Hindu Temple: Baba Dudh Nath Dham, Chhapra Megh, Muzaffarpur, Bihar

 

Travelogue: Some Pictures from Muzaffarpur, Bihar

 

(Clockwise from top left) 

Icon Plaza Mall, Bhagwanpur

Sikandarpur Lakefront  

Royal Mansion Banquet Hall, Goshala Road

Motijheel Flyover

A mango orchard in Muzaffarpur 

Sahu Pokhar Ram Janaki Mandir 

Busts of freedom fighters Prafulla Chandra Chaki (1888-1908) and Khudi Ram Bose (1889-1908) at Muzaffarpur 

How the Afghanistan Withdrawal May Have Contributed to US Hesitation in Entering Israel Iran War

The argument that a delay in the US entering a potential Iran war is due to a loss of confidence post-withdrawal from Afghanistan is a compelling one. There are strong arguments supporting this link.

The final days of the US withdrawal from Afghanistan, including the chaotic evacuation from Kabul airport were widely criticized. This chaotic imagery, including scenes of desperation and the Abbey Gate attack, led many to question the planning and execution capabilities of the US. The swift Taliban takeover and the perceived abandonment of Afghan allies were seen as a blow to American prestige and credibility on the world stage. Adversaries like Russia, China and Iran viewed this as a sign of US weakness and an emboldening factor for their own actions.

There was also an impact of US withdrawal from Afghanistan on allies. Some allies expressed concerns about the manner of the withdrawal, questioning the reliability of US commitments. This could complicate future coalition operations and affect the willingness of partners to cooperate.

All of this can change if US navigates Iran war successfully.

US entering Israel-Iran conflict, if it were to occur, would likely differ significantly from the Afghanistan experience in terms of its potential duration and nature. There are key differences from Afghanistan that could limit its duration in Iran.

In Afghanistan, the US fought an insurgency (the Taliban) that was deeply embedded in the population, had strong ideological roots, and could melt away and reappear. It was a non-state actor with a diffuse structure. Nation-building was a core, long-term objective. But Iran is a nation with a conventional military. A conflict with Iran would involve conventional military engagements, air superiority, naval operations and targeted strikes. While Iran has proxies, the primary adversary is a state with defined borders and infrastructure.

In Iran, American focus would more likely be on specific objectives like dismantling its nuclear program, deterring regional aggression, or degrading its military capabilities. This limited objective would inherently reduce the scope for a long-term occupation.

Afghanistan's rugged, landlocked mountains aided insurgency, prolonging conventional ops. Iran's diverse terrain - deserts, coasts, and cities - offers varied tactical options allowing for more decisive conventional engagements, unlike Afghanistan.

Post-9/11 mission in Afghanistan evolved from dismantling Al-Qaeda/Taliban to nation-building/counter-insurgency, leading to a two-decade presence. Iran objectives would be narrower: preventing nukes, deterring attacks, ensuring navigation, or responding to provocations.

Bottom line:

A direct, decades-long occupation like Afghanistan is unlikely in an Iran conflict due to fundamental structural and strategic differences. A successful US campaign in the Israel-Iran war could significantly rebuild confidence in American global leadership. Such an outcome could help dispel negative perceptions from the Afghanistan withdrawal and reassure allies of the USA's reliability. Ultimately, the potential benefits of a decisive intervention could outweigh the risks.

- Rahul 

Arguments for Immediate US Intervention in the Israel-Iran Conflict

 

After 6-7 days of Israel-Iran war, recent reports suggest that Iran has achieved significant successes in its conflict with Israel, inflicting considerable damage. There is a perception that the US President is delaying intervention, perhaps to legitimize future actions, while relying on social media statements. 

The establishment of Israel as a separate nation was intended to prevent catastrophic events for the Jewish people. However, in the current conflict, Israel appears to be engaging Iran without direct support from other Western nations. Questions are being raised about the apparent passivity of the United States, United Kingdom, and France, who seem to be observing the war from a distance. 

