A Warm Welcome Home

I got back home, after three days at Hyd, totally drained and washed out....... and what better welcome could I have gotten than to see my bean bag look like this :)

'Arre Yaar' in the Oxford Dictionary

'Arre Yaar' is one of my favorites. It just has this casual but warm,  friendly, natural bonding feel to it. When I heard it made it to the Oxford, my first reaction was a smile...like  another level of acknowledgement to a nice phrase. Then there was the surprise, as I couldn't see how such a nuanced word or phrase could weave itself into English, if you know what I mean.

But that's the beauty of the English Language, right? It just keeps absorbing, growing, evolving.......it doesn't allow those subtleties or nuances of other languages or words stop it.

No constraints...just do it.

I simply love the language, and yes, while I keep getting accused of getting caught up in words, I do think words are beautiful, and I simply love the English Language. (could be because I know no other as well as this...... but so what..... I still love it)

                                       

Two anecdotes or memories come to mind around this:

Nammu, ( a born and brought up in the US cousin), a long long while ago, asked me......'what does 'ya' mean'?. And I said, it means 'yes'.  And she's like...'no, you use it all the time.... not just when you're saying yes......like even when you're saying No'. I couldn't get what she was saying then. Later she caught me saying 'Nahi yaar' to someone, and pounced on me with a 'that's the one'. It was the yaar....often shortened into ya. In fact, it's only then that I realized how much we use it.

And then there's Dhoni at the wickets. This is also an oldish memory, and I don't know if he still does it, as it's been a few years since I've watched cricket. But in his earlier days, he would say it to almost every ball, and because he was keeping (mike on the wickets) we'd hear it so clearly....... 'Arrre Yaarrr"!  And I found that so appealing and cute, that it made every ball that extra bit worth watching, just to hear him say it. He'd put so much expectation, energy and desire into it....like it so clearly expressed how he thought each of those balls could have been a catch.

If I always loved the phrase, he made me love it even more :)

Bodh Gaya

The MahaBodhi temple in Bodh Gaya is significant for the MahaBodhi tree under which Buddha attained enlightenment, all those 2400 years ago. It is thus, the most auspicious and holy pilgrimage center for Buddhists.

Well, for those sceptics out there, who'd go like, how can there be a tree that's that old......and I've been asked....I had presumed it's the same tree through it's ancestors kinds.  

I just told these folks how even the now existent tree looks atleast 500 to 600 years old. And then I got a doubt on how old a peepal tree (bodhi tree) could really be........ and surprise surprise, a peepal tree has a lifespan of 2000 - 3000 years. Amazing, huh ?

The arch reads 'Samjhodi Dwaar', meaning gateway to enlightenment

 The Mahabodhi Temple

                                                   That's THE MahaBodhi tree

Guess the place is just a little overwhelming, because everyone just automatically falls silent.  There is an aura of quiet and serenity, and a natural high energy. You just don't feel like leaving.

In fact, there's another peepal tree right next to this.....and equally old with a lot of stupas around. I did the pranic healing thing of feeling the energy of the tree, and it was a crazy experience..... it was almost magnetic in its hold. I didn't feel like taking my hand off.

It's a place to be experienced. I for sure intend to go again if I get to make another trip to Bihar.

In addition to the MahaBodhi temple, we also visited the Vishwa Shanti Stupa at Rajgir, in Nalanda , one of the 80 peace pagodas of the world. 

 
The Vishwa Shanthi Stupa

Rajgir is again a very auspicious place for Buddhists and Jains as well. Buddha is said to have given many of his initial sermons after attaining enlightenment here, and is also said to have initiated Bimbisara, one of the earliest emperors of the Magadha Dynasty to Buddhism, Likewise, Mahavira, the Jain Guru has spent a significant part of his life in Rajgir.

Rajgir was the original capital of the Magadha dynasty, which is what evolved into the well known Mauryan Empire. ( I didn't know folks could have favorite empires, but my dad does, and his favorite was the Mauryan Empire. In fact he named our house 'Maurya' )

There's also a lot of  Mahabharatha and Ramayana stories associated with the place, one famous one being the wrestling fight between Bhima and Jarasandha, who hailed from this place (where Bhima throws the different part of Jarasandha in different directions as it had the ability to reassemble).

Access is through an arial ropeway, which was fun

A Maanyata of the place; if you draw, with a wish for your children, it comes true. So you see a lot of people doing those designs with their fingers on the sand there.

The Rajgir hills on which the stupa is located

Ranjan caught Bholanath and me unawares; and no, we weren't meditating...just chilling :)

Jugaad

After six days in Bihar, I honestly felt that the concept of Jugaad must have been born there. It’s simply amazing the extent to which optimum utilization happens, and it’s all done so effortlessly and with such non chalence, that you’d think it was no big deal. 

For those not familiar, Jugaad is the local hindi word for simple, intelligent innovations or improvisations in process or product, essentially created by the underserved as work arounds to obstacles of any kind.

Take this for example; this was the first place we stopped for Chai on the way from Patna to Bhagalpur. He puts the kettle on to boil and then picks up the fan, just the blades part..... and I'm told...Ab dekhiye iske saath kya karta hai .....and I'm watching in fascination..

He sticks the fan into the base for 

blowing air, two bricks to make it stay in place

                                     Then he pulls the wire and attaches to the battery of
                                            the auto and voila...the fans running  :)

In fact there's this town of Lakhisarai that we drove through, that has the dubious distinction of being able to duplicate anything, right from Tag Heur watches, Fair and Lovely cream, Head and Shoulders shampoo, Wills Cigarettes ...list goes on......and I’m told it's done so well that you can’t tell the difference. In fact when you buy there from wholesalers, they will even ask 'Sahi or D'? ( like D for duplicate)

Just look at the use of vehicles, any kind of vehicle, and its used at 10X its capacity. This is such a common sight, and they were telling me how these guys buy completely junked vehicles and will attach all kinds of contraptions to make it motorable. 

