'Sadak' passing through Road

Memories go back to May 2006 when we had gone with 'Pushpak', our all terrain vehicle, to Portland, OR, we were told that people only with US or International license can drive on road, competition although was an exception.

Perhaps US road authorities believe that their driving standards are much tougher than that of countries like India. They might be true, but they must value and give credit to people who drive successfully on "Sadak" passing through Indian roads. Yeah !

I live in a small town of Orissa. I often wonder why the traffica-wala's keep looking for heads without helmet in such slow paced road. Few incidences of past made me trust their sanity. If you have helmet over your head, its quite possible that  when u meet an accident, due to fake ISI mark on the helmet you may end up with a broken head but you can be sure about its other multiple auxiliary uses. Some of them I will illustrate to refresh your mind! 

It can save you from red marks not of blood but of pan, chewed and spit all over by the driver and passengers going in a local baas (bus). It might not save you from hit of the bus but it definitely saves your ear from the noise (mind u, in these buses except horn every other part makes pretty good rhythm ). It will for sure save you from getting your face "dark and lovely' by the dust and smoke from the passing by truck whose PUC check might be as old as its date of birth.

Well Indian roads particularly in small towns are not just about helmets. There are other USP"s as well. You thought we pay road tax and thereby get a legal authority to drive. Wait!! you are under wrong impression. You will be surprised to know that biggest owners of the road are stray cattle who have an all empowering right to sit anywhere and anytime on the road. You think Indian Government authorities are lazy. No!! They have a highly technical vision. These cattle on the road are actually mobile speed breakers. Fixed speed breakers allow drivers to speed up in a planned way and therefore are prone to more accidents, but with mobile speed breakers you will be surprised at movement of every inch. As someone rightly shared sometime back on facebook that its much like farmville game, you never know from which side cow, goat and dog will enter.  let me quote a beautiful learning on how to drive successfully with these mobile speed breakers. One of my colleague shared. "Dekho jab gai ya bakri road cross kar rahi ho tab unke peeche se gadi le jao, woh kabhi wapas nahin mudte, par agar kutta road cross kar raha ho to uske aage se gaadi le jao , woh jaroor peeche mudega", and this indeed works (test at your own risk) !! Authorities in US:- Do you test your license takers for this !!!, I am sure no.

Now coming to the subject of the post "Sadak" passing through road. Needless to say, we in India, particularly in small towns never get 'potholes' on road. Surprised, yeah, we get road on potholes. Before you start cribbing about authorities associated with road construction, let me candidly admit that they have done this for better health of the citizens of the town. Afterall we have demo(no)cracy in India. (woh alag baat hai ki hamare Prime Minister and Home Minister democratic election me nahin khade ho paye/jeet paye)  Well, you seem to be naive, so here is the hidden  good intention of the authorities "People these days are prone to obesity because they don't do morning exercises, but once they step out of their house in a two wheeler, roads make sure that atleast 90% of the time you are not on the seat but in air striving to control the handle and ensuring that your bike is not stuck in some pothole sorry "sadak" and while you do  this juggling all your body parts get necessary stretch and strain, sometimes beyond tensile limits, jiske liye hamen khed hai!! I remember during our induction period in GM, we were shared that every new vehicle before launch is put on something called "torture track" . Now I realize and feel like recommending my bosses in GM not waste money on preservation of the "torture track", Indian Government has already put enough efforts to ensure that roads in small towns resemble them.

Still if authorities in US and other developed countries feel that they have better driving standards, I think they must send a delegation to any small town of India to redefine their standards on how "Sadak" passes through Road!!

Architects of My life-Year 2010-11

Last year on teacher's day (5th September) I had decided to dedicate a page  "Architects of My life" on the blog for all those 'common beings' who have directly or indirectly influenced "My experiments" in the last one year. The Page reads "God cannot come on its own to guide and care for us all the time and at all moments,  therefore possibly all of us are bestowed with some people who  influence us, pamper us, scold us, mold us, criticize us, motivate us..... These people may not be those big shots who make headlines in newspapers or on television. More often than not, these are the one's whom we see and meet at different points of life. These people  possibly themselves never know what influence they have cast on us and even if they know they never make us feel that they have been instrumental in transforming us. "

 One year has passed by and I am back with a small "thank you" note for few of those common people around me. I humbly submit before the readers that this page is not intended to compare contribution of individuals for the experiments, rather its just a sincere attempt to attribute and give credit to the "common beings" who are behind the scene for all what has happened in the year 5th September 2010- 5th September 2011.

