Uttar Pradesh's youngest chief minister

Uttar Pradesh has its youngest chief minister in 38-year-old Akhilesh Yadav whose address till a few years back was c/o Mulayam Singh Yadav, ex-Defense minister of India. The 'youngest' tab on Akhilesh would have been more suitable had he not inherited the political legacy from his father and had a 'readymade' big ground of Samajvadi Party prepared by his father. Even then his role in rise of Samajvadi Party again in Uttar Pradesh cannot be overlooked.
His dominant role in Samajvadi Party in the past few years even as his father commonly known as Netaji is battling ill health meant the youth section of society getting attached to the party and giving it a definite edge over the parties like BSP, Congress and undoubtedly the BJP. Of the last three parties Congress did and does have a young face in Rahul Gandhi but the BSP and the BJP both were devoid of young leaders and full of oldies whose thought, vision, ideology and principles hardly attracted the youths towards their respective parties.
What came as a shot in the arms of the SP (Samajvadi Party) at the time of elections was Samajvadi Party's (read Akhilesh Yadav's) promise to youths to give them laptops in case the party was voted to power. This move, definitely on the line of Southern states parties, perhaps the first in UP as far as giving of any electronic gadget is concerned, disarmed the rival parties. The youth icon of Congress better known as Yuvraj couldn't think of such a move and his tearing the list of promises of other parties could not cut much ice with the electorate.
But the story doesn't end here. In fact, this is the beginning for Akhilesh Yadav. He would have to strive hard to remove the tag of the 'party of hooligans' from his party. He would have to look for every resources to fulfill the promises to the electorate mainly youths otherwise it has the chances of boomeranging on the party. He has no option also but to deliver if he has to shape up his political career for the coveted post at the centre his father couldn't get to despite being near to it once.       

SMSes flow

Often when we lose all hope and think this is the end, GOD smiles from above and says, 'Relax Sweet Heart, it's just a bend!' not the end.
*******
smtmz smthn hppns 2 us,
we know that they are fine but v call and ask 'Abe kaisa hai'
V know that v cannnot be forgotten but v use to say 'Bhul gya na mko'
V knw that dey cant go without us but v say 'Mere liye rukna'
V knw that they canot fnsh al stuff without us but v say 'mere liye bhi bachana'
V knw that they will share everything wid us but v say 'mere ko ni btaena na'
V knw tht they are wid us in evry prob but v ask 'mere sth dega na'
V knw it's impsble 2 surviv without them but v say 'kbhi baat mat karna mjhse'
they are the best part of our life....they are friends
*****
For all my dear married friends.....
Love is holding hands in the street, marriage is holding arguments in the street.
Love is dinner for 2 in your favourite restaurant, marriage is a take home packet.
Love is watching movie on a sofa, marriage is one of them sleeping on a sofa.
Loving is talking about having children, marriage is talking about getting away from children.
Love is going to be early, marriage is going to sleep early.
Love is losing yr appetite, marriage is losing yr figure.
TV has no place in luv, marriage is a fight for remote control.
Love is 1 drink and 2 straws, marriage is "don't you think you've had enough!"
Conclusion: "Love is blind, marriage is an eye-opener!" Take care.
*******
Awesome reality: "If 1day we r put to exchange all our troubles across d table, after few moments each one would silently take his own and leave the place.
*****
Evry man needs a wife. Do u knw y...?
Coz dere r a number of things dat go wrong in lyf & 4 evrything we can't blame God or the Government.
*******
A short and true message for Life.......Care should be in heart and not in words...! Anger shud be in words but not in hearts.. but nw a days both r effective in vice versa condition.
*******
A true friend is life d best book, somtime d covr may not be elegant bt d contents r like bars of gold dat u can treasure 4 a lifetime.
******
Santa: Agar operation ke dauran mujhe kuch ho jaaye to usi doctor se shaadi kar lena
Biwe: Aisa kyun keh rahe ho?
Santa: To kya doctor ko maaf kar dun.
******
Never blame any frnds in ur life. Gud frnds giv u happiness; bad frnds giv u experience; worst frnds giv u a lesson; all r essential 4 life.
******
A man to Santa; Aaoji chess khelein
Santa: Tu chal mein sports shoes pehen kar aaya
moral: Speak only when you feel yr words r better than ur silence.
******
Husband: Ye kaisa khana banaya hai tumne "bilkul gobar jaisa?"
Wife: Hey bhagwan is aadmi ne to har cheez chakh rakhi hai...
********
Wich line is usd very oftn when we r wid frnds?
.
.
.
.
.
.
Haramkhoron Gali mat dena ghar se phone hai.
********
"Girl"
A girl is like a bird....
God's most prettiest creation in the world...
The childhood of girls is their golden age.
After that, the world keeps them into beautiful cage..
This innoncent creature, looks like a fairy, who loses her feather when she marry..
She leads all her life in serving others.
She also has a heart, but no one bothers...
A dress of happiness & peasure she wears.
But in every corner, u find a girl shedding tears...

