THE OTHER SIDE: September 2017

RIP Tom Alter

I am sure those who grew up in nineties are not unfamiliar with his name. Like many I also has his first image in my mind is of 'British Raj Ka Writer' in Doordarshan serial 'Zabaan Sambhaal Ke' where he played an Englishman writer who is learning Hindi. He was impressive in that role along with the other's worked in it. I later saw him in films like Charas, Karma, Kranti and films like that where he has played bad characters of Firangi (foreign) officer. He played these negative characters impressively and when you compare them with his comic role in Zabaan Sambhalke you will know his acting proves.

I also remembered him as Mahaguru in popular superhero serial Shaktimaan but what inspired me about him later on in my life was his command on Hindi and Urdu. He recite shayaris and ghazals beautifully. I have seen performing him many time on television. I also knew he was a great theater actor but never got any chance to see him live on stage. His ghazal recitations are also available in you-tube where you can also see and admire his diction.

He was born in Mussoorie as Thomas Beach Alter and spend his life in many cities before started working in films after getting education in FTII, Pune. He also played Ghalib in his theater role. He worked as cricket coach in his teaching career and works as sports interviewer and commentator also. He was first to interview young Sachin Tendulkar during start of his career. Sachin was only 15 then. His presence in films,TV and theater will be missed by all his fans. He passes away on 29th September after fighting a long battle with Skin Cancer at the age of 67.

Tom Alter has left a legacy that will always be remembered with respect and honor. He is no more but his personality stays immortal. RIP Tom Alter.

Here is a video of Tom Alter reciting ghazal

The Masked Life

I met with an accident few years back (precisely 10 years ago). It was dangerous and I came out of hospital in about ten days. Except a foot injury which needed dressing every week for around a year I was alright. But that what I and my family thought but as I few days past I realized problems of sore throat, running nose, itching eyes which were watering and initially it was difficult to even face a bright light. I was diagnosed with allergy from almost anything cold water, wind, dust, etc which increases in changing season. Doctor advised me to spend most time in homes and medicines were provided to control the allergy. It cured with time and now I only take single tablet daily to control my allergy. The doctor said to take it only when allergy symptoms appear but they comes out when I stop taking medicine. Now while researching about indoor air pollution I found what force me to take that tablet continuously even when I am mostly home-bound.

We can avoid Indoor air pollutant like smoke by non-smoking and using LPG and other Eco-friendly heat sources, dust by cleaning home regularly and reducing places where dust accumulates most, keeping our surrounding clean and green so we get fresh air inside our houses, checking our vehicles for pollution and also encourage our neighbors to use non polluting vehicle to reduce pollution of gases like Nitrogen Dioxide & Carbon Monoxide in our homes. But what unavoidable is the pollution caused by paints until Asian Paint’s Royale Atmos came in the market. It was actually wall paint that inhibiting proper cure of my allergy.

The Environmental Protection Agency says the air we breathe indoors can be up to five times more polluted than the air outside. And apart from dust, smoke, mold, bacteria, paint is also a major pollutant. Prolonged or high exposure to paint and paint fumes can cause headaches, trigger allergies and asthmatic reactions, irritate skin, eyes and airways, and put increased stress on vital organs such as the heart and lungs. The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported a 20%-40% increased risk of certain types of cancer (in particular lung cancer) for those who come into regular contact with, or work with paint while Danish researchers point to the added possibility of neurological damage. We all are unable to remain inside home during paints due to the invisible unbearable fumes coming out of it which is an easy indicator of how harmful paint is.

Not only indoors but outdoor is also polluted by paints as they emit Volatile Organic Compounds (VOC) when reacted with air which cause Ozone depletion. Royale Atmos is a first of its kind paint that not only looks beautiful, but also cleans the air making it purer than before. Its Activated Carbon technology reduces harmful pollutants from the air. It comes with our Green Assure Seal which means that it is VOC safer and environmentally friendlier. Additionally, Royale Atmos also absorbs select household foul smells to make the air fresher. Royale Atmos reduces formaldehyde, a dangerous indoor pollutant.