Nilanjan Ghose: In flashback, transition from academic life at IRMA to actual work on field wouldn't have been as smooth as it happened if Nilanjan was not there with me. We had endless discussions on various issues, debated at length on participatory development practices and worked together in Kawardha and Mayurbhanj assignment. Few within my circle know that the amount of time which I could allocate to Mayurbhanj was made possible only because of Nilanjan. While others felt that I was managing all the 'other' assignments well along with "extra" time to Mayurbhanj, it was actually Nilanjan behind the scene helping me out in all other assignments. I often wonder if he was not there Mayurbhanj experiment would have been dropped in October last year after Mamta and Sunandan left Winrock. Almighty had blessed not just a colleague but an elder brother with whom I could share 'almost' everything I had in heart. I thank him from heart for his extraordinary support he extended till my stay with Winrock.

Ranjan Kumar Samal: One person who has been an inspiration of the year.Coincidentally he was the secretary of the  first village cooperative branch in Kuanrpur village. April turmoil :At one end I was disappointed by President of one very big organization for continuation of the Mayurbhanj experiment and at other end I got Ranjan as President of Mayurbhanj Cooperative experiment as a budding community organization. I often share with my friends the background story of Ranjan and they all get filled with admiration for this person. Two years back his grandfather and father expired in succession. His elder brother separated out and entire family responsibility fell on his shoulders. It was as if fate was testing him, his brother in law died in accident after falling from roof top and now he has to take care of his elder sister's family as well. His mother remains seriously ill and he has to arrange money for his younger sister's marriage. He himself is a high BP patient.  And with all this at hand, he is carrying forward Mayurbhanj Cooperative experiment with a smile. I ask him to charge petrol bill  for Cooperative's work and take a minimum honorarium for the time he spends for cooperative on Cooperative's monthly expense and he replies "ye hamara sapna hai; jab aap cooperative ke upar apna kharch charge nahin karte tab thoda toh mujhe bhi aisa nahin karne ka hak banta hai; ek baar cooperative set ho jae bas" and I get an assurance from within that with such a person at the helm of my dream assignment, it is bound to succeed. Isn't Ranjan an extraordinary unquoted example for many of us, who shed off the responsibility for the society under pretext of one or other family responsibility.?

Shabana Parween: Post April turmoil when I was looking for job nearby Mayurbhanj for self-sustenance, I visited Angul for an interview. Shabana happens to be my batchmate from IRMA and working with Nalco Foundation and is currently based in angul. By nature she has been shy and perhaps that's why she had not shared it earlier and while I was entering her flat, she 'silently' said that it was her Bday. Her mother had prepared lunch and was waiting for me. While I was chatting with her mother I casually asked if there is a Bday celebration plan then I'll catch train little late and her reply left me spell bound. She said that Shabana intends to celebrate her bday by distributing fruits to children of an orphanage.  Isn't this a truest way of celebrating one of the most important day of the year where the celebration's essence reaches to children whom got perhaps left deprived of the biggest wealth 'parents' . I got my lesson of the year or perhaps lesson of the life. We often spend big sum on parties which are meant for people who already have sufficient resources to feed themselves. There is nothing wrong in partying provided we are sure that no one atleast in the town where we are celebrating, sleeps hungry stomach. Imagine with such 365 people and 365 Bday's life will become 'relatively' easy for few in the town!!

I sincerely thank all my friends and well wishers who have supported the Mayurbhanj Experiment.

मुश्किलों में अकेला छोड़ चले जाते हो

खुदा ने फ़रमाया 

 हर किसी के साथ हर समय तो नहीं रह सकता हूँ

इसिलिये कभी खुद आ जाता हूँ कभी अपनी बन्दों के रूप में रहमत भेज देता हूँ