वो...

वो एक ग़रीब बाप की औलाद है. उसका बाप था तो पहले से ही ग़रीब, पर उसके पैदा होने के बाद और भी ग़रीब होता चला गया. वो पैदा होते वक्त ऐसे रो रहा था मानो पैदा होने के पहले भगवान ने उसे इस दुनिया का चलचित्र दिखा दिया हो और वो गर्भ से निकलना ही ना चाह रहा हो क्यूँकी उसमें गर्भ की सुरक्षित दुनिया को छोड़कर निर्दयी वास्तविक दुनिया मे कदम रखने की हिम्मत नही थी. वैसे वो इस वजह से नही रो रहा था. उसके रोने का कारण था उसका शक्तिहीन शरीर. उसके अंगो मे जान ही नही थी. उसकी मरियल माँ, जो उसको गर्भ मे पालते पालते और अपने भोजन का एक हिस्सा उसकी नाभि के रास्ते उसके शरीर में पहुँचाते पहुँचाते और भी मरियल हो गयी थी, उसको जन्म देते ही दुनिया से चल बसी. पर शायद भोजन का वो एक हिस्सा, जिसके लिए गर्भ मे पल रहे बच्चे और गर्भ संभाल रही माँ के बीच मे संघर्ष होता था और अंततः वो बच्चा उस हिस्से को खींच लेता था, उस बच्चे के लिए पूरा नही पड़ा. परिणाम ये हुआ की वो बच्चा एक शक्तिहीन शरीर और अविकसित बुद्धि लेकर इस विकासशील देश, जो २०२० तक विकसित होने वाला है, में पैदा हुआ.

हाँ तो वो रोते हुए पैदा हुआ और फिर रोता ही रहा. उसकी माँ चल बसी तो बाकी सब भी रोने लगे. किसीने उसको चुप कराने की नही सोची. और वो रोता रहा. वो बड़ा भी रोते रोते हुआ. जितनी देर वो सोता था बस उतनी देर शांत रहता था, उठते ही रोने लगता था. और अगर रोता ना तो चिल्लाता रहता, आसपास की चीज़ों को उठाने की कोशिश करता, पर उसके हाथ चीज़ों को थोड़ा बहुत हिलाने के अलावा कुछ ना कर पाते, और वो अपनी इस अशक्तता से खीझकर चिल्लाता, रोता और हाथ पैर पटकता. इसी तरह रोता, चिल्लाता और हाथ पैर पटकता वो बारह साल का हो गया. अब उसके हाथ पैरो में कुछ जान आ गयी है और घिसट-घिसटकर चल लेता है.

बात करते हैं उसके ग़रीब बाप की. भारत की आधी जनता की तरह उसका बाप भी किसान था और भारत की एक तिहाई जनता की तरह वो भी ग़रीबी रेखा के नीचे था. हालाँकि भारत में ग़रीबी रेखा जिस तरह से परिभाषित की गयी है, उससे तो इस रेखा का नाम बदलकर भुखमरी रेखा कर देना चाहिए. खैर भारत के सभी मर्दों की तरह इस ग़रीब किसान की भी शादी हुई और फिर बच्चा भी हुआ और बच्चे के होते ही इसकी औरत चल बसी और बच्चा भी अपंग निकला.

ग़रीब किसान बाप किसी तरह बच्चे को पास पड़ोस वालो के भरोसे छोड़कर खेतों पर गेंहू दाल उगाने जाता, वो गेंहू दाल जो पूरा भारत ख़ाता है और भारत के बाहर के देश भी खाते हैं. वो खेतों से लौटकर आता तो अपने लिए दो मोटी रोटियाँ  बनाता और नमक से ख़ाता. बच्चे के लिए वो शुरू के दिनों में बकरी का दूध लता और बाद के दिनों में बच्चे को भी रोटी खिलाता. हाँ बच्चे के लिए कहीं किसी जुगाड़ से कुछ सब्जी भी ले आता. उस ग़रीब किसान बाप को भी दुनिया के सब बापों की तरह अपने बेटे की चिंता सताती और दुनिया के सब बापों की तरह वो भी चाहता की उसका बेटा हृष्ट-पृष्ट बने. पर हृष्ट पृष्ट तो ठहरी दूर की कौड़ी, उसके बेटे के हाथ पैर तो बस हड्डी, उसपर माँस की एक पतली पर्त, और उसपर चिपकी चमड़ी थे. उस ग़रीब किसान बाप ने अपने बेटे को कई हकीम, वैद्य, झाड़ फूँक वालों, और डॉक्टर को दिखाया. सबने मिलकर उस ग़रीब बाप की ग़रीबी को तो और बढ़ा दिया पर उसके बच्चे के हाथ पैरों की उस पतली माँस की पर्त को ज़रा भी ना बढ़ा पाए. समय के साथ उस ग़रीब किसान बाप की ज़मीन बिकती गयी, ग़रीबी बढ़ती गयी और अंततः वो ग़रीब किसान से ग़रीब दिहाड़ी मजदूर बन गया.

