Are We Really Independent?

Happy Independence Day! Oh wait! Are we really independent? Aren't we still slaves?

We got our independence on 15th August, 1947. 73 years have gone by and we are equally slaved by the system like we were then to the invading foreigners. The first and the most important thing we are still slaves to, is our Education System. For those who do not want to accept this fact, consider this article as "just a theory" like the big Bang. For you, this theory hasn't been proved. For those, who agree with me, consider the point of this article as a fact and accept the sad reality. For bringing a change to our sad reality, we need to first accept the fact that it is indeed a reality we are trying to escape from.

Back then, before the invasion of the British, our education system was under one roof of the Gurukul. All the education, all the extracurricular activities, all the skills, ALL THE VALUES we gained were from Gurukuls. The British invaded India and all shit happens. They establish companies in India for their business. But, they need human resource for their business. "Educated" human resource for white collar jobs. They introduce their education system (which is, in my view, absolutely incompetent to the existing education system in terms of quality). Their education system was implemented for a reason. The education systems taught people to get educated, get a job and work. Here, by work, I mean working under somebody. First, work to sustain. Then, work to earn. Then, work to impress. Then? Die.

The whole education system taught people to work for somebody. The education system did not teach people to be self sustained, to be independent. It taught people to work till they die and they did that very well. They made it sound promising and when it did not impress the people, they used coercion. This way, they got white collar labors to perform their menial jobs. They were given limited chance to improvise, which was for the benefit of the company. We were slaves and we did not have much say but to obey to their rules.

Independence happened. The British quit India. But, they left their education system in India. And congratulations to the British education system, it has been generating slaves for the past 72 years. 

Aren't we all slaves ? Slaves to the trend. Slaves to the schools. Slaves to the rules of the universities. Slaves to the pressure of performance. Slaves to the thought of educating from a reputed institution. Slaves to the thought that education is everything. Slaves to the thought that good grades are an outcome of reputed institutions. Slaves to the thought that a job is directly proportional to respect in the society. Slaves to the thought that a job in a reputed company will increase your respect in the society. Slaves to the thought that we were born to work and die working. Slaves to the grades. Slaves to the education system. 

Do the educational institutions ever teach how to behave? Do they ever teach how to respect people? Do they ever teach Values? Absolutely not! We have gone from bad to worse. Initially, the type of education was at fault. Now, it is also a money making method. People spend lakhs for admitting their kid to an institution which is reputed by name and not by values. The education system has made us so weak and incompetent, that we have lost our ability to improvise for ourselves and we prefer to work under somebody rather than for ourselves.

 Aren’t we slaves to the trend? We tend to buy things we don’t need because they are being sold at a cheaper price. To quote the movie Fight Club, “We’ve been raised on television to believe that one day, we’d all be millionaires and movie gods, and rock stars. But, we won’t!” and the fact that we won't is pissing us off. Why? Because, we have been taught that it is compulsory to either be rich or famous. The education system does not teach us that it is okay not being rich or as successful as others. It is okay to be normal, to have a normal life. We tend to buy clothes of a particular type because they were worn by a particular celebrity or a designer. We follow their trend because we are incompetent to create our own or even to be brave to not follow their trend. A person not following the trend is considered a psycho. Tell me honestly, won’t you stare or give a look to a person wearing a Gold shirt and Pink trousers.

Aren’t we slaves to the society? By society, I don’t mean the traditions and rituals. Every one of you must have come across that famous dialogue from your parents when doing something different, “Log kya kahenge”. I am talking about that. We are working jobs we hate so that we can buy shit we don’t need, for the sake of society. We have this “Log Kya Kahenge” shit for all the necessary questions we ask to ourselves. I don’t need a car, but log kya kahenge? I don’t need a job; I’m trying for a startup, but log kya kahenge. I am satisfied with a decent salary, but log kya kahenge. We never realize that we are not our job, we are not the car we own, and we are not the contents of our wallet. We do all the unnecessary stuff to impress people we don’t like.

Let’s not be slaves to the trend or society or the education system. Let’s be really independent. Happy Independence Day!

A Butterfly On My Pizza

It was a Sunday morning. As usual, I woke up late, at 8.00 a.m. (Sympathy messages in the comments section please), and had an awkward conversation with a butterfly. Well, it was me who did all the talking, and as soon as I realized what was happening, I had eye-contact with my brother and that made the situation awkward. The little part of the conversation with the butterfly which I recall is that I was jealous for her being so beautiful. People with high-end cameras spend days for a perfect shot of a butterfly and not even consider me even if I am available for a picture right away. Apparently, the butterfly was some kind of messiah. I could guess that if she had the power, she would have included Jealousy as the eighth sin in the movie 'Se7en' and I would have been the victim. 