The Jhajariya is a contraption with a Rajdoot or any other mobike engine, and apparently there's a high court order against it, as it's not a licensed vehicle and has no registration number. Yet, it's ubiquitous in Bihar, and used for anything....... goods, people, buffaloes...just anything .

6 days and 1600 kms of Bihar

One thing that hit me is how different it is to visit a place as a tourist on vacation, as against a locally enabled experience. Having Bholanath and Ranjan with me, not to miss out our driver Prabhakar ji who was with us all six days, travelling by road through the heartlands of Bihar, and as you can see, a lot alongside the Ganges, allowed such a connect with the true nature and character of the place.... and for that I’m truly grateful.  

I thought the level of involvement might have gotten kind of overboard when Amitav tells me, ‘Arre, aap tho bihari accent mein bolreho' :)

It’s been at one time the most productive in terms of work, the most enriching in terms of exposure, and I must say also high on the spiritual scale by way of a visit to Bodh Gaya, and the Maha Bodhi Vriksh (tree) under which Buddha attained enlightenment.

Driving through Begusarai, Munger, Bhagalpur, Samastipur, Saamna, Jamui, Rajghir, BodhGaya, and back to Patna….. and while I knew not one of those names before the visit, they all seem so close and familiar now.

Eating Poori Bhaaji and Jalebi for breakfast,  Tea in matkas,  khova samosas at dhabhas, chaaval aur chicken at one of the dingiest places I’ve ever ever eaten, and lots of those little things that made it a memory that will last.

Dabaang, Jugad, TamTam, Ramayana, Buddha, Vihara ........they all flow with the same fluidity that the Ganges does.

The experience has so many facets, that I’m going to have to do a few posts to do justice.... let me start with work.

                     Bholanath, Ranjan and Ashish from our Munger Office

A solar installation; you see the panel?

Inside the home that has the installation

That's the LED light over the door. It's a two light 

system, with the other light inside

A potential entrepreneur, the kirana shop owner 

with Bholanath outside

A laptop, xerox and printer all on Solar Energy

That's the Entrepreneur on the left, with Raman, our 

service technician who is expert with Solar Installations

The village which has several SELCO Installations

Sharing bandi chaat with Archana who works 

with SEWA, a totally women run NGO

Bholanath and Ranjan, thanks a ton for making my visit and stay such a productive and wonderful experience, and looking forward to a lot of entrepreneurs and micro enterprises, identified and supported by your team.

A Kite Rescue

Dhruva was on his way to work, in an auto, when he saw this injured kite fall on the road, and a policeman stop all traffic to pick it up and put it aside. He went onto office, but it continued to work on his mind. He decided to walk back and check, and in a while he found the kite lying on the footpath, like a piece of paper, wings torn and totally hurt.

I don’t know how he did it, but he actually picked it up and took it back to office. Apparently it was too hurt to attack. He called PFA and they said they could come by only in the evening. So per their advice, he went and bought a box and put it in for rest of the day. 

With help from a colleague they give it some water, and dhruva was in for a surprise when he was trying to clean its nose and it actually bit him, but luckily it got only his hanky. And he says, he was so happy to see it was already getting stronger with the water. He looked after it rest of the day, and evening PFA did come and pick it up.

A kudos sent dhruva’s way for the thought and the effort . Thoughts, Feelings and Actions aligned. Keep it going Dhruva !!

The Bihar Experience

 I’ve been in Bihar three days now and if I haven’t written, it’s not just because I’ve been doing  sixteen hour work days, but also because I’m yet so dazzled by the experience, that I wasn’t sure I could put down coherent thoughts of it.

What can I say.... it’s like viewing life through a whole different lens.  I all over again get what it means to say 'Índia is a land of diversity' .

Dhabangness is a word you hear a lot of. And two days, and you feel a lot of. It's an approach, an attitude, a whole different way of life. Up until I came here, Dhabaang was just a movie, didn't even know what it meant. It was just this image of the hoarding of Salman Khan and his shirtless six pack, shades and a swagger. 

Here, that's life. ...it's just everywhere. Male dominant wouldn't say it.  It's raw Machismo that you see, feel , hear.....even the guy who serves you tea at the road side dhaba has a six pack with rippling muscles and an attitude that's ...well, Dabaang :)

And what's hard to digest is that, it seems to be to the exclusion of almost all else. Like a friend said….law, women, lower castes..... even life.... have little or no value. 

The place itself is really beautiful. We’ve been driving through the districts of Munger, Bhagalpur and Samastipur, and it’s almost all along the Ganges. It's picturesque, green, cute huts, beautifully colored sarees ( you see very little of the woman herself) ,  small peaked temples, jersey cows, huge buffaloes, jajaariyas, sweet bandis...very pretty. Rest through pics

Ganga Ji, as it's always referred to here

                                                       
                                              All temples are like this, small and sweet

                                             Salman Khan se kuch kum hai kya??

Wonder how they make it stay on the head ?

                                           A boy balancing on the buffaloe as he washed it

An interesting anecdote here. A colleague was ealier working with HLL, selling soaps and shampoos and stuff in Bihar, and the company wrote to him saying there is a very high sale of godrej hair dye in a particular village and to go to the field and see , and he found that they were using the hair colour on their buffaloes :). They really love their cows and buffaloes, and take a lot of pride in making us tea from ghar ka dhoodh.

                                                   

That's us with our potential entrepreneur , Yashwanth Kumar on my right, with whose help we're hoping to electrify this village which has no connection to the grid...... and those little kids up there, I'm hoping they grow up knowing the pluses of electricity :)