आज पहली बार देखे थे कि वो शरमा रही थी................

जब आईआईएमसी ने पूरी शहर के शैक्षणिक भ्रमण पे भेजा तो ये पहला मौका था जब मै समुद्र को नजदीक से देखने वाला था. 

चिरकुट तो हम शुरुए से थे, हियाँ पर भी मेरी चिरकुटई जारी रही. सब लोग लहरों से खेल रहे थे, हम समुद्र से ही बात करने लगा. 

बिकुआ मेरा दोस्त था. किनारे पे बैठ मैं जब लहरों से बात कर रहा थे बिकुआ सामने नहा रहा था. और वो भी बगल में पानी से खेल रही थी. 

एका एक बिकुआ मुझे बैठा देखा तो मेरे पास आ के बैठ गया. वो उसी तरफ देख रहा था जिस तरफ लहरों के साथ वो खेल रही थी. 

"तुझे देखा तो ये जाना सनम....." गुनगुना रहा था बिकुआ. "ई का रे," हम पूछे. 

वो बिना कुछ बोले भाग गया फिर से पानी में. एतना चहक रहा था. अपनी चहचहाट में मेरी सुना भी नही रहा था. खैर सब आईआईएमसी लौट गए.

आईआईएमसी ने दोबारा पूरी भेजने का जब प्लान बना तो इतेफाक से तारीख 8 फरवरी को चुना गया.

सुबह सुबह ही फलिपकार्ट वालों ने "प्रोपोज डे पे उनको गिफ्ट कीजिये" वाला मेल भेजा था. सो मुझे पता था आज प्रोपोज डे है.

धौलीगिरी और रघुराजपुर होते हुए जब हम पूरी समुद्र के किनारे पहुंचे तब तक 2.30 बज चुके थे. बिकुआ तो तुरत पानी में उतर गया.

पता नहीं वो कहाँ थी, दिखी नही. हम भी आधे घंटे पानी में रहने के बाद किनारे पे आ के देखने लगे. हम सोच रहे थे कि वो कहाँ गयी. आज बिकुआ अकेले क्यों दिख रहा था.

तभी देखे वो रिक्शे से उतरी. और लपक के उधर जाने लगी जिधर हमारे बैच के लोग नहा रहे थे. बिकुआ उसे देखा तो स्थिर खड़ा हो के उधर ही देखने लगा.


वो भी उसे देख चुकी थी. धीरे धीरे लहरों में बहने के बहाने बिकुआ उस तरफ जाने लगा और वो इस तरफ आने लगी. वो दोनों एक दूसरे कि तरफ बढ़ने में व्यस्त थे, हम और चाचा उनको देखने में और सारी दुनिया अपने आप में.

अब दोनों एक फिट की दुरी पे खड़े थे. अचानक से एक लहर आयी और वो लहरों के साथ बिकुआ पे गिर पड़ी. बेचार बिकुआ. सम्भाल नहीं पाया. वो भी गिर पड़ा.

चाचा ने मेरे से कहा, "समुद्र के नमकीन पानी में बिकुआ का प्रोपोज डे तो नमकीन हो गया."

मैंने कहा, "फ़ोटो लो चाचा. वो दोनों लहरों से लड़ेंगे और आगे जायेंगे. आज नमकीन बोल रहे हो कल मीठा बोलोगे. "

खटाक  से चाचा ने फ़्लैश चमका दिया.

हॉस्टल आने के बाद बिकुआ ने चाचा से वो फ़ोटो माँगा और वो भी मांगी. बिकुआ बोला, "उसको मत बताना कि मैंने तुमसे फ़ोटो लिया है." और वो बोली, "बिकुआ को मत बोलना."

अगले दिन सारे बच्चों ने स्टडी ट्रीप पे रिपोर्ट लिख के सबमिट कर दिया.

"किसी ने रिपोर्ट सबमिट नही भी किया है?" सर ने पूछा।

केवल दो हाथ ऊपर उठे. एक बिकुआ का और एक उसका.

"नमकिन नशे का असर अभी भी है," चाचा मेरे से बोला.             

उस दिन से अब तक लगभग पांच साल हो गए. एक दिन असाइनमेंट पे कोलकाता जाना था. चाचा को फ़ोन किया. पता चला उसे भी उस असाइनमेंट पे जाना है कोलकाता.

बिकुआ कोलकाता में ही पोस्टेड था. उसके पास ही रुकने का प्लान हुआ. पहुँच गए बिना फ़ोन किये. दिन में असाइनमेंट से लौटे और रात को हम, चाचा और बिकुआ छत पे चले गए, बतियाने.

बिकुआ के लैपटॉप में अभी भी प्रोपोज डे वाला फ़ोटो था. हम देख ही रहे थे कि वो निचे से आ गयी.

"खाना नहीं है तुम लोगों को जी," वो बोली.

हम चाहे बिकुआ कुछ बोल पाते उससे पहले चाचा बोला, "काहे हड़बड़ा रही हो? आई आईएमसी गर्ल्स हॉस्टल का गेट थोड़े है जो नौ बजे बंद करना जरुरी है." 

हम तीनों हंस पड़े. और आज पहली बार देखे थे कि वो शरमा रही थी.


