Friday, January 23, 2009

प्रतिबिम्ब

जीवन में एक सितारा था
माना वह बेहद प्यारा था
वह डूब गया तो डूब गया
अंबर के आंगन को देखो
कितने इसके तारे टूटे
कितने इसके प्यारे छूटे
जो छूट गए फ़िर कहाँ मिले
पर बोलो टूटे तारों पर
कब अंबर शोक मनाता है
जो बीत गई सो बात गई

जीवन में वह था एक कुसुम
थे उस पर नित्य निछावर तुम
वह सूख गया तो सूख गया
मधुबन की छाती को देखो
सूखी कितनी इसकी कलियाँ
मुरझाईं कितनी वल्लरियाँ
जो मुरझाईं फ़िर कहाँ खिलीं
पर बोलो सूखे फूलों पर
कब मधुबन शोर मचाता है
जो बीत गई सो बात गई

जीवन में मधु का प्याला था
तुमने तन मन दे डाला था
वह टूट गया तो टूट गया
मदिरालय का आंगन देखो
कितने प्याले हिल जाते हैं
गिर मिट्टी में मिल जाते हैं
जो गिरते हैं कब उठते हैं
पर बोलो टूटे प्यालों पर
कब मदिरालय पछताता है
जो बीत गई सो बात गई

मृदु मिट्टी के बने हुए हैं
मधु घट फूटा ही करते हैं
लघु जीवन ले कर आए हैं
प्याले टूटा ही करते हैं
फ़िर भी मदिरालय के अन्दर
मधु के घट हैं,मधु प्याले हैं
जो मादकता के मारे हैं
वे मधु लूटा ही करते हैं
वह कच्चा पीने वाला है
जिसकी ममता घट प्यालों पर
जो सच्चे मधु से जला हुआ
कब रोता है चिल्लाता है
जो बीत गई सो बात गई

— हरिवंशराय बच्चन

Friday, October 12, 2007

Out of the dark ages?

India’s most comprehensive National Family Health Survey-III, has revealed that as many as 40 per cent of women reported being beaten by their husbands; and worse, around 54% justified on one ground or the other. G C Chaturvedi, director, National Rural Health Mission, says, “In India, the worst problem we face is that victims in almost all states don’t feel victimised, both in case of dowry or spousal violence. They feel being beaten up or tortured by their husband is all right. They have been groomed to believe that.’’

Statewise state
Meanwhile, NFHS-III has made some other shocking observations. While 1 in 10 have experienced sexual violence, 1 in 6 experienced emotional violence by their husbands. Bihar has been found to be the worst state with abuse rate as high as 59%. About 63% of these incidents of violence on women were in urban families. Bihar was followed by Rajasthan (46.3%), Madhya Pradesh (45.8%), Manipur (43.9%), Uttar Pradesh (42.4%), Tamil Nadu (41.9%) and West Bengal (40.3%). Compared to this, some states reported low incidence of violence against married women. While the figure stood at 6% in Himachal Pradesh, 12.6% was reported from Jammu and Kashmir, 16.3% in Delhi, 16.4% in Kerala, 16.5% in Sikkim and 16.8% in Goa.

Education, Class and Caste...?
Low levels of education plays a considerable role in this horrifying trend. Over 47% women who suffered spousal violence had no education. The number stood at 16% for women who studied till standards X or XII. Women belonging to SC/ST communities were the worst affected with one in three women experiencing domestic violence. Buddhist women reported the highest level of violence (41%) followed by Muslim and Hindu women (34-35%) and Sikh and Christian women (26-28%). Women from the Jain community reported the lowest level of violence (13%).

Domesticated violence... not really!
Among all the women who faced spousal violence, 36% reported cuts, 9% dislocations and 2% severe burns. The worst violence was faced by women aged 25-29 years (24%).
Interestingly, most of the women assaulted by their husbands were less than two years into their marriage. According to the figures, 62% experienced physical or sexual violence within the first two years of marriage while 32% experienced violence in the first five years. Slapping was the most common act of physical violence by husbands. More than 34% women said their husbands slapped them while 15% said their husbands pulled their hair or twisted their arm. Around 14% of the women had things thrown at them.

Source: Times of India, Friday, 12th of October 2007.

Monday, October 8, 2007

On His Blindness

When I consider how my light is spent
Ere half my days in this dark world and wide,
And that one talent which is death to hide
Lodg'd with me useless, though my soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, lest he returning chide,
"Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?"
I fondly ask. But Patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies: "God doth not need
Either man's work or his own gifts: who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state
Is kingly; thousands at his bidding speed
And post o'er land and ocean without rest:
They also serve who only stand and wait."

