माँ कह दो उन्हें की और धमाके ना करे

माँ कह दो उन्हें की और धमाके ना करे,
मैं अभी और जीना चाहता हूँ,
थोडी सी ही जी है ज़िन्दगी मैंने,
जीवन मधु को मैं अभी और पीना चाहता हूँ|

कल जयपुर में हुए थे और आज मुंबई में,
इन धमाको की आवाज भुलाना चाहता हूँ ,
इनके बाद इतना सन्नाटा जो छा जाता है,
की मैं अपनी ही आहट से घबरा जाता हूँ|

कल पड़ोस वाली मुनिया को देखा था मैंने,
गुलाबी फ्रोक्क खरीद कर लायी थी,
ना जाने कल क्या हुआ था चौराहे पर,
आज टीवी पर खून सनी वोही फ्रोक्क दिखायी थी|

माँ कह दो उनसे की और धमाके ना करे,
मैं और यह मंजर नहीं देखना चाहता हूँ,
उनकी भी तो एक बच्ची होगी मुनिया जैसी,
मैं उसे किसी ऐसे ही धमाके में नहीं खोना चाहता हूँ |

माँ वोह सब दिखते तो अपने जैसे ही है,
फ़िर ये सब क्यों बस मैं यह जानना चाहता हूँ,
आख़िर वोह भी तो अपने जैसे ही इंसान है,
बस ये ही याद उनको दिलाना चाहता हूँ |

चारो तरफ़ भय का मंजर फैला है,
लोग बिना डर जिये बस यही चाहता हूँ,
दहशतगर्दी से इंसानियत का उत्थान नहीं होगा,
इतना सा उनको समझाना चाहता हूँ|

माँ कह दो उन्हें की और धमाके ना करे,
मैं अभी और जीना चाहता हूँ,
थोडी सी ही जी है ज़िन्दगी मैंने,
जीवन मधु को मैं अभी और पीना चाहता हूँ|


- गजेंद्र "स्थिरप्रग्य" सिडाना-

जो भी यादें है समेट लूँ उनको....

घूमती सिमटती उन तंग गलियों में
झांकते उन बेबस दरीचो से
बेफिक्र यु जाते देखा था तुमको
आवाज तो दी थी रोकने के लिए
ताकि जी भर देख सकूं तुमको|

साँस फूली थी तुम्हारी आँखे थी थकी
पर तुम्हे तो दुनिया की हर चीज़ को पाना था
और बिना रुके बहुत दूर जाना था
लंबे डग भर चलते गए तुम
अनसुनी करके मेरी आवाज बढ़ते गए तुम|

निशब्द हैरान खडा मैं उस दरीचे पर
उस तंग गली के अन्तिम छोर को निहारता रहा
और टूटे दिल से नाम तुम्हारा पुकारता रहा
चाह बस इतनी थी की चंद लम्हे भर और देख लूँ तुमको
और जो भी बची है यादें समेट लूँ उनको|

- गजेंद्र "स्थिरप्रग्य" सिडाना

बिखरे मोतीयो से माला बनती नहीं....

टूटे शीशे कभी जुड़ते नहीं,
मुरझाये फूल कभी खिलते नहीं,
दूर से दीखते तो जरूर है
पर जमीन और आसमा कभी मिलते नहीं

बिखरे मोती से माला बनती नहीं,
खली प्यालों से मधुशाला चलती नहीं,
आंखों मैं तो सभी के रहते है
पर सिर्फ़ खवाबों से ज़िन्दगी चलती नहीं

पतझड़ में फूल खिलते नहीं,
बिन हवा पत्ते हिलते नहीं,
साथ में चलते तो है बहुत मुशाफिर
पर हमसफ़र क्यूँ राहो में मिलते नहीं|

- गजेंद्र "स्थिरप्रग्य" सिडाना

Untold story of a wave hitting the shore

Broken and exhausted he left the shore
Because he knew he couldn't take it any more
When he came he was full of energy and joy
And happily he touched the shore as if it was his toy
There was something in the shore which pulled him
But he knew chances of shore being bothered were slim
He just thought about it nights and days
And tried all he could to mend his ways

Humiliated while he waited till the lights got dim
Shore was enjoying with so many others like him
Shore was always happy and indifferent to his pain
But he accepted all this misery as his gain
He was sure that one day shore will see his devotion
And will move a little bit to accommodate his motion

For long he waited but shore was too stubborn
Exasperated he shivered and took back a turn
He had already lost most of its energy and vigor
So he realized it was not wise to test further the rigor
Realizing there was no point in waiting any more
He drifted back into the sea hoping to find another shore.

