The volcanic movement of today...

Like many others, my attention towards Anna Hazare started in a feeling of curiosity. This whole episode of “Anna Hazare” movement definitely commenced on a low key, took a break and has come back as a huge tide splashing across the country. When one follows a daily or a news channel (more of a habit…), it’s hard to be missing updates about Anna in the recent months ->
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anna_Hazare

But, throwing an enlarged question mark – how many of us know what exactly is he talking about or the crucial reason for his activities? With Google, things can be easy as pie and I got too much of information about the whole story, people behind and the movement. But still thought, providing the link would make better sense here..

http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/what-is-the-jan-lokpal-bill-why-its-important-96600

 

Err…sure that am not equipped with enough experience and knowledge to comment, form an opinion or provide any sort of (good/bad) criticism about the spark of revolution that has emerged. Saying that, I didn’t want to sit at home either…and that made me do something fruitful on a usual cloudy lazy cozy Sunday.  I always take a fleeