#Travelogue: Samta Sthal - Memorial Monument of Babu Jagjivan Ram - Delhi

The Samadhi and memorial:

Picture (C) Rahul Tiwary

#Travelogue: Firoz Shah Kotla - Delhi

Feroz Shah Kotla is a spectacular structure built in 1354 by Delhi's ruler Firoz Shah Tughluq who ruled Delhi between 1351 and 1388.

All pictures (C) Rahul Tiwary; pictures taken in March 2018

#Travelogue: Raj Ghat and Gandhi Samadhi - Delhi

All pictures (C) Rahul Tiwary. Pictures taken in March 2018

#Travelogue: Akshardham Temple Delhi

Below are some of the pictures of Akshardham Temple, Delhi, taken in March 2018.

The temple does not allow us to take pictures from inside the premises as we have to deposit all items in safe lockers before entering. Although there are official photographers inside whom you could hire. These pictures are taken from Akshardham Metro Station; that is the best place to both reach to the temple and to photograph it.

Cars parked at Akshardham Metro Station; I liked the disciplined manner in which those are parked; almost like someone has picked and arranged these toys in rows:

All pictures (C) Rahul Tiwary

#Thoughts: Meaning of Women's Day

I was an early adopter of blogging. Those days I used to write about anything new I came across. And in one March I came across International Women's Day (March 8). I always had a strong sense of fairness and having grownup with my two sisters, I always had a favorable opinion about women's rights. Hence I wrote a blog post about Women's Day. Those days, no one cared about it. So I wrote about it next year too and it felt like I was spreading awareness. 10 year's down the line, how do I feel now?

As they say, "we do not remember days, we remember moments". And what moments do I remember (with a pinch of salt)? I came across an opening which I felt was most suited for my profile. I sent CV to the HR and got a reply saying, "currently we are considering only female candidates; we shall open for men only if we do not get any females (and are tired waiting)". Okay. Then colleagues kept telling how HR would call them and ask them to pass a female candidate even if they wanted to fail them based on skill evaluation. There were weekend recruitment drives conducted "only for women candidates". Not sure if they gave them pink offer letters too. Internally, someone openly mentioned that we needed more female team members. Of course. Every team got a target of having female team members; the more the better. If a female employee resigned, the lead had to be looked with doubtful eyes. HR mentioned "we are equal opportunity employer" and "we want 60% of new recruits to be women" in the same breath. What the heck? That is not even a thin line between equality and favoritism! Baffled, I asked a question to HR "have you tried to see what % of females are in HR department and may be try to recruit more males to give them equal chance"? Of course they won't. "Equality" then becomes just a "gimmick".

Women need equal opportunity. Totally agreed. I am even supportive of opening sectors for them which are traditionally considered unsafe for them. Let them be in Army or Police - there are a lot of brutal women with a stronger heart and harder fists than a regular man has. In all fields, let them compete and if they measure up to the criteria then let them take the job. But then do not "lower the target" for them as that would be called "favoritism". And do not deny chances to competent male applicants as they might need the job as much as your female applicants would. Evaluate them on equal parameters and hire a candidate without caring if one is male or female or in between. That would be called true "equality".

What is happening today in the name of "equality" is plain "favoritism". I am not proud of it. No one should be proud of it.

Hence after all these years, the meaning of "International Women's Day" has changed for me. I no longer want to write a blog post about it (though I know I just did).

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Disclaimer: Views shared are personal and no reference should be read specifically with any of my employers.

#Nature: Two Buffaloes

I was passing through a large herd of buffaloes. All buffaloes went ahead but one small one was standing at a blind turn of the road, looking back and making a sound.... gmmaaaaa... gmmaaaa... Why was she looking back and making a noise?

Then I saw that a bigger buffalo, perhaps her mother, was somehow left much behind from the herd and now having heard the young one, was walking towards her. But the young buffalo was still not satisfied, perhaps she was scared, and hence kept making a noise gmmaaaa... The bigger buffalo was hurrying towards her, also making a sound, as if answering and comforting her...

Very touching...

 - Rahul Tiwary

#Travelogue: Okhla Bird Sanctuary, Noida

Okhla Bird Sanctuary is a bird sanctuary in Noida, Uttar Pradesh, situated at Okhla Barrage at the border of Noida and Delhi. It is especially famous for a large variety of water birds.

I visited it in March. But the best time to visit is from November to February when a large number of migratory birds arrive here to take shelter.

Here are some of the pictures from the visit:

Lots of water birds all around:

Some birds on a tree can be seen here:

Below is a Watch Tower; people interested in having a closer look at the birds can go to the watch towers. It is at a far end of the sanctuary.

Easiest way to reach the bird sanctuary is through Metro Train. Okhla Bird Sanctuary Metro Station on the Magenta Line which was recently inaugurated by PM Narendra Modi can be seen below. The bird sanctuary is at around 100 meters from here:  

A view of Bird Sanctuary from Okhla Bird Sanctuary Metro Station:

A view of Noida from Okhla Bird Sanctuary Metro Station:

The entry fee for the bird sanctuary is Rs 30.

Because of the lake, the atmosphere inside the sanctuary is really cool and pleasant. A cold breeze welcomed me as soon as I entered it.

All pictures (C) Rahul Tiwary. Pictures taken in March 2018.