Wednesday, September 17, 2014


It is as if we can face to face with our soul and I sense through each atom of my being that the soul slips its sweet hand into mine. There is child like trust and absolute innocence. The mind that comes through as consciousness feels protective towards this complete surrender of soul. In a strange sense what comes through is when consciousness can see the soul, it becomes another kind of existence where purity of soul is there to guide at every step. Don't know if I can come across clearly but I have been sensing this in my heart so thought trying to put this in words...

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Jammu and Kashmir is battling one of the worst floods in decades with rivers in the region in spate due to days of incessant rain. Thousands of people are marooned in Jammu and Kashmir, devastated by its worst floods. Srinagar is submerged with people waiting for rescue on terraces and rooftops. Many people have lost contact with their families with phone lines down. Over 200 people have died and thousands are stranded across the state. There is still no connectivity between the remote parts of Jammu and Kashmir. Indian Red Cross Society action: The current flooding of the Jammu and Kashmir state, has seen extensive loss of lives and property. FMRs from the J & K state branch have actively rescued hundreds of people and have moved them to safer ground and offered first aid and psychosocial support to them. The IRCS has also set up tented colonies for the evacuees in Srinagar. The IRCS National Headquarters on its part in the initial phase has been able to mobilize relief of tents, kitchen sets,woollen blankets, tarpaulins,wind cheaters and other relief items to Srinagar and Jammu. Further, two Water Purification units capable of delivering 3000L of drinking water per hour and six units to deliver upto 700 litres per hour have been airlifted to Srinagar, along with trained personnel to set the units up. The 2 units delivering 3000 liters of water per hour are now operational.Around potable water is being distributed by Indian Red Cross Society to the flood victims.

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Poem


खिलते फूलो की वादी शायद फूल और धूप खिले है वादी में आज और तुम... बैठी हो चिनार तले एक सफ़ेद पत्थर पे ठंडी धार में पांव रखे धरा से व्योम तक हिमालय की गोद भरे . ..
When I was eighteen I had very strong views about when a person should living. I used to think that 40 is too old and one should just die before turning 40, had researched into ways of taking life and the best I found at that time was to take sedation and tie a stone on one's body and drown in a peaceful lake, am sure must have written a poem on that. My friend and mentor Namita always insisted that it is this age forties when life starts getting sorted. Really, I thank her for her encouraging words, life really becomes beautiful-touchwood- after forty. You understand things, you appreciate small joys and have a clearer perspective. After the major responsibilities of bringing up children, a woman can finally get some time to sit with herself and contemplate life and give back to the society. They say in Hindi 'umar aur akal ki mulakat nahi hoti' kind of translates to- age and wisdom never meet, guess they do meet and how, when one turns forty. रात तीन बजे उपजी कविता! बीज मैंने धरा के उदार सीने में बीजों के प्रश्न बोये कभी कुछ दिनों, कभी में महीनो में फूलों के उत्तर आये लाल , संतरी, बैगनी कोमल लहलहाती हरयाली में लिपटे नन्हे बीज रंग और सुगंध बन कर लहराए।

Poem

आहट हाथों में फूल लिए नदी बीच किसी धुली चट्टान पर मनन करुँ तुम्हारा धरा से आकाश तक, हर पल कोई रिश्ता है इस मन का और काली घटाओं का नीले विस्तार का और धरा की हरी सांस का ये सांस अब बसने लगी है उस सांस में जिसकी आहट अब रात ढले जागती है हमें रीना

Environment

Price of' 'green energy' after felling down 3 Lakh forest trees is innumerable deaths in Malin tragedy. Many more such losses can be prevented by prompt action intime. I really fear such loss of life in the congested city of Almora where the houses of concrete and brihs are built without any scientific planning. During previous monsoons also there have been cases of landslides where the mud and rocks have torn down houses, fortunately there were no casualties. During Tehri earthquake the major cause of deaths were collapsing of these brick and cement houses, since then it has be found out by research that stone and mud traditional houses suit best to the mountains, still there is no sound implementation of this finding in these disaster prone areas. Just as all causes are being discusses when this disaster has struck, the lesson learned through such loss of life should not be lost. Cutting of trees is a serious crime, each project should be evaluated and the risks should be ascertained before the go ahead.

My heart swells with pride as I hear my Prime Minister speak. I have no doubts now that he is Shri Kalki that my Guru had promised. I feel blessed to be a citizen of India, of this great spiritual land that had always been a beacon of light for human civilizations. To hear him speak on female infanticide, to see him request the Doctors to refrain from such practices and also pray to parents to allow their daughters to live and flourish brought tears to my eyes. He has touched a raw nerve when he spoke of how the women suffer and wait till it is dark to go out in the open to address nature's call. We all know the facts yet turn a blind eye to the glaring problems. And then when he points out that we could overthrow a colonial power without any help what stops us now from eradicating poverty? He has invoked the youth to take up the mantra of 'made in India' and make sure that the world comes to India and makes in India. I am grateful to the creator who gave us such a Prime Minister. I feel we all must respond to his call and put in everything in our might to create a beautiful, clean and prosperous Nation where the world visits to see and learn from our heritage and culture. Jai Hind!

Fragrance of Winters is already here, yesterday came across twinkling parijaat flowers spread across the green carpet of dew-soaked grass. I picked up many to float these in stone bowl. Flowers open up Agya chakra, my Guru Shri Nirmala Ma taught us. Perhaps this is the reason why flowers are used during prayers. Inhaling the subtle fragrance of Parijaat flowers immediately transported to my childhood when we used to collect parijaat flowres early mornings and string them on grass stems making tiny garlands for stone Gods that we enshrined in brick temples complete with a paper flag on stick and offerings of a strange but tasty 'prasad' that we kids invented- we used to mix black pepper powder into curd with tulsi leaves and sugar and very devotedly imitating the priest distribute it to all other children, who would slurp it with dignity and offer flowers to the stone deity. For long this practice went on, once a friend's father was quiet ill, this is the time we used to pray very intensely and he recovered completely. Children have pure hearts and perhaps those prayers and humble temple we created did become a medium to send an earnest prayer... To breath in the morning breeze, to see golden rays through dew soaked leaves of a tree is a blessing. Long ago when I was very in in Visakhapatnam, something in my body had almost immobilized me, I would look out of the window in vacant silent noons trying to imbibe in all that movement in Mother Nature. Gradually I gained strength and in early mornings around four when it was still dark I would slowly walk with aching limbs to a giant Peepal tree that had Banyan tree around, these trees when fgrowing together are worshiped as Shri Shiva And Shri Shakti. I would embrace this tree and weep asking the tree to give me its strength so that my body would move again, within one week I regained my strength, meditating beneath the trees connects one to the creator. Another thought...A beautiful day...hues reflect indirect light and somewhere inside there is a feeling that as they say in Hindu scriptures 'ne asti ne asti': this is not... this all that comes together as matter is an illusion. Ego subsides and then a bliss spreads all across the mind and soul as there remain no hurts, injuries but just a bliss of being that embraces the self... याद एक बरगद का पेड़ जटाओं सी जड़े हवा में फैलाए रो रहा था सड़क किनारे कुछ चिड़िया गुनगुना रही थी बिसरे गीत टहनियों पर मैं ठहरी रही छाँव तले तेरी यादों की नदी में डुबाये ठहरे मन को देर तक साँझ ढल गयी आज निकल आये तारे, बुझते जलते तेरी याद में दिया रखा है यहाँ पीपल बरगद तले, ओस की बूँद आ गिरी आँखों में सावन है और रोता रहा बरगद फिर सारी सारी रात