Thoughts: What is With Children and Water?

This morning, besides a very busy road, I saw a small girl. The road was not good, and it had cracks through which water from was flowing, perhaps thrown by some nearby shops. The little girl who was alone was carrying something; perhaps having bought it from some shop and returning to her home. She had stopped and was dipping one of her footwears in the stream of water. She was completely lost in thought, not bothered by the chaos of busy traffic and neither caring for safety or any concerns. She was totally focused on ‘understanding’ water. That moment and her state of mind felt totally like ‘nirvana’ to me.

A few months ago, I saw a similar scene where a small boy who was going somewhere with his grandfather, had also stopped and was completely immersed in thoughts and focused on a little ‘pond’ of ‘water’ on the road.

I wonder what was so special about these scenes that I paid attention? It is not that I was wandering around in an observation mode; I was actually riding and moving. But these moments got captured in my mind like still photographs. I think first, these moments were so ‘out of the ordinary’. In the adult world, we are so used to doing things on purpose and we are always on to something, that such moments of pure carefree indulgence feel strange. Second, I got curious also because I thought about the ‘state of mind’ of these kids. And I could not name it or could not find words to describe it. It was like a ‘blank slate’; and anything blank is so precious in the modern world because it is full of possibilities.

I hope that out of the many things frozen in my memory, these too remain safe and secure. The little kid checking out water on the roadside – what is with children and water? Perhaps it is better never to figure out.

- Rahul Tiwary

Travelogue: Pune Local Train System

Local people will be aware but many of us do not even notice that like Mumbai, Pune also has a local train network. It may not be as extensive, but still for the areas it touches, it is pretty good and helpful. I recently had a chance to use a local train boarding at Pune Junction and I was highly impressed with how efficient and time saving the service is. 

Below is a scene from a local unreserved train bogie:  

The local trains have separate reserved bogies for women as well as physically disabled. The trains start at fixed time and reach each station at their designated time. Most of the local stations are small and less crowded and give an "old world" feeling, which is a luxury these days. 

Below is a screenshot showing some of the stations, as taken from NTES website: 

I have travelled in a local train on a weekend and hence I am not aware of how the traffic is during the weekdays which are working days for the employed. 

During the years I was in Mumbai, being a student as well as afterwards, I used the local train network extensively. These trains are not designed for comfort but are highly efficient and time saving mechanism. 

While traveling through a local train in Pune, I noticed that a parallel Metro Rail line was almost getting completed. I do not have information if local train network will be dismantled after Metro lines are fully operational on the same routes, but it is not a bad idea to do so.

And I must add that I travelled about 10 kms on the local train and the train fare was "₹5"! I could not believe my eyes if someone can still travel 10 kms for ₹5 in today's India.  

I won't say that I recommend local trains to anyone, because these days such rugged experiences are frowned upon by the status conscious society, but if you appreciate varied experiences or want to have a feel of old world of Railways today, you can give it a try some day.  

- Rahul Tiwary 

Hindu Temples: Radha Krishn Mandir, Near Harisabha Chowk, Muzaffarpur, Bihar

 

(C) Rahul 

Memories: Ajanubahu

 

I was returning from my village after a trip, and my vehicle took a different route than usual, passing through a neighbouring village instead of directly approaching the ‘main road’. I have gone through this route a number of times in the recent past and I have always been a bit more curious, since this is a different village and hence houses and places are different. There is a big banyan tree at a turning, covering entire road under its arms. There is a school, painted as usual in pink, which government of Bihar has chosen as its favourite color for children. The road undergoes several steep curves, and I have wondered how everyone is always safe despite those steep turns. And there are two honeybee farms in that village, especially during the time of litchi and mangoes, and I have always feared for safety while passing nearby those.