A strategic concern highlighted is that Israel is constrained from targeting Iranian civilians, as such actions could inadvertently unify the Iranian populace with their government, contrary to the US objective of achieving regime change through popular support. Conversely, Iran is reportedly striking Israeli civilians, possibly due to the perceived ease and cost-effectiveness of such attacks, alongside existing animosity towards Israelis. This situation evokes sympathy for Israeli civilians caught in the conflict. 

Only coordinated intervention with Western backing could bring a swift end to the conflict and save Israeli lives. However, if the American objective is primarily regime change in Iran, a rapid resolution might not align with that goal. The lack of apparent concern for Israeli civilians in this context is deemed unfair. 

The US is using Israel as a proxy, similar to its perceived utilization of Ukraine against Russia, to achieve broader geopolitical objectives. This strategy places Israelis at a similar risk to that faced by Ukrainians. 

The current US President's actions are not significantly different from previous administrations, and he has been preoccupied with social media posturing while Israel faces intense conflict. 

As a bottom-line, for the sake of Israeli people, the United States must join Israel in the war against Iran without further delay. 

- Rahul

 

Reflections on “Gulaal” (2009): A Cinematic Masterpiece

 

I recently watched Gulaal (2009) on the ‘MH One’ TV channel, and I was genuinely stunned by its intricate plot and the thoughtful execution. The film stands out as a rare gem, far removed from the typical lot produced in India. Upon discovering that it was written and directed by Anurag Kashyap, everything made sense—he is a master of his craft, deserving of the highest honours and recognition.

The film lingered in my mind long after it ended. One striking observation was that nearly every character who died seemed to be actively courting their own demise. It’s an eerie pattern worth noting.

The first to fall was Rananjay Singh ‘Ransa’, portrayed brilliantly by Abhimanyu Singh. His performance was so compelling that I looked him up and learned he hails from Sonpur, Bihar. His natural and powerful acting left a lasting impression. Ransa, captured by his envious stepbrother, showed no fear. Instead of pleading for his life, he hurled insults at his armed captor, provoking him until he was shot. It felt as though Ransa invited his own death.

Later, Dukey Banna (played with intensity by Kay Kay Menon) orchestrates the killing of Jadwal, though the film offers no background, making it unclear whether Jadwal’s death was similarly self-inflicted.

Dukey’s elder brother, Prithvi Banna, mentally unstable after their father’s death, spirals out of control. Dukey attempts to shoot him but accidentally kills a dancer instead. Prithvi’s erratic behaviour made his fate seem inevitable.

Toward the end, Dilip, a young student, shoots Dukey Banna. Rather than trying to escape or seek help, Dukey spends his final moments revealing how Dilip’s girlfriend manipulated him to gain political power. It’s as if Dukey chose to spend his last breath enlightening a confused youth rather than saving himself.

Bhati, Dukey’s associate, is later killed by a rival gang. His decision to venture alone into a dark, isolated area is baffling. He could have eliminated Dilip earlier when he was vulnerable. Even Bhati's reaction to being shot—standing still, making no attempt to flee—felt like a silent acceptance of death.

After realizing he was used by Kiran, Dilip tries but fails to shoot her. It’s a tragic moment, reflecting how love can paralyze even in the face of betrayal. Her brother then shoots Dilip, and instead of seeking help, he runs to his empty rented room. That final run felt deeply symbolic—more a journey of heartbreak than a response to injury. It was his homecoming, his pilgrimage, his moment of maturity—tragically timed just before death.

The film’s ending, where the corrupt triumph and the idealists perish, is both ironic and fitting. Gulaal portrays a world where predators roam freely, and some characters, knowingly or not, embrace their fate.

Perhaps when life is lived on one’s own terms, death becomes less a fearsome end and more a threshold to cross.

- Rahul Tiwary

Lone Musketeer

 

On my way to the office, I noticed a young boy, around 8 to 10 years old, standing by the roadside, signaling to passing motorcyclists for a lift. I saw several bikes ahead of me ignore him, so when I approached, I decided to stop. The boy looked at me, seeking confirmation, and I nodded to let him know he could hop on.

