The best way to know the self is feeling oneself at the moments of reckoning. The feeling of being alone, just with your senses, may lead you to think more consciously. More and more of such moments may sensitize ‘you towards you’, towards others. We become regular with introspection and retrospection. We get ‘the’ gradual connect to the higher self we may name Spirituality or God or just a Humane Conscious. We tend to get a rhythm again in life. We need to learn the art of being lonely in crowd while being part of the crowd. A multitude of loneliness in mosaic of relations! One needs to feel it severally, with conscience, before making it a way of life. One needs to live several such lonely moments. One needs to live severallyalone.

Monday 30 November 2015

SURESH PRABHU’S 'SOCIAL SENSITIVITY’ OF ‘SOCIAL MEDIA ALERTNESS'

TWEETS AND RETWEETS OF NOVEMBER 27 TWITTER POSTS BY SURESH PRABHU:

Suresh Prabhu Retweeted
Sapthagiri M ‏@SapthagiriM  Nov 27
Neatness that I hardly saw before in railways stations.. Kacheguda right now..   @SCRailwayIndia @sureshpprabhu

Suresh Prabhu Retweeted
Ministry of Railways ‏@RailMinIndia  Nov 27
NDLS- HWH is part of most congested section, long awaited capacity enhancement work is priority of MR @sureshpprabhu

Suresh Prabhu Retweeted
Arvind Agarwal ‏@arvind_agarwal  Nov 27
Railways offers subsidised pilgrimage packages.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/cities/railways-offers-subsidised-pilgrimage-packages/story-hbOWgKo7vXLN3YEiPh05jK.html …
@sureshpprabhu @RailMinIndia

Suresh Prabhu Retweeted
Gowtham ‏@gowthaam  Nov 27
Travelling in train after a year in 3rd AC.can see visible difference in cleanliness in coach & beds.Thnx  @sureshpprabhu ji & team

Suresh Prabhu Retweeted
PRASANTA KUMAR JENA ‏@jena_prasanta  Nov 27
@RailMinIndia @sureshpprabhu  Fact is bigger the size more difficult to transform.  Rly has set a foot in long ambitious transformation path

Suresh Prabhu ‏@sureshpprabhu  Nov 27
Debate in LS @narendramodi raises it to greater height.Lets worship constitution as holy book to be followed in spirit by all to progress

Suresh Prabhu Retweeted
Parag sharma ‏@paragjournalist  Nov 27 View translation
सच में @sureshpprabhu sir आपने जैसा कहा वैसा कर रहे हैं We r on track sir, हम दुनिया को दिखाएंगे, भारत क्या है..

Suresh Prabhu Retweeted
DRM Bilaspur ‏@DRMBilaspur  Nov 27
30% growth witnessed in the number of passengers at Akaltara Railway Station during fortress check.

Suresh Prabhu ‏@sureshpprabhu  Nov 27
Suresh Prabhu Retweeted @GMSouthernrailway
Very important to take care of public health post flooding.IR working on it

Suresh Prabhu Retweeted
SouthCentralRailway ‏@SCRailwayIndia  Nov 27
@RailMinIndia @sureshpprabhu
More than 60% of the targeted #RainwaterHarvesting pits constructed on SCR
#savewater

Suresh Prabhu Retweeted
Ministry of Railways ‏@RailMinIndia  Nov 27
Morgan Stanley report on Indian Railways : The Next India - The Return of the Transportation Behemoth

Suresh Prabhu Retweeted
Raja ‏@Raja_Sw  Nov 27
Still a lot that can be improved in IR. Long road still ahead. But things seem to be improving. @sureshpprabhu @RailMinIndia @drmsbc @GMSWR

Suresh Prabhu Retweeted
vadakkus ‏@vadakkus  Nov 27
vadakkus Retweeted CPRO Central Railway
The biggest e-commerce entity in India by far, ever since its inception.

Suresh Prabhu Retweeted
SouthCentralRailway ‏@SCRailwayIndia  Nov 27
SouthCentralRailway Retweeted General Manager SCR
@RailMinIndia @sureshpprabhu
#EnergyConservation #energyefficiency #GoGreen #COP21 #GreenEnergy

Now, Suresh Prabhu, the Railway Minister of India, is one politician who looks 'intensely' busy on Twitter - as his Twitter feed for this day (or any other day) suggests.

And these are just some of a barrage of Tweets on his Twitter page - tweeted (and retweeted) by Mr. Suresh Prabhu on November 27.

And he does so daily.

And the issues that he looks concerned about sound holistic - clean trains and platforms, other cleanliness measures in different railway services, reforms in Indian Railways, the efforts for a 'turnaround' story, capacity enhancements, improvement in operational statistics, energy conservation, social obligations like 'rain water harvesting' and so on - and the concern of passengers' well-being - but there is a catch.

See this:

Santosh Chaubey ‏@SantoshChaubeyy  Nov 27
@sureshpprabhu - Mr. Prabhu, no response yet. 12581 Delhi time is 12.20 pm. Reached thr at 2.15 pm. N it happens daily wid many trains.