     The butterfly tried ruining my Sunday morning breakfast, idli. Before any significant event could take place, I shoo-ed her away. Although, there was one instance where I had realized that she was definitely displeased for me not letting her to have her part of the breakfast from my part of the breakfast. I stared at her from the corner of my eye and realized that she was already staring at me from the corner of her eye. There was significant rage in her eyes. Something bad was about to happen. But, after all, she was a butterfly. What harm could a butterfly cause. I suddenly realized that line by Benedict Cumberbach in the movie, The Imitation Game, 'Sometimes, its the very people who no one imagines anything of who do the things no one can imagine'. Well, butterfly, in this context. 

     It was lunch time and she was ready for revenge. I was smart enough to invite one of my friends to lunch who hadn't bathed for 2 days, thus acting as a natural butterfly-repellent. 

     It was time for Tea. I am very particular about my Tea and I was super extra careful during that moment of peace. 

     After being unsuccessful for the last two attempts, I thought that she had realized that it is not worth the effort. Dinner time was Pizza time. We visited the famous pizza place, after all the plans were cancelled one after the other. I was beginning to believe that prior made plans and a lazy man(I am not a feminist) never work. Pizza was served. By this time, you guys would have realized that the first part is over and now is the time for climax. 

     According to the title, the butterfly should be on my pizza and that means that the butterfly would have somehow managed to travel all the way to this pizza place for her revenge (not to mention 35 candid poses for photo freaks on the way). Yes, the butterfly did managed to track me down to this place.  I suspected a GPS device somewhere in my pocket, but I am no Nolan to develop that into a story. She was following me and thanks to the traffic, I was not fast enough for her to lose track of me. 

     I did not realize her presence till she settled her bottom on the 'Paneer' on my Pizza. She literally looked like a queen on a throne. She sat in a royal posture with one leg on the other and her wings flapping in slow motion. Our eyes met. We stared at each other and the moment was broken when my friend asked me to check out that girl on the farther corner of the place. Apparently, my friend was a girl-repellent. With so many empty chairs to choose, she chose the farther most one. 

     Back to the butterfly, she was calculating something. I guessed that she would be be recalling her plan for revenge but I soon realized that she was in a tiff as to who were more beautiful, herself or that girl on the far corner(Girls!). Simultaneously, I had thoughts as to if I were to approach that girl, how would I start and what words would I choose that would be most suitable and what if she says something negative, how would I react so as to look cool and what if she is interested, how would I continue the conversation. Should I flaunt my marks to impress her or should I flaunt my all new Nokia 3310 or maybe let her talk. I was in a tiff which soon turned into panic. Before I could realize that everything was in my mind and nothing had actually happened, the butterfly made her move. She flew to that girl and made her entrance to look like how a Miss World would make her appearance. The food was served to the girl. I challenged myself that there would be a war between the two souls, but instead, she was excited on the butterfly's appearance and transformed herself into a professional photographer, taking pictures from every angle possible. 

     I was happy that I did not approach her. I mean, only fools take pictures and waste time somewhere else when the food is served. She ignored the food. I did not imagine that. I couldn't bear the silly, lunatic, ridiculous and less-minded behavior of ignoring the food for something else. I finished my Pizza and thanked the butterfly for saving my day.

The Mountains Of Girnar.

The Gir Mountains are located a few kilometers away from Junagadh, Gujarat. The Gir forest we came across is a part of Gir Mountains. Located atop the mountains is a holy place of worship for the Jain community. The Temples of Girnar. The temples on the mountains are of significant importance to the Jains. The holy idol of Lord Neminath, the 22^nd of the 24 Tirthankaras adds to the beauty of the already magnificently built temples.

     The scriptures of Jainism say that the Girnar Mountains are one of the five peaks of the Shatrunjay Mountains, located 200 kilometers from Girnar. The Mountains are Shaswath (Eternal). They are in existence since one can understand the origin of life form in the universe and will continue to exist till eternity. There are numerous reasons why this place is as holy as it is for the people of Jain community and why this place is a must-go for everybody.

Number one- THE IDOL:

      There are a number of idols of various Tirthankaras in the temples on the Mountains. But the most amazing, most fascinating, most amusing, most soothing is that of Lord Neminath in the main temple. The idol of Lord Neminath has an interesting history. This Idol is the oldest existing in the world. The Jain religion has 24 Tirthankaras in one time period. This time period is too long for anybody to calculate.