भारत एक विकासशील देश है और भारत के शहरों का विकास तेज़ी से हो रहा है और ये शहर गावों की भूमि को तेज़ी से ख़त्म कर रहे हैं. अतः वो ग़रीब किसान बाप भी भारत को विकसित बनाने के सपने का एक हिस्सा बना और अपने अपंग बच्चे को लेकर शहर आ गया. मजदूरों की झुग्गी बस्ती में उसे भी बसेरा मिल गया. मजदूर दिनभर दिहाड़ी करता, बच्चा झोपड़ी मे अकेला रहता, रात को मजदूर घर लौटता तो मल मूत्र से सने बच्चे को साफ करता, दो रोटी बनाता, ख़ाता, बच्चे को खिलाता, और सो जाता. इसी तरह होते होते बच्चा बारह साल का हो गया और पैरों में कुछ जान आने से घिसट-घिसट कर चलने लगा.

आज वो दिहाड़ी मजदूर फिर काम पर आया है. चालीस मंज़िला इमारत बन रही है एक विदेशी बैंक की. मजदूर पैंतीसवी मंज़िल पर है और बाहर दीवार उठा रहे मिस्त्री का साथ दे रहा है. मजदूर का पैर फिसलता है और वो पैंतीसवी मंज़िल से सीधा धरती माता की सख़्त भूमि पर गिरता है और उसकी खोपड़ी चटाक़ की आवाज़ के साथ धरती माता की गोद मे पसर जाती है और उसका शरीर भी जगह जगह से टेढ़ा मेढ़ा होकर धरती माता की गोद में पसार जाता है और उसका खून धरती माता की गोद को लाल कर देता है. उसकी भी हज़ारों दूसरे मजदूरों की तरह अकाल मौत हो जाती है. एक अरब आबादी वाले इस देश में एक मजदूर की जान की कीमत रेत के एक कण के बराबर ही है.

वापस आते हैं उस बच्चे पर, वो बच्चा हमें हर जगह दिखता है. कभी ट्रेन मे, कभी मंदिर मे, कभी चौराहे पर, कभी किसी ढाबे के बाहर, कभी सड़क पर, अपने अधनंगे अपंग शरीर को अपनी बेजान टाँगो से घसीटता हुआ, हमारे सामने अपने बेढंगे, मरियल, काले, गंदे हाथ फैलाए हुए और अपनी निर्जीव, पीली, धँसी हुई आँखों से हमें निहारते हुए. हम उसे तुच्छ नज़रों से देखते हैं की ये कहाँ से आ गया हमारी व्यस्त दिनचर्या के बीच में, अपनी जेब में पड़ा हुआ सबसे कम वजन का सिक्का ढूँढते हैं, उसके बेढंगे, मरियल, काले, गंदे हाथ मे थमाते हैं, और फिर वो मुड़कर हममें से किसी और की तरफ बढ़ लेता है. हम भी आगे बढ़ लेते हैं अपने दिल को एक हिन्दी फिल्म के गीत के बोल से तसल्ली देते हुए - "आल इज़ वेल!"

क्या हुआ अगर भारत में हज़ारों महिलाएँ असुरक्षित प्रसव के कारण काल के गाल में समा जाती हैं तो! बस दिल पर हाथ रखो और बोलो - "आल इज़ वेल!" क्या हुआ अगर भारत के में लाखों किसान हर साल भूमिहीन होकर दिहाड़ी मजदूरों में बदलते जा रहे हैं तो! क्या हुआ अगर इनमे से कई अकाल मृत्यु या फिर किसी बीमारी का शिकार बनते हैं तो! बस दिल पर हाथ रखो और बोलो - "आल इज़ वेल!" क्या हुआ अगर भारत की सड़को पर हज़ारों भूखे, नंगे, अपंग, भिखारी बच्चे भटकते हैं तो! बस दिल पर हाथ रखो और बोलो - "आल इज़ वेल! आल इज़ वेल!!"

