INTO THE THIRD WORLD -PART 2

This time I have come up with stories from my locality, my college and my city – the city of hundred temples, the city of Bhubaneswar. I always wondered what could have caused a small city like this to have built 100 of temples or even more over the course of it’s silent history. Ya I would prefer calling it a silent one. Whenever I traveled across the country some time or other, my fellow travelers would often ask – where is Bhubaneswar?? Is in in Maharashtra? Tamil nadu?? And only when I would give them a certain clue of Puri Jagannath temple, the sun temple of konark would their rusted memory come alive and prop in their query by saying – “Oh Orissa”. And in retaliation I would only wonder – they don’t teach geography properly these days in classes any more. True to the fact, neither hardly ever any news of national importance nor any events of such stage take place, so obviously it is out of national consciousness most of the time. It only makes it presence in the national TV, press when there are incidents of cyclones, thunderstorms or sporadic droughts. It’s like a cursed land-extreme of climates and the poorest state in the country in-spite of having one hell of natural resources. But when you look closely at the denizens of this state, which is often ridiculed as backward or below par in progress …you get a completely different picture. It has and flaunts of the nature’s as well as man’s biggest creation – from the brackish salt water lake of chilika to the gargantuan Hirakud dam in the western confines of the state. Not only that, this place, this state had a beautiful history too…which with coming times has been erased from the conscience of the folks feebly. Every war the world has witnessed has produced irreversible losses and brought catastrophic damage to the people, to the society. Hundreds of years ago, a war of similar stage was waged on this very land. The folklore, the legends say the whole river of daya turned had into a ghastly red but the biggest consequence the war could have brought was changing the heart of the king who himself had waged this war- the kalinga war, they say it was one of the bloodiest war in the history of all battles . This war unlike any other produced love in the form of religion; the king left all his wealth and adopted Buddhism. As I stated in my last blog –“While lovers take each other into their arms, bridges rise, harmony is maintained and world is a better place to live …while a goodbye is said, cities crumble and are relegated into the forgotten memory.” Something of similar stature had occurred in this very land thousands of years ago…and may be for this reason people of this land are soft spoken, god-fearing and accommodating as well. They have believed in living life the simpler way. Once while I was going for a brisk jog in the early mornings of spring along the neat, wide lanes of the city I witnessed an accident between a moped and a car. People nearby hurled up and discovered nothing serious of sorts had happened. So both the parties were signed off but what attracted by attraction to that group of people was the things that they were saying to each other for the reason behind accident. Finally the group concluded that this road is a cursed one, there used to be a graveyard here and that a temple needed to be built upon to prevent further accidents occurring in this place. Now I got a clue, if not wholly which truly illustrates as to why this place has got over a hundred temples and is little laid back in nature as if it’s on a vacation all the time. On a light note , me and my friends had formulated a theory which actually gave the reasons as to why this state is so laid back- its only and only because of a special dish called –“pakhala”. Just as the poverty of the state ,the preparation of this dish is also not too elaborate or extravagant…it is one of the simplest one –boil the rice and put it soaked under water for 2-3 days. What you get at the end of the day is very lip-smacking, sleep inducing delicacy where lethargy gets better of you. Effects – you feel nourished, you feel happy, you feel least concerned if the world goes for the next nuclear holocaust or the economy crashes down.


Light hearted talks apart, moving forth, in 2014 the city has changed a lot …there are now 100 educational institutes mushroomed all across the length and breadth of the city and some even in the outskirts, just like my college –IIIT !! And no the story that I am going to tell is not the generic campus love stories or the customary things which you have heard about any a,b,c engineering college associated that you may have come across in every 100 rupee novel you pick it up before travelling or the “10 things an engineer does” troll pages in Facebook…but my story depicts a picture where an equivalence , an analogy can be drawn between the political environment of the country and our own personal lives – how in a way both are connected ,how in a way our personal choices are in fact political in nature and how in a way the political psychology of the country depicts the thinking of every common individual no matter how many times we say – we are apolitical. Yes in the contemporary scene with the blend of political permutations and combinations religion and morality might have got misinterpreted but for me , whatever I have seen or felt I think our religion attaches meaning to everything we do . Morality is just a personal endeavor which the person attaches to himself, to check if he is able to withstand the ghosts, storms and obstacles of his life smilingly with a defiant heart and put adversities to shame. Religion is a practice, morality is a virtue …they are independent to each, distinct in their own ways and having the audacity to mold a person into the one he aspires to be.