     During the time when 3^rd of the 24 Tirthankaras of the previous time period, going by the name Lord Sagar, were in existence. A king came to Lord Sagar and asked when he would attain Moksha (Freedom from countless births), a state of eternal bliss. The Lord enlightened him about how he would be the first disciple of Lord Neminath and then he would attain Moksha. The king experienced eternal happiness. He attained saint hood and began practicing non-violence. After his life ended, he was reborn as a Deus (Dev).  From heaven, he returned to Lord Sagar and inquired as to when he would attain Moksha, again. The answer was the same. He was rejoiced with happiness. He then decided to sculpt an idol of Lord Neminath, the one who would enlighten his path to salvation. There, the idol was sculpted, in heaven. Thus, the idol came into existence. Just imagine, the idol was sculpted zillions of years before you can imagine and it was sculpted not by human beings, but by dues, in heaven. The idol was worshiped in heaven by Deus. After Lord Neminath attained Nirvana, a temple was built on Girnar and this idol was placed there for worship.

     The Idol is unique in its own way. The idol is as beautiful as it can be. Just by looking at the idol, one feels relaxed, free of all sorrows and miseries, and a blissful experience to the mind. The idol has an aura. Aura filled with infinite happiness, complete relaxation, bliss, energy, positivity and what not. As you come in contact with the idol with purity of heart and mind, you will feel energy throughout your body and soul, an energy you have never felt before. An energy that is supernatural. The idol possesses infinite energy which cannot be displayed but can be felt. When you look into the eyes of the idol, it feels like it is talking to you.

     Because it is a unique idol and was sculpted by Deus, this idol cannot be damaged by any kind of weapons. There is a story that once a king was told about how no weapons can destroy this idol. The king wanted to witness this in person. The king himself carried a heavy iron weapon and started attacking the idol. After repeated efforts, there was not even a scratch on the idol. The king got his answer.

Number Two- THE MOUNTAINS:

     The Girnar Mountain is the fifth of the five Mountains of Shatrunjay. As informed earlier, the Girnar Mountains, just like Shatrunjay are in existence since the sun and the moon are and will exist for eternity. They are Shaswath (eternal). This justifies the importance of this Mountain. Infinite number of good souls have visited this mountain and attained salvation. This mountain personifies purity.

     The Girnar temples are located atop the Girnar Mountains, meaning which you get to trek your way up. A great trek for adventure enthusiasts. The journey is a 4000-step journey. As you climb the first step, you will feel a different kind of energy, which is a result of the purity of the Mountain. As the way up is surrounded by the Gir Forests, you can find wildlife around you. Monkeys and dogs are a common sighting. It is a common belief of people that when you trek upwards with pure mind and heart, you climb with you energy. When you feel like you can no longer climb or you don’t have any energy left in your body to make it to the top, the Mountain gives you energy. It may look and sound vague, but this is something you can experience on your own. When I was dead tired halfway to the top, cool breeze started flowing and I could feel rejuvenation. There is definitely something about this Mountain which you can find nowhere else. You will experience no negativity. Only positive thoughts will run through your mind. As you climb upwards, you can witness the city of Girnar unfold. Beautiful scenery and chilled breeze, what else does one need to rejuvenate? As you reach the top, you are greeted by the eye-soothing, the most beautiful and blissful idol of Lord Neminath in the main temple. Tiredness of any kind will evaporate as your eyes witness this pleasing, delightful, magnificent, elegant, divine, charming, exquisite, heavenly idol of Lord Neminath.

The view of the main temple from the temple of Goddess Ambika.

     The main temple, where this heavenly idol resides, is made of black marble. It is a treat witnessing the architecture of the temple. After trekking a little further downwards, there is a small pond, by the name ‘Gajpath Kund’, approximately a meter in length and breadth. It is believed that water from 14000 rivers fills that small pond. The water comes from inside the mountain in a continuous flow and the pond never overflows.

     Trekking back up to the main temple and then a little, we reach the temple of Goddess Ambika, the protector of the Mountains and the Idol. 1500 steps downwards in the opposite direction is a place of significant importance for the Jain community. The place is named ‘Sehsawan’. This is the exact place where some 80000 and odd years back, Lord Neminath renounced all worldly pleasures and accepted sainthood and the 5 great vows along with it. Also, at the very same place, Lord Neminath attained absolute knowledge. Knowledge about the past, present and the future. Only after a Tirthankara attains absolute knowledge, he starts preaching non-violence and other practices. This is because you can only preach when you are confident about the genuineness of a fact. Half truth is also a lie. After he attained Absolute knowledge, he started preaching.