       

About trains and people and Soul.

I have always found train journeys to be very interesting and contrary to the fact that people hate travelling alone in trains, I always wish to travel alone – not only in trains, but in any kind of public transport. The reason is, we get to come across a very diverse lot of people, places, views, habits, languages and situations while travelling, and the thoughts that follow after observing them are somewhat intriguing for me.

So there I was, on my way back home on the 16^th of December in a sleeper class compartment. I somewhat enjoy travelling in a sleeper class compartment because journey in a sleeper class is not monotonous. There is always a little action going on. The train which I boarded was Amritsar – Tatanagar Express, passing through Ludhiana and a major part of Eastern UP on its way. I am specifically mentioning Ludhiana and Eastern UP because of one important factor which connects these two places. Ludhiana boasts of being the largest supplier of all kinds of hosiery in India and as a fact, most of the workers of the hosiery industries of Ludhiana belong to Eastern UP.

Unluckily, there was some kind of strike in Ludhiana and the workers were leaving for their homes. So the train was fully crowded, the sleeper class compartments being more crowded than a general class compartment on a normal day. My ticket was in RAC status and I was supposed to share my berth with a co-passenger. I went to my compartment and looked for my berth and to my bad luck, there were three passengers already seated on it. I told them that it was my berth, responding to which, one of the passengers replied in a harsh and disrespectful tone that it was impossible to be my berth as its number was also there on the ticket of an old man sitting on the berth. I realized that the old man was the co-passenger with whom I was supposed to share the berth and the other two guys were in waiting list. So I tried to explain to them that my ticket and the ticket of the old guy were in RAC status and we were supposed to share the berth, to which the same person replied that there is no rule like this, as if he was the person who framed the rules and regulations of Indian Railways. What was more ironic was that despite of having a waiting ticket, he himself did not get up to let the old man have his berth and restrained me to sit on the berth by reasoning that it belonged to the old man.

Anyways, the TTE arrived and after checking my ticket and tickets of the other guys, he told them to get off the berth and sit on it only if I and the old man allow them to share the berth with us. Suddenly there was a change in attitude of the young man who was arguing with me and he humbly moved to one side and asked me to sit there. I was also being humble and didn’t tell him to get up from the seat considering the fact that there was no other place in the train to be seated.

When I finally got a seat, after standing for nearly one hour, I observed the surroundings. Every seat was occupied by at least 3-4 persons. All of them were from the labor class of Eastern UP which was clearly visible by their appearance and way of speaking (being myself from Eastern UP, I could easily observe that). The whole floor was covered with groundnut shells, newspapers, pan masala wrappers, and other trash. There was some strange stinky smell in the compartment which was further aggravated by the dusty smell of blankets. I went to toilet, opened the door and almost threw up as there were lumps of feces on the floor of the toilet and not only in the first toilet, but in three consecutive toilets I opened.

I returned and then took my bag to keep it at another place. The only place left was the space between the two lower berths alongside the wall. I was proceeding with my bag towards that area when suddenly a lady jumped up from her berth and started yelling -  “yahan kahan rakh rahe ho bag, meri seat hai ye…paisa diya hai ticket ke liye..meri jagah hai…hatao yahan se…hum ‘riks’ (she meant risk) nahi lete train me…”. I was shocked! I respectfully told her that I was placing my bag not under her berth but at a place which was between two berths. Due to her yelling, heads began to pop out in that section of compartment with people peeping in to see what was going on – which is one of the most common habits of our countrymen. I then thought, it was best to stay silent and do whatever I was doing. When I returned back to my seat, the same man who was arguing with me, turned to me and said “Bahut chant mehraru (lady) hai, jabse chadhi hai train me bakbakaye rahi hai. Aise bolat hai jaise poore Hindustan ka itihas janat hai sasuri.” I silently nodded.

