Kanpur- Pigs, Vikrams & Gutkha.

Once upon a time, Kanpur was called the land of swine and auto-rickshaws, speaking in English: pigs and Vikram auto only. It was a popular idiom among citizens that beware while driving Vikram and the pigs. They can stop, run and take unpredictable turns on the road. And in fighting, you can't win from their masters.

Kanpur is without a doubt one of the most polluted and chaotic cities. Today the world is hit by swine flu, I recall the old days when private pig farms proliferated in the city without any monitoring. Kanpur was the center of bristle trade for the whole of India under colonialism mainly done by Khatiks. After the decline of the bristle trade, the Khatik switched over to public pig rearing which became a menace to the whole of Kanpur.
The brief rides on the “Vikrams” for roaming in the city can invariably be left an outsider tired, irritable, and generally sick. Still, People prefer Vikrams to crammed buses for their mobility and fast service inside the jammed road of Kanpur. But I loved them for their talkative drivers and mithun da-type sidekicks hanging outside autorickshaws. The image down there is of an old autorickshaw which was the master of the road in starting '90s. Pretty fun to ride in them, now they are replaced by better ones. Still, a crazy drive in Vikram having a seat beside the driver is a must part of all Kanpur trips.
Now the number of pigs is significantly reduced by the action of ex-mayor Anil Kumar Sharma. And CNG buses considerably reduces the workload of transportation and outing of old vehicles (15 years old) reducing emission considerably.

One more deserving mention about the specialties of Kanpur is Gutkha. Wikipedia defines Gutkha (also spelled gutka, guttkha, guthka) as a super kick a** version of Skoal tobacco. Spitting paan masala is so common that even your white shirt is saved from blackening due to pollution, a journey on the local bus will surely make it damp with a red mark. Pan Parag, Kamla Pasand, Talab, Rajshree, Natraj, and Wah are the name of the popularized brands here.
While the decision to ban gutkha is well received by and large, it is seen as a big blow to some five-lakh people who are employed in this sector and the revenue loss to the state government is immense. Over fifty different Paan Masala and gutkha industries will not be the only losers, even the itra (perfume) industry of Kannauj fall into this trap. Ninety percent of the perfume here is used by the Paan Masala and Gutkha industries in Kanpur.

I am not uttering a single word about the dying roads having valleys and plateaus on them. On every single Billboard and wall, there is the name of the Member of the parliament of this city Mr. Sriprakash Jaiswal who also happens to be a cabinet minister and that too home minister (state). I wonder if he ever visits his constituency or makes cunning speeches!!

Here only, I saw filth all around and myself experienced this, now I call it a ‘Human Jam’. What a city, what a mess. Kanpur Series goes on....

Truly, Wah Kanpur, Ahh Kanpur!!!..........

13 Screen Divas

5 Actress I Like:

Waheeda Rahman
Shabana Azmi
Meryl Streep
Cate Blanchett
Kate Winslet

8 Heroines I Like:

Madhubala
Salma Hayek
Meg Ryan
Monica Bellucci
Priety Zinta

Drew Barrymore
Scarlett Johansson
Ayesha Takia

Missing Friends

I felt like living in exile or alienation although in contact with friends virtually through internet. Forget about last post or anything preachy, I said about ontology or spritualism.

Missing love crushes, na. They never care about me as you people have.

Just missing you friends.. sonal, vishu, dada, vvs, golu, chaudhary, hathi, agp, bond, chammo, kunal, chandan, chandu, shukla, srikant bhaiya, garima, soni, rajjo, gupta jee and many not named here.

Tanhaai.....!!!

As the famed Czech poet Jaroslav Seifert said, for anybody else, not telling the truth can be a tactical maneuver. But for the writer, staying silent is lying. Instead the bulk of readers and viewers seem comfortable with witty sarcasm & sexual oriented comedy or sensationalism and xenophobia, What do I have to offer going against mainstream. My friends may point about that they read my mental condition in the images and words in the blog updated in every 3 days.

Moods and passion are reflected in the phenomenal world which came to bear on the deepest concerns of human life woven as I am into intricate web of life. Few evenings, I only went to walk and concluded to stay out even after sunset alone. The mood was of going out, but I realise that I was really going in dissolving in old thoughts. Suddenly a question arose in my mind about my nature. Is Love of sublime landscapes linked with reactionary romanticism?

You push yourself to achieve in love. After a failure in the love, the tinge of infatuation and innocence of heart is lost from life. The maturity comes as a byproduct and you are not the same person as a second before with time. You became much distant to many and intimate to few. You will found soon that to talk with someone without sharing your secret pain is very tough initially, latter to reveal your history become more gruesome. I was asked to reply my emotional un-attachment to people to whom I love and care silently. Simply, I got one line solution to all my problem: People who are sensible about love are incapable of it. (Thnx orkut)

Finished 3 part biography of Swami Vivekanand and felt that Bookish knowledge isn't always bad and, as some celebrities say, has the power to transform lives forever. As an professional IT employee, I am following tough vow of : Early to bed, early to rise, work like hell, and advertise...

Note: Above posts does not reflect mine life on the brink of collapse by pessimism. I am well functioning as sovereign country of Pakistan with the emotional support of friends and family. Yes, I am disillusioned about my career with each passing day.

Chao, more to come like always.

Vichaar Shoonya - 0

1- The Taliban have taken advantage of the vacuum of governance by carrying out spectacular suicide bombings in major cities across the country. They are generating fear, rumor, and also support from countless unemployed youth, some of whom are willing to kill themselves to advance the Taliban cause. The mean age for a suicide bomber is now just sixteen. It is a brilliant strategy of evacuation of opposition by suicide bombing and then fill the place with Talibs as a voice of people. They also utilize high illiteracy rate in Pakistan. All the crux of the above blabbering was to introduce you to these two articles describing mindset of our neighbouring nation elite society: Why is Pakistan Half Illiterate? and Causality of war.

2- Faith of Einstein.

3- Econ Sense: Equality vs. Efficiency, the Case of Universal Health Care..

4- Bloggers, Media and Science Reporting & Indian Scientists and Science Blogging

5- On black literature in America

Quote of the day:
Logic and reason are the naphthalene balls we use to pack our hopes, dreams and desires away into a SANDOOK called "Someday". But when that day comes we are too old, too poor , too tired or too lazy to do anything.--- Rashmi Bansal.