Visapur Trek

Blogging after a long time. Me and Gads had been planning to go for a trek ever since the summer vacations began. The best time to go is once the rains have come because the weather becomes cool and the landscape turns into a majestic shade of green. With the monsoons playing truant this year our wait extended into july..but the wait was worth it!

We boarded the 8am local at Pune Station for Malvali. Malvali is a station just short of Lonavla. We reached after an hour and asked round for directions to the Lohagad-Visapur trail. We took an auto to the base of the fort. Our plan was to trek to both Lohagad and the Visapur forts but a local warned that the Visapur trail was not advisable as it wound up through dense jungle and getting lost was a possibility. We started walking our way up and after an hour we could see the entire town and even beyond it below us. A train was crossing the plain below and it looked so small- like drawing a straight line on a blank piece of paper. After the initial delight of taking in the views ,walking on the cobbled road got irritating and at times tiring. The cobbled path ended at a tri section. Now, the last thing we'd wanted was choosing a path. The left one we could see was winding away to another hill.The remaining two, however, went straight up. On a hunch, we took the middle one. At this time we also met up two other guys who are going to Loahagad and like us were also lost. We introduced ourselves and paused to breathe and eat a little. Half an hour later, we reached the point where the trail bifurcated to Lohagad and Visapur. To our right was Lohagad, barely a 15 min walk away. We mistook it and took the left for Visapur assuming we were going to Lohagad. We walked for almost two hours without gaining altitude and this had us really worried..more so because the trail was now very narrow, slushy and in the thick cover of the forest. Our persistence was rewarded when we reached a point from where we could see a ridge of the fort. The way..the marked out way, however stopped dead. The only way up was to climb up a small stream. Though the water was in most places ankle deep..it was the danger of slipping on the rocks that was worrying. We climbed cautiously and it helped that some good old advice on the trekking websites came in handy..always check the footholds and handholds before you put your weight on them coz I found support on a big rock but felt it shaking loosely. A little careless and it would have tumbled down and Gads ...might just have been rolled flat. We reached the top finally by 12....contented. The visibililty was barely 10m so didnt look around much. The wind was howling and I regretted not getting a wind cheater. We ate our lunch , started back and reached down by 3.

Shot in the arm for women empowerment

The government in the recent sixth pay commission announced two major decisions aimed towards women empowerment in the goverment jobs- the first was the extension of the maternity leave from the present three months to sixth months and secondly two years "child care" leave which can be availed any time till the child attains the age of 18 yrs. It allows the flexibility to break the two yr leave into any number of periods. Both the maternity and child care leave are fully paid. So effectively, a woman after giving birth can take a break of two and half years and be on the pay roll as well enjoy no loss of seniority.
These steps have, as expected, attracted its share of criticism. People are arguing the necessity of the two year "child care" leave as the maternity leave has till now sufficed. It is feared that it is a cosmetic move aimed at attracting women into the hugely unattractive government services ( sample this - in the private sector the only leave is maternity leave and that too only for 90 days) and also it was a poll gimmick. It is also feared that it will be misused. There is also the grudge that it is fully paid without any loss of seniority. Lastly , it is felt that men also deserve "child care" leave if they are considered equal in the responsibility of looking after the child. Is the role of a father only limited towards financing the education and well being of the child?.A case in point is the group "Fathers 4 justice" who are fighting for equal rights with mothers in England (http://www.fathers-4-justice.org/f4j/).
The arguments have their legitimate amount of concern. However, I believe that in principle the decision is correct. The major responsibility in the early years of a child, especially in the highly gender concious Indian society, lies with the mother. Hence, she must not be faced with the quandary of choosing between her job and her child. This move aims at allowing her to do both and with due dedication and and attention. The time span of two years, though long in duration, is needed as by then the child can start attending pre school and be given in the care of a day baby sitter.
The fear of it being misused is also well placed. It is sure to happen, but then, any rule that is implemented, particularly in govt services, is exploited. Also the misuse is not gender specific, both being equal to the crime. So that should not stop the govt from implementing policies . In fact for a change, the govt has set a precedent for the private sector to follow. This welfare measure must, however, come with a rider, that if found illegitimate, will attract sever punishment in the form of loss of seniority and pay. It will act as a deterrence. Also, it must not allow two women colleagues in the same department to request for child care leave at the same time. There must be a system in place to ensure that the void is filled and work progresses smoothly. Imagine being told to come back after two years for moving your file in a sarkari daftar as the madam has gone to take her of her child. It sounds impossible, but in our system, such anomalies, with passage of time gain acceptance and eventually find salvage value in the form of sitcoms like " Office Office".
Lastly, how do you placate the male ego?. The issue here is a very sensitive one and involves gender and parental rights. Herein, comes the objection to the part that the leave can be broken up into parts till the child attains the age of 18. During the first years after birth, the child , admittedly, needs the mother "biologically". Thereafter the child is nurtured "emotionally" in equal measure by both the parents. A father can look after the needs of his child to prepare for his 12 th class examinations as much as the mother. The law looks at it differently..to the extent of even overlooking this obvious argument. The solution lies in amending the law to state that -
1) If both parents are working in the govt sector then they may as a single entity avail the "child care" leave. It would be at the discretion of the concerned couple to decide who and when will take leave.
or
2)If the leave must be availed by the mother only it must be done in continuation of the materniry leave, that is, the first two and half years of her child. This must also come with a certain loss of seniority and reduction in pay to ensure no loss is incurred to the organization and the replacement duly filled.