- गजेंद्र "स्थिरप्रग्य" सिडाना

बिन कहे तू समझे हाल-ऐ-दिल तो क्या बात हो

डूबते तिनके को बस एक सहारा मिल जाए तो क्या बात हो,
भटकती इस लहर को किनारा मिल जाए तो क्या बात हो,
यू तो कमी नहीं है लोगों की यहाँ,
पर अनजानी भीड़ मे कोई हमारा मिल जाए तो क्या बात हो|

छितिज पर आसमा को समुद्र का छोर मिल जाए तो क्या बात हो,
और डूबते तनहा सूरज को कोई और मिल जाए तो क्या बात हो,
यु तो कमी नहीं है सितारों की यहाँ,
पर इस चकोर को अपना एक चंदा मिल जाए तो क्या बात हो|

अंधियारी ज़िन्दगी मे एक चिराग मिल जाए तो क्या बात हो,
नीरस बाग़ में एक गुल खिल जाए तो क्या बात हो,
यु तो कमी नहीं है दोस्तों की यहाँ,
पर एक आँचल का साया भी मिल जाए तो क्या बात हो|

जब तू पढ़े इसे और सुमझे मेरे दिल को तो क्या बात हो,
तेरा दिल भी धडके मेरे लिए तो क्या बात हो,
कहना तो बहुत कुछ चाहता हूँ तुझसे,
पर बिन कहे तू समझे हाल-ऐ-दिल तो क्या बात हो|

- गजेंद्र "स्थिरप्रग्य" सिडाना

Six Men on a Trek (To speak nothing of the Dog) - Trek to Kudremukh

Finally after a long break of more than one year since we had our
last trek to Kumara Parvata, we decided to go for one more trek. This time we didn’t have three of the members from our group of last time but luckily we got three new people who willingly joined us. So finally we had Arun, Ashok, Nidhan, Rahul, Ravi and myself all set for the trek, though Tajamul also joined us initially but backed out for the reasons I will elaborate later. After so much deliberation on where to go, we pinned down to Kudremukh, a place located in Chickmanglur district. So the preparations started for the trek like arrangement of tents, sleeping bags, travel tickets, medicines, food and other miscellaneous items. As a part of preparation, we also thought of seeking some local’s advice on the challenges we faced, considering it was a rainy season and there was a forecast of moderate to heavy rain with 90 percent certainty on the weekend we were to travel. So the main challenges, as told to us, were leeches, slippery surface, land slides and last but not the least Naxals. So here we were with all the tickets booked (including one for Tajamul) and we were bombarded with all kind of threats facing us but we like stubborn kids decided not to step back, though our friend Tajamul found these threats to be too big to ignore and hence decided to walk out of the plan. So we six people with seven tickets started for Kalasa, our base camp, on Friday night 10:15 pm, only to reach our destination at 8:00 am in the morning. We had a quick breakfast, did all the daily routines as fast as we could just to make sure that we could get the permission from forest officials in Kudremukh early enough but as it always happens with govt. offices, we ended up wasting 2 hrs just waiting for the concerned person to come to office and sign on the required documents. It was already 1:00 pm when we started for badgal, the place from where we were to start our trek. We had our lunch there, an amazing meal including chapattis, curry, rice, sambhar and pickle just for Rs 20 per person. The thing, which touched us most, was the hospitality that you can only find in those small places.