This time, while midway through the route, as my vehicle passed through, I noticed an unusual old man walking on the road. He was going towards the ‘main road’. His arms were very-very long and appeared to be almost reaching his knees! This immediately transported me to childhood when mother told stories of some gods from Hindu mythology being “ajanubahu” (one whose length of arms reach his knees). Was this old man some god? He definitely looked like a sadhu or a spiritual person! When I reprocessed the flicker of glimpse in my mind, I noticed that this old man’s both arms hanged from his shoulders like trunks of a thin tree. I don’t think there was any deformity, but it seemed that since the man had become too old, his body had become weary carrying the weight of his mighty arms and hence those looked dropping from his shoulders. I also reprocessed his image in my mind to recollect if I could get his face, but I realized that he had put a towel (gamchha) over his head, as if to protect his head from the sun, and his face was totally invisible in the ensuing shade.

With no face visible and two long arms dropping to the knees, the old man definitely appeared as a ghostly figure.

Nothing miraculous happened in the following days, if you are curious, and I tried to tell myself that the old man was just an ordinary man and not really a god or a ghost. But this was the first time I had seen an “ajanubahu” and hence it has become etched in my memory.

Afterwards, I tried to search on the internet and got to know that Bhagwan Ram is known to be ajanubahu; many Hindu gods, saints and kings have been so too, and even Gandhi ji was one such person. Being ajanubahu is certainly considered auspicious. For this reason, I felt happy of having seen someone of such a virtue.

- Rahul Tiwary

Travelogue: Cognizant Campus in Pune

 

- Rahul Tiwary 

Travelogue: Some Campuses in Pune

 

Mahindra International School 

Symbiosis

Budhran League of International School Services (BLISS)

Symbiosis International University 

SIBM 

International Institute of Information Technology

(C) Rahul Tiwary 

Photography: Natural Beauty of North Bihar

Pictures taken by mobile phone camera (Samsung). 

Venue: Near Vaishali, Bihar

 (C) Rahul 

Travelogue: Some Pictures From Patna (Part-2)

 

Ganga Ji near Patna  

Riverbank of Ganga Ji near Patna 

Dak Bungalow Chauraha, Patna

A steam engine kept for display near Patna Junction Railway Station 

Patna Junction Railway Station 

The famous Mahavir Mandir (Hanuman Temple) of Patna  

Darshan of Hanuman Ji idols at Mahavir Mandir, Patna 

Patliputra Railway Station 

- Rahul 

Photographs: Farmland near our village in Bihar

 

- Rahul 

Ganesh Puja 2024: Preparation in Pune

 

- Rahul 

Travelogue: A Walk in the Park in Pune

 

- Rahul 

Jai Shri Krishna | Happy Dahi Handi Festival

 

Lyrics - Living on a Thin Line (Song by The Kinks)

 

All the stories have been told

Of kings and days of old

But there's no England now (there's no England now)

All the wars that were won and lost

Somehow don't seem to matter very much anymore

All the lies we were told (all the lies we were told)

All the lies of the people running round

Their castles have burned

I see change

But inside we're the same

As we ever were

Living on a thin line, ooh

Tell me now, what are we supposed to do?

Living on a thin line (living on a thin line), ooh

Tell me now, what are we supposed to do?

Living on a thin line (living on a thin line)

Living this way, each day is a dream

What am I, what are we supposed to do?

Living on a thin line (living on a thin line), ooh

Tell me now, what are we supposed to do?

Now another century nearly gone (no, no)

What are we gonna leave for the young?

What we couldn't do, what we wouldn't do

It's a crime, but does it matter?

Does it matter much? does it matter much to you?

Does it ever really matter? yes, it really, really matters

Living on a thin line (living on a thin line), ooh

Tell me now, what are we supposed to do?

Living on a thin line (living on a thin line), ooh

Tell me now, what are we supposed to do?

Then another leader says

"Break their hearts and break some heads"

Is there nothing we can say or do?

Blame the future on the past

Always lost in bloody guts

And when they're gone, it's me and you

Living on a thin line, ooh

Tell me now, what are we supposed to do?

Living on a thin line (living on a thin line), ooh

Tell me now, what are we supposed to do?

Living on a thin line, ooh

*** 

Songwriters: Dave Davies