As I said, the decision is good in principle and intent but it will need many modifications before it can be implemented. Not surprisingly, it is still pending before the parliament. It remains to be seen when and how it gets implemented because another women empowerment bill- The Representation of Women Act is pending for the past three years.

Closure

Third yrs going to end in a couple of days.

It will be that time when I will pack all my stuff into two boxes. Two boxes..thats all that defines my life. Say goodbye to my room that was the juke box in the wing..the pub on the booze nights..theatre for so many movies..and ya at times a study room..just this piece of 12 ft X 10ft space. Goodbye to the balcony , perched on which Pachva and me whiled away our time listening to "You have got to hide your love away" to more recently "Desecration Smile". To the time we 15 guys toiled day and night through winter and summer..to shadowfax. To the enumber of FIFA matches with Akva..which I almost always lost. To this room where I curled up one day feeling miserable and lonely. To the time when I couldnt get enough of listening to "Everybody hurts".

To the time when I started writing a diary after six years ..to give myself a voice that I dont want anyone else to hear. To when I bared my feelings for someone..somewhere..sometime. To when I heard a friend's problems and felt scared and lucky both. To the walk to Cnot at 12 in the night for that last puff listening to Chandel's rendition of Madhushala. To that impromptu dash to Nutan at 2 in the morn..we just had to go there. To the raw feeling of failure of my biggest endeavor. To the two awesome days in Del with Gads and that amazing chocolate shake in a bylane in Khan Market. To the high time with Bora and Deb when a week back I couldnt imagine wanting to speak with him. To the catching up on the latest gossip with Axle and a bet that I am sure to win.

To all those..

Its closure.

