Aarey Forests!

How qualified I am to comment on this issue?:-
1. Citizen of India
2. Have grown up seeing trees making space for NCR (especially Gurgaon, Dharuhera, Manesar, Sidhrawali)
3. Have enjoyed the bagiyaa and jungles of my village in Ayodhya, which are still the same.

Points against my qualification:-
1. I do not live in Mumbai.
2. I am not the immediate loser or gainer of the cutting of Aarey forests.

*****

Once upon a time In Dharuhera (Haryana), Aravali ranges used to be visible from my terrace. Every evening my favourite time was to enjoy the trance created by those ranges, a far stood Mohan baba ka mandir and the darkening of trees under the twilight. Slowly as I grew up, my city also grew up. More Industries came and the horizon started diluting slowly. It finally became invisible. The visual treat of the trees retreated with the temple, with the ranges and with the trance. Then we migrated to Gurgaon, now only Moon and Sky are natural companions.

Do I regret? A big NO!  Is there a sense of loss? - Certainly! A void of knowing I will not be able to see those horizons, as they do not exist anymore. I cannot return to that childhood solitude ever. That poetic soiree with my favourite Horizon has gone!


Nevertheless, the kind of evolution of a place I have seen was a phenomenon. The massive amount of wealth creation changed the lives of many families and their generations. Prosperity brings the best brand of the hope. A childhood full of success stories. I internalized the vibes of the making of the Gurgaon (the Millennium city). The multiplier effect on dreams and aspirations of the masses has taught me economics better than my textbooks.

So, is my love for trees less than your love for trees? I do not know about this... My love for many things is always under my control even if it feels like obsession to me. So may be even in this I might sound cold towards the cutting of trees when it comes to Infrastructure.  However, I write being the citizen of this country for what I know is correct.

Q. Will I ever join a protest against cutting of trees for metro if HC of the state has approved it? A big NO

Q. Will I ever join any drive to plant more and more trees? Yes (Shouting from the rooftop kind of)

(Anyways! My personal silent protests are regarding many issues since I have started understanding the hypocrite nature of human beings. Being human is being a hypocrite!)

Now! Coming to Aarey Forests!

Mumbai is not an ordinary city. It is the financial capital of India. It deserved metro decades ago. Well-planned deforestation is required for such projects and trees can be planted in more and more numbers at other places.
Civilizations are built upon jungles, we can never payback our trees but we can certainly increase their numbers. Delhi Metro has immensely contributed in diluting the traffic-generated pollution in the NCR region. It has added time and space to Delhi. It has increased the holding capacity of the city.
Mumbai needs metro (As per my honest common sense). If HC has approved it, at least let us trust our judiciary; let us plant more trees somewhere else.

I accept I am dishonest towards my love for my best memories which have always been under nature (be it trees be it rain). Nevertheless, what needs to be done has to be done and will be done. This will never be 100 percent correct like many things and like many decisions. We have come far away from the possibility of win - win situations. There will be heart breaking trade-offs, in fact there always have been. However, there is much of economics beyond the trade-offs, beyond the Pareto optimality matrix. The economics of human consciousness and transition of the same. This juggling with all the forces of nature, construction, destruction, inertia and acceleration can be understood if one can simply understand that mechanism of breathing. The answer is in the pause between inhaling and exhaling. In that pause we build civilizations, metros, furniture, papers or etc.

A Fear, Few Smiles and Few Tears

“This dog bites”, the moment I heard this, I ran back to my room and kept my bag. Slept straight for two hours.

**

My morning started fantastic, I was full on ready for the day and to my amazement, I even ironed my clothes today (may be this deviation from the original behaviour was the hint that this day will not go as I have planned).

**

Back to the dog. I do not fear God but I fear gods and dogs. Moreover, my fear is really simple. I do not know any Meta physics of this fear neither I want to. Dare anyone say me that do not fear dogs? It’s mutual. They do not like me and I do not like them. I can change my entire plan of the day if a dog is sitting on the stairs and I get to know that it bites. What else can be this simple?

**

When my second good morning happened after I woke up. I tried to make sense of the dream I saw. A hospital, there was a weird apparatus. There were few wires connecting my brain to the dog and dog in turn was connected to the machine. That machine was known for articulating what dog feels about people and it was believed in that hospital that dogs know it all about the world. I was asked by the doctor to close eyes and think about my fears. I tried to think in my dream which I vaguely remember. But I remember few things which machine said: she wants all the attention of police & law and order, she is afraid of betrayal and yoga. But as much as I know myself, I have strong repulsion from law and order and police since my childhood and I love yoga. The only thing true was that I am afraid of betrayal and this is no brainer, most of the people are. Freak dream for a freak day. Anyways! I give equal damn to dreams and reality after a point.

**  

The afternoon went reading and my brother recommended me to watch all the episodes (as I already watched one on the You Tube)  of “Yeh meri family” by TVF  and went to library. I still kept studying, as I wanted to catch my plan for the day. Thought of taking a bit break and downloaded TVF Play. Next what I know is that the time was just flying back and forth. Such a time trip it was. Back to childhood. Back to that home, that school, those birthday memories, first crush and that one childhood friend (the best friend, the story teller, the advice messiah). The time swings of emotions and lovely tears. So much to relate, almost everything. The importance of family, siblings and those summer vacations. Kya din the!. Thank you TVF. Thanks a lot for making this series. I cried almost in the end of every episode. An extremely warm and beautiful weaving of the emotions. Songs are so sweet and the title track is simply overwhelming.

**

When credits of the final episode were over it was 7:30 PM. So the lovely day which started with a beautiful morning, a fear break, sleep in Brunch and Studies in lunch got converted into an evening without tea and mixture of  my favourite smile and favourite tears with a lovely TV series. Now, thought of seizing the day by writing a blog after a long break.

P.S.:  Is this a Monday? J

Dogs and Fog!

 While the dogs bark immensely to sort out their matters in the park in front of my window, I feel good for the feeling that I can’t understand these dogs. I can simply listen their bark while my rational senses can take rest.  I can shift my attention to the translucency of the fog. It is just the inception of the December 2016 and this intensity of fog deserves some enquiry. Let the scientists worry for climate change! I am unqualified of worrying about the humanity as I don’t understand its wisdom. All I know is I feel enormous satisfaction that for this moment I am not the reason of the world outside my window.  This view and split with reasoning is bliss of sorts. In this stillness, there is a freedom I don’t owe to anyone. I choose to be not useful with my thoughts; I choose to be not responsible with my existence, I choose to be still and feel as simply as I can.

P.S: What is so right with winters? I don’t know and I won’t try either because dogs just taught me that brain is an exaggerated material.