     We come back to the main temple. Another 4000 steps upwards from the main temple, which is also the highest peak of Gujarat State, is the place where Lord Neminath attained Nirvana (death). This is one of the holiest of spots. History of the temples and idols dates back to around 80000 years. Quite interesting and exciting, right? Visiting a place with an interesting history is always fun. Trekking adds to the excitement and adventure. This Mountain is also of great importance to the people of Hindu religion.

Dattatray, the place where Lord Neminath attained Nirvana.

Some Facts about the Mountain, genuineness of which can be ascertained only when you visit the Mountain.

• It is said and believed that this Mountain is a house to infinite number of Aushadhi, or drugs. Drugs varying to different uses and needs. There was once an instance said and believed. A group of boys trekked this Mountain inside the forest to give way to their adrenaline rush. They were hungry and they cut out some branches for preparing food. After eating that food, they had a weird complain. They did not felt hungry for months together. They visited this Mountain again and this time with a person who had knowledge about all these. He gave them the healing drugs and then they were alright.
• It is believed the goddess Ambika visits the temple every fortnight to worship the Lord. Caretakers staying up there in the temple can hear sounds of musical instruments in the night.
• Wild animals can surprise you anytime. There was even news with photo evidence of Lions roaming about on the roads of Girnar in the night.
• The Mountain is a home to a lot of Aghori Babas. Many of them are believed to be more than 100 years old. they have magical and healing powers attained by strict renunciations and tapasya. They live in small caves in the Mountain where they meditate for years together. 
• Stories are heard from many people that somebody always has your back when you are on Girnar. There are stories of people getting lost during the trek. Somebody would appear from nowhere and guide your way till you are back on your track. Once you are on the right way again, they mysteriously disappear. 

          There are a lot more stories about Girnar and its magical powers which you can hear from the locals and regulars on the Mountain. It is a place of great history, a place of adventure, a place of devotion, a place to find peace, a place to connect with the divine, a place to find the true meaning of your life, a place worth visiting.

If you want to know more about this place, you can contact me at sohanjain43@gmail.com

