Tuesday, December 26, 2017

फ़ेसबुक की दोस्ती, शालीनता और संकोच !

आज फ़ेसबुक से पता चला कि मेरे ४०० से ऊपर दोस्त हो गये हैं, बधाई भी दी। पता नही बधाई खुद को दे रहे थे या मुझको। अपने को ही दे रहे होंगे यह कह कर कि देखो फेशबुक ने तुम्हारे ४०० से ऊपर दोस्त बना दिये। चारों तरफ़ घूम कर देखा, सारे पन्ने पलट कर देखे, पुराने गद्दे उठा कर देखे, मुझे तो दूर दूर तक कोई ऐसा नजर नही आया जिसे दोस्त कह सकूँ। ७६ साल की उमर और भला हो मेरे ४० साल के मार्केटिंग कैरियर का जिसने देश के कोने कोने मे लोगों को मिलने का अवसर प्रदान किया, जिसकी बिना पर बोल सकता हूँ कि ज्यादा नही तो  १०००० लोगों से तो मिला ही हूँगा। सबको अपनी जान पहचान का कह सकता था। आज कितनी भी कोशिश कर लूँ ५०० के भी नाम या चेहरे याद न हों। दोस्ती की बात तो दूर की है। ऐसा नही कि दोस्त थे ही नही पर ओ फेशबुक की वजह से नही थे। कुछ तो आज भी हैं। जो लोग दावा करते हैं कि उनके बहुत सारे दोस्त हैं, इतना ही कहूँगा कि सारी जिंदगी मे एक या दो ही मिल जांय वही बहुत है, इससे ज्यादा संभाले भी नही जायेंगे।

ख़ैर, फ़ेसबुक पर हैं तो फ़ेसबुक की बात करें। ४०० मे से २७ तो घर के ही हैं। और ३३ गाँव गलियारे के हैं। २१ ऐसे हैं जिनके साथ अलग अलग टाइम पर औफिस मे काम किया। २२ ऐसे हैं जिनको मुझसे या मुझको जिनसे यदा कदा काम पड़ता रहता है या जिनको मै मिला हूँ। बाकी बचे २९७. इन १०३ नज़दीकी दोस्तों मे कुछ हम उम्र या आस पास के हैं, कुछ कम, कुछ बहुत कम तो कुछ बच्चों की उम्र के है। एक दो के तो कुछ साल पहले ही दूध के दाँत गिरे हैं। घर वालों और गाँव गलियारे वालों  मे ज़ाहिर है आठ - दस को छोड़कर  बाकी सब छोटे ही हैं। इनमें बेटियाँ, भतीजियां और भतीजे भी हैं, बहुयें भी । यह सब गारंटी से कह रहा हूँ क्योंकि इनको देखा हुआ है। बाकी २९७ का कहना मुश्किल है। प्रोफ़ाइल मे जो लिखा है या जो फोटो लगाई है वही जाने। इनमें आदमी और औरतें दोनों हैं।

अब आप समझ गये होंगे, फेशबुक पर लिखना कितना कठिन है। पढ़ने वालों मे सभी हैं। शालीनता की कोई भी हद पार की और संकोच की गली से गुज़रना अवश्यमभावी है। फूँक फूँक कर क़दम रखना पड़ता है।

बहुत साल पहले किसी शिक्षक ने कहा था- have good friendship but observe decency. मतलब, दोस्ती बढिया हो पर शालीनता का ध्यान रखा जाय। स्कूल और कालेज का वातावरण ही कुछ अजीब होता है। जिसको जितनी बडी गाली देकर बुला सको, उतना ही  जिगरी दोस्त। समझ रहे हैं न मै क्या कहने की कोशिश कर रहा हूँ? पंजाबी माहोल मे तो यह बात ज्यादा ही लागू होती है। सहारनपुर मे तो पश्चिमी उत्तर प्रदेश के जाट भी थे।

आओ अब बताऊँ कि इतने दोस्त बने कैसे। मै अकेला ही चला था जानिब-ए-मंज़िल मगर, लोग साथ आते गये और कारवाँ बनता गया। मेरे साथ भी ऐसा ही कुछ हुआ। सात आठ साल पहले फ़ेसबुक साइन किया तो कुछ जाने पहचाने लोगों को जो पहले से ही वहाँ बिराजमान थे प्रार्थना पत्र भेजा और उनकी स्वीक्रिति मिली। कुछ फ़ेसबुक ने मेल कांटैक्ट से ढूँढ कर ला खड़े किये। करते करते ३०-४० तक दोस्त बन गये। कुछ तो घर के ही सदस्य थे। कुछ आफिस के साथी और कुछ नाते रिस्तेदार। दो साल पहले तक यही वस्तु स्तिथि रही। फिर सोचा फ़ेसबुक के ज़रिये अपनी इधर उधर छपी या पड़ी लेखनी का कमाल सेयर किया जाय। लोगों तक बात भी चली जायेगी और कुछ नाम भी हो जायेगा। काम का काम , दाम के दाम। पहले से ही कुछ ग्रुप्स मे लिखता रहता था तो काम आसान था।