But what happened next took me by surprise. Instead of getting on, he walked away and returned with a large sack filled with empty glass bottles—beer bottles, to be precise. It appeared he had been collecting them from the roadside along the highway. I had seen similar bottles scattered on the footpaths, likely left behind by people who drank there at night.

The boy struggled to lift the heavy sack, and I immediately told him that I couldn’t give him a ride with that load. Then I continued on my way.

For a while, I couldn’t stop thinking about him. Was he a ragpicker? Or had he just started trying to earn money this way? Maybe he had done this before and was hoping someone would help him again. Or perhaps he was simply a resourceful child, finding creative ways to make a living.

The encounter made me reflect on the reality that we live in a world filled with “parallel lives”—realities that exist around us but often go unnoticed.

- Rahul Tiwary

A Dentist with Agenda

 

31st of May is celebrated as “World No Tobacco Day”. There was a health awareness session in our company that day and they had invited a dentist to speak about how tobacco has bad effect on our teeth and related issues. The dentist was from some Southern states, and she gave a good session on the actual topic, which I ignored since tobacco is not relevant for me. But then the Q&A session happened, and it shocked me.

The general questions related to teeth and dentistry were answered well by her. But after a while I started observing a clear pattern in her answers and suggestions. From her answers it seemed she and an anti-Ayurveda or anti-tradition “agenda”.

There was a question from someone about whether “tooth powders” are also fine. She asked to never use a tooth powder because it is “abrasive” and it can harm our teeth. Really? I don’t know what can harm our teeth more – rubbing our teeth with “plastic” (toothbrush is nothing but plastic) two times a day for 80 whole years; or occasionally giving our gums and teeth a “massage” with tooth powder. I do not use tooth powder regularly, but whenever I have used occasionally, I don’t hate it like she asked us to do. And I don’t think it is abrasive at all.

Later, someone asked what type of toothpaste to use, and she said, “never use anything which has “cloves” in it, because cloves can harm your teeth.” Really? I asked an AI based chatbot and it replied below about cloves and dental health”

Cloves are indeed beneficial for dental health, and their use is backed by both traditional practices and modern research. Here's how they help:

🌿 Key Benefits of Cloves for Teeth and Gums

1.        Pain Relief

Cloves contain eugenol, a natural compound with strong analgesic (pain-relieving) properties. Applying clove oil to a toothache can provide quick relief.

2.        Antibacterial Action

Eugenol also has antimicrobial effects, helping to kill bacteria that cause tooth decay, gum disease, and bad breath.

3.        Reduces Inflammation

Clove oil can soothe inflamed gums and is often used to treat conditions like gingivitis and periodontitis.

4.        Freshens Breath

Its antibacterial properties help eliminate odor-causing bacteria, leaving your mouth feeling fresh.

5.        Natural Alternative

Clove oil is a chemical-free option for oral care, often used in DIY remedies like mouthwashes, toothpaste, and gels.

🧪 How to Use Cloves for Oral Health

•          Direct Application: Dab a small amount of clove oil on a cotton ball and apply it to the affected area.

•          Mouthwash: Mix a few drops of clove oil in warm water and rinse.

•          Toothpaste Additive: Add a drop of clove oil to your toothpaste.

•          Clove Tea: Drinking clove-infused tea can also support oral hygiene.

She also advised not to use Ayurvedic toothpastes but use toothpastes like Colgate which means exposing our mouth to chemicals (toothpaste = chemicals), two times a day, for our whole lifespan. I do not use an Ayurvedic toothpaste myself, but I like to twitch toothpastes and sometimes I do use Ayurvedic ones too. I did not like the way she strictly rubbished a whole category of toothpastes.

It clearly felt as if she had an “anti-traditional” agenda; or if she was “sold-out” to commercial pharmaceutical companies. And one problem is that this remained my sole “takeaway” from that session which was supposed to be educational in nature.

