કેક બગાડવાનો નવો રિવાજ

જન્મદિવસના રોજ એક સમજુ વ્યક્તિ જીવનમાં કંઇક નવું કાર્ય કરવાની સંકલ્પના સાથે ઉજવણી કરે છે. આ નવું કાર્ય વ્યક્તિ વિકાસ, કુટુંબ સુમેળ કે સમાજ હિત પૈકીનું કંઈ પણ હોઈ શકે. જન્મદિવસની ઉજવણી આટલા વરસોથી તમારો ભાર સહન કરી રહેલી પૃથ્વી માટે પણ કૃતજ્ઞતા વ્યક્ત કરવાનો એક અનેરો મોકો બની શકે. પણ કહે છે ને કે માણસો એ જ્યારથી વૃક્ષોની ડાળીઓ છોડી ને નીચે રેહવાનુ પસંદ કર્યું ત્યારથી આ બધી સમસ્યાઓ સર્જાઈ છે. ખબર નઈ આ જન્મદિવસની ઉજવણી એ કેક બગાડવાનો રિવાજ કયા મફતિયા એ શરુ કર્યો હશે? આજકાલ મફતિયા મનોરંજનથી માનસિક શાંતિ મેળવવાની સ્પર્ધા જામી છે. આ મફત મનોરંજન મંડળીનું સભ્યપદ બઉ સસ્તું છે. ફક્ત તમારા જન્મદિવસે જ તમારે પૈસા ઢીલા કરવા પડે. આ સભામાં જઈ ને વાનરો જેવી હરકત કરવાથી તમને બીજી પાર્ટીના પાસ તરત મળી જાય. અમુક તો એવા પણ હોય છે જે આખું વરસ આવી મફતની મહેફિલ માં જ કારકિર્દી બનાવતા હોય છે.
મહાત્મા ગાંધીજી એ કરકસરયુક્ત જીવન જીવવાના આગ્રહી હતા અને પૃથ્વી ઉપર ના તમામ ને જરૂર પૂરતું મળી રહે એ હેતુ થી તેમને આ પ્રકારના વિચાર ને સમાજ માં સ્થાપિત કરવાનો પ્રયાસ કરેલો. ગુજરાત વિદ્યાપીઠની સ્થાપનાનો ઉદ્દેશ્ય આ પ્રકારના વિચારને સમાજના છેવાડાના માણસ સુધી લઇ જવા માટે કાર્ય કરવાનો હતો.

મચ્છરલાલ

There perhaps will come a day when all humans may have left the word by either getting perished or getting settled on another planets; What will then these mosquitoes do without their beloved? 

Trees and Mumbai Metro

Of late Mumbai Metro Rail Corporation Limited (MMRCL) has invited attention of thousands of people for removing 2,141 trees in a portion of land for the construction of a Metro Rail car shed. The act acts as a shock especially at a time when the Amazon fire has not yet been totally extinguished from the memories of global humans, and; "You have stolen my dreams and childhood with your empty words"-of Greta Thunberg at the UN climate action summit, New York- still resonate in ears. But these appeals from Greta seem to have fallen deaf to the ears of  MMRLC.
             Aarey Colony is home for some of the oldest trees of Mumbai city where the ruthless rail project has performed mass lynching. Some trees were hundred years old.
            Appearing before the special bench of chief justices of Supreme Court on October 7, the Maharashtra government told that required cutting of trees is already over. But the state is concerned for the environment and to reduce the damage to the environment, the government of Maharashtra plans to raise approximately 25,000 trees. For that objective, MMRLC claims to have already planted 23,846 new trees and additionally distributed 25,000 saplings as part of part of its green initiatives. 
            Can such green initiative replace this mass destruction with the planting of saplings? Even if one is thoroughly to believe in the sincerity of MMRLC's green initiatives, what about the uncertain rain? Let alone the damage caused by excessive rain in the other parts of the country but has Mumbai not suffered enough this year? According to a report of Indiatoday September 16, Mumbai has average rainfall of 2,353 mm per annum but the figure this year reaches to 3,475 mm, breaking the previous highest of 3,452 mm in 1954. Roxy Mathew Koll, climate scientist at the Indian Institute of Meteorology, says that this intense rain is due to rising temperature.        
Geographically Mumbai is rich with coastal line of 149 km and 16 km of beaches but the city has an estimated population of 20,185,064 according to Press Information Bureau, Government of India. The very first rain this year exposed the incapacity of Mumbai Municipal Corporation when the capital was seemed afloat nearby the sea. A significant number of people lost lives in addition to the casualties. It is guaranteed that nobody must have found out the exact number of trees which might have been damaged in this rain.
           Furthermore there is an NGO which has taken an initiative of planting many trees in a small area of land, using Japanese technique 'Miyawaki method' under the project called green yatra. But there is a difference between man made forest and nature made forest. What about the wildlife, whichsoever is left to these already decapitated forests? 
          Will these saplings, say turned into plants next year, be able to survive the thrashing rain?   