A Bus Trip

The other day I was walking to the bus stop when I noticed that one rupee coin we had used for the toss before the match, in my pocket. It's a trend with us. We don't use 2 rupee coins for the toss. 
     I was new in the team and wanted to get along well with the teammates. We lost the toss and were asked to bowl. I was standing next to the leg umpire. The batsman pulled and the ball top edged his bat and was high in the air. Something clicked in my mind. If I grab this catch, I would make it permanently into the team.  Then, I would stand near the boundary and grab one like Raina and I will be compared to superman by the commentators and before I could win the award for the best catch, the ball fell directly on my head and I was back in reality again. It pained badly and suddenly I realized that if I were to die of this wound, I would be compared to Paul walker or Phil Hughes, dying when doing something they loved. Everybody encouraged me that it was not a problem but I could see their faces. They were like hulk and Deadpool combined. That innings ended and it was our turn to bat. There are three stumps and I would ask the umpire to guide me to stand straight to a particular stump, so I would raise my ring finger to show him that I want to stand straight to the leg stump. Then he would ask me to whether to go a bit further or backwards accordingly. It's called taking guard. That day, my friend asked me to stand straight to the middle stump, some strategy he had built to counter the bowler. As soon as I took guard for the middle stump, I was thrown out of the ground and fined for abusing during a match. 
     So, by the time I reached the bus stop, it was past the seventh song on my Apple 64gb, with camera, with Earphones, with a Mercedes, with a apartment flat in burj khalifa and tesseract, 2nd gen Ipod. If you didn't get it, I was just showing off my earphones. The bus trip was packed with entertainment. Bus trips, long or short, are often filled with different kinds of people, or you can say different varieties. 
     The first row will be occupied by commuters who have to travel for a long distance, not getting disturbed by people at bus stops during the journey. Another reason being, they are talkative. They would start some random conversation with the driver, and the driver needs a ear to listen too. He would explain his grief or moments with that commuter. When a passenger does something awful, the driver first scolds him and when it's settled, the driver talks to the first row passenger about the same matter in detail. 
     The second row is generally occupied by people who are in a hurry to get down before any one else does. One of the two doors of the bus is after the second row and another before the second from last row. The second row passengers get down kinda like Usain bolt. I assumed a reason being, the 'Special chai waala' has a specific time of visit and if you don't reach office by that time, you are doomed. You have to drink that regular office Chai. The second row passengers are also those who are interested in listening to the stories of the driver and the first row passengers but would not like to be a part of it. You can compare them to the 'Pados waali aunty'. 
     The third row, which is after the front door, is occupied by people same as the second row, only a bit less curious about why did the driver do what at when and how. 
     The fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh and eighth row are occupied by passengers because the first three rows are already taken and they have to stop their curiosity about the what, when, why of the driver. 
     The only difference between the ninth row passengers and the second row passengers are that the ninth row passengers are more curious about the life story of the conductor. His seat is usually a single seat after the ninth row. Ninth row may also have passengers so curious about the conductor's story, they may note down everything and then post a article on their blog with their own title and a little fiction. No, stop looking at me! 
     Some ninth row passengers sneakily make friends with the conductor. So sneakily that the conductor sometimes smells something fishy. The 'conductor friendly' passengers have a thin ray of hope, as thin as the word 'thin', that that conductor would some time later be a superstar like somebody we already have, I don't have to mention his name. 
     I noticed two passengers in the tenth row having a conversation about GST for a long time. Both of them boasting their GST knowledge as if they were Arun Jaitley and Manmohan Singh themselves. When one of them called the other one Arun, I turned my eyes to the corner of my eyeball towards them without turning my face just to confirm that what I had assumed was not in reality. Then, one of them asked about the full form of GST on which the other person replied something beautifully which confirmed their knowledge on GST and what they would have talked about for 25 minutes on that topic. The other person said, 'Nothing can be said for now, everybody is confused about GST, sometime from now, we will get all our answers.' So, you know what kind the tenth row people are. The back gate is before the tenth row. 
     The eleventh row, which is also the last one always puts me in nostalgia, now that I don't go to school anymore. 11 children on a seat capacity of 5 with 3 more sitting on their lap. Every group has a person whose jokes are the funniest and one person on whom the majority of the jokes are made. I could easily identify both of them in that group. The one on whom all the jokes are made was definitely the one in the center. One amongst the group, who was on the window seat would slap him on the back of his head and then act like posing for a candid picture. Then one from another corner would take his shot. 
     The lobby or the ramp, the space between seats on the left and seats on the right, is occupied by passengers who would travel for a short distance. When the seats are full and somebody wants to sit, he would keep an constant eye on the faces and body movements of all those seated. Any suspicious activity, apart from being normal and staring at the bald head of the passenger in front, and he runs towards that seat faster than flash. Flash, the red suit superhero and not flash, like flashlight. 
     Foot board travelers are the most fun and thrill loving passengers. As I stood there near the 8th row, waiting for somebody to get up as the bus arrived at a stop, nobody got up. But some college students boarded the bus and instead of occupying the ramp, they would stand near the foot board. They love music more than you and me and are excellent artists. Bang! Live concert has begun and there are 5-6 performers at the front gate and 4 at the back. Their coordination is better than one direction. They have a sense of mechanical science too. They know how hard to hit on the steel plate to produce different kinds of sounds. They start with classical music and perform all forms of music including rock, hip-hop, jazz and what not. 

This was the first photo, when I googled 'Foot-board Travel'. See the fun? Well, do not ever try this at "Home", at work or anywhere else. 
     Next on list are the thrill lovers. They travel on foot board and because the bus in focus is an Indian bus, doors are absent. They would hold a pole with one hand and the other hand is used for gestures, a part of their performance. One leg on the foot board and the other waving in air. When there is place only for half-a-foot, their comes Economical passengers. They would hang from the gates and as soon as they spot ticket checkers at the bus stop, some mystical powers turns them into Usain bolt and before the bus could stop, they would run and run like their life depended on it.