After all this tumult, I started thinking. I hated them all. I hated the man who argued with me because he was arguing baselessly. I hated the yelling lady for unnecessarily yelling at me and considering railways to be her private property just because she luckily got a confirmed berth in a country where most of the berths get booked within 2-3 days of opening of reservation. I hated all of them for making the train a giant trash can. I hated those who had pooped in the toilets out of the toilet seat because of their lack of basic sense of hygiene and because of them being blind enough to see that there is a big steel thing with a hole in it which is meant to be used for pooping. I hated them for the stinky air in the compartment which was not breathable because of the stink they all had collectively created in the compartment. I hated them because of the cheap love songs they were playing on their cell phones. I hated them for anything and everything they were doing.

Out of nowhere came to my mind the thought that had I been born in a different place at a different time, I could have been one of them. I could have been the arguing man, or the yelling lady. I could have been the one who was sitting on the other berth and playing “Kuan ma kood jaungi ” on his cell phone. I could have been the one who was eating groundnuts and throwing shells on the floor of the compartment.  What then gives me the right to hate them? What is it that I hate actually? If I hate what they were doing then I might not be right because I might be the one doing the same thing had I been brought up in the conditions they were brought up in. After all, no one is - by birth - the same person which he becomes.

What then gives me the right to hate anyone in the world, to think that I am different, to think that I am superior to anyone? I guess this is why great men have said that all humans are equal. It’s the outer appearance and qualities and habits which we hate in a person and we believe that we hate the person himself. It also then appears that should we hate criminals? It’s not the soul which is responsible for any crime, its human temptations which suppress the voice of soul and lead one to the path of crime. I guess that’s why Gandhi said – “Hate the sin, not the sinner.” But again, if it’s the human temptations which are responsible for a crime then I guess there is nothing wrong in punishing the human body. But then again, what gives us the right to punish a human body when it is not created or destroyed by us? All these questions boggled my mind and I sort of sought answers to them. I think no human is different from the other as the soul which dwells within all of us is the same and is connected by the same thread. If one follows what’s quoted in Bhagvad Gita that “As a man discards his threadbare robes and puts on new, so the Spirit throws off Its wornout bodies and takes fresh ones” it becomes clear that one is not supposed to consider men to be different as the soul which dwell within them just keeps on changing forms.

Anyways, after thinking all this and sitting almost straight for 9 hours trying to take a nap, I saw lights glittering from a sugar mill which is located some 50 km from my place, i.e., Faizabad. It was still dark outside and someone shouted “Faizabad aa gaya bhaiya chalo utarat jao sab jane…” Almost everyone in the train started arranging their luggage and then they formed two big queues starting from both ends of the compartment and ending at almost the centre of it. The young guy sitting next to me told me to arrange my luggage and get lined up in the queue to which I replied that Faizabad was still almost 1 hour away. He denied and said that the lights were coming from Faizabad and not from a sugar mill as told by me. I again thought that it was best to be silent. I hated him for his ignorance and uncalled for suggestions. I wondered at the stupidity of all of them who formed queues and had to stand in it for one hour because they mistook a sugar mill for Faizabad.  

Are you a Non vegetarian?

Few days back, I was going through quotes of Leo Tolstoy when I found an interesting one regarding his views about Non Vegetarianism. I found it very close to what my views are and thus felt like sharing it. So I kept it as my Facebook Status and didn't mention the name of Tolstoy, to see the reaction of people on seeing the status as my viewpoint and not of Tolstoy (which might have held them from expressing their true thoughts).

Comments started dropping in seconds within my putting up the status. Some of them were the most common arguments given by Non Vegetarians and Vegetarians ((un)luckily I was the only Vegetarian arguing) to prove their point while some of them were different. All in all, it was an interesting conversation and included some pretty thoughtful views. So I thought why don't make it a blog post and share it with everyone.

Now I would like to add that in this conversation, I simply expressed what I think. I didn't put that status to spread Vegetarianism, neither am I posting it on my blog to spread it. I am simply sharing a debate on a very debatable topic. Nevertheless, I would be more than happy if even a single Non Vegetarian guy turns into a Vegetarian after reading this post (too optimistic that I am.. ;) ).

One more thing, I have replaced the names of the Vegetarian guys by 'V' and the Non Vegetarian ones by 'NV' just to make this post a bit more general.

The Vegeterian (referred to as 'V' hereafter)(quoting Tolstoy): "A man can live and be healthy without killing animals for food;

therefore, if he eats meat, he participates in taking animal life merely for the sake of his appetite. And to act so is immoral."