हम जब किसी मुहिम पर निकलते हैं तो कोई भी कसर बाकी नही रखते। लिहाज़ा फ़ेसबुक ही नही, फ़ेसबुक पर हाज़िर ग्रुप्स को भी समेट लिया। फ़ेसबुक भी मदद करता रहा- इस ग्रुप को भी ज्वाइन कर लो। सब मिलाकर १५ तो हैं ही। सब जगह अपने लेख हिंदी, अंग्रेज़ी और गढ़वाली मे चिपकाने शुरू कर दिया। ठीक ठाक रेसपौंस मिला और फ़्रेंडशिप रिक्वेस्ट आने लगीं। किसी को नाराज़ करने की आदत है नहीं , वैसे भी जरूरत तो थी ही, स्वीकार करता चला गया। अगर कभी किसी को नही किया तो फेशबुक याद दिलाता रहा। किसी की रिक्वेस्ट नही मानी तो फेशबुक ने हल्के से जता दिया कि उसने यह बात रिक्वेस्ट करने वाले को बताई नही है। एक और एहसान। कभी तंग आकर किसी को अनफ्रेंड किया तो फ़ेसबुक ने फिर एहसान जताया और कहा कि बतायेगा नही।

अब जब ४०० से ऊपर दोस्त हैं जिनमें घर के, बाहर के, बूढ़े, बच्चे, जवान, स्त्री, पुरुष, रिस्तेदार मे छोटे- बडे, सब ही हैं। काफ़ी सावधानी रखनी पडती है। जब किसी की सेल्फी दिखती है तो सोचना पड़ता है कि ख़ाली लाइक मार दूँ, या कुछ कामेंट्स भी करूँ और करूँ तो क्या। कभी कभी तो अनदेखा भी करना पड़ता है। किसी किसी की स्टेटस अपडेट भी एक कभी न खत्म होने वाला एकता कपूर का सीरियल जैसे होता है। पर लाइक तो मारना ही पड़ता है क्योंकि बदले मे अपने लिये भी तो चाहिये।

बस शालीनता बनाये रखनी पडती है ताकि संकोच वाली पतली गली से न गुज़रना पड़े। फ़ेसबुक ज़िंदाबाद।

हरि लखेडा,
दिसंबर, २०१७

Wednesday, December 20, 2017

Skeletons from the cupboard

Skeletons from the cupboard

It may be just a coincident . I was reading Giant Of The  Senate, a book written by Al Franken, a Democrats Senator. I was just getting interested in the story of his rise from Saturday Night Live to the coveted seat of Senator in the US Congress in 2012. And then falls the bomb. He has decided to resign. Reason - sexual harassment reported by one woman followed by some dozen women over a period of some 20 odd years. Simply pathetic.

Now it so happens that it was not only Trump. There are many many more. The skeletons are tumbling down. Back in India there was this fellow called  Tarun Tejpal Head of Tehlaka and  R K Pachauri Directional General of The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI ). Both of them, highly respected personalities in their own way, had to face the humiliation.

Sexual  harassment at work place is not new. What is new is that more and more women are coming forward to report them. Some cases are as old as fifty years. This  is new found freedom or there is something behind the stories. The typical question asked is why now? The simple answer would be why not?

But is  it really  so simple? The bigger question is who would bell the cat? In most cases the victim does not want to report because of inherent humiliation or fear. It should be the other way round. It is the a accused who should feel humiliated and afraid of. But it happens the other way. The equation is not right.

While there is every possibility that some one may be playing the victim card and thus trying to take revenge or may be some compensation but such cases would be very few. In all probability a woman will not do it because she has to protect her identity, family and social standing. But then the possibility can not be ruled out.

The courts have a difficult job to settle such cases unless the victim can produce concrete evidence, which is very difficult if the case is old.




Saturday, December 16, 2017

Explaining is losing

If you are explaining, you are losing.

Looks familiar , right?

This formula is blatantly tested in politics.   There are some who do not speak at all. There are some who speak what they want to speak and speak profusely. This applies to political leaders sitting at the top like Presidents and Prime Ministers.

Both of them are similar in one respect. Come what may but they will not offer explanation. Offering an explanation is equal to accepting defeat. Multiple meanings can be derived by keeping the mouth shut. Most of them are favorable. As the saying goes one silence is equal to thousands of blessings. This is the first qualification of leaders sitting at the top in the Government.

For example, let us say, one of the party member has said something very objectionable. If the leader tries to explain it publicly, there are chances of both the member and the party getting angry. It will also be seen as accepting defeat. It will also give some fodder to the opposition. If he keeps his mouth touch the subject will die its natural death.   By that time, the opposition will get new issues or he will get some new stick about opposition to beat them with.

There is one more advantage. It will never be clear what and how the leader at the top thinks about the subject. People can only make some guess. Such leaders have a will oiled powerful propaganda machinery that can turn every truth into lie and every lie into truth. If you speak a lie hundred times, it turns into truth.