- Rahul

A Tale of Two Gloves

Mother had asked me to sort out and throw away some old items from a showcase almirah. I hardened myself and started throwing away whichever items I could, in a big dustbin kept for that purpose. Whichever item felt useless and not collectible for the memory’s sake I just threw it away. After a while, I came across a pair of gloves which belonged to my father. I had some childhood memories associated with it too. It was meant for winter and was made of black leather of good quality, and it had white beautiful furs inside it. Father used to wear it while going to his bank on a motorcycle during the winter months. In childhood, we siblings used to play with it sometimes and were very much fascinated with it. But what was its use now? Hence, I threw it away.

As soon as I threw it away, father came there from some other room and saw it being thrown away. He said, “ye mera hai..” (this is mine). I asked, “par ab iska kya karna hai?” (but what to do with it now?”. Father was a bit taken aback and said, “no, I am not asking to keep it. I just said this is mine.” I remember feeling it a bit, but I was convinced that the old pair of gloves had to be sacrificed. It had no practical utility and there was no need to preserve it till eternity. The matter was forgotten.

I forgot about this incident, until one day while opening one of my almirahs which I do not open often, I came across a pair of my own old gloves.

That pair of gloves was also kept by me for sentimental value. It was a “safety glove” from my first job after engineering. After passing out of my engineering college, I had immediately joined my first job and was posted in a manufacturing plant. It was a new world for me. Whenever I went to visit a site in the plant, I used to wear safety gloves, safety googles and a safety helmet. I remember when I switched my job after two years and I had to leave, on the final day when I returned from plant, I did not know what to do with the gloves. I had left the helmet somewhere, but gloves were not supposed to be used by others and hence I just kept it along with my luggage and departed. That was my first job-switch and that was also the last time I stood on the soil of Chhattisgarh. Sometimes I remember those days fondly now.

As a memento from my first job, I kept those gloves with me somewhere, even when I changed cities and places, and years passed by. But what now?

As soon as I saw my old gloves, I remembered my father’s gloves which I had just thrown away. I felt a sense of guilt which would not go away. My pair of old gloves also did not have any practical value. How could I throw away my father’s gloves but keep mine? I could not have two sets of principles: one for myself and other for my father. Still, the attachment was deep, and I did not really want to throw it away. I had kept it safely for so many years! I knew that the gloves, which were in good shape, also contained some dust particles from the manufacturing plant. It was a time machine which could make me remember those two years of my life.

I spent a few weeks in dilemma, while knowing from the inside that I had to give it away. In order to do justice with my conscience, either I had to get my father’s gloves back, which was impossible since it went out with the trash few weeks ago, or else I had to throw away my own gloves.

Finally, after a few weeks from the day I mercilessly threw away my father’s old lovely gloves, I threw away my own memories-filled gloves too. May be in a few years, this blog post will be the only place both these gloves will find their remembrance.

- Rahul Tiwary

 

A Toy Giraffe and Happy Kids

 

On my way to the office, there's a stretch of road where many nomadic families live in makeshift tent homes along the roadside. They also run shops, mainly selling “toys”. At first, I found it interesting that they had chosen selling “toys” as their business, but after a while it became clear. They have got a little army of their own kids!

I have never cared to scrutinize them, but I see only a few of the men near their shops/tents, perhaps many go out for other vocations. And the women are not seen too, perhaps busy cooking in the backside of their tents. But the children are always jumping around that whole area.

One fine day, I noticed that a man had bought a soft toy “giraffe” from their shop and was trying to put it on his motorbike to carry it home. The “giraffe” was big: like at least two feet tall! I had never seen a giraffe as a toy, and I could never imagine why someone would buy a “giraffe” for a kid. There are all sorts of other popular animals, like elephants, tigers, lions, deer, dogs; all these are popular in the soft toys category. But the man, who was in his late 60s, had bought a giraffe! I remember imagining that a kid was going to be very happy that day, while I passed by.

Another interesting popular thing they are seen selling is “inflatable kiddie pool”. Made of PVC, these can be inflated, and after being filled with water, small kids can sit or play in it. I never saw any such interesting things in my childhood.