A college is a perfect example to gauge the state of a country’s psyche at the most microscopic level. When I joined my college, it was in its formative years …yet to make its mark, its own identity. After having graduated from here I could feel and connect the dots as how it truly resembles an evolving society right from its grassroots level. Here I go…it’s going to be a long, patient reading once again…..






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His official name was –Srikant but that was only called in official matters. The more real name of him was “Thuri” …meaning –“ant like” courtesy his miniature size, he was vertically challenged. There was no growth ,no improvement in that sector whatsoever. He hailed from one rustic landscape called – berhampur and whom I despised to the core in the very beginning for his “loafer ” accent and colorful dressing sense (blue chik-mick …I mean blue scintillating shirt , red tight pants and rainbow colored shoes). But later on as the maturity of adulthood dawned upon me I realized that this is something he has acquired by birth and nothing can ever be done about it.






There were times when both of us wouldn't talk and remain silent for an interminable period, not because we quarreled or fought over something , not because any of us scored higher than the other in the internals , not because we ogled at that diva of a girl in the campus simultaneously and earmarked her for further conquest , not because either of us would come up with our wallets thinking the other would pay , not because his towel (Thuri’s of course) was ripped off like going to be raped(enacted) by bunch of same-gender rapists(enacting) when the dean-and-director (both of them put together , they become a institute themselves only , candidly called – college management(entitled) ) and also when he was unguarded by any hard object or for that matter the wooden stick of his(which he kept with him to blue the veins of his known, convicted and well-aware rapists ) or not because he was smeared with black ink one fine night with anatomy of women drawn at his classified locations-the one where anil kapoor grew thick forest and flaunted in the celluloid ; nor because his ex-girlfriend was trolled in Facebook , but only and only because this marked one milestone of our boyish-adulthood comradeship . The scene was perfect, the orange of the sky of the early spring deepening into a crimson hue until it was purely dark and small, little tiny ,twinkling stars would ornate the solemn sky . Man on other hand , in order to show off his creation to the world above , would have brought up many a buildings with ferocious pomp and splendor ,like a crescendo forming a pattern which glowed in the evening like a bustling aggregation of fire-fly , only that it didn't flicker intermittently . And celebrating his euphoria for this feat of sorts, he would mock the invisible power up that side, saying –“hey you…listen!! Fuck you .whoever is your management committed, look at my world; I have so many twinkling fucking stars. Yes, indeed they looked beautiful. Colors of different light, some yellow, some bright and some calling – hello, a lusty one on sight. The artery ran through the heart of the city by it’s many a well paved, neat roads. The distant rumbling of the train, or the bustling of the locomotives, passed by the ear smoothly just as the fragrance of the charming lady is felt effortlessly; and not annoying as it is felt in the heart and heat of the city. There was a tranquil magic in that place, quite effervescent as if the place had some divine intervention, untouched by any man-made calamities .That stunning creation of the miraculous power, in the periphery of Bhubaneswar was an amazing discovery made by these two callow youngster couple of years ago .It had a name though, Miami beach - as it is famously called. It was one secluded place of our campus which had not been discovered by many yet . Sand dunes of perfect high and the city from a far off distance was quite visible and the night sky the clearest. Both of us were wise enough to choose a spot bereft of any human exploitation. The place, covered with thick dense overgrowth with some large to huge unshapely rocks dotting the hilly landscape and the limitless, dark, grave sky completing the picture – it was an image of the minimum but spoke of infinity. No matter how far man would have evolved, the night sky is and always an excuse to search for the limitless, the vastness in one. To look out for that clarity of thought which gets muddied in the daily hustle for survival, in the daily hustle for recognition , in the daily hustle for need of love ,in the daily