Public is famously famous for short memory. Or may be they need something new everyday. Who wants to eat the same food everyday? Variety is the spice of life. Whilst on the subject, I just remember one incident. In a train from Patna to Barauni some students were discussing about the tug of war among Janta Party (1997-79)leaders to elect the Prime Minister. Morarji Desai, Babu Jagjeeven Ram and Chowdhary Charan Singh were the claimants. One student said- dear friends, I say, let anybody occupy the seat. The files will start moving, the Government is at stand still. All of them are thieves. Be it only 25%, but let there be some work.

Everywhere it is the same story. We need a government to run the country. Let there be one. There is one consolation. We can change it after five years. And then there is the same uneasiness, come election!




Hari Lakhera
December , 2017









If you are explaining, you are losing.

Looks familiar , right?

This formula is blatantly tested in politics.   There are some who do not speak at all. There are some who speak what they want to speak and speak profusely. This applies to political leaders sitting at the top like Presidents and Prime Ministers.

Both of them are similar in one respect. Come what may but they will not offer explanation. Offering an explanation is equal to accepting defeat. Multiple meanings can be derived by keeping the mouth shut. Most of them are favorable. As the saying goes one silence is equal to thousands of blessings. This is the first qualification of leaders sitting at the top in the Government.

For example, let us say, one of the party member has said something very objectionable. If the leader tries to explain it publicly, there are chances of both the member and the party getting angry. It will also be seen as accepting defeat. It will also give some fodder to the opposition. If he keeps his mouth touch the subject will die its natural death.   By that time, the opposition will get new issues or he will get some new stick about opposition to beat them with.

There is one more advantage. It will never be clear what and how the leader at the top thinks about the subject. People can only make some guess. Such leaders have a will oiled powerful propaganda machinery that can turn every truth into lie and every lie into truth. If you speak a lie hundred times, it turns into truth.

Public is famously famous for short memory. Or may be they need something new everyday. Who wants to eat the same food everyday? Variety is the spice of life. Whilst on the subject, I just remember one incident. In a train from Patna to Barauni some students were discussing about the tug of war among Janta Party (1997-79)leaders to elect the Prime Minister. Morarji Desai, Babu Jagjeeven Ram and Chowdhary Charan Singh were the claimants. One student said- dear friends, I say, let anybody occupy the seat. The files will start moving, the Government is at stand still. All of them are thieves. Be it only 25%, but let there be some work.

Everywhere it is the same story. We need a government to run the country. Let there be one. There is one consolation. We can change it after five years. And then there is the same uneasiness, come election!




Hari Lakhera
December , 2017









Sunday, December 10, 2017

Think before opening mouth

Mani Shankar Iyyar is an educated person and has been at important positions. He  should have known that in public life, before  you open your mouth,  ask yourself three questions:-
1. Is it true?
2. Is it necessary?
3. Is it strategic?
Unfortunately he failed in all the three parameters.

Thursday, December 7, 2017

IF SLOGANS WERE HORSES EVERY CITIZEN WOULD RIDE.

"We all do better when we all do better"
Paul Wellstone, US Senator, Democrats.

So simple and so profound. This is possible only when there is not only equality for all but opportunity for all also. There is no point in asking someone to stand up and run without providing them with the running shoes.

Our leaders are providing good and catchy slogans. Samples:

Sabka Sath Sabka Vikas - Narendra Modi- he has yet to prove it. However if the country's polarized situation on communal lines, for which BJP is the sole culprit, is any indication, Vikas has already gone crazy.

Gareebi Hatao- Indira Gandhi - more than 30% of Indian Population is still under below the poverty line, whatever that may mean.

Jai Jawan Jai Kisan - Lal Bahadur Shastri. - unfortunately he died much too early to implement it. The Jawans have been fighting for equal rank equal pension for years, something was done but still a lot to be done particularly in case of Jawans who retire early.  Kisans are committing suicides in thousands every year.

As they say in Kolkata- cholchhe, cholbe, cholatehobe (चलता है, चलेगा, चलाना पड़ेगा). In the end it is individual war.

Jai ho.

Sunday, December 3, 2017

Politics of Hate

"In a foreseeable future, I  will be dead person.  I want to remind you that dead people are people too. There are good dead people and there bad dead people. Dead people have fought in every war."- Tom Davis.

I read this quote recently in a book. I am forced and anguished to quote this here in the midst of Gujarat elections.  Even dead people are not being spared. One that was covering nose with a hanky to ward off the bad smell is a dead person. All living people do the same.  Like all living people that person was also a people. Like all dead people that person too was good and bad. That person also fought wars on personal level. That person also fought wars that were forced upon. In some that person won, in some lost , as all living people do.

I wish, though hopelessly,  that dead people were spared of such hateful treatment for the sake of a few votes. After all, one day we all will not be here.

Am I asking for too much?

Universal Language of Love and Hate.

Universal Language of Love and Hate. Sometimes, I wonder, why humans developed languages or even need them? If we look back, we will realize...