Formaldehyde can cause watery eyes, burning sensations in the eyes, nose, and throat, coughing, wheezing, nausea and skin irritation. In 1987, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) classified formaldehyde as a probable human carcinogen under conditions of unusually high or prolonged exposure. The Masked Life not only means living inside your home with a mask but it hints at the fear you feel living inside your own home. Royale Atmos helps removes that fear. So as far as I and my family members are concerned we will opt for Royale Atmos in the coming painting job in our home and I am sure those concerned with the health of themselves and their closed ones will also opt for the same option.

This post is written for Asian Paints Royale Atmos in association with Indiblogger.

Learned To Be Healthy

‘I have to write what I am doing now.’ That’s what came in my mind as I first read about this contest. My sedentary, lazy and careless lifestyle increased lots of weight in me and gave in gift the ailment of hypertension. Even after living with hypertension I didn’t change my routine and bad health habits like inactivity in my daily routine, eating unhealthy fried food and things like that but one morning when I started feeling tired during a small activity of bathing I realized I am not doing right with myself. It was then I observed my fat tummy which has become prominent thing in my body. I remembered how even my five year old niece tease me of fat tummy along other family members and they are not doing it for fun but to make me realize the bad I was doing to myself.

It was then I pledged to shed those extra kilos and come back to a better shape. Not necessarily a six pack abs body but a fit one with flat tummy. It was a difficult task when you try a complete reversal of your lifestyle suddenly but easy when you started taking small steps to get stamina & will to continue your journey of weight-loss which eventually leads to healthy lifestyle. I am numbering the things I did in points which are helping me losing weight and strengthen my weight-loss journey:

My office is just more than a kilometer away from my home but I used to drive their by two wheeler. My first step was to walk the distance.
Stop long sittings in front of PC. Instead started talking a walk after every hour.
Stopped eating fried and junk food.
Walking more stairs than before.
Instead of calling someone in office or home for water, tea, coffee, etc started going to the kitchen to get them.
Drinking more water than before.

I am following this routine from last one week and I am seeing improvement in myself. I have lost two kilos which is a good booster for me. Here I should also mention that Saffola advertisement gave this idea to me of #ApneTareekeSeHealthy. I have started including mild stretching exercises and some yoga postures in my routine. I know gym can give me better results but knowing how inactive my body has become one or two day of gym could have killed my enthusiasm of losing weight. I am satisfied that instead of crying over spill milk I have taken precautions to not let milk spill.

Here is Saffola Apne Tareeke Se Healthy Video :

I am joining Saffola #ApneTareekeSeHealthy initiative and sharing my ways of being healthy in association with BlogAdda.

Justice Killed - Failed Police System.

Justice Killed - Failed Police System

Only the statement ‘Justice Delayed Is Justice Denied’ is true but also the statement ‘Pressure- less Police Probe for Justice’ is true. Unless & until police will do a fair probe they can’t nab the true criminal. We have seen earlier in Jessica Lal Murder Case where weak charge sheet, improper investigation stretched the case too long and only after media hype the justice was served. In Arushi murder case too police theory was questioned because they conduct half-hearted investigation and framed her parents for the murder. But various experts, books, film on the subject question many aspects of the investigation which looks genuine and appears neglected by the investigators.

Pehlu Khan a milkman from Alwar district, Rajasthan who was lynched in April this year by so called ‘Gaurakshaks in mob violence by them. He named 6 people in dying declaration which are now not found guilty by police. What is this if not biased approach in the investigation? If we believe police then No One Killed Pehlu Khan. Police has time and again criticized for their roles of favored investigation either for political pressure or to silence media trials but this every time has killed the justice. Why government can’t free police system as in many parts of the world? Dependence of them on political class for promotions, salary increment has made them puppets in their hand thus the people in the department who work honestly also denied what they deserved.

The police system is such that honest gets punished and corrupt enjoys the perk. Another case of police laps also came in the light with tragic death of Pradyuman a seven year old Ryan International School – Gurugram student.

Few days back he was found murdered in school toilet. As soon as news broke out there was huge public and media pressure to catch the criminal. In haste school bus conductor was arrested by the police. Although he has confessed the crime and their are possibilities that he is the killer but some simple observations make me believe he was made a scapegoat.

How an outside staff entered children’s toilet without any objection?
Why Pradyuman brought to hospital by school after almost one hour of the attack? (He was killed around 7.30 and arrived at hospital at around 8.40 as seen in hospital CCTV).
Why people attended Pradyuman , gardener, teachers, other staff not questioned by the police?
No eyewitness or any evidence against the bus conductor Ashok which make his case weak in court?
Police claims of sexual abuse was denied by postmortem report which further weaken police case.
Why Ashok didn't try to run away?