hustle for identity . Just for this one reason – and this place was nothing less than a excuse for solitude and we named it so – the Miami beach. It was as if you sit on a higher platform on one of the vantage point of history and take a sneak-peak into the modernity, lost in absorbing and wandering thoughts. After a generous puff of the marijuana, both of us would talk crazy as it appears to be …Our conversation would deviate from many parameters but we spoke of things which couldn't be told even to oneself in the crowd. I always feared to let my most private thoughts come out in the open of my peers lest I be considered a man of a decade old generation –it would baptize me as “ boring .” or “contemporary .” and “uninteresting.” These were one of the silent rules followed by the ever evolving youth in closed door of their private self in order to climb the social ladder of acceptance, of recognition. Every time I thought of this- My own theory of social relativity, some word, some images would prop of as if borrowed from a different world of time from the past. Those words still rung hard on his ears –eat hard, work hard; play hard- then be accepted as a man. Those words though had no implications in the immediate world of me which I dwell ed upon …in an immediate world where it was even ok to rest a bit, idle and go for medium-life without any extremes. In spite of this, the voice from the other world would still persist – you can’t allow yourself to fall into the hands of timidity. Once the fire of passion is extinguished, it’s difficult to ignite it back from the storm of diffidence. That solemn place and I find myself held on to one common ground for solitary – the lost glory. Can it be retrieved?? What is to be done?? What can I or just my ideals do …it would hardly cause any ripple, so why think of it?? Mediocrity is stability…who doesn't want stability?? Why move a formidable hill through all your strength if you get to settle down at the plains, along the rivers- its safe, secure and convenient. Why?? May be the answer lay in the past, very much so as the place itself. I looked at that distant Khandagiri hills yet again for an impromptu of inspiration. Man created a masterpiece of history on the anvils of the hill, least concerned about the humongous labor it’s going to need and add to that matter an insurmountable will power to leave a legacy behind. Pioneers leave their mark wherever they go, the rest follow. What pushes those unique gentlemen to such heights in spite of so many alluring delusions? The answer lies in those defining moments , the moments which are very rare and valuable ; unscathed by tides of time , somewhere deep within like a splinting fire ,it still incites the passion no matter how odd the times are , how bold the circumstances turn out to be…it still has the audacity of a brave amputated soldier who knows that his end is inevitable , death is imminent yet then he takes that gallantry stride in-spite of the ghastly pain the mutilated body bears. Such moments lends a ferocious ability to take stance ,look into the eyes of adversity and alter the way you see the prism of your life ; taking one into a journey of lifetime where treading the path alone in itself is a credential which doesn't require any accolade ,just walking along this severed path is a honor it itself, a glory in magnificence and true valor justified . Deprivation, sufferings ,gargantuan obstacles aided by necessary hindrance shall be served along the way , but still the soldier marches just because he believes in something which is not seen my many eyes , after all those “many eyes’’ were not a spectator to those moments . Nevertheless it is the only way and not necessarily the easy way. Point is do u choose to transcend such an uncertain path just because you believe in it or take the other route , behave as a mere mortal and act normal , or to be called on so . More the intensity, longer stays the passion .An individual sees what he wants to see, touch or feel. The obvious thing is always under wrap, like a masquerade whose identity is revealed only when the person has that sense to see what is being shown and what is behind the screen.


“Twinkle, twinkle little stars …how I wonder what you are,up above the world so high ….like a diamond in the sky”- thuri chuckles, giving the peaceful silence a break …


“What bloody son of ass??...what makes you sing that song…hasn't the ganja got settled yet, not high?


“Oh course, my sweetie ….i am not getting high, I am sailing ...la la la la ...”...Thuri's eye would have succumbed to minimal aperture by then, still he would be dwindling around his miniature body and talk incoherently.