Vegetarian 1 (V 1):
Thank you! :)

V 2:
ya!!!!!!


Non Vegetarian 1 (NV 1):
Sorry Shaktimaan
But why is plant life any less valuable than animal life? :P


NV 2:
Are we not going by set rules? A plant also gets killed but just because it can't scream and dosen't pour out blood on gettin killed, it is not lifeless!


V:
@ NV1 and NV2 :Plant life is no less valuable, but plants being the second lowest in the food chain, next to sun only, are meant to be eaten by animals for survival as they are the storehouse of all the energy used by animals. Now your other argument could be that prehistoric men survived by eating animals only, to which i would say, prehistoric men also wandered naked in jungles. :P


NV 3:
As citizens of the Sovereign Socialist Secular Democratic Republic of India, we want you banned from FB!


NV 4:
Yeah I see, what i also see is what one does is conveniently correct and what one doesn't is only immoral by natural choice.
The milk you drink comes from cows that are tethered to one place all day, milked every morning, artificially inseminated so that they give milk, just so that you can drink it as tea or bournvita. Animal slavery..for your appetite..
 
V:
@NV 3: Ban Tolstoy, or rather his literature, coz its he who said that. I just found it close to what I think.
@ NV 4: You've definitely got a point over there and whether you believe it or not, it hurts me when the calf is forcefully dragged away from the cow as soon as it gets the first drop of milk, to fill our buckets of milk (well i am talking about domestic way of getting milk. Dunno how they do it in dairy). But look at the other side, the cattle get way better food as compared to what they'll get if left on their own. Moreover, they are not being killed.


NV 2 again:
Keep aside the scientific facts about which type of food is better and which not, but u can't call it immoral.
Pitcher plants are animal eating plants. So there are no set rules. It is how we fulfil our needs.


V:
I never talked about what food is better, what not. Check the first line of my status. A pitcher plant has to eat animals for its survival. There is no other option available to him.

NV2:
No Sir! That's what I am saying Sir!
You just can't call it immoral.
Eating plants is not immoral, but killing animals is?

V:
You have to eat something to survive. And I am not blaming a tiger for killing and eating animals. It has to do that for its survival coz its not evolved to eat grass. But we humans "can live and be healthy without killing animals for food" and we kill and eat them just for the sake of taste. Moreover, 'morality' and' immorality' are defined by humans only and are applicable to humans only. Relate everything i said and you will know why Tolstoy (not me)
called it immoral.

NV2:
Somebody else calling it immoral doesn't make it immoral unless your logic accepts it!

V:
I am accepting it that's why I kept it as my status and that's why I am telling you what I think about it. Why else do you think would I write these long comments?


NV 5:

Won't you kill an ant if you find it in a bowl of sugay sugar, won't you try to kill a bee if it gets awfully close to you, for it though, you're just another harmless tree.I refer to Daniel Defoe in the guise of Robinson Crusoe here "Maybe those people don't consider cannibalism as a sin, just like I don't consider eating animals as a sin!".See dude it all depends on whether you consider it as a sin.

V 3
Gud thinking man. Keep doing this.

V:
@NV5: Dude, please read the status again, and especially the line "taking animal life merely for the sake of appetite". I don't know what others will do but for me, I wont kill the ant, I'll just pick it up and throw it away. But I'll kill the bee coz it can sting me. Now I'm not killing the bee for the sake of my appetite, I'm killing it coz it'll hurt me if I don't kill it.
Moreover I never used the word 'sin' coz whats sinful and what not is a topic beyond discussion.


NV 2 (back again):
Sir,for any reason, you can't call it immoral.
Morality is a very big word and it is that much hollow too!
It differs among people according to their comforts and ideology. Early humans learnt both ways of fulfilling their desire and this instinct trickled down to us.
No rule says that animal eating is Immoral just because they lie low in the food chain. These are all scientific facts which just state that what food is better. But here u have raised the question of MORALITY which i still believe to be wrong!


V:
Morality is a big word, I agree. It is hollow, I strongly disagree. And you are right that morality differs among people according to their ideology.
My status is simply my ideology which i am conveying to others. I am not saying that it should be the ideology of everyone. If anyone is in agreement with my ideology, well and good, if not, well, follow your own ideology then. And I am still emphasizing on the line "..taking animal life just for the sake of appetite.."