Santosh Chaubey ‏@SantoshChaubeyy  Nov 27
@sureshpprabhu - 6th tweet 2day - no response from u who is very active on Twitter. 12581 Delhi time -12.20 pm. 1.30 pm n it is still GZB

Santosh Chaubey ‏@SantoshChaubeyy  Nov 27
@sureshpprabhu - 5th tweet 2day - 12581 almost not running - well behind it's Delhi time of 12.20 pm - the IR shame continues

Santosh Chaubey ‏@SantoshChaubeyy  Nov 27
@sureshpprabhu - 5th tweet today - already delayed 12581 is now crawling post Aligarh - looks more misery ahead

Santosh Chaubey ‏@SantoshChaubeyy  Nov 27
@sureshpprabhu -my 3rd tweet 2 u 2day-ppl say n u also retweet-but y sum trains get delayd daily-like this 12581-a routine-still no respite

Santosh Chaubey ‏@SantoshChaubeyy  Nov 27
@sureshpprabhu People say n you also retweet -but y some trains get delayed daily-like this 12581-a daily routine-today, it's already 3 hrs!

Santosh Chaubey ‏@SantoshChaubeyy  Nov 27
@sureshpprabhu People say, you also retweet - but y some trains get delayed daily-like this 12581-a daily routine-today, it's already 3 hrs!

These eight tweets were my experimental call to check the 'social sensitivity of social media alertness' of our Railway Minister - who by any possible means - looks very Twitter savvy - in using social media as an effective tool  of his governance.

But as expected, he did not respond to even a single one - because they were pointing to a well known, universal shame of Indian Railways that all Indian Railways (IR) officials conveniently and habitually deny/ignore/pass - that almost of the trains in India don't run on time - that travelling by many trains are considered an absolute wastage of time as they run delayed by hours - day after day - just name them and one can count many of them - in every part of the country the Indian Railways is operating in - and that includes almost the whole of the country. There are trains that are cursed to get delayed regularly - the 'ignorable gems' in eyes of IR's apathetic officers.

Here, in my case, I started my train journey at 10:30 PM on November 26 night. Though it is a superfast train (Number - 12581), people warned me of its bad reputation of running late almost daily. But I thought to give it a try, as I wanted to reignite the romance of a train journey after a long time and prompted by 'prompt tweets' of Suresh Prabhu, I thought I should take a chance.

But came November 27 morning, and my hopes had some serious beating. When I woke up, I found the train was behind its schedule while at Kanpur and was running late by some 2.30 hours.

Well, I had an important meeting scheduled in the evening and I started feeling sort of unease. But then, I also knew I could not do anything. Various precedents of my yore have told me that one should never trust the trains run by Indian Railways, especially in crisis hours. 99 per cent chances they will fail you. After all, you can gauge sentiments on this line by the fact that a train running one or two hours late is considered 'on time' by the standards of Indian Railways.

While my unease was growing, I thought to use it to 'gauge' the sensitivity of Mr. Railway Minister. Starting from around 7 AM, I tweeted tagging Mr. Prabhu around 8 times, expecting some response from him.

But it did not have to come and it didn't come. Either Mr. Prabhu didn't see any of my tweets, something that is hard to believe going by the kinds he retweets daily, or he conveniently ignored them.

And that clears one thing - the fact that is known widely - that our politicians don't see or don’t like to see the 'uncomfortable facts'.

There is nothing wrong in what Mr. Prabhu does with his Twitter page. Even if selectively, he is active there. No one can expect he can do some miracle or can turnaround the massive public organization with massive losses run by the Indian government in such a short time with most of its senior Railway officials turning a blind eye to what should be treated as criminal offences in a civilized society.

We know a 'totally' politicised Indian Railways cannot accommodate its vast network of trains to manage 'running efficiency and timeliness' with the poor infrastructure it has right now but just to give indications of a positive symbolism, Mr. Prabhu could have responded to my tweets (and should respond even to negative or critical tweets).

What do you say Mr. Prabhu (@sureshpprabhu)?


Featured Image Courtesy: Collage prepared from screenshots of IR’s website, Mr. Suresh Prabhu’s Twitter page and my tweets

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/

Saturday 28 November 2015

THE 'INCREDIBLE' CYCLE RICKSHAW OF VARANASI


This is what the normal cycle rickshaw is – in Varanasi, in any other city of India (or in any other country where such rickshaws are found).

And this is what any rickshaw-puller looks like – basically migrants or people from lowest economic class of societies – putting their hard labour to earn their living – day after day – with no guarantee for the next day.

And so, this is what caught my attention – these specially designed ‘royal cycles rickshaws’ – and when I googled, I came across this tourism initiative launched by an outfit in God’s Own City – titles ‘Mr. Rickshaw Wala’.





Well, I didn’t find any description for this special attire, as can be seen in these pictures, designed for these ‘customized and designed’ rickshaws.


Looking at them gave mixed feeling. Hope the concept works well.

