Sunday, August 31, 2008

How green was my Valley?



As the call for “azaadi” picks up momentum in the Kashmir Valley, young Kashmiris who have made a life and career for themselves in and around Delhi know where they want to be. They know azaadi will not get them jobs in Kashmir. And they don’t want to go back.

“No way will I go back,” says Afzal (name changed) who is in the hospitality business, owning a flourishing restaurant in a posh Delhi locality. “Go back and do what?” he says. In his late 20s, he spent his growing-up years in a boarding school. The stories he heard from his parents and grandparents were about a Kashmir that had ceased to exist several years ago. “The Kashmir my parents talk about was something I never saw. We left something that will never come back. My life is here. I have gained tremendously living in Delhi in terms of both family and property. I would not have been able to do so well financially had I stayed in Srinagar. If we had not moved out, I would have been sitting in some corner of a houseboat wearing a firan,” he says, smiling at the incongruity of the image given that he is a page 3 regular in Delhi’s social circuit.

But having said that, he adds, “Kashmir is in our blood, we cannot be separated from it. So here’s hoping that if azaadi does come about, we can get dual citizenship.”

For Javed, 45, (name changed) who is married to a non-Kashmiri and has two children, the issue of going back is linked with the practical nitty-gritties. “Azaad Kashmir will be a new country, it will take time to find its feet. It would take at least a decade for it to stabilise with its constitution, prime minister, government, ambassadors. At present there is no industry there, no business development. Going back would mean starting all over again for me. Idealism is all very fine and azaadi as a concept is great, but I do not see myself giving up all that I have achieved here. My business in Delhi is something I have created and I have done quite well for myself. I have been able to get international exposure and grown because of it. I honestly do not see myself going back,” he says.

“I will not go back unless someone actually holds a gun to my head or says that my family will be harmed if I do not return,” says Zainab, in her late 20s, who is a communications consultant and comes from one of Kashmir’s established families. “By leaving Kashmir because of the lack of opportunities there we have all lost and gained in equal parts. All of us who have left have lost our culture. But on an individual level, we have gained a lot in terms of money and professional growth,” she says.

For Majid (name changed) who runs a handicrafts business and whose wife is a doctor working in Delhi, it is a catch 22 situation. “Going back would be a disaster. There is no growth there. But we are also not treated like equals here. I have been trying to buy a house but as soon as it becomes clear that I am a Kashmiri Muslim, I find doors shutting in my face. While individually, most people I have interacted with have treated me well, it is the collective that reacts like a stereotype. Eighty per cent of the strangers I come in contact with see me as a militant just because I am a Kashmiri Muslim. I was detained at immigrations at Mumbai and missed my flight. Later I came to know that the officer who detained me for no reason had lost his brother to militancy in Kashmir. It was not my fault, but I became to face of militancy for him. Yet, I do not think azaadi is the answer. We all have our karobar spread out in India and abroad. We cannot go back,” he concludes.

Amjad, (name changed) a photography student, says that he had not been inside a restaurant before he came to Delhi. “My friends taught me how to order from a menu, how to talk to girls. In Srinagar, we were not allowed to go out after 6 pm. Here, I go for movies at 10 pm. My flat, which I share with three others is like a mini-India — one flat mate is from Haryana, one from Bihar and one from Bangalore. I am desperately looking for a job here. I cannot go back,” he says.

“What the f**k will I do if I go back? My career is here,” said Arshad, (name changed) a young Kashmiri mediaperson.

As more and more Kashmiri youth find their careers and the attendant fame and fortune outside the valley, the idea of azaadi for them seems to be more about having the freedom to live wherever they want rather than having the freedom to call Kashmir azaad.

What do you say: Should Kashmir be allowed to secede as some thinkers have suggested recently?

Return of Dengue



The aedes egypti is making trouble in Gurgaon now. But interestingly it’s not the slums, but the posh colonies of the city that have become a breeding ground for mosquitoes

Dengue has once again bared its fangs, creating an alarming situation in Gurgaon. Of a total 208 confirmed patients of dengue, 39 are being treatment in various government and private hospitals here. Other dengue patients have already been discharged.

Several of these patients, who become seriously ill are, however, are being shifted to hospitals in Delhi.

According to official sources, two people have died of dengue this summer, but unofficial sources claim that there have been four dengue deaths in Gurgaon.

“There is no need to panic as no fresh case of dengue has come to light for the last three/four days,” Gurgaon Deputy Commissioner Deepti Umashankar claimed.



Do you think hospitals in Delhi and NCR are well-equipped to handle dengue epidemic?

Occult, a new fad among teens



Teenagers today are increasingly getting drawn to occult practices, tantra and mantra. It is quickly becoming a rage. Most feel it is an easy way to fulfill the desires which would otherwise have been impossible.

A mantra to control the person one loves, casting spells to make things work the way one wants, these attractions seem quite alluring to teenagers who want to experiment with paranormal practices.

Pushpanjali Raj, a Class 11 student of DPS R.K Puram, who jumped to her death on Wednesday, is reportedly said to have been talking to to supernatural powers.

Geetanjali Kumar, a counselor, says, mystery behind occult attracts them. Occult science is becoming popular and is being increasingly talked about. The social networking sites and chatrooms provide a forum for teenagers where they open up and talk about the subject.

“Parents provide internet access to their kids but they fail to monitor the sites they visit. Parents should supervise their kids while surfing the net. There should be a connectivity, a hand-holding which is neither suffocating nor intruding. Also brain storming sessions and group discussion for about 15 minutes every day will help the counsellors and teachers to understand the mental state of the child. In Pushpanjali’s case, too, if there had been proper counselling, she would have been alive today.”

The with teenagers getting hooked to the internet and social networking sites, scrapping friends and stranger, is something they routinely follow. Networking sites like Orkut has communities on occult science and supernatural powers. Here are some of the scraps from one such site:

“Shubankara: destroying an enemy by name. Please tell me the safe rituals to destroy a particular enemy,” a boy on a community site called Occult Science asks.

Shubhankara got the following reply for his query.

“Abhishek: Hi Friend, though there are many ways to cause harm to anyone through these practices, let us not discuss it here for two reasons:

1. You are not an expert, if you make a mistake, you won’t be able to correct it. Sometimes, gun backfires!

2. Don’t believe about taking revenge ( I know that’s difficult) but let nature take

its course.

What is your take? Should occult practices be banned?

Free condoms during Games



Condoms will be the most commonly available thing for athletes during the Commonwealth Games 2010 if Hindustan Latex Ltd. (HLL) has its way.

What could be a reminiscent of the just-concluded Beijing Olympics — where 10 lakh free condoms were distributed among athletes — the state-owned company is exploring the possibility of distributing free condoms to athletes during the mega international event in the capital.

Aiims’ AIDS education and training cell coordinator Bir Singh said the idea is quite viable even in the Indian context. “We can’t preach a different social condition just to oppose it,” he said, adding the condom vending machines put up in prominent locations in the city were already drawing a good response.

Over 8,500 athletes and officials are expected to be here during the Games, being held for the first time in Delhi.

HLL is contemplating placing condom packs and vending machines in the Games Village and hotels where the athletes would be accommodated. In December last year, the HLL had also placed female condom vending machines at select pubs in the NCR.

Do you think free condom distribution will help spread AIDS awareness?