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Karma

This is my second attempt on creative writing. I don't write much because I don't get to write much. Well, I once signed up for a writers meet in my city. The primary reason to sign in for the meet was that I had a hope that there would be avalanche while I would be in the meet, and then become people's messiah by saving their lives and one girl whom I saved in the process would look at me like Jane looks at Thor, and I would accidentally land in her coffee shop for coffee and fall in love, 'accidentally'. As Morgan Freeman says, hope is a good thing and no good thing ever dies. 
     So, as soon as the above dream was shattered with a loud call for me to fill every little container with water as there would be no water supply for the next two days, I woke up. Completing all my chores, I was ready for the meet. I started from my place at 9 am as Brad Pitt, half an hour travelling to the location and another 30 minutes in the traffic. I never forget mentioning the sun, because I live in Chennai. By the time I reach the venue, Bam! I am Morgan Freeman. 
     At the meet, we were given a topic and asked to write down anything that comes to our mind in any genre. Because I was busy playing Pokemon Go, I missed the topic announcement and all I could hear was 'Karma'. A bare chest picture of Jacky Shroff from the movie 'Karma' flashed and I did my best to focus. I decided to write something related to Karma. How Karma is the ultimate decision maker. Here's what I scribbled about an event I recalled.
     I once had an awkward glance at a cockroach with a diaper. I started wondering whether the cockroach had borrowed the shrink ray from the minions to adjust the diaper to its size. I suddenly realized that the cockroach was staring at me from the sink with its antennas fluttering as if asking me for a duet. Was I afraid? No. I quickly poured a bucket full of water to drown that cockroach because I wasn't afraid of it. Like how Jerry would grasp the last strand of grass during a storm, that cockroach held up to something and did not give up. I then realized that it had come to its farm house, in the newly installed sink pipe, away from the hectic schedule of the cockroach world. I had basically ruined that cockroach's holiday. That was too bad ruining someone's holiday for a person who spends first half of a Sunday deciding which place to visit and the second half cursing Monday. The inside picture for cursing Monday is when you curse Monday, people think you work hard. This is where Karma comes into action. I could picturize Karma writing the event down in his notebook. 
     Time flew by as I cursed every Monday to have a hallucination of me working hard. One particular Wednesday, I had a Deja Vu with the same cockroach, at a different sink. I was sure that it was the same cockroach, because I remember that scar on its face. I guess the cockroach got that scar from a fight club or something. There was rage in its eyes with antennas fluttering in the same fashion as earlier. In the next few days, I stumbled upon that cockroach everywhere in the house. I could definitely say that it was keeping a watch on my activities for he had to avenge me for that deed. I hired the services of my detective friend, fondly called Babu. He confirmed that I was being watched. By this day, the cockroach would have been aware of my love for the adrak waali chai. 
     One fine day, I woke up and My phone slept off, it wasn't charged. This was a bad omen. My adrak waali chai was served, the aroma of which charged me up, if not my phone.  
I was resting by the window on the sofa with one leg on the window and another one folded in such a fashion, it looked like a knot in itself, a simpler one though. As I turned my head towards the window, I saw that cockroach staring at me in the eye. Only later I realized that its other eye was dead struck on my Chai. I knew it would try to ruin the Chai. I moved away from him and it followed me. By the time I could realize that it could fly, the cockroach jumped with the wind giving the cockroach a head start. I moved the cup away from the cockroach after calculating the velocity of the jump, the speed of the wind and the distance between the cup and the cockroach. Me and math could never make peace. I was definitely bad at math and surprisingly, the cockroach wasn't. It landed directly into the tea cup. By the time I had stopped cursing myself for not taking math seriously in school, the cockroach had already performed two back strokes, one butterfly stroke and one side stroke. I Strongly believe he would have been the Michael Phelps of the cockroach realm. 

A Journey through High School and Through College.

I just tried my hands on creative writing. No Giraffes were harmed in the process of writing this article.