Coming back to those nomads. Sometimes I wonder if our world is going in the right direction or wrong. We have people like MS Dhoni or Abhishek Bachchan who got only one kid each, while they can afford to give fabulous lives to a dozen. And on the other hand, we have these nomads and poor people who got no life of their own and their children play in the dirt whole day, but they keep producing children like the world is going to end tomorrow if they don’t. Our Prime Minister wants to make India a developed country A.S.A.P., and our main opposition party wants to do “wealth redistribution” in society. All the while, these poor families keep producing armies of offsprings every year.

Well, I do not have any problem with these kids. They are always nice, and it is always nice to see kids around. It is what they are going to turn out to be after they grow up, worries me. At some level, I think our world would have been a lovely place if kids were going to only play with toy giraffes or inflatable pools. But at some point, they are going to get old and need livelihood and means to contribute to the society. I don’t know how many roadsides they will be able to keep capturing every year, for their tent-houses and toy shops.

I know that in such moments we need to introspect instead of pointing fingers. But at some point, we are going to end both introspecting and finger pointing, and like everything else, we shall vanish in the thin air. At that point, it will not be about what we thought or did, it will be more about what happened or got done by the collective us, while we were around. In the shadow of these thoughts, I find myself feeling more powerless than I ever have before.

- Rahul

A Cat in the Park

 

Life With Background Music

 

During my teenage, once I had noticed that whenever I had a question in my mind which did not have an answer, after a while I would find the answer randomly somewhere out of the blue. I remember myself rationalizing it by thinking that when a question goes unanswered, our subconscious brain keeps searching for answers, and hence spots one when it comes across it.

Some time back, a thought came to my mind that our life would have been better and more interesting if there was ‘background music’ in it; like it happens in the movies. For example, if we were serious, an appropriate background music would be playing around us. It would help us communicate better, since the recipient would understand the context better due to the background music made for the occasion.

A few days ago, while watching a movie on TV, suddenly a dialogue appeared. A character said, “You know what? There is music in life too! It is just that not everyone can hear it!”

The depth in the dialogue stunned me. What if our world really has background music in it; but the problem is that we can’t hear it? And what if there are people who ‘can’ hear it? For example, someone said something to us, and we understood it only on its face value. But there is another person, let us say very wise and experienced, and that person could not only listen to the person but also the ‘music’; and hence got the context better?

I know this is an imaginary thought, but philosophically, the thought is magnificent.

If everyone really understood everyone else, perhaps there would be lesser conflicts and heartburns. Or maybe if everyone really understood everyone else, there would be anarchy everywhere, because at times it is better if we do not understand things too. Whatever the end results, I won’t mind a little music in life. And an ability to listen to it too.  

- Rahul Tiwary

A Little Homeless Girl

 

On my way to office, there is a portion of road besides which some homeless people live by having made a make-shift tent-house and they sell a host of items (mainly toys) to the passersby. As rains have started, today while I was passing by, I noticed half a dozen kids of around 6-7 years of age making a loud sales pitch and selling “mudguards” for motorcycles. As I ignored them and passed by, suddenly a scene captured my attention.

There was a small girl of about 6-7 who had collected a big dusty blanket on her head and she was shouting in anger. It seemed as if someone from her family had asked her to gather the blanket but had not told her where to keep it; and as she had already gathered the heavy blanket over her head, she was shouting and asking where to keep it, as she did not have the energy to keep it on ground and to pick it up again after figuring it out. This idea that such a homeless poor little girl would also shout in anger at her parents startled me a bit.

It is a whole different topic about why kids shout angrily at their parents; but the poor little girl doing the same thing in a way comforted me that she was having a normal childhood, and all was not lost. Of course, she was able to do it only if her parents had given her the right to do so, meaning she was loved by them and well taken care of. This is hardly a conclusion which could be made merely by going through the scene, but I am convinced that it is what it is.

- Rahul

 

Songs: Vishal Mishra Non-Stop Hit Songs