Our journey to our first stop, our guide Satish’s house, could have been done on a Jeep but we decided not to go for it. So we walked up 8 km on the jeep track. By the time we reached, Satish’s house it was already evening 4 o’clock and since we were not allowed to stay inside the national park, so there was no point continuing the journey that day. So we decided to stay there only and continue next day. Just in the vicinity there was a beautiful waterfall, where we took bath despite of the chilling water. Here also what appealed to me most was the hospitality offered by Satish at his house. We were offered fresh white honey they got recently and then some much-needed glass of tea. Evening was a nice experience without electricity, mobile phone and any unwanted noise of motor vehicles etc. We spent most of the time trying to lit a bonfire out of water soaked woods but we failed even after using 200 mL petrol. So we decided not to waste time any further and just enjoyed the dawn in the lap of nature. Anyways Ravi was always there for our entertainment and Paa ji (Nidhan) left no stone unturned to get maximum pleasure out Ravi’s misery of being stuck with people like us. There was a perfect climax of the day with a nice dinner, which included home grown rice and traditional Karnataka sambhar with all the vegetables also grown at home only. Post dinner we shared some jokes, planned for next day and crashed. Most remarkable thing about whole ordeal was that we never missed our cell phones or electricity.


Next day we had quick breakfast and started for the peak around 8:00 am. It was raining heavily but not enough to dampen our spirits. Here Satish and his wonderful dog Raju went with us as our guide. Raju was our surprise companion throughout the journey. A very intelligent highly trained dog who guided us to the peak and way back even when Satish was far ahead of us. As we walked a bit further, it was all there, thick forest, waterfall and trees laden with fruits like guava and sweet lime. By the time we reached at Lobos’ house, we realized how potent was the threat regarding leaches. We were heavily using salt and Iodex but still it was not much of rescue as with rain the salt was getting washed off and leeches never missed such an opportunity. After traveling for 4 hrs and overcoming the hurdles of slippery surface and leeches we reached at the peak. It was too cold and windy that we decided to walk back after a short break but this journey till peak had already taught us one thing; if you want to avoid leech don’t stop at any place, especially near the waterfalls and area densely covered with woods. I came down from the peak without even taking a single pause and without being bothered by a single leech. I reached at Satish’s house at 3:00 pm and took a bath followed by a cup of tea. We started for the base location i.e. Kalasa and since our return bus was from Horanadu, we also got an opportunity to visit Annapoorneshwari temple, a pilgrimage popular among Karnataka people. When reached Bangalore next day we were too tired to go to office and hence decided to take a day off. Ashok had the after effect of leech bites even 15-20 days after the trek. The best part of whole thing was that we didn't find any Naxalites on our way.

A Not So Curious Incident Of An Underdog In Lifetime

If someone asks me who are two of my favorite characters and it wouldn’t take me much time to come up with the names of Marvin from “Hitchhikers Guide to Galaxy”, the guy who parked cars for 10 million years though having a brain of the size of a planet and George Costanza from the TV series “Seinfeld”, who was never expected and never did anything great in life. I myself have wondered many times why I like these two characters that much and finally concluded that it has to be some sort of empathy I have for these characters. I think if there is someone who can compete with me in being an underdog with so much consistency, these are the only two characters that come close. I also had the same empathy for Rajasthan Royals team in IPL league at one point of time but they betrayed me and ended up winning the trophy, which I feel is not what real underdogs do in real life. According to me, if in real life some underdog achieves something real, he is not a real underdog.

I know I may sound a bit too pessimistic but let me quote one of the incidents from my life, hence the title of this blog. Sometime back at some place, well time and space doesn’t matter in this incident because they are entangled in such a way that no one can comprehend. It was morning 6:00 am and my alarm clock started ringing loud and clear. I knew I had to rush but I still snoozed to grab few extra minutes of sleep. Finally after snoozing two or three times, I got up and did all daily routine activities in a hurry and reached at the bus stop. This bus was supposed to take me there and I wasn’t very sure why I was going there but knew that I had to be there. Finally I reached at my destination and as usual I took out my keys, took out my laptop from the drawers and allowed it to start and in the meantime went to the coffee room to grab a cup of coffee. Yes, you guessed it right I reached to my office and it was morning 7:50 am. After having the coffee, continued to work till evening 4:30 with a small lunch break in between. Evening 4:30 left back for the place, from where I came in the morning (please do notice that I haven’t used the word home here because it seems some that a home has some very essential components). After reaching there twitched a bit with my six strings and left for my club to play tennis for an hour or so, came back in the night, had dinner and finally retired to my bed waiting for the alarm bell to ring again next day.

