time.
Their only fault, they visited the MahaKumbh, the ultimate place where a devout Hindu believes they can get Moksha. The holy city of Triveni where the three rivers Ganga, Yamuna and the invisible Saraswati meet at the Sangam, is the confluence of scores of pilgrims from all over the globe. The Magh Mela which is an annual affair gives the district administration ample practice to plan out more bigger things like ArdhKumbha - every six years, and MahaKumbha - once in 12 years.
2013 is one such year where the MahaKumbha is being held after 12 long years. Planning for this event must have started almost 2 years back, funds must have been allocated almost a year back. Massive funds must have been released by the Centre for the various projects or the temporary township which was to come up on the banks of the rivers for this most auspicious occasion.
Besides catering for the VVIP's and the numerous religious saints congregating in their tents built specially for them, it is the common people, the village folk, the elderly, both men and women, small children, people from other far away States who form the bulk of the floating population who converge on the banks of the Sangam. They do this just to have a dip in the holy rivers, to keep their faith alive, to keep the Hindu tradition alive which believes that Ganga is their Maa.
Doesn't this huge population which comes for salvation deserve this much facilitation from the rulers who run the State and control the city of Allahabad that they should bathe in peace and be able to go back in one piece?
Don't they deserve proper infrastructure?  Some responsible people to guide them, from the time they alight in Allahabad, till the time they leave safely? Shravan Kumar carried his aged parents in two baskets and made them visit the holy places, can't we expect the powers to be in Allahabad to act like Shrawan Kumar for these two holy months of January and Feburary during the MahaKumbh? Is it asking for too much?
No, I don't think so. The district administration, the police of Allahabad should realize that they owe a solemn duty towards each of these poor pilgrims who come to bathe. This will be the biggest salvation they can hope to achieve if they manage to guide them safely in their quest for moksha. Forget your other problems, the routine VIP duties, taking your friends and relatives to the Mela area in ambulances, and Govt vehicles. Just for once guide these innumerable villagers who come here in the hope of salvation, on the call of faith and religious beliefs. Don't let them down and send them back in a worse position than they were when they first entered the Mela area.
I just hope and pray there will be better co ordination between the State and the railway authorities next time around and on the entire route of these pilgrims.
This becomes the bounden duty, of every constable, rail employee, district administrator and voluntary helper, of protecting these poor helpless pilgrims apart from doing their routine VIP duties.
Hope the flag of Allahabad is kept flying high instead of being splattered with the blood of these innocent pilgrims.

The Barfi girl - Ileana D'Cruz

                                                                 


She's like a whiff of fresh air, is cute and has enormous acting talent. Meet Ileana D'Cruz - A beautifully talented actor originally from Telugu films, who has also done a lot of modelling assignments. Endowed with a dazzling smile, this lithe doe eyed beauty was recently seen in the Hindi film 'Barfi' where her acting talent was hugely appreciated and won her a lot of film awards, including the coveted Filmfare Best Debut Female Award.
Is definitely the actor to watch out for. Will scale new heights in the times to come. Quite a co -incidence, but she fits in perfectly with the female character in a romantic fiction which I'm currently writing......