Moral: Give girls the respect they deserve...

*******

Some good SMSes

SMSes sent by my friends
--------------  ----------
1. Kisi mahaan hasti ne kha hai:

Aurat ki aadhi jindagi husband ki talaash me, aut baqi aadhi us ke talaashi me guzar jati hai.
(And many said men cannot understand women?)

2. The Best relationship is nt d 1 which is free frm problems n misundstg. It's d 1 where 1 sorry n smile can mk everythng perfect as before...............
(Is that so simple?)

3. Zindagi vich SIMRAN di mithas rahe,
Apne SATGUR te pura vishwas rahe,
Kehnnu ta dukha di nagri hai ae zindagi,
par khushi naal kat jave je "WAHEGURU" da sath rahe.

4. Kahte hai accha dost maths ke zero jaisa hota hai, jiski waise to koi keemat nahi hoti hai,
Par wo jiske sath jud jaye uski kimal 10 guna bad jati hai.

5. God's blessings come as a surprise but, how much u receive depends on how much ur heart believes! May u b blessed beyond ur expectation.

6. In this Era of E-mail, E-paper, E-recharge, E-transfer, E-commerce
Let's not 4get "E-eshwar" (God) who makes E-verything E-asy 4 E-very1 E-veryday

7. Relation is when someone hurts you, you don't hurt back...
When someone shouts at you, You don't shout back...
But wehn someone needs you, You alwyz come back...

8. MAN in GOD's shop- Wat do you sell??
GOD- Whatever ur heart desires
Man-I want success & happiness..?
GOD smiled- I sell only seeds, not fruits

9. Hsbnd- Judge sahab mujhe talaq chahiye,
Pichle 1 saal se meri biwi ne mujhse baat nahi ki hai,
Judge- Ek baar fir se soch le,
aisi biwi kismat se milti hai.

10. Award winnin poster:
Showin a fish caught on a hook & the caption read:
"Even a fish would stay out of trouble if it would have kept its mouth shut"
  

Ratan Dixitji's, his team's and others timely support

The Allahabad News Reporters Club (ANRC) president Ratan Dixitji called up on January 23 evening lodging a complaint to me as to why I did not tell him about the need of blood for my father-in-law presently hospitalised at Allahabad.'आपने मुझे बताया क्यों नहीं' was his complaint.

I never have any doubt about my long lasting relation with the ANRC having been its secretary twice in succession about a decade back. And at the same time, I never have any doubt about the love and affection the office-bearers all along the line since I left have for me in their hearts. So, when Ratanji called me up and said the abovementioned words I was emotional.

It's rare virtue of people in Allahabad that they never forget you whatever distance you might have travelled after leaving the historical city and whatever time it was when you left. They expect love and affection from you and never hesitate in reciprocate your gesture. I told Ratanji that I had spoken to Club Secretary Devendra Singhji about the same and I thought he might have discussed with him.

