63

Dear Readers, 

                    Students Union elections were concluded recently (day before yesterday) across Colleges and Universities in the state of Rajasthan. The most disconcerting aspect of these over-estimated elections is the menace of student violence. I fail to understand that how does the run to a position of student representative assumes such deadly proportions? 

                   Caste calculations leave the society bruised asunder. Rajputs, Jats, Meenas, Gujars or whatever be the name, caste groups are made to think in isolationist trends and the only target is to manipulate caste configurations in such a way so that vote-banks secure 'victory'. This notion of 'victory' is in itself highly questionable. On being declared victorious, student representatives quickly turn into Don Quixotes in their own capacities when they are showered upon with the promised glory and greatness. Glory is mostly gory.

                    The senior netas who take avowed interest in these elections only after their student affiliate organisation 'sweeps' the polls are the culprits who encourage rowdy elements to politicise these events as much as they can. It is the scores of unemployed youth who participate full-fledgedly here that comprise the main work-force of the senior netas in Assembly polls or General elections. Thus, in a way, they train the youth in hooliganism, street-brawls and organised crime. 

                       The only hope lies in the fact that the teachers in Colleges and Universities should at least diffuse tensions between opposing groups. This is all that I can suggest out of personal experience.  We should tell our students in the classes that those who want to fight should join the army and not indulge in grisly bull-fights. The educational institutions should be first and foremost temples of learning.....

                   

62

Dear Readers, 

                     For all those who indulge in the art of writing in one form or the other, it is a fairly common situation that they suffer from minor writer's block now and then. One just sits dumb in front of his laptop staring at the blank microsoft word page or stares at the page of his/her opened note-book or diary. Thoughts stay afloat in the mind but it gets more and more difficult to communicate them in words. 

                      There is a remedy of sorts which I can suggest out of personal experience. What I did and how I did it, brought back a lot of expression to me. First of all, I decided to travel. Then, I chose to wait for a moment which triggered off a flight to the past, to my own personal history. In this case, it was the moment when I heard pouring rain on the leaves of trees and plants. Strangely and inexplicably, the registration of that moment brought back to the mind memories lying locked inside the dungeons of the dark heart. At that juncture, it was all feeling. I mean, all I did was to feel. There was no compulsion to write or give any form to those ideas and thoughts. 

                          Later, it was on a quiet late moonlit night, that I sat on my desk after a light dinner with a light dessert and took a deep breath. In the background was playing my favorite music- some exquisite masterpieces of thumri genre. There I recollected those lovely underpinnings and it all began to flow. If you still find a little difficulty, think about the one person to whom you have still a lot to say. Imagine she is sitting with her hair open, all ears to you, waiting for you to shed all your vapor like those dark saawan clouds. Soon you would see it getting condensed into lustrous words....

61

Dear Readers,

                    Last weekend, I was on holiday to the only hill station of our beautiful state, Mount Abu. The picturesque green on dark rocks draped in white clouds makes one forget the fact that a few kilometers descend lands one into the treacherous desert. While walking up and down the hills on the top, one can feel the water vapor on his face when he/she literally walks into the clouds.

                    Of all the varied places that I visited, the most magnificent was the Achalgarh fort due to the volumes of history that it encompasses. The lofty mountain fort was one of the nine foremost castles of ancient Maruwad or the land of death. The remnants of this place should be properly examined for they store invaluable information about the darker periods of our history.

                   The most beautiful story that unfolded before my eyes there was the story of the lost glory of the Maharajas. One after the other, I visited huge summer palaces, kothis and bungalows built by the earstwhile Indian princes, thakurs, arsitocrats and nobility- signs of colonial influence and power at its peak. Whether be it the Jaipur house located atop a lofty cliff overlooking the Nakki lake, or the sprawling Alwar house which has been converted into a school, the rotten Leemdi house or the dilapidated Uniara house- one after the other, one sees remains of majestic buildings which once were abodes of power, gaiety and luxury. They appear to be standing numb as if in resentment to the ugly face of modern architecture and development.....

60

Dear Readers, 

                     These days, as I lay engrossed in writing a paper about ancient horse cultures and other aspects related to Hippology, there is a lot to read and write about the history of Central Asia. Just now I chanced upon a beautiful picture of the Mongolian steppes which showed a lonesome rider on his steed set against the backdrop of grasslands stretching far into the horizon like the never ever detectable edge of an infinity swimming-pool. 

                    The beauty of ecological zones lies in the ease with which they transcend national boundaries. It is an impressive sight to see these grand grasslands on a map, stretching from one end of Europe to the other end of the Asian mainland running all across the Eurasian land mass. This place is home to many ancient civilisations and also to the most celebrated animal on the planet, the horse. These grasslands are the abode of this gorgeous and strong animal which has had a significant impact on the evolution of mankind and its history. 

              There is something about flat barren grasslands that they remain so attractive to me. No amounts of research will give me any hint of what mystery do they behold. Such a deep secret can be known only and only by the winds that blow over them....