હું તને ગમુ છુ, હેને?

 ફોનમાં નઈ તું ફેસ પર કે'ને
 હું તને ગમુ છું, હે ને?
 જો આંખોને તું અનહદ ગમે તો આંખોથી કે'ને
 હું તને ગમુ છું, હે ને?
 વાતમાં બઉ વિશ્વાસ નથી, વર્તનમાં બતાવને
 હું તને ગમુ છું, હે ને?
 ફ્રેન્ડ કે'વા કરતાં ના કઈ દે ને
 પણ હું તને ગમુ છું, હે ને? 
                   

દેશી ઢોલના તાલે

       
 Musical instruments have always expressed man's feeling individually and communally. They vary from culture to culture. These instruments can represent ethos of the society.

Dhol is one of such instrument; it is made of hard, tanned skins of goats. It has wooden body, two open ended rounds over which the skins are covered. It is played with one palm loose and the other palm having a stick. 

ખબર નઈ

ખબર નઈ, તને ગુમાન શેનું છે;
ફટ દઈને તું  મારા ગાલ પર તારો હાથ છાપી દે છે;
ઘરમાં, ગલીમાં, જાહેર સભામાં  ઉતારી પાડે છે.
તારી જીવદયાની વ્યાખ્યામાં હું ઢોર પણ નથી?
 શું ઢોરને કોઈ બાંધીને મારે છે?
 ચોપડે જ હું માણસ મટ્યો,
અને ચોપડે જ માણસ થયો.
ખબર નઈ તું કયા ચોપડાને માને છે કે
નથી માનતો પણ મારતી વખતે ઢોર માર મારે છે.
હું હવે નઈ કહું કે હું માણસ છું,
ખબર નઇ, પણ તું ક્યારે માણસ થઈશ?

દૈત્ય અન્નાસુર

 ગુજરાત વિદ્યાપીઠ માં આજકાલ વિદ્યાર્થીઓ એડમીનિસ્ટ્રેશન   સામે યોગ્ય સંચાલન, સ્વચ્છતા ને લઇ અવારનવાર પ્રશ્નો કરે   છે જેની નોંધ છાપાંઓ માં પણ લેવાય છે. પણ બીજી બાજુ   ઘણા વિદ્યાર્થીઓ ભોજનનો બગાડ કરે છે અને પોતાની આ   ભૂલ ને સમજવાનો કે સ્વીકારીને યોગ્ય અમલ કરવાની તસ્દી   લેતાં નથી. શું આપણે હંમેશાં બીજાની ભૂલો શોધવામાં જ   તત્પર રહેવું, આપણી કોઈ જવાબદારી બનતી નથી?

Girish Patel

Girishbhai Patel, a prominent revolutionary is remembered on this day in Hirak Mahotsav Khand, Gujarat Vidyapith Ahmedabad. A lawyer who chose education by nature. He envisioned for education which would be liberating for the learners. He  was a genuine and naive personality. He earned a scholarship from Harward University in 1959. He used to say that Moslems were given option to return to India in six months if they didn't find comfortable there.

     Girishbhai Patel led many movements for farming, democracy and constructive ideas in society. He led movements against the MISA law. His efforts helped in founding 'Lok Adhikar Sangh' in 1978. He gave up the government job of law member in Navnirman movement of Gujarat. He was indeed public intellectual. He fought for dalits, who can forget Sakra case of 1980s?
Girishbhai struggled for the implementation of PIL. His efforts freed thousands of labors from sugarcane slavery. In IFCO case, his PIL freed bonded laborers. In Sabarkhantha, he helped free 11 Adivasi laborers locked by the local farmers. He has written a book on Narmada project: 'નર્મદા યોજના કોના માટે, કોના ભોગે'.