-- John Milton

Friday, September 28, 2007

Wildlife photography in India

Until recently, wildlife photography had few takers in India. Hardly anyone wanted to shoot in the wilds and there were no endorsements or platforms for such photographs. But in the past few years, as the issues related to wildlife conservation have been raised off and on thanks to ‘Sariska’ and ‘Ranthambhor’ (also Salman Khan and Nawab Pataudi), awareness about them has increased. More people are now interested in wildlife and its conservation when compared to the last decade. Celebrities’ participation and endorsement is also the reason for this new attention. Unfortunately, all this hoopla has hardly done anything to protect the poor creatures from selfish poachers and negligent caretakers, be at the sanctuary or at the zoo. Authorities are as indifferent as ever and organizations like PETA are almost unimpressive in India. But, this new interest in wildlife has brought about good opportunities for those who love to shoot in woods, but with the camera. Also, with a considerable drop in prices of digital cameras, more and more people are becoming interested in nature photography. A number of websites have come up, showcasing India’s wildlife treasures. Some of these are indeed a treat for the eyes:

If you too are interested in wildlife photography, this website can prove to be of help. It provides some useful information on photogenic destinations in India: http://www.wildphototoursindia.com/default.htm .

Monday, September 24, 2007

What's common among them?



This month, the World Conservation Union (IUCN) released the Red List of Threatened Species for 2007. The western lowland gorilla, the freshwater dolphin and the Egyptian vulture are some of the latest additions to the list of endangered animals. Since 2006, the annual assessment of the planet's imperiled wildlife has grown by more than a thousand species and now totals 41,415. Many great apes end up on the list, as their habitat is continually under threat from human activities. The Western lowland gorilla populations in central Africa have collapsed due to the commercial bushmeat trade and the Ebola virus; and in Indonesia, orangutans are critically endangered because of forest logging and clearing land for palm oil plantations.
The 'baiji', or Chinese river dolphin— deemed "functionally extinct" by a team of scientists in December 2006—has been downgraded from "endangered" to "critically endangered (possibly extinct)" on the IUCN's 2007 Red List. Populations of the light blue-gray animal, which lives in China's polluted Yangtze River, have plummeted over the last 30 years. A possible sighting in August 2007 is currently being investigated by Chinese scientists, but even if one or two dolphins are found, the baiji is almost certainly doomed. “Freshwater dolphins are very vulnerable, because rivers tend to be heavily used by humans and there is nowhere else for the dolphins to go,” says Caroline Pollock, a Red List program officer.
The Egyptian vulture, a new addition to IUCN's 2007 Red List, has declined along with many other vulture species. Five species of vulture, including the Egyptian, have been reclassified to a higher threat level since 2006. Asian vultures have declined rapidly over the last eight years due to the use of a livestock drug called diclofenac. African vultures are struggling due to habitat loss, a lack of food, and collisions with power lines. The scavengers are also being killed by insecticide-laden carcasses, which have been deliberately baited to poison livestock predators such as hyenas.
Mexico's Santa Catalina Island rattlesnake has been classified as critically endangered on the 2007 IUCN Red List. The snake, found on just one island, sports highly desirable patterned skin that has made it a collector's item for hunters. New reptile surveys are revealing the fragile nature of many reptile populations. For instance, a major survey of North American reptiles has bumped up the region's Red List reptile species to a total of 738. The main culprit behind their decline is habitat loss due to expanding cities.“Unlike birds and mammals, we haven't assessed all the reptiles on the planet,” Pollock added.
The Banggai cardinal fish's popularity as a pet for the home aquarium has landed it on the 2007 IUCN Red List. In the wild, the striped fish is only found in the Banggai Archipelago off Indonesia. Human pressures such as the aquarium trade are the main reason for the fish's decline, with habitat loss and climate change also posing major threats. Fish stocks are in free-fall all over the world, both from overfishing and the aquarium trade. Scientists estimate current extinction rates are at least a hundred to a thousand times higher than natural rates.
Reptiles such as the gharial are becoming more prominent on the IUCN's Red List each year. Despite its fearsome appearance and lengths of up to 19 feet (6 meters), the Indian gharial is not a man-eater and prefers to eat fish. Its long, thin snout, which makes it easily distinguishable from a crocodile, also allows it to quickly capture fish. Habitat loss and poaching is driving this animal toward extinction.
For the first time, corals are added to the Red List. A recent scientific survey on the Galápagos Archipelago has added ten corals to the list, including the Floreana coral. In the 1980s, frequent El Niño weather patterns—which made ocean temperatures fluctuate—likely led to the poor state of the Galápagos corals. Some scientists worry that global warming may make El Niño events more regular and prevent corals from recovering. Until recently, scientists had not properly assessed the health of the world's tropical corals. Coral reefs in the Indian and Pacific Ocean, for example, are vanishing faster than rain forests and scientists estimate that human activities such as pollution, global warming and sedimentation could kill 30 percent of reefs in the next three decades.


Source: The National Geographic

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Sad Tigger!!

The tiger in India and all around the world is becoming extinct, especially due to the selfish and self-centered policies of some so called top world governments, like China & the US, UK etc. Chinese medicines, mostly based upon animal bones, are in fact no medications, but a misleading mixture of herbal Ayurvedic mixtures,

ZWANI.com - The place for myspace comments, glitters, graphics, backgrounds and codes

stolen from age old Indian Ayurvedic scriptures, and animal flesh pieces & bones.Its the herbal part of the mix that makes the patient feel well after consuming them, as the other biological part of the mix is neutral.