However, it was Ratanji's arrival in the scene that one unit of blood was arranged immediately. He also assured me of arranging another unit the next day. However, meanwhile, my brother-in-law Abhishek donated blood with the help of Devendraji and others. My friend Harishankar Mishra offered his blood. He even went to the Allahabad Medical Association's blood bank to donate his blood but his blood pressure was too high then and the blood bank staff refused to take his blood.

That a journalist offer his own blood is quite unusual and unheard of. But in Allahabad the journalist like Harishankar Mishra has set a precedent. My ex-colleaque Suraj Sinha who helped my in-laws a lot in the day time was also willing to donate his blood.

I wish Ratanji and his team great success during their present stint. I also wish Harishankar, Suraj and all who extended help in time a bright future. I also wish there were more journalists and people like Harishankar Mishra who did not hesitate in the noble cause of blood donation (I will write another piece on how I shed my inhibition about blood donation with the help of Harishankar Mishra).

Mumbai or Bombay

Juliet:
"What's in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet."

This quote or phrase "What is in a name?" has been used in print and in conversation for ‘n’ number of times world over. Romeo Montague and Juliet Capulet fell in love with each other in Shakespeare’s world famous lyrical tale of “star-cross’d” lovers. Juliet tells Romeo (The two comes from two warring families) that a name is an artificial and meaningless convention, and that she loves the person not his name (rather surname) and not his family.

Of course, when there love is names become insignificant. But Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) led by Raj Thackrey wants people to stick to using the word Mumbai instead of Bombay while referring to the financial capital of India. Their view is that ‘Bombay’ denotes a legacy of British period whereas Mumbai is swadeshi originating from Deity Mumba Devi’s place.

The political party activists recently threatened that they would not allow screening of Karan Johar’s movie ‘Wake Up Sid’ as it has in it use of word Bombay repeatedly instead of Mumbai. Johar fell in line.

One of very renowned journalists of country Vir Sanghvi in his column in Hindustan Times on October 11, 2009 has very well analysed the entire episode.

A fully agree with him. Why this fuss in Mumbai only? One is free to call Kolkata as Calcutta in Kolkata. One would not face any threat over there. One is free to call Chennai as Madras and one would not face any threat over there. In fact people from the states which see the change of names are still emotionally attached to both the words or more a city is referred to in print or conversation.

Mr Sanghvi’s column reminded me of the fact that in the city of Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh where I spent several years of my adolescence the divide between Hindu and Muslim communities was well discernible. I remember there were certain other changes too but I don’t remember exactly the names of the localities.

A drive by right wing activists about three decades back led to rechristening of the name of market Alinagar as Arya Nagar and Urdu Bazar as Hindi Bazar. The new names found mention on the shopkeepers boards too on their shops.

But in all these years (I still go to the place as many of my relations live there and I have to pass through the city to get to my native village) I don’t remember if any of my friends/relatives or myself ever called the localities by their new names.

I have not heard of any such incident when even a member of a particular minority community was ever bashed up or threatened with dire consequences for talking of ‘Ali Nagar’ or ‘Urdu Bazar’ in place of ‘Arya Nagar’ and ‘Hindi Bazar’.

When I moved to Allahabad I found the city full of Colonial era names Clive Road, Thorn Hill Road, Church Lane, Stanley Road, Muir Road etc. Some new names came up like Maharishi Dayanand Marg but hardly anybody hires a rickshaw or auto-rickshaw asking him to take him to Maharishi Dayanand Marg. Leave the city streets apart nobody goes to Prayag (the old name of Allahabad) but he or she goes to Allahabad. If one is to refer to Prayag in Allahabad a particular locality named Prayag crosses the mind.
Mumbai progressed and flourished even if it was known as Bombay and it became financial capital of the country.