THE 'INCREDIBLE' CYCLE RICKSHAW OF VARANASI 

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/

Friday 27 November 2015

DEV DEEPAWALI 2015: PEOPLE








DEV DEEPAWALI 2015: PEOPLE 

DEV DEEPAWALI @ VARANASI: NOVEMBER 25, 2015

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/

DEV DEEPAWALI 2015: GHATS (II)





DEV DEEPAWALI 2015: GHATS

DEV DEEPAWALI @ VARANASI: NOVEMBER 25, 2015

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/

DEV DEEPAWALI 2015: GHATS (I)





DEV DEEPAWALI 2015: GHATS

DEV DEEPAWALI @ VARANASI: NOVEMBER 25, 2015

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/

DEV DEEPAWALI 2015: GANGA, GHATS, DIYAS, LIGHTS

..DIYAS, LAMPS, LIGHTS, ILLUMINATION, REFLECTION.. 


                                                                                                                                                                 
 

DEV DEEPAWALI 2015: GANGA, GHATS, DIYAS, LIGHTS

DEV DEEPAWALI @ VARANASI: NOVEMBER 25, 2015

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/

Thursday 26 November 2015

DEV DEEPAWALI 2015: SKY LAMPS







DEV DEEPAWALI 2015: SKY LAMPS 

DEV DEEPAWALI @ VARANASI: NOVEMBER 25, 2015

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/

DEV DEEPAWALI 2015: THE SAIL





DEV DEEPAWALI 2015: THE SAIL 

DEV DEEPAWALI @ VARANASI: NOVEMBER 25, 2015

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/

DEV DEEPAWALI 2015: THE GANGA VISTA







DEV DEEPAWALI 2015: THE GANGA VISTA

DEV DEEPAWALI @ VARANASI: NOVEMBER 25, 2015

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/

DEV DEEPAWALI 2015



DEV DEEPAWALI 2015 

DEV DEEPAWALI @ VARANASI: NOVEMBER 25, 2015

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/

Wednesday 25 November 2015

DEV DEEPAWALI

From the Ganga ghats
To the water flowing in the Mother River
Million hopes get aspirations
With million diyas* there to inspire you
It is always an undreamed-of illumination
An opulence of brilliance
A grandeur of colours lit bright
That awaits you 
To take you into its embrace
Literally, metaphorically, symbolically
The view that you look at
With joy
That phenomenon that goes deep into inner you
Enlightening you
The experience that leaves you wanting for more
With tales to tell
The day when you celebrate light with Gods
The day when you sing life with Gods
An evening when you become one with Kashi’s soul
An evening when Gods express the joy of being here
The tales of that evening
When the full moon day is at its blossoming peak
Bringing radiance to the night the day seeks
The evening, the night, the day
Aesthetic, spiritual, mystical or religious
It’s all there for you to live the way you want
The way your soul needs
Taking you into embrace
Literally and metaphorically 
As the youthful morning of the full moon day
Gets younger as the evening gets into night
Revealing a mesmerizing horizon
Where your soul flows with the Ganga
Bathed in the light of million diyas
Floating along, scattered across
On the Ganga, at its ghats
Celebrating life, celebrating light
On the Dev Deepawali night
From the Ganga ghats
To the river stream of the Holy Mother
Millions hopes get inspiration
With the radiance of million diays
Immersing your soul into a wordless realm
Where thoughts interact and speak
With your eyes fixed at colours of life
Dancing and singing hymns of liberation
The day is here again
When Gods will descend
And humanity will greet them with élan
To spend some quality time together
Sitting with the Mother Ganga in Shiva’s Kashi
Come, live your life
Come, feel your voice within   
Come, the city calls you
Come, the day is here again..




DEV DEEPAWALI 

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/

*Diyas - Earthen Lamps 

Tuesday 24 November 2015

REVISITING THESE TEMPLES..

Visiting temples and other religious places have different connotations and purposes based on the phase of life we are in. Sometimes, it is also about the state of mind that inspires you to make it a routine to follow – based on the social values you inherit.

Based on my reasons (and reasoning), I too, had this thing in my routine – visiting some temples that fell well on my city itinerary during my school/college days in Varanasi – Sankat Mochan, Durga Kund, Vankati Hanumanji and Lord Ganesh temple ‘Durg Vinayak’ that is mid-way en route the Durga Kund-Vankatiji street.

That was once upon a time.

Then, during the course of my life events, I shifted my base to Delhi. But as happens and as Varanasi is my home town and as I feel a sense of belongingness here, the city keeps on calling me again and again – and I respond to such calls with a ‘nostalgic excitement’ always.

After many years, this time around, when I am in Varanasi, I thought to revisit the experience of those days – visiting these temples again – trying to follow the way it used to be in my itinerary then – and I could do so – though with a different set of thoughts in my mind – based on who I am and where I am in my life. 







REVISITING THESE TEMPLES.. 

©/IPR: Santosh Chaubey - http://severallyalone.blogspot.com/