“Ok…but what makes you sing that nursery rhyme?”


“Yaar…I vouch for my childhood days.”


“In which you were complete pervert bastard, stealthily eyeing the mallu aunties taking a morning shower along the banks of river ...right.”


Thuri in return gives me a –“listen…OK…nay…leave.” expression,


“Can I say something ...if I wish to??


“Of course, of course this world is yours…and you are a free man ” –I chuckle at his haplessness.


“ I don’t know how to put it …but I feel I have lost a great deal of my childhood lucidity in the want to grow more , grow fast and catch up the adulthood bus.”


At that very moment I felt a wave of awe crushing me as I had the rarest of idea that in this indistinct moment, the two of us were contemplating about our past lives in private, in silence, in tandem .How is it possible that two person think on similar terms, that too in at the same time .Perhaps this was one way of putting it why we had a flourishing friendship ever since the beginning year of college – we had the same frequency (as both of us liked to name it). Thinking on same terms- that the whole world which speaks of rationality is in fact a big practical joke …not only that , we were able to see those absurdities of human life which was not keenly seen to the commoners and thus, we were able to formulate a consolidated “theory of social relativity.” in the end .Starting from the way country is run on jugad basis with democracy .” serving as a mere camouflaged ideology to the varied attempts at understanding a women in a true universal way ; every theology from all walks of life was discussed ,trolled and laughed at . Back at the campus , not only we earmarked the divas but also carried out valiant research on who-hits-whom , who-falls-in love –with whom or for that matter who- gets into a contract of commitment-with whom , who-get into infidelity-with whom (in spite of having a partner) . The result of the thesis was girls, say women folk were more intricate, sophisticated and elaborate in their distinctive characteristics …just like Hindi literature; it had too many grammars and too many clause and principles to be followed . The girls too had their classification – the tatas , the batas , the divas , the wannabe , the ever-helping , the one who remains child throughout and clicks with her teddies only , the aww girls , the hmm girls , the 9 pointers-cum –buttering the faculties girl , the good girl , the drunk girl , the “if you want me as your girlfriend ..You have to spend on me “girl, the misleading girl, the vixen, the bitch and finally the unique one. but on the contrary boys, or men which they often liked to be called as were only of three categories – the alcoholic, the Casanovas and the rest tagged as – milk toothed, under which the scholars, the 9-pointers, the achievers, the lifetime commitment guys, the nerds and the home-sicker formed .


Of course marijuana had a big role to play in our lasting commodore ship , it helped us to create a laugh riot of sorts in one of our college festivals held some times back when this observation-sought of thesis was made under the light quite presentably with many a slap-stick humor in spontaneous . There was no script , there was no screenplay…just a “bucket ” full of chivalrousness.






Suddenly in the midst of this he says- “arvind kejriwal resigned from his post as the Delhi c.m”


I felt like a bit of irking while I ruminated over the piece of news I came across earlier in the day where the fate of his aspiring political party which had showed great promise in country’s contemporary guerrilla politics, made way for a dramatic collapse.


“Ah…I knew this was coming.”- Thuri ever thoughtful unlike what his demeanor would usually have suggested ; running his fingers across his chin in his customary way ...Trying to look serious for a national cause but his colorful-dressing sense would give it away. At a first glance, commoners will dislodge the fact that such a tiny scrooge can actually be thinking of society, politics, love and war...anything apart from lust and perverse-ism


“What you knew beforehand?


“That he is going to resign his chair from CM post….how irresponsible he is.?


“Yeah, what could he have done probably …you think it’s so easy to perform out there with your righteous army?”


“It’s all murky down there…isn't there any way to reestablish the already the corrupt system, start clean again….say like refresh, reset and restart?


“And you think if that happens – refresh, reset and restart; the whole machinery will get purified?”