     Where Shall I begin? The initial part of anything is the most difficult one, may it be writing a essay, may it be a speech, may it be trying to speak to your love, may it be a cover-up for your wrong doings, may it be choosing the first slice of a pizza (at which, even the weakest at math turns into Ramanujam) or may it be the first day office.
     I am in no way a person who would dare to write a blog post with absolutely no idea about how to stretch the article long enough that people would hire me for million dollar projects and with a vocab equivalent of what Sheldon Cooper thinks of Howard Wolowitz's, ridiculous.
     I am from Chennai, a city where the weather conditions always trying to dominate its colleagues. Apparently, the summer season always triumphs over all other seasons similar to the Australian Cricket Team from 1999-2007. It was a defy for me to write this article after being roasted by the heat in the traffic jam on a Sunday afternoon. That was a situation a little contrasting to what people, or rather I dream of, of a Sunday afternoon which usually would be spending time with my best friend, my bed and his new roommate, the air conditioner. But, as I have started the article already, I ought to finish it due to my urge for completion. 
     High school has always taught me to be on time (well, there is a difference between 'they thought me' and 'I learnt that'). But, I had a knack of being late for anything and everything. I would always have my genuine reason of getting up late for being late to school, but you know, humanity is nowhere around. I would try my best to be early on occasions. Sometimes, I am successful. And when I am successful, I would usually be so early that I could return back home, take a 37 hours nap and return back to the occasion and still arrive before the grooming of the venue has started. This was my high school journey in a nut shell, because people do not care about your scores and neither do you. 
     End of high school marks the beginning of the hunt for the best college around. The other day, I was having a casual conversation with my friend about future when I mentioned about how good scores play a crucial role for admissions in good colleges. He stood up, adjusted his collar and said, '3 lakh de, bhai tera admission karvayega'. 
     Getting into college was not a challenge, well because I had 'Bhai' with me. The challenging part was going through college. With so many assignments to complete, I would usually end up completing none. Watching my favorite sitcom for the third time and simultaneously complaining about how many assignments are to be completed in very less time had become my hobby for the three years of college. A unhappy situation, except for the sitcom part. 
     Time flew and three years of college flew along with it. The much awaited final semester was now history and that was a unhappy situation too. Being Janice to my Chandler, my friends would talk about which company to choose for placements and some would talk about which line of business is more profitable while some other would talk about the shares of which company would yield higher returns and simultaneously the thoughts running through mind were whether to hope for backlags and not throw away the books or to have faith in the answers of the person sitting next to me in the exam hall. One thing I learnt to excel on while in college was to doze off before the hot tea could turn cold. 
     With the hopes of being a astronaut when I was a toddler to being the fastest one to gulp five hot cups of tea, I was definitely on my way. People would often tell me that you join college to learn and one thing that I had learnt from college was that people love advising. Advising is their hobby, for others their profession and for the remaining lot, just another way to annoy people. The other day, the Chai wala came to me said, 'Listen to your heart, do what makes you happy, money is not everything, never worry about the future, always live in the present and blah blah blah'. A headache was definitely on the way and I had to purchase two more 'adrak waali Chai' to calm down. I did not actually understand if that was just another way to annoy me or an excellent marketing technique which the Chai wala has mastered.In the parallel world, the main character of a serial had just died for the fourth time and was prepared to make her 5th appearance in the same show. She must be an excellent performer, I thought. 
     The college results were announced and even before I could check my results, a third world relative called me after 3 years and said, 'Beta, pass hogaye na, ab shaadi karlo, bahut scope hai' and I replied that I had failed just to know what they would reply. The answer from the other side was, 'Koi baat nahi beta, shaadi karlo, sab theek hojayega'.
     I switched off my phone, assumed that I had passed, put my favorite pajamas on and slept off. 

All You Need To Know - "One Rank One Pension"

     The Concept of One Rank One Pension (OROP):
          One Rank One Pension basically means equal pension for army veterans and retired army personnel of the same rank. Army includes all the three Army, Navy and the Air Force. That is, soldiers with the same rank should get equal pension regardless of their age of retirement. An army personnel retiring in 1980 and an army personnel retiring in 2016 with same number of years of service and same rank should get equal pension. 

 Current Practise :
          Currently, as stated in the 6th Central Pay Commission, OROP is not applicable. Pension is calculated as a percentage of the last drawn salary, If an army personnel retired in 2010 had the last drawn salary of Rs 50000. Then, his pension would be Rs. 25000 (50% of 50000). The pension amount is revised or increased on the seating of Central Pay Commission every 10 years. The increment is done so that the retired army personnel can cope with the inflation. 
          It also implies that the pension drawn by two army personnel of the same rank and period of service is not equal. That is, an army personnel retired from service before 2006 gets roughly 80% lesser pension than an army personnel retiring after 2006. Personnel with the same rank and even their juniors get higher pension pay than those who retired before 2006. That is because, if an army personnel is retired on 1990 and his last drawn salary was Rs. 5000 and considering the pension amount to be 50%, his pension would be Rs. 2500. An army personnel who retired in 2010 would have a last drawn salary of Rs. 50000. Therefore, his pension would be Rs. 25000. Even though both the personnel served for equal number of years and are of the same rank when retiring, the one retiring in 2010 has greater benefits. This is injustice to the personnel retiring before 2006.

     A Glimpse of where it all started:
          OROP was applicable till the early 70s. Then the Indira Gandhi led government brought about some changes in the 3rd Central Pay Commission and there it all started. Colonel Inderjeet Singh started protesting against the changes and demanded for OROP with several other changes. He is still protesting with several attempts of fast-till-death. His protest made the defence ministers to rethink about reconsideration of OROP quiet a few times but even after repeated protests and efforts, it is still not implemented. 

   
  Indian Armed Forces Notable Ranks: (Army)

1. Field Marshall
2. General
3. Lieutenant General
4. Major General
5. Brigadier
6. Colonel
7. Lieutenant Colonel
8. Major
9. Captain
10. Lieutenant

     The Protesters:

          People demanding One Rank One Pension are mostly retired army personnel and army veterans as they are the most affected. Justice will be served to them when the idea  OROP is applied. 

