Long live the heredity

 An obtuse view

A dog sick of fleas and ticks went to doc “Please help me get rid of all these fleas and ticks who are constantly sucking my blood” The seasoned doctor replied “No problem I will remove these but mind you soon you will get new ones who will suck more blood, the ones already living off you is a contended lot they are reasonable and have had their fill so now it is only once in a while that they take a drop or two just about enough to keep them going”

On Indian Railways it was a bona fide and accepted mode of recruitment when the bada sahib will be on customary periodical inspection, he would find a ‘soon to retire’ outstanding employee, then and there he would be given on the spot award by inducting his son in the Railways. This discretionary power was seldom abused. It was largely based on employee’s life long service record and compassion. Never a complaint or even anonymous complaint was reported of nepotism or job for sale. Result we had three often even four generations of proud, sincere and devoted Railway men with visible pride.

We have had second and third generation of ‘leaders’ on national political scenario. They get preferential treatment in getting party ticket and thereafter they in the fray to win or lose the battleground. It is not appointment; it is election where goodwill and hard work also counts.

Mrs Gandhi could only help Amitabh, son of her friend, get his first break in Saat Hindustani thereafter his own perseverance, grit and talent kept him afloat and made a Mahanayak out of him. Let us not discuss Abhishek.

So when you have a fresh crop of leaders nay politicians they come with a new zeal of making as much as possible and as quickly as possible. MPLAD and MLALAD and such schemes provide useful apprenticeship for future bravados. One thing leads to another. After all politics is one career which absolutely has no job security (everybody does not have flexibility and dexterity of Paswan) You are Hriday Samrat one day and come next reshuffle/election forget Hriday, you are no where and forgotten as easily. It is in this backdrop that new leaders who have no political lineage to talk about much less the scruples they are out unabashedly to make hay while the sun shine of their tenure lasts. The freshest politicians work in silo and boast they are reverse of what all is wrong with hereditary politicians. The second/third generation politicians have to keep a fine balance and always keep in mind that if they were reckless it will affect not only their reputation leading to adversely affecting the career of their upcoming children, of whom, at least one would seriously be nurturing the ambition to take over the baton from mummy or papa, as the case may be.

बदलती ज़िंदगी 2020 दौरान-ए-कोरोना

...........एक दिन का जनता कर्फ़्यू हम सबने देखा, और एक रविवार की तरह उसे सेलीब्रेट भी किया॰ अब ऐसा क्या पता था दूसरा, तीसरा,चौथा फेज भी आना है। लाइफ आजकल एक लंबे रविवार की तरह हो गई है।कभी न खत्म होने वाला सीरियल। कब से घर में लॉक-डाउन में बंद पड़े हैं ? याद ही नहीं। इधर घर के दरवाजे बंद हुए उधर मन के खिड़की दरवाजे खुल गए। खुद से बात करने का समय आ गया। घर के कोनों,घर के सदस्यों, रिश्तेदारों जिन पर ध्यान या तो जाता नहीं था, या कम बहुत कम जाता था, टलता रहता था उन सब पर ध्यान देने, सवाल-जवाब करने की फुरसत ही फुरसत है। ऑफिस नहीं, गप-शप नहीं । कपाल-भाति और अनुलोम-विलोम में ज़िंदगी कट रही है। महिलाओ को कौन सी साड़ी, कौन सा सूट पहनना है कोई टेंशन नहीं। जाना कहाँ है ? क्या मेकअप, क्या लिपस्टिक ?पतिदेव को वैसे भी क्या इंटरेस्ट कौन सा शेड लगाया है, उन्हें तो आपके इस शेड का नाम भी नहीं पता। ज़िंदगी एक पुरानी लूना की तरह 25 किमी प्रति घंटे की रफ्तार से घिसट रही है। स्लो मोशन में आगे बढ़ रही है।

.............रेल जो शहर की लाइफ-लाइन थी यार्ड में बंद पड़ी हैं। लाइफ-लाइन में से लाइफ गायब है। स्कूल बंद, कॉलेज बंद, बाज़ार बंद, मॉल बंद

‘शॉपिंग गुम, बाई गुम, किटी गुम, ताश गुम

होश गुम, हवास गुम, ज़ाम गुम, गिलास गुम

...........घर में जितनी सामग्री थी सबके तरह-तरह के खाद्य पदार्थ बनाए जा चुके हैं। अब तो बची-खुची सामग्री से डिब्बे खंगाल-खंगाल कर नई-नई डिश के प्रयोग किए जा रहे हैं। सोचता हूँ लॉक डाउन खुलने के बाद कुकरी की एक किताब ही छपवा दूँ । टाइटल होगा ‘लॉक-डाउन डिशेज’। फोटो तो अभी से खींच कर फेसबुक पर भी डाल दिये हैं। मिसेज मल्होत्रा को भी तो पता चले। एक कुकरी शो में टीवी पर क्या आ गई अपने आपको बड़ा मास्टर-शेफ ही समझने लगी है। पेट में कभी-कभी अपच व खट्टी डकारों की शिकायत रहने लगी है, हो भी क्यों न, अब न पित्ज़ा-बर्गर, न दफ्तर न पड़ोसी की लगाई-बुझाई। लगता है पाषाण युग में जी रहे हैं।

...........ज़िंदगी बस तीन चीजों से चल रही है वाट्स अप, फेसबुक और टेलीविज़न

....ज़िंदगी 2020 ....कोरोना से पूर्व

हम लोग 20 वीं सदी में पैदा हुए और 21वीं सदी के एक चौथाई भाग में आ पहुंचे हैं। ज़िंदगी कितनी बदली है और पल-पल बदल रही है। आइये एक नज़र डालते हैं। कल तलक होटलों और रेस्तराओं में व्यक्ति भोजन केवल दो ही सूरत में करता था मजबूरीवश या बतौर विलासिता। आजकल क्या हाल है ? आप से छुपा नहीं है।

2..........हमारे पूर्वज कहते थे इंसान भूखे सो रहे मगर उधार न ले। आज देखिये क्रेडिट कार्ड, ई.एम.आई. की बहार है। उधार देने वाले फोन कर-कर के गुहार लगा रहे हैं और न लें तो धिक्कार लगा रहे हैं। बाजारवाद आपको-हमको हमारे बच्चों को निगल गया है। समाचार पत्र में समाचार कम, बाज़ार ज्यादा है। आप एक दिन विज्ञापन काट दें फिर देखें समाचारपत्र में क्या बच रह जाता है।

3..........पहले ट्यूशन पढ़ने वाले बच्चों को कोई अच्छी दृष्टि से नहीं देखता था। वे फिसड्डी माने जाते थे और छुपते - छुपाते ट्यूशन जाते थे। पास पड़ोस में बताते नहीं थे। माँ-बाप झिझकते थे। आज कोचिंग आवश्यकता है। स्टेटस सिंबल बन गया है।

4........हमारे माता-पिता के समय और हमारे समय पैसे की बहुत वैल्यू थी। गुल्लक में पैसे रखे जाते थे। आज पैसे की न वेल्यू है न दर्द। एक पिता ने जब रोज रोज पैसे की मांग से तंग आ कर अपने बच्चे को डांटते हुए पूछा “तुम्हें पता भी है पैसे कहाँ से आते हैं ?” पुत्र का मासूम सा जवाब था “हाँ पता है ! ए.टी.एम. से”

5........पहले गर्व से कहा जाता था ये मेरे दादा जी के जमाने की घड़ी है आज इस बात का दिखावा किया जाता है कि ये ‘नैक्स्ट जनरेशन’ की ‘लिमिटेड एडीशन’ घड़ी है। क्या वस्तुएँ, क्या रिश्ते, ‘यूज एंड थ्रो’ एक जीवन दर्शन बन गया है। आप भी वक़्त के बहाव का मुज़रा लीजिये। ज़माने का रोना हमारे बाप-दादे भी किया करते थे। पर वक़्त कहाँ रुकता है।

..........मर्जी आपकी कारवां के साथ चलें या पीछे छूट जायें।

The Gangapur City: Prem Naam hai mera…

The Gangapur City (GGC) shed was a busy and prominent shed of Western Railway with enviable holding. The shed was headed by a  Loco Foreman, a frontline supervisor or as is said in jargon man at ‘cutting edge’. He has to extract work from his workforce in such a way so as to meet deadlines and targets, a ‘tall order’ which incentives alone cannot achieve.

The incident is of late 1980s. Prem Narayan Gurjar popular as Prem Gurjar (a la film villain Prem Chopra) was working as a Fireman. One day he had some altercation in the shed with Mr. Mahavar, his Loco Foreman (LF). Out of rage Prem hit Mahavar, his boss, on the head and fled leaving Mahavar bleeding profusely. It was a case of culpable homicide – a serious misconduct on the part of Prem.

Prem Gurjar was suspended and issued a major penalty charge sheet called SF-5 in Railway parlance. Those of you familiar with law would agree that ‘service’ of a charge sheet is an essential ingredient in the departmental inquiry. Few words about Prem Gurjar. Pem Gurjar was a local ‘dada’. His elder brother was the village headman and together they had vast pool of land in the area to pass as a ‘rich party’ but we all know Government service does provide you with a kind of respectability, money cannot buy.

Now where is the question of ‘service’ when Prem Gurjar is on run? Though there are ways like deemed service. Such as pasting the charge sheet at work spot notice board and residence, eventually publishing it in local news paper. With Prem Gurjar’s clout  and seeing what happened to Mahavar nobody was prepared to do any pasting and invite his wrath. Each passing day of no action, was a setback to the ‘authorities’. How can a supervisor command respect and take work.

The Divisional Railway Manager, Kota, Shri Avtar Singh Trehan inquired in a Saturday club evening about the status. The Branch Officer in charge Mr Vipin Jha informed “the charge sheet has not been served till now.”  DRM got furious. I was asked to leave for GGC next morning by the first available train and ensure ‘service’

With my Chief Welfare Inspector Kaptan Kaushik – a sportsman of long standing and Welfare Inspector of the beat straight away (being Sunday ) we went to the house of the second line supervisor as he had the charge sheet envelope. This guy was so scared he did not even open the door and passed the envelope through space in the wooden gate. The envelope was in open condition. I did not make much of it, as at that time sole aim in mind was how to ‘serve’. Later I came to know this guy had already supplied a xerox copy to Prem Gurjar who was already on his way to Central Administrative Tribunal (CAT) Jodhpur to obtain injunction.

(Jaipur bench was yet to set up) With envelope we came to Officers Rest House. An important revelation was Prem Gurjar has a Railway quarter which he has unofficially sublet to a private party. With the help of RPF Commissioner the charge sheet was got pasted at the door and two signatures obtained in witness thereof.  Witnesses were arranged by RPF from the guys found loitering at platform of any Railway station. I doubt whether the charge sheet was ever got pasted. Nevertheless, we had our office copy complete with signatures of witnesses. That was more than good, technically speaking. Mission accomplished, we returned to Kota same evening.

CAT did not entertain Prem Gurjar. Next step was to set up Inquiry. A seasoned Personnel Officer, Shri Hub Lal was nominated as Inquiry Officer. Here again, the officers of Prem Gurjar’s stream chickened out on one pretext or the other. Inquiry Officer was briefed in no uncertain terms what was expected of him.

In the meanwhile disappointed with the CAT, Prem Gurjar on the advice of some ‘wise man’ got himself admitted in hospital that too in the Railway hospital of GGC. Papers showed him an in-door patient from back date i.e. two days prior to the date of incident. When Inquiry Officer landed in GGC, Prem Gurjar was certain of his victory, hence, met I.O. with extra warmth.  I.O. took copies of all the relevant medical papers, statements etc. and asked just one question separately from both Pem Gurjar and medical guy

“If an indoor patient just like that wants to go out, some kind of gate pass is issued to him or is he required to make an entry in any register with time in and out with date ?”

Obviously, the reply was “No”

Entire case was hinged on this one “No” Charges were proved as witness were there who saw Prem Gurjar hit Mahavar. Prem Gurjar was dismissed from service. Again he rushed to CAT-JU. With the help of his advocate he could find some lacunae in the procedure such as a copy of the report/findings was not supplied to Prem Gurjar and he was denied reasonable opportunity to submit his final defense and this was against the basic principles of natural justice. Hon’ble Member CAT ordered that a copy of the findings be provided to him and final defense taken into consideration before a considered order is passed. Of course! Procedure as pointed out by the CAT-JU was followed to T without affecting the final findings/penalty.

Thus, in his own game, like Prem Chopra in reel life, Prem Gurjar too got beaten up in real life.

*Shri Avtar Singh Trehan IRTS  passed away in 2020 in Jaipur

Hub Lal I.O. our Hercule Poirot is settled in Kota and once in a while gives that precious clue to the ones who value his insight.

Vipin Jha IRSEE is settled somewhere in Janakpuri,Delhi