AN INCIDENT AT THE WAGAH BORDER

Living in India seems hopeless sometimes. With the number of powerful people ruling us with no sense of responsibility for its citizens, no rules amended in its proper place, we the ‘common’, helpless citizens of India face the unwanted mindless torture.

I am writing this for an unknown person with whom I don’t have any relation but a relation of humanity. All this happened on September 10, 2011 around 5pm at the Wagah Border, Amritsar. 

First of all, there were No rules written on the board for women and men to follow queues. Secondly, in respect to the number of seats for the audience at the Wagah stadium for Retreat Ceremony more and more people were pouring in. Third, the security was worthless who didn’t know how to handle a crowd properly. They were the main culprits behind all such acts and thus am writing this blog in the form of a complaint.

When the large crowds begin to reach the stadia, which is few meters away, where the popular patriotic songs are played and the war heroes are remembered who laid down their lives for the country, here one BSF personnel beat a man. His only mistake was that he unknowingly stood with his wife and two years old daughter in the ladies queue. And that BSF guy beat him to death.  He was nearly choking. His chest was bruised badly. He and his wife were crying. I and my mother saw it and helped the couple. Later, watching all this, that same uniformed man came to check whether the man is dead or alive.I mean after doing this he is coming up to see him as if he doesn’t know how strong his hands can be for a civilian. He could have shouted, warned him but beating so badly, losing out his cool was unacceptable.  I can understand that managing and dealing with a crowd can be really difficult. But the purpose for which these men in uniform are guarded and the behavior one demonstrated was highly insane. 

…and after waiting for an hour in the ladies line, another thing happened. A group of foreigners came to visit the Wagah, and in a few minutes I saw those ladies with us joined the men’s queue with their people just because they were Foreigners.

Now look at the situation here. When an Indian goes abroad, there is a strict ‘Rule’ for everybody and here we Indians in our own country are treated poorly. Just because of NO RULES in order, all such things happen. Now why didn’t the men in uniform pull out them? 

I even complained the above hitting and beating incident to another BSF soldier but he said - being in a small position he couldn’t do anything. He also went on saying that these are the works of ministers, who have to be strict on it. 

But NO, this thing is impossible in India. 

So, does that mean they are carrying out the frustration on ordinary people, who are visiting the border for the first time with there families to salute and enjoy the historical past of their countrymen.

The worst thing could have happened that day was a ‘stampede’. I, in my last visit to the border, haven’t seen such a big crowd. Being a weekend, the Authorities should have managed. But alas, Rules don’t go with them. And this was the same week when ANNA HAZARE ended his fast.

Till 5pm the BSF soldiers gathers crowd when its time to enter the stadia. Why doesn’t people go and be seated on the first come first basis with there families. Families should go together and should pass the security checks too but here they have to be separated in such unruly crowd. We even arrived before time and still we didn’t get to see the Retreat.

That day the crowd rushed ferociously to capture the seats and later they were made to stand in the queues feeble-mindedly and then the security checks begin.  After that, people again were formed into a crowd where they again rushed for the seat. Till then the seats got filled up, the ceremony started and the rest of the people – kids, couples or families, who were unable to find a standing space went back hearing only the songs without watching the ceremony.  Can you imagine the rate at which some men touch the girls in the crowd? Can’t this be all managed? 

We were all lost and later united with our family. The whole Wagah trip got ruined.  While coming back I forgot about the unseen ceremony and prayed God for that man to recover fast. I still get to see the helpless images of crying couple and their 1 may be 2 yrs old daughter.

 Either the stadia at the border should be increased or the crowd should be managed properly. There should be entry ticket with minimum people’s entry (as per the seats available and free-standing position) without hurting people and Indian sentiments.

My pet - Jasper

My dog has been so protective of me

It’s been 4 years since Jasper came to us when he was a 4months old cute lil puppy.

This is his 4th birthday and this time I am not there to celebrate his birthday with my family together. I was remembering my days with my canine. Experiencing life with a pet at your home is a kind of adventure in itself. We get to know about an animal’s existence, their habits, and their moods just like a human being but in a different avatar. Pets really make life happy and one thing is true that a pet takes all the negativity from its owners and changes their moods making them more cheerful.

I was remembering that my dog has been so protective of me.

There have been several incidents where Jasper has protected me or tried to watch over me.

Jasper usually sits at the back door (ground floor) of the house facing the backyard.On the left there is a narrow lane for the commuter which is less crowded in the evening.

One such incident was when I went to meet my Jasper at dusk and I was playing with him sitting on a porch not knowing that few rowdy boys(must be 20+) were passing by and without waiting a second  Jasper came and sat on my FEET immediately. Then only I came to know what had happened. That was one such day which I can never forget. Animals have such innocent eyes, cozy fur and endless love in them.