     Why are they demanding OROP?

          The retiring age in Indian army is set for all type of army personnel according to their ranks. 

• For General, it is 62 years or 3 years of tenure, whichever is earlier.
• Lt. General, 60 years of age.
• Major General, 58 years of age.
• Brigadier, 56 years of age.
• Colonel, 54 years of age.
• Sub Major, earlier among 54 years of age or 34 years of service or 4 years of tenure.
• Subedar, 52 years of age or 32 years of service.
• Naib Subedar, 52 years of age or 28 years of service.
• Havildar, 49 years of age or 26 years of service.
• Sepoy, 42 years of age or 19 years of service.

          The primary reason for retiring age being set at 42 years is that the army needs young soldiers with enough physical strength. Also, 85% of the soldiers have a compulsory retirement age of 35-37 years. The reason for the demand arises here. Army personnel retire at the age of 42 years at the maximum. Finding an alternative source of income is very difficult with no experience and if the pension is minimum, the question of survival arises. 

     Advantages of application of OROP:

          OROP will benefit the 25,00,000 retired army service personnel and army veterans and widows and families of martyred soldiers who have served the country in a less ordinary job. All those retired before 2006, the date when the 6th Central Pay Commission was seated, will be benefited from OROP as they will get higher pensions as compared to what they used to get before. 

          Moral duty. Army personnel sacrifice their life for the safety of the nation. they serve day and night irrespective of the environment. They do so much for the country, cant we give back something in return that will encourage people to join the army and satisfy the retired army personnel that the nation cares for them. 

     Hurdles on the Implementation of OROP:

          Demands to implement OROP in the Central Pay Commission dates back to 1980s and the demands are still not met. Bureaucrats take the negative side or the budget is on the opposition. Like everyone of us, even the nation has a budget problem. If the OROP is implemented, it will cost around Rs. 8500 crores every year in the form of pensions. And this amount will only increase as time goes by because even after the retired personnel are deceased, their families have the right to receive the pension amount. Once any revision is done to the current pension pattern, the same has to be reverted to the pattern of all the retired army personnel and veterans and pension holders. Thus, it is a increasing cost and it becomes a financial burden for the government.

          An argument stated by the congress government led by Dr. Manmohan Singh for not bringing the OROP into action is that the records of the army personnel are destroyed after 25 years. Though this argument is false and the documents are never destroyed, it is still a huge task for the government. Maintenance of documents dating back to 1940s and 1950s is a tough task. It is practically very difficult and creates a lot of chaos in the system. 

          Also, there are legal issues on implementation of OROP. 

     Protests:

     Ex-servicemen protesting outside the house of Arun Jaitley, the finance minister. 

          Retired army personnel have been protesting for the implementation of OROP for more than 2 years now. Many have staged indefinite dharna at the Jantar-Mantar in Delhi and have also organised protest march to the parliament. 

          Many of the army personnel have also returned their medals and honours received during their service as a method of protest. The most latest case of protest came yesterday when a army personnel on protest committed suicide due to long delay of OROP implementation.

    The Central Pay Commission:

           It is set up by the Government of India for recommendations on change of salary structure of the Indian Armed Forces. They are provided 18 months of time from the date of constitution to provide the report on the details of recommendations. 

          The First Central Pay Commission was established in January 1946 and it submitted its reports in May 1947 and was chaired by Srinivasa Varadachariar.

          The second Pay Commission was established in August 1957 and it submitted the report after 2 years.

          The CPC3 was a important one. It was established in April 1970 and submitted its report in March 1973, after 3 long years. It brought about major changes, one of them being removal of OROP.

          The CPC4 was established in June 1983 and reports were given in three phases in four years.

          The CPC5 was constituted in April 9, 1994. It increased the financial burden of the government. after the implementation, the government had to pay roughly 45000 crores as wage, a 99% increase from the previous plan. 

          The government agreed to constitute the CPC6 in July 2006. It brought additional burden of 20000 crores added to the previous. The army personnel swore to go on strikes if there was no hike in the salary.

          The process of CPC7 has already started. Fat increase in wages and salaries is expected. Composition of the CPC7 includes, Justice Ashok Kumar Mathur, retired judge of Supreme court, acting as the chairman. Other members include, Vivek ray and Dr. Rathin Roy acting as full-time members and Meena Agarwal as the secretary.

          The Narendra Modi led BJP government has promised the implementation of OROP in the CPC7 and has said that almost all the hindrances including the financial hindrance has been cleared and it will be applied as soon as possible.