If we are going to dump the old name are we going to dump its progress also that the city achieved during the period when it was known as Bombay? Are we going to erase the word from all the film songs in which the city has been referred to as Bombay? Should we not allow people to get used to new name Mumbai in course of time while using the new name repeatedly on documents/ railway reservation forms/ air tickets and in correspondence?

Are we making the city a progressive one by intimidating people to use its new name or else……

Columbus to America via bachelorhood

The following is the SMS received on my cellphone from a friend. Read this and laugh.You are at will to add some more questions to the list.

"If Columbus had been married he might have never discovered America because.....
Where are u going?
With whom?
How are u going?
To discover what?
Why only u?
What do I do when u r not here?
Can I come?
Coming back when?
Dinner ghat per hi khaoge?
Mere liye kya laoge?"

Mindboggling questions

The following questions came from a reader of my blog. This is mindboggling to me. Pls try, if you can, giving the answers:

1. What goes up and down stairs without moving?
2. Give it food and it will live; give it water and it will die.
3. What can you catch but not throw?
4. I run, yet I have no legs. What am I?
5. Take one out and scratch my head, I am now black but once was red.
6. Remove the outside, cook the inside, eat the outside, throw away the inside.
7. What goes around the world and stays in a corner?
8. What gets wetter the more it dries?
9. The more there is, the less you see.
10. They come at night without being called and are lost in the day without being stolen.
11. What kind of room has no windows or doors?
12. I have holes on the top and bottom. I have holes on my left and on my right. And I have holes in the middle, yet I still hold water. What am I?
13. I look at you, you look at me, I raise my right, you raise your left. What is this object?
14. It has no top or bottom but it can hold flesh, bones, and blood all at the same time. What is this object?
15. The more you take the more you leave behind.
16. Light as a feather, there is nothing in it; the strongest man can't hold it for much more than a minute.
17. As I walked along the path I saw something with four fingers and one thumb, but it was not flesh, fish, bone, or fowl.
18. What can run but never walks, has a mouth but never talks, has a head but never weeps, has a bed but never sleeps?
19. I went into the woods and got it, I sat down to seek it, I brought it home with me because I couldn't find it.
20. What can fill a room but takes up no space?
21. It is weightless, you can see it, and if you put it in a barrel it will make the barrel lighter?
22. No sooner spoken than broken. What is it?
23. Only two backbones and thousands of ribs.
24. Four jolly men sat down to play, And played all night till the break of day. They played for cash and not for fun, With a separate score for every one. When it came time to square accounts, They all had made quite fair amounts. Now, not one has lost and all have gained, Tell me, now, this can you explain?
25. Jack and Jill are lying on the floor inside the house, dead. They died from lack of water. There is shattered glass next to them. How did they die?
26. Why don't lobsters share?
27. A barrel of water weighs 20 pounds. What must you add to it to make it weigh 12 pounds?28. Big as a biscuit, deep as a cup, Even a river can't fill it up. What is it?
29. Clara Clatter was born on December 27th, yet her birthday is always in the summer. How is this possible?
30. He has married many women but has never married. Who is he?
31. If a rooster laid a brown egg and a white egg, what kind of chicks would hatch?
32. If you have it, you want to share it. If you share it, you don't have it. What is it?
33. You can't keep this until you have given it.
34. Take off my skin, I won't cry, but you will. What am I?
35. What book was once owned by only the wealthy, but now everyone can have it? You can't buy it in a bookstore or take it from the library.
36. What can go up and come down without moving?
37. What do you fill with empty hands?
38. What do you serve that you can't eat?
39. What do you throw out when you want to use it but take in when you don't want to use it?40. What goes up and never comes down?
41. What has a foot on each side and one in the middle?
42. What has to be broken before it can be used?
43. What kind of coat can be put on only when wet?
44. What question can you never answer "yes" to?
45. What's the greatest worldwide use of cowhide?
46. Which is correct to say, "The yolk of the egg are white?" or "The yolk of the egg is white?"
47. You answer me, although I never ask you questions. What am I?