Medha Patkar attended the program and called Girishbhai as the Gandhi of Gujarat. Patkar also said that only judiciary can not be called the representatives of pulic. Those who stand to have these constitutional laws properly implemented for the helpless in society.

He termed exploitive policy of the government as black angrez. Patkar severely criticized the current government policies and celebration for Sardar Sarovar and statue of liberty. She also mentioned the autocratic decisions of the government regarding Kashmir, NRC. Patkar appealed people to understand the need of composite and wholesome ideology of Gandhi, Ambedkar, Periyar. Patkar said that mob lynching and mass lynching are parallel in this hard time. She acknowledged that she failed to save Narmada river and told that nothing is any more certain.

Reputed intellectual Prakash Shah said bluntly that this discussion must concentrate on BJP and Bharat. He reminded of diversity in India. Ghansyam Shah too criticized the idea of today's nationalism. He showed fear on possible side effects of NRC. Shah also said that mere struggle will not be sufficient but public awakening is equally important for current movements.

Jignesh Mevani praised Girish Patel as a leader of all. He proposed for an award named on name of Girishbhai Patel. He also proposed to unite a strong  cadre of all such social activists in order to stand against the inequalities of system.

Are We Relevant For Gandhi Today?

We are celebrating 150th birth ceremony of Mahatma Gandhi this year so it is common to overemphasize the relevance of Gandhian ideas for the welfare of global society. However, this would not be required seeing the current environmental crisis; the icebergs melting at an unimagined speed. There is communal crisis; a kind of jingoism engulfing the spirit of brotherhood among men, a clear majoritarianism rising up. The economical condition is severely unsound; China and USA are sullen over the possible profit of one over another. The recent oil attack in Saudi Arabia, adamant Kim Jong Un for nuclear weaponization, and the unending protest of Hong Kong. 
           All this leads to want for some alternative ideology. Gandhi has expressed his clear ideas on all of the current issues. He has criticized capitalist mentality of market and man. Gandhi says, "The earth has enough resources for our need, but not for our greed." Gandhi has also solved the problem of coexistence of people of different race, religion, class or caste. For the welfare of human society he advocates a religion in which humans respect and accept others with love and commitment.
          Some days ago, a news reporter came in Gujarat Vidyapith Ahmedabad for an informal talk with the students. The subject of the talk was 'Is Gandhi relevant today?' But the question at once comes to mind 'Are we ready for Gandhi to this day?' Gandhi taught world the lesson of honesty. Are we honest enough as an individual, a society or a nation?

Wonder what is wrong with Gandhi's Vidyapith!

Gujarat Vidyapith Ahmedabad has been in limelight now days. The University is to complete 100 years on the coming 18th of October, 2019. Moreover the institute has the privilege of having had himself Mahatma Gandhi as its first chancellor. Mahatma Gandhi had started Gujarat Vidyapith on 18th of October, 1920 for the purpose of imparting education which would be helpful in the process of nation building. The nation celebrates 150th birth ceremony of Mahatma Gandhi so it is obvious that Gujarat Vidyapith would want to declare itself as the champion of Gandhian values in society.
          Just a couple of days before, Gujarat Vidyapith organized a two day National Conference of Vice Chancellors from the universities all over India; even the UGC Chairman attended this conference and praised Gandhi, his relevancy and the approach of Gujarat Vidyapith in full. The two day conference passed two resolutions: First, to appeal the government to give Gujarat Vidyapith the status of heritage university; second, to spread Gandhian ideas of education in other universities throughout the year. The prominent newspapers have taken note of this conference. 
          The twist comes in the story when the news of resentments of Gujarat Vidyapith students appears on October 4, in the newspaper 'Navgujrat.' It is a bit shock to the university officials for Gujarat Vidyapith is celebrating the whole week from October 2 onwards. The natural question which pops up to the mind is that why are the students upset from the institute with which Gandhi and his ideology has been directly joined. And even at such critical time when the world cries for Gandhi as the last hope.
          Before moving on to any conclusive remarks lets remember an incident when Gujarat Vidyapith was on the page of the very same news paper 'Navgujarat' because of the issue of unclean, stenched toilets in post graduate hostel of Gujarat Vidyapith.
            

Enjoying tea with Prakash Shah