“Ya...i think so, it will again begin from ground-zero ….what?? ain't it…?? Tell me then…”










“Isn’t it strange how we have narrowed down our horizons with coming time?


“Narrowed our horizons!!...how tell me…how in this context tell me ??Tell me how..?- like ever inquisitive to know, even though his engineering studies gave him a bow he could ask it twice to give weight to his question.


“Look around, what do you see?


“Look around…eh??


“You one of a devil’s son, stop looking at the girls ….I am asking what do you see!’’…I paused a bit and continue -“don’t let the marijuana loose it’s worth by stalking at girls …try to observe , what do you see.?


Thuri got a bit attentive, strictly forcing his thought away from where it was lingering moments ago and pondered over what I was trying to ask him…after a brief moment of generous silence ,he speaks up –“ I see…I see…lots of people ,some playing ,some talking ,some walking hand in hand(gives a third rated movie’s side actor smile ) ….and of course , that ghostly j-block 4th floor of the girls hostel.(taking out his mouse-like teeth and giving a very cynic smile ,as if he knew some well-cooked secret that could be the state of affairs of “masala” talks in the campus in the times to come for a interminable period.)


“Oh…gosh, asked the wrong person….”


“Arey Yaar, don’t be worried …I know you know it, or have a faint understanding of what concerns you. I am not like you, who loves to think beyond what is served and trust me you are good at it. So I don’t have to worry anything about my own enlightenment till the time you are around me. I have this small little world of mine where the colors I see are in the people faces.” My heart sunk to see how effortlessly he was able to churn out his melodramatic personal affairs with such an ease. I was overwhelmed by the gesture but I didn't show it to him, rather I continued to elaborate his own views.


“You see the airplane flying above, blinking its tail at every alternate second!! …That’s a miracle…You see those vehicles parked out there , able to run…even able to carry forward a bulk some weight just through a handful of fuel…you see the cellphones where people pass over their information at the other end, not just information but their own emotions. Isn't it a miracle that human endeavor could achieve so in much in front of our own eyes and yet we would be bogged down at every step, at every while and then to rely on something overrated and dignified as “practicality” or “normalcy” , whatever you call it.?”


“What is your point asshole….what is that you want to imply?”


“Okay, forget whatever I said about airplanes and cell-phones …let’s start from where you left. Refresh, reset and restart.”


“Ya, very well….shoot”


“Don’t you think our college is an exemplary illustration of the term you framed seconds ago?’’


“How…??...please elaborate?”


“This college, four years ago started with a promising note …why has everything changed so much.”


“what is it that you want to imply.?”






“I want to imply that when kejriwal said he said he will take down the electricity bills, power bills and other commodities …why does the whole world go berserk seeking a logical explanation. Why it is that people don’t believe that he alone can’t do anything that at that level the political equation is more contrived and works on many compromises. It only takes a leap of faith on the part of people’s side to help him shackle his enemies and put forth a more dynamic system…of course it will become a bit muddied in the beginning before the actual change takes effect but that’s how it is.”


“But you can’t force change into a system, like trying to constrict the neck of a person and bully him ordering him to make the required changes or else face the consequences. You can’t go onto the streets every other day to assert you demands and bring in the required change in policies. Everything….starting from police, opposition, drug dealers ….everyone who is associated or dependent on each other economically or socially ...have an invisible contract of agreement among them as per which they thrive accordingly. He comes from nowhere and says in a defiant voice that he will change the whole system in a single go through his broom. Does that happen …really ….tell Me.?


“He goes to the media for every decision he makes because he is well aware of the vultures lurking within and outside his barricaded office and there is no other transparent and direct medium than the digital media to cut across his message. Of course he is radical in his approach but the point is if you really want to change something in this sluggish system, then you have two options…”


“Which is …?


Get your hands filthy ,be inside the system and act tactfully ….if this approach doesn't suit your profile then go the extremist way .”










To be continued…






I shall update the latter part of story, may be after elections and let you know of my view how in fact we missed a opportune moment to elect a strong opposition leader.