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Dear Readers and all my beloved students,

                       As I write to you at this hour I feel immense pride in sharing with you my deepest regard, love, gratitude and salutation for two martyrs who have shown us the way at a time when our vision is marred by the cold, chilling fog of hate, ignorance and injustice. Never before in my life, as a student, scholar or teacher, have I felt so emboldened about our dream of improving our lot by the means of enlightenment through true and meaningful education. 

                         On many occasions before, my disdainful remonstrance on the state of higher education in our nation has got reflected in my writings here. From the way curricula is designed to the procedure followed in recruiting University Professors, even the smallest cog in the giant machinery of Higher Education is lubricated with a slimy, slithery and pungent liquid of 'status-quoist', reactionary, supremacist, backward and discriminating forces. Our Universities snub original and free thinking and a genuine debate and scholarship. Today, however, I wont speak of the darkness.

              Dear Students, today we should be thankful for the sacrifice of Rohith Vemula and Professor Syed Hamid Hussain which will, beyond doubt, infuse a new spirit in the degenerating education system of not only India but the entire Indian sub-continent, our home, South Asia. Rohith's activism, his articulation, his appeal to justice for forthcoming generations and his call for ending the old ways will pave the way for future mobilisation of students on and off campus. Here, we are talking of students mobilising themselves in terms of rationalist ideas and not as vote-bank buffoonery which Rohith also condemned strongly in his last words. 

          Professor Hamid's daring resistance to the brute force of terrorism in the face of all oddities and in the immediate hour of crisis is so brave that it can make even the limp rise on his feet. Nothing can be more dangerous than a man who is deft with the pen as well as the gun. The attackers at Peshawar failed to fathom the grit of the Professor's defiance or yet still the aftereffect that his dare-devilry will have on many a students and teachers to come. 

                      Qatil ko yeh ghuman, 

                                 ki dehshat ki jeet hui, 

                                 ki zulm ke tabbooton main band hue ashar sabhi

                      ghafil ko yeh bata, 

                                  qatl hue yun ki nayi reet likhi, 

                                  naye lashkaron ki fasl boyi gayi.....

                                                                                   (self)

                             

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Dear Readers, 

                    So the good news is that Climate Change could not play a spoil sport in two of the  most charming festivals of our culture- Lohri and Makar Sankranti. The beginning of 2016 saw a dramatic rise in temperatures making us ponder if winters were all but gone. Trademark winter accessories like sweaters, woolen gloves or sun-bathing were all rendered useless as we were forced to use the AC's in our cars during the day even in the month of January. However, things took a sudden change again and the winter was back on track on 13th evening as if it announced its arrival to partake in the Lohri bonfires. 

               The day of the second festival was awesome. 15th saw the Pink City living up to its image and history of the 'city of festivals' with thousands of kites taking to the sunny and resplendent sky of our beloved Jaipur. The city-sky had turned into a riot of colors and activity and rhythm resembling a dance floor or a concert stadium with hundreds of kites grooving in to the music. The night brought with it fireworks and quite amusingly, a unique addition to the city skyline: hundreds of candle-kites floating in the air like an army of fireflies. 

              I spent a happy and cozy time on the terrace of my home. To give me company was a masterpiece book Jaipurnama written by the renowned historian Giles Tillotson whom I had the honor of meeting a few weeks back only. While flipping through the pages of the book and staring at the sky, one question skirted my mind. (This question emanated out of the displeasure over the ruckus created on the issue of  'tolerance-intolerance' in our nation about which my last post spoke in detail). I wondered if all these kite-enthusiasts realized that most of their kites were crafted by our Muslim brethren. Just like these kites in the cozy air, tolerance, love, compassion and diversity is in the warp and weft our living......Happy flying!