Of broken specks, unshaved beard, biting shoes and changing roads

Am home...after a long time. Some things were bound to change. A little later on that. The day started with a resolve to do purposeful things these seven days at home. Purposeful meant anything other than lying in bed the whole day. The first task was to open a bank account. Yup, it sounds stupid and it is that I dont have a pass book, a licence (either car or kinee), a passport or PAN card. While I could get round the licence part courtesy the Army dependency card ( not entirely but the discounts on the fines were very generous), at the age of 21 the realization to have a document stating that I am indeed Abhimanyu Shirwalkar residing in so and so place in India was desperately needed. And the starting point was a pass book. That done, I decided to head for the much due shopping- am a person with limited necessities but buying Lee in Pilani is still a stuff people talk about doing in their 25th yr reunion. It was at this point that my left shoe started biting exruciatingly. I had surpassed the limit where I could bear it. The result being the 50 yrd walk to the parking lot took an eternity with me doing an amazing mimicry of Gregory House..albeit without a walking stick. It then dawned on me that perhaps Hugh Laurie does indeed were a tight fitting shoe on the "crippled leg" ...if Shilpa Shetty can rue not being able to shave for a role...his scarifice seems trivial..though it begs the question that are they really good actors if they get so close to their roles?..Should ask Amir someday. After strapping on the helmet , legs firmly in place and back straight ( I drive a scooty...know it sucks but well am a perfectionist too..I get as close to the real thing as possible..haha), I realised that I hadnt withdrawn money inspite of having been to the bank. I sat contemplating in the parking lot for a good five minutes with my typical habit of right forefinger on the right cheek to help arrive at the answer to the paradox of walking all the way back in those murderous shoes or drive to an ATM on a nearby road. I followed the law of nature and chose the path of least resistance. Now whoever numbskull arrived at this genius of the path of least resistance conveniently forgot to tell the world that it is also the one with the most difficulties..like potholes..you dont see them till you stumble upon them. The ATM on East Street was jam packed..not an inch to even park the vehicle. So I decided to go to the one on the adjacent street and turned round. It is at this point that the change I referred to at the beginning befell me. The direction of the roads had changed ! I can accept any amount of change in beloved Pune but roads changing directions is just not done. I have driven on them more than any where else ( Pilani ensured that) so when I go straight on the one way street in front of Kayani I want it to go straight. I shouldnt have to look at the direction of the incoming traffic. It is my most natural instinct. The direction of the traffic had been REVERSED. In that moment I felt betrayed and defeated. Here you are driving people out of the state to preserve the roots of the people but you betray and offend them - by changing the direction of a road. Imagine the plight of race horses if one fine day they wake up to being told to race in the opposite direction. It would be revolting. So who wins, one smart ass may question, the one who comes last?.
But am a man with a lot of courage and spirit. I chose to overcome the personal offence on my identity and turned for the alternative road. It was then that I neared total collapse. The cheap bastards had reversed the direction there TOO. Is this all people had been upto ..pointing at a road at a map and pulling draws to see if it deserved being reversed.
Abhimanyu in Mahabharat couldnt find his way out of the chakravuyh. The modern incarnation was stuck in a chakrayuh running against him in the opposite direction. But I didnt need to fall back on recorded tutorials from my mother's womb to be victorious. I parked in the nearest spot vacant and took to walking. Damn these buggers ... I will not bow down to their whims and fancies and follow the flow. I shall walk. Humming the words from the Chumbawamba song ..I get knocked down but I get up again.
It was a slight matter that my feet were screaming...Physical attyaachaar.
I had won.

PS: Shaved my beard and done with the Langada Tyagi look.
Gotten my specks repaired.

The Great Indian Laughter Show

I was reading an article in Outlook(March 9) on the state of the judiciary in India. Here are some stats quoted in the article-

If 5 minutes are given to every pending case it would take the following no of yrs for the following High Courts to resolve them

Allahbad - 60

Madras- 32

Bombay- 27

....... The total for all the high courts is a staggering 297 years.

It will take three centuries to clear all the cases in our courts. Assuming of course that one does get down to clearing them. 

If that should worry our lawyers, then they are showing no signs of it - they work for only 213 days  in a year at an average of 5 hours a day...this system hasnt changed since pre independence.

They are of course bettered only by our eminent Members of Parliament who averaged 46 working days in the 14th Lok Sabha, a third of the MPs never even participated in a debate in the Parliament.

Considering that our country is faced with a constant threat to its national security and battling the worst economic crisis since the second world war, it seems as if only a miracle can save the common man.

The point is that two of the three legs on which the functioning of the country is based, the judiciary and legislative, are crumbling.

It has almost become a joke with non performance becoming acceptable day by day.

The strike called by the lawyers in the Madras HC reeked of their high handedness and the assumption of them being above the law. The core issue of a controversial remark by a lawyer sparked of violent protests with their demands changing to removal of police officers and supporting the cause of the LTTE. It ultimately ended up in a political tangle.

Take the forthcoming elections- while in the US contestants debate over issues concerning the interests of the people and talk about policies and the people they will involve to implement, in India issues are second priority...it is all about forging alliances..and that too not on ideological lines but convenience. The voter is reduced to a non entity.

It is time that the common man, suppressed for so long, voices his protest. By voting intellingently. A silver lining was the appeal by a senior Muslim cleric in Deoband requesting voters to vote not on religious lines but in the interests of the country as a whole for India is after a secular country. We need more people, more leaders like him who can rise above petty politics to guide people in the right direction.

Dasvidanya..

At the sunset of my college life..batch snaps..the time that says- " All right, your times up here. Take good pics ..make way for the younger ones". In first year, when I saw my seniors in their batch snaps, I thought it dreadful...its like counting days till on your deathbed( of course much less terrifying). 

Oddly enough, I dont feel dreadful or terrified. Rather than looking back in retrospection, I am looking forward to tomorrow. I believe that my days ahead can be as enjoyable as those in college.

I dont feel sentimental. If anything, click pics..smile ..laugh..move on.

Posting after a long time. My " reflections" on some of the current issues today.

1. UP elections: Mukthar Ansari with 24 cases ranging from extortion to rape, currently lodged in a jail, gets a ticket to fight from Varanasi. His equally illustrious brother was granted bail a few months ago to fight from another constituency. They have been undefeated in the past three elections. Two questions - How can the ruling govt overrule a Supreme Court verdict to have their politicians released from jails to fight elections? How have they managed to remain undefeated?

The answer to the latter only seems that the elections are manipulated- voters been forced to vote for BSP. Time for election observers to shift from J & K to UP.

2.Pakistan admits to 26/11- Big deal..and a big thank you to USA from the Indian people. We have given up hope on our govt to fight terrorism. Perhaps, if Obama could spare some time to contest for the Indian elections, we may elect him...what our leaders couldnt achieve in three months(not for lack of options but rather wont)..this man did in a single phone call..we dont mind paying for your international phone calls Mr Obama..just keep them ringing for the Pakis. 

3.Taliban takes over control of Swat area " Switzerland of Pakistan" in NWFP, Pakistan- Some good news finally. The hornets nest stirred by Zardaris statement of Taliban taking over control of thier territories now seems to be true.  Pakistan is indeed a victim of terrorism but the enemy it is fighting is itself. Much like the Americans who breeded Saddam and Taliban, only to fight them a decade later, Pakistan is realising that terrorism is a two sided coin. Unfortunately, while USA and Pakistan have a common enemy in Taliban, India is alone in its fight against Pakistan's state sponsored terrorism. So while the former is not vanquished, it is foolhardy for India to expect USA to place great emphasis on 26/11. We must reach out to other countries and once garnered enough diplomatic clout, launch an offensive on Pakistan. The Pakistanis have always raised the war cry when the heat is on it forcing India to go on the defensive. It would be interesting to see how the world reacts when India threatens to go for a war unless it gets positive and concrete results in Pakistan's FIA investigation on 26/11. Played the role of responsible elder brother for too long..time to switch roles to the complainig and spoilt younger bro.

4.Top ten mistakes made by Indian doctors(India Today Feb 16 issue)- The most common gaffe - leaving things ..tools..towels.. in the patient. Nice article..though slightly frightening..puts medical care in India in a very sorry state.

5.Many urban Indians turning to Buddhism( the most high profile being Priyanka Gandhi)-

Political parties plz take notice. Babri and Godhra maybe history if the trend continues.

In a way, this symbolizes that we are ready for a change...and Buddhism is the most non controverisal change.

6.Jade Goody decision to film her death on television draws flak- Give the woman a break..she is addicted to reality TV...racist remarks ..wedding..death bed..seems life has come a full circle for Ms Goody (her name belies her) on the small screen.

7.Knowledge Comission invites ideas from the country's youth for India's

 development-

http://www.knowledgecommission.gov.in/contests

Top MNCs have successfully exploited the internet to invite ideas from the youth by organizing online competitions on various topics- Microsofts Imagine Cup...Mc Kinseys e4si..Nat Geos Habitat Competition. The model is successful as students get a platform to showcase their talent and the companies benefit by giving shape to the ideas.

Congo to Sam Pitrodia for tapping into this "modus operandi". Publicising it on community websites is perhaps the best way of spreading awareness.