These and many other questions like why Ashok carrying the knife inside school, why school reported the case late, etc and police’s ignorance of all these questions and evidences act as justice killer. I appeal CBI probe in both Pehlu Khan and Pradyuman murder case with the hope that highest investigation agency will work for truth and justice. In Pradyuman case school has broken the trust of the parents to ensure safety of their ward which makes them equal culprit as any murderer. Hope Justice Prevailed in both these cases.

Gauri Lankesh Silenced

Senior journalist, editor and activist Gauri Lankesh, 55, was shot dead by unidentified assailants at the entrance of her home in Bengaluru West on Tuesday evening. Four bullets were pumped into the editor of the Kannada weekly Lankesh Patrike at her doorstep after she had stepped out of her car and opened the gates to her home which lay in darkness at around 8 pm.(The Indian Express)

This is not the first time that a rationalist is killed. Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare, M.M. Kalburgi all rationalist, disbeliever of superstitious practices of Hindutva and dissenter of RSS all were killed allegedly by Hindu fundamentalists who remain uncaught by the police in all these years. Gauri Lankesh was also opponent of Hindutva and work actively for naxals, women and dalit rights. The Congress party who is actively criticizing the BJP now for her killing should remember that all of them were killed under Congress ruled states and in spite of criticism shown by them, they haven't able to track the criminals.

Voice of dissent is in danger and we must not avoid this killing as an incident in Karnataka because if you oppose religion and has rational thinking then you are also in danger. RSS/BJP supporter actively enjoying the killing of Gauri Lankesh on social media which should also come under criminal offense. Gauri Lankesh could be seen in news debates opposing the topics usually supported by RSS/BJP. In recent days, Gauri Lankesh was actively involved in bringing many persons involved with the Naxal movement in Karnataka back into the mainstream with the co-operation of the Karnataka government.

I appeal Karnataka government which has formed a Special Investigation Team (SIT) on the murder to monitor speedy probe of the issue. Other pending cases of Dabholkar,Pansare, Kalburgi should also be probed speedily. Where is the police teams they show in Crime Patrol which honestly without any pressure solves crimes? This is the time to condemn her death and stood for her beliefs. We must pressurize the government to solve her murder case quickly and raise our voices for such acts. India is not build in last three years and neither by a party, a leader, a family, a religion or an ideology. It is the amalgamation of all these and the quality of people to accommodate each other which make India great. Till next post. God Bless India.

An Ode To Teachers

An Ode To Teachers.

Teachers play an important role in shaping our life. If you are among privileged who took formal education or even when you are among the non-educated there are people in your life who teach you something or the other in course of journey of life. Apart from life I have learnt many things from many teachers I encountered in life whether it’s about subject like Science, History, Literature, Geography or things helpful in daily life which make us more experience.

Naming any one teacher will devalue the contribution of others. So I restrict myself from naming anybody and before going further with the topic I like to remember my English teacher whose death news I have heard recently. He taught me English from Seventh to Tenth class. He depends on his life experiences while teaching than on bookish knowledge. We used to enjoy his classes. I was a bright student and teacher’s favorite but on two occasions in my school life I got slapped. Once in first class when as a monitor I slapped somebody so hard that his head struck the wall and started bleeding. Principle madam then slapped me for wrongful use of power. Another instance was of sixth class. Here our group of four friends was teasing somebody from many days every time. One day he complained to the Science teacher who was our favorite. She slapped others and me in disappointment because we broke her trust. After these incidents I avoid slapping people or teasing in a way that hurts them.

Something we also learn by ourselves from life’s experiences. Those moments make us stronger by inculcating things required by us to face that problem. I was upset/broken after my father’s death and when I read my poems around that period they are all sad, related to death and of motivations to come out of that pain of loss. This situation taught me many things. Learning is a lifelong process and you must not stop it to be a better human being. You may also learn things by observing behavior of total strangers, or even more TV shows and movies. So keep on learning throughout your life. Again I would like to thank my teachers to be part of my life and teaching us to face the world. Also remember Dr S. Radhakrishnan whose birth anniversary in the form of Teacher’s Day give us chance to remember our teachers. He was a great educationist and teacher. HAPPY TEACHER’S DAY