Other time he generally barked at the commuters when I was around him without any of my brothers company or mamma’s either.

I remember taking food to Jasper during daytime.When I was done with putting food in his bowl and playing with him and then moving out and locking the door, till then he continuously watched over me that had I moved out safely. And when I got away from his eyes he then starts to have his food. 

And whenever mumma accompanied me, he never took task of looking at me or playing with me as for that time he only wants his food. 

Doggie Kiss ;)

After my studies got over, my waking habits totally changed. Daily I used to get up late and mom-dad got irritated by this. One day, mumma and my brother decided to bring Jasper in my room while I was sleeping. He in turn started waking me up by licking my feet and licked my forehead too and I got up instantly and there mum and my brother standing at the door were watching and laughing.

Don’t leave them alone

This is also very true that we all have our work, our entertainment, and our friends. But a dog has only us.

Even if he doesn’t understand our words, he understands our voice. He too wants from us is our time and company as no one in this world can live alone.

I always pray to mata rani for jasper’s safety. And share prasad with him so that he in turn get god’s blessing. 

He is Family :)

Owning pets/plants makes me happy 

Owning a pet is easy but taking full care of it is difficult. My mother is the one who takes full care of Jasper.

A pet can teach us to treat all of God’s creatures with kindness and respect. 

Nowadays people own pets as a part of ‘beautification’. 

I have seen people who come into this category, treats them poorly as in beat them and return them or leave them. This is so inhumane. These people who do this are the ones who turn a blind eye to human suffering too. I can bet it.

Owning a pet makes us closer to humanity as well. And loving them can be a spiritual way to meet God in a different platform. Sai Baba always saw love in animals and birds. Animals are more loving, soulful and less intellectual and that must be the reason why they have such a strong intuitive power.

 One last thing 

I often wonder ….

Do dogs know who their dad is or does a father know that it is his puppy??

I have often cried imagining such things as how can a living being could live without their parents but the below article has given me a relief.

I searched and found this article – 

“A basic principle of evolution is that the fundamental driving force for any species is to reproduce — thereby nurturing its DNA. Individually this means that a species will protect its close family members or others with similar DNA before aligning with strangers. You will protect your child before your sister, your sister before your cousin, your cousin before your friend, etc., because the closer the familial relation, the more of your DNA that person will share. Thus, by protecting him or her, you are protecting your own imprint on the world.

So it stands to reason that nature will set things up so it is easy for us to recognize who is close family and who is a distant cousin, whether by smell, sight or some other deeply subconscious method. Is it impossible that other species have the same ability? Why would nature set us up with a clear objective while limiting our ability to carry it out?

The answer is, it wouldn’t. According to the ‘Handbook of Applied Dog Behavior and Training’ by Steven R. Lindsay, dogs are capable of recognizing their mother, siblings and possibly breeder if they are exposed to them during the crucial period between 2 and 16 weeks, reaching the highest point at 8 weeks. This makes sense not just for kin selection (the fancy term for favoring your closest relatives first) but also to keep the species from inbreeding.

What remains, then, is the question; do dogs feel any sort of longing for their family? Is longing a human emotion or does my dog’s mother long for her lost puppy? There are certainly many documented cases of animals grieving the death of their young. Is losing a puppy to a breeder or a rescue organization cause for the same grief?

Animals have secret lives that we as humans do not know about. I know my cats think and know things that I will never be privy to. While it’s easier for me to read my dog, Lulu also has her own thoughts and feelings that will always be just hers. I would like to think that her mother is happily living with a family somewhere, quietly enjoying what must be her old age. For now, it will remain a mystery as to whether or dogs think of one another or long to know how the other is faring.”

A lesson learnt 

“My hope is that animals will bring us back to our spirituality and soulfulness ¬to help us remember God loves us just the way we are. That's something I've truly learned from the animals. They never stand in front of a mirror discussing their appearance or asking to be shampooed. They just know who they are. We'd be concerned about how we look and what people will think. There's a reason we feel down on a bad hair day. It leads to depression and emotional difficulties. It's not just a statement. It literally means something. Animals don't have bad hair days. They don't identify and I think the process connects us with us our spiritual growth, with the idea that there's more than just this external appearance.”  - Bernie Siegel, American writer and retired pediatric surgeon.

Love you Jaspu

May u have god’s blessings in every life 

[Meaning of the word JASPER - "bringer of treasure", Jasper is one of the three Wise Men who brought gifts to the infant Jesus according to medieval tradition. It’s also a semi-precious stone].