An Aimless Wanderer

I have a feeling I have to go
To where I don't even know
Though I can still see some light
I have to be there before its dark night

It's weird you may say
But I don't have any reason to stay
Something inside makes me wanna run
And soak up this shining sun

I can feel the feelings withering
And the emotions tittering
But can't help but to keep going
To a destination without even knowing.

( My own (mis)creation )

- गजेंद्र "स्थिरप्रग्य" सिडाना

Bill Watterson's quotes

Below are some of the legendary quotes of Bill Watterson, the man who created all time great comic strip "Calvin and Hobbes". Bill watterson like Douglas Adams is one of the few writers whose quotes are full of wit and humour and yet so close to reality that they have something for everyone. They are the quotes which will resonate in everyone's heart. I am putting some of the quotes of Bill here. In the next blog, I am going to put Douglas Adams' quotes.

A real job is a job you hate.

Reality continues to ruin my life.

From now on, I'll connect the dots my own way.

Genius is never understood in its own time.

God put me on this earth to accomplish a certain number of things. Right now I am so far behind that I will never die.

Heck, what's a little extortion among friends?

I find my life is a lot easier the lower I keep everyone's expectations.

I know the world isn't fair, but why isn't it ever unfair in my favor?

I liked things better when I didn't understand them.

I think we dream so we don't have to be apart so long. If we're in each other's dreams, we can play together all night.

I thought my life would seem more interesting with a musical score and a laugh track.

I'm not dumb. I just have a command of thoroughly useless information.

If people sat outside and looked at the stars each night, I'll bet they'd live a lot differently.

It's not denial. I'm just selective about the reality I accept.

It's surprising how hard we'll work when the work is done just for ourselves.

Know what's weird? Day by day, nothing seems to change. But pretty soon, everything's different.

Mothers are the necessity of invention.

Nothing helps a bad mood like spreading it around.

Often it takes some calamity to make us live in the present. Then suddenly we wake up and see all the mistakes we have made.

Shutting off the thought process is not rejuvenating; the mind is like a car battery - it recharges by running.

So, what's it like in the real world? Well, the food is better, but beyond that, I don't recommend it.

Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us.

Sometimes when I'm talking, my words can't keep up with my thoughts. I wonder why we think faster than we speak. Probably so we can think twice.

Talking with you is sort of the conversational equivalent of an out of body experience.

That's the whole problem with science. You've got a bunch of empiricists trying to describe things of unimaginable wonder.

The problem with the future is that it keeps running into the present.

The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us.

The world of a comic strip ought to be a special place with its own logic and life... I don't want the issue of Hobbes's reality settled by a doll manufacturer.

There is not enough time to do all the nothing we want to do.

Things are never quite as scary when you've got a best friend.

We all have different desires and needs, but if we don't discover what we want from ourselves and what we stand for, we will live passively and unfulfilled.

We don't devote enough scientific research to finding a cure for jerks.

Weekends don't count unless you spend them doing something completely pointless.

Why waste time learning, when ignorance is instantaneous?

Just an inane thought

Today while I was talking to my colleague Arjun, I stumbled upon this interesting idea which I am sure not many feminists might have thought so far. So as usual being a great liker of women fraternity (though to my bad luck somehow they don't like me), I thought of putting it here. The idea I am talking about is related to the cyclones and hurricanes. Now let me ask you this, what is common between women and the hurricanes and cyclones, which have hit our planet recent times apart from the fact that both can be devastating at times. The answer is not very simple, so I will tell you the answer straight away. The commonality is that all these cyclones/hurricanes were named after women, be it Katrina, Rita or Nargis (which struck Bangalore yesterday) and Tsunami (though not sure what it means but definitely this word have feminine feel :D). So is it just pure coincidence that time and again all the devastating hurricanes were named after women, or its a sort of conspiracy by men dominated world or it is a fact the women are indeed dangerous and hence nothing unusual in this kind of nomenclature, only a feminist can answer. Any feminist reading this?

An ode to 1800 km

Today while looking at my bike's techometer, I realized that I have covered 1800 kms on my newly bought Pulsar 200 bike that too on the notriously famous Bangalore roads. These 1800 kms were not only wasted somewhere in the hurry to reach my destination rather these 1800 kms helped me understand the dynamics of Bangalore traffic system. Not to anyone's surprise, I realized that Bangalore traffic is a big hazard for the daily commuters but more than that it prepares you for the big battles in life. Another reason for writing this blog is the Unlock Bangalore campaign started by TOI. In this campaign bikers were villified to such an extent that one would think only bikers are responsible for the chaos on the roads. Hence I decided to list down the categories of vehicles which I feel are more responsible for the chaos when compared with Bikers. So here goes my list:

1) The proud winner in my list are the lady driver driving a pink scooty. Never ever try to compete with them, whether you have a pulsar 200 or a hayabhusha, it doesn't make any difference. You can never win.

2) Beware of the kids who drive bicycles and mopeds because these kids are really stupid. Don't think that I dont like kids, its just even elder people dont follow traffic rules, forget about these innocent kids to do so. After all they will learn from their elders.

3) Take extra care from the BMTC buses. Drivers of these buses are the same small kids who drove their mopeds/bicycles rashly in their childhood and then decided not to change. In case if it is a volvo it could be even worse.

4) If you see a car with yellow number plate, take extra precaution. Also the auto rikshaws, they drive as if the sole purpose of the road is to enable their movement and restrict others.

Another thought which has hovered in brain for so long is that, somewhere while complaining about the congested traffic system of Bangalore, I feel we forget to see the good work done by the traffic police people. I know I would be the only one to think this way but considering the resources they have at their disposal and the conditions in which they have to work, I feel they are doing a commendable job. Let us not forget that, when human rights people are busy shouting slogans to save people like Afzal guru, nobody gives a shit about these traffic police people, who have to inhale litres of hazardous gases everyday just to make this traffic run that too for a paltry amount of money they get at the end of the month.

An Innocent Death

After a long hiatus today I thought of writing. It has been months since I updated my blog but best part is that it doesn't make any difference, as no one would have noticed it since I am sure, not many people would be dropping on this blog anyways. Its not that lack of readers is always a bad rather sometimes it is good for a person like me. It gives me ample opportunity to discard all the garbage off my head but still not to bother anyone with it. So if anyone is reading this blog so far, it becomes my moral responsibility to make him aware about the possible danger he is stepping on.

I am back here because I needed to vent out the weird feeling I am having today. The sole reason for this is the movie "Into the wild". I watched this movie yesterday night and it shook me in a way, which no movie has done in past few years. The movie based on the true story of a 23 year old boy named Christopher Mccandless, who went into the wild in Alaska to live on his own. He donated his life time savings of USD 24,000 to OXFAM. He abandoned his car and burnt all the money he had.He survives in Alaska for 112 days before dying because of poisoning caused by a poisonous plant he ate.

This movie touches lot of aspects of human feeling. This movie makes you feel what is really important in your life. The main character makes you realize how a person can be happy without any bondage like money, power and relations. This movie also makes you ponder over your plight for missing so much of what nature has to offer. In the last part Christopher realized that a person enjoys happiness when its shared but it was too late for him to leave Alaska and ultimately he was forced to spend his last few days there itself.

The last part is a very tragic portrayal of an innocent death and by the time it happens viewer is bound to be so attached with the character that he will feel the pain of his death. I don't know which string this movie touched in my heart but I know one thing, it has change my perspective of life.

I must give full credit to director Sean Penn for directing a masterpiece, where I will give hundred percent marks to Emile Hirsch for acting and Eddie Vedder for wonderful sound track for this movie. The sound track is so great that I am listening to it continuously from past two days. After watching the movie, this sound track touches the heart even more.