नोट: एक काल्पनिक कहानी है.

Rahul was more real than rhetorical

If you yourself haven’t watched the full interview of Rahul Gandhi on Times Now with dispassionate outlook you would be misled into thinking he came out as “dumb”, “dull” and proved himself “unworthy”.

Because this is how most of the journalists – seasoned, senior and respected – have portrayed him after his first formal interview with Arnab Goswami.

But such lowly portrayal of Rahul Gandhi is misplaced, prejudiced and false. It appears to me the commentators have relied more on what is trending on Twitter and Facebook rather than on their own ability to decode and decipher the interview. Such application of journalistic prowess is appalling.

In most of the answers in the interview Rahul Gandhi sounded real rather than rhetorical. The fact about Rahul’s interview is that he said what was true and factual. He said what he and his party have done.

Since he and his party have not done much- and he must be criticised for that- he had not much to say. He had to repeat few things like RTI, women empowerment, pushing the democracy deeper into India.

He could have chosen to talk non-sense, and will-do-this and will-do-that. He didn’t.   

And I believe, repeating the reality, howsoever discomforting, is far better than iterating and reiterating fiction. But stating reality in political debates is not "fashionable", is it?

What is “fashionable” is when you watch Modi challenge “Shahjada” by thumping his 56 inch chest which is hollow and pointing his index figure which is red. What is fashionable is when Modi twists history to fit his agenda.

What is fashionable is when Modi says, “Dalits were like mentally retarded children”—while releasing the book Samajik Samrasta”, when he says, “he had information that Sir Creek was being handed over to Pakistan on Dec 15, 2012. He claimed India had referred Sir Creek to India-Pakistan Western Border Tribunal”.

The fact is the two countries never referred the matter to the IPWBT. : Outlook

Coming back to Rahul, he must also be criticised when he said, “I am not responsible for anti-sikh riots in 1984 because I was not personally involved in that.” And later on he said, “We will have alliance with RJD. Because political alliances are made Based on Ideas.”

But Rahul must be hailed for being real and not faking. He must be hailed for not leaving the interview mid-way because some of questions perturbed him. And on the media’s coverage of the interview I find it apt to quote BBC Hindi journalist Dilnawaz Pasha.

Pasha says in his Facebook update, “Dear journalists! If twitter trolls are driving your 'news agenda' and 'news peg' then you need to go back to college and learn basics.”

What if Taliban were here?

She asks herself “out of guilt” after skipping 26^th January flag hoisting  

Flying high at IIMC Dhenkanal campus Photo: Ankit Gautam  

What if we were to be ruled by the Taliban? No music, no classes, no modern dresses, no studies, no birthday party. Nothing,” she was whispering to me in classroom.

“It is because of 26^th January that we have this liberty of living our lives our way. I am so ashamed of skipping the 26^th January celebration. And I am sorry not because director sir is scolding us like never before but I am sorry to myself. The sense of guilt is enormous. And the feeling of guilt is the worst feeling to live with.”

“After all RD celebrations are not just about sentiments. It is about feeling and showing the gratitude, for we have the freedom to live, for assurances that we would never be stopped from enjoying, reading, partying and, above all, from hoisting Tiranga,” she was scolding herself though she was talking to me.

She had to confess all this because she was among around 40 students who skipped the RD flag hoisting. We have a total of strength of around 65 students at Indian Institute of Mass Communications, IIMC.

Perhaps it was for the first time she had made a choice to skip the RD celebrations in her life. This is the impression I got while she whispered, I listened when our director was admonishing the entire class.

“There were no reasons for celebrating my birthday in the grandiose manner we did just last week. During Diwali, Lohari celebration all of us were together. Dancing, enjoying. I don't know why I could not attend this.”

“Majority of the students skipped the flag hoisting programme. It was not any sort boycott. It was just yun hi type wala thing. I was in two minds - whether to attend the programme next morning at 07:30am.”

Everybody must have reasons for skipping. But the validity of reasons in this case is relative. What may be a genuine and perfectly okay a reason for you may be just a lame excuse seen from a different reference.

Many of students remained asleep, as they told in the classroom. Loads of assignments and therefore the habit of remaining awake late night would have lingered.

Obviously our director was “really, really upset, anguished, pained”. “Where do you belong to? Half of you had told me, you “will do this, do that” for your country and society, during the interviews. Is this the way you would do all that?” our director’s questions were legitimate.

You ask “why journalism” to anybody who is in the first stages of opting for the course in journalism, most of the times, the laziest line, “I want to change the society” would be the answer.

I don’t know what she had said in the interviews.  But this evening, the guilt of not attending flag hoisting was abundantly clear on her face, in her words.  

“There comes a decisive moment when you have to choose either to be on the right or wrong side of the line. And I had chosen to be on the wrong side.”

“Surely this was the mistake which was grave. Surely it was a sorry thing. But this realisation is coming now. I have the benefit of hindsight and liberty of reflection, now. I will never skip the celebration in future,” were her words.

“But you won’t be able to attend the RD celebration at IIMC. We are living the last installment of our stint here,” I said.

“That is sad. But wherever I go and get myself associated with, I will surely participate.”