A random thought..

No! not sometimes but most of the times we tend to take our mothers for granted...

No matter what, we know that she will sacrifice her own beauty sleep to ensure that we aren't late for the day.

Even if she isn't well, she would still make meal of our choice irrespective of the time and difficulty factor.

She would call us again and again to ensure that we have taken our food and instead of asking her the same, we play the trump card of being busy!

Try hiding a secret from her and through your fishy smile plus her super 'mother-instincts' she will exactly know what is cooking in your life!

She would sense that somewhere something is wrong even when we try our best to put up the all-is-well mask. Still we would pretend of being more smart than her.

The day she is seriously unwell or we are away from her, we realize her importance.We realize that we are actually a robot without battery minus her.

Ignored scenic beauty of the winter capital

People of Jammu have time and again leveled allegations against the State government of Jammu & Kashmir for being biased. This is irrespective of the political background of the government at the helm of affairs. Similarly, when it comes to tourism, Jammu has lagged behind. This is not due to absence of enough tourist attractions but due to the fact that it has never been given importance.

The argument that Jammu & Kashmir government has failed to boost tourism in the region is evident from the fact that there isn’t even mention of some of its picturesque destinations on the official tourism website. Political games are considered the culprit behind this bias. Kashmir has always been an agenda for the politicians for their own selfish reasons and Jammu has taken a backseat in almost every aspect. They have ignored beauty that lies beyond the Valley.

Places like Mantalai and Shudh Mahadev are potential tourist hot spots, but they lie unexplored in the interior parts of Jammu region. Both the places have religious significance and are extremely beautiful and closer to the nature. But due to negligence on part of the government and failure to develop them, they remain an untapped resource. Not many tourists are seen there even in the peak seasons.

On one hand, government has developed infrastructure in Kashmir which is marred by terrorist activities, while on the other it has failed to upgrade even the existing infrastructure in comparatively peaceful Jammu region. The tourists are unaware about various destinations in Jammu. Hotels, transportation facilities aren’t provided to them which hamper their travelling expedition.  The government should give equal opportunities to both the capitals to grow and expand which would benefit the state’s economy as a whole.

More Patience?

Salman Khurshid while answering a question said, "I think much as we feel upset and concerned and hurt by what is happening on the border and the LoC, I think we have to show some perseverance, some patience and some fortitude to ensure that we don't play into the hands of the forces that want to create trouble"

Dear External Affairs Minister of India,

"Some patience...Some fortitude!"

Exactly I totally agree with you! Nothing on this earth should stall India Pakistan's peace process. I mean how does it even affect the country?

How does it matter if jawaans are ambushed and killed while saving your nation?

How does it matter if an eight year old loses her father because his crime was that he was taking an early morning walk?

How does it matter if people on your border are continuously under a threat?

How does it BLOODY matter to you when you just have to sit around the table and exchange pleasantries and your defence personnel and citizens fight every day for survival!

 Yes, save your diplomatic alter ego just to please the nation that even your President acknowledges is the CULPRIT!

When will you realize that you haven't been elected to give foremost chance to your neighbour and ignore your immediate family!!!

Quote for the day

A quote in Hindi to remove the number i don't like...

             k mushkil dil ke armaan azmaati hain....

            svapan ke parde nigahon se hatati hain....

                  hoslaa mat haar gir ke ohh musaafir....

                       k thokre insaan ko chalna sikhati hain...

With that thought in heart and mind...it's night!

Journey so far..

9:30----2:00 

Lazy mornings... forceful post-mortem of newspapers ... classroom lunch sessions ... mid-time 'fauji special' chai breaks ... boring communication lectures ... gossip session..

And the clock strikes 2:00

With "Yes .. All of you all..."  arrives, The Daily time :0Long faces ... accelerated thoughts ... awkward eye contacts ... fishy smiles .... unexpected (yes, it’s a decent word!) combinations ...  the super fast minute hand ... and the constant reminder about the deadline.

...In short, my two months at IIMC. 

What a journey it has been up till now! Amazing ... Not just highs but some 'gorge'ous lows too. Lessons learnt here have outnumbered those learnt during graduation. Such a pleasure it has been. 

And still there is so much to learn! Well isn't it all about the cyclical process of learning, unlearning and  relearning!!

                   

Gully Cricket

In the present world when everything has developed,cricket too followed the trail. It has metamorphosed, adopted many new forms but 'gully cricket' always remains a hit amongst the youth. 

Even if cricket progressed to become a systematically organised game, still somewhere the real roots of the game lie in gully cricket. Almost all well established cricketers have visited these lanes in their life. History is witness to this fact that the real cricketers are born in the ‘gullies’.

Gully cricket is all about virtual wickets, rubber balls, light bats, flexible overs and limited space. But due to factors like urbanisation and infrastructure expansion, gully cricket, which was synonymous to small cities like Jammu has taken a back seat. 

The lovely rejuvenating game is slowly loosing its worth in the fast-paced world.

While talking to a few cricket enthusiast, I tried to find out the reasons behind the downward trend in the sport. Though people claim cricket as their passion, but blame time and pressure from work as the roadblocks. For students, there is immense pressure from parents and competition in the peer group. They have less time. Due to unavailability of space and save time and energy, they have switched to online gaming.A college student feels that parents non-supportive attitude is also a hindrance for youngsters to indulge in gully cricket. Parents usually brand it as waste of time.

Due to such factors, the followers of the game have commenced a downhill journey. According to me, gully cricket is also part of our heritage. We should balance it in our daily schedule.

Roadblocks in development of regional football

For an assignment I was supposed to cover the first semi-final match in the Inter-Collegiate Football Championship. Coincidentally this was my first-ever live football match. Honestly there weren't many expectations attached, probably due to my obsession for cricket.

Contrary to this, a renewed enthusiasm and energy could be felt in the air which amazed me. The close game successfully evoked my interest. My pre-conceived notion forced me to contemplate the reasons behind the bias by the large set of which I am only a small element.

Knowing that in Jammu, ‘bat’ is given utmost priority while other sports are considered inferio, I tried to find reasons behind such a bias. I interacted with the officials,players and their supporters. A group of players tried to narrate the real scenario. 

According to them, quality infrastructure in the city is missing. And the grounds at their disposal aren't maintained properly by the authorities. For the players there are no facilities of locker rooms, water tanks etc available on the grounds. Most of the time, due to religious functions and national holidays like Independence Day, these grounds are hired by the authorities concerned and the players are left disappointed.

The players complain about the lack of exposure. Not many tournaments are organised by the sports department. According to sources, last national match played was in 2012 between Mohun Began and J&K. The football players feel that the government as well as the authorities concerned should at least make an effort to upgrade the infrastructure, promote the game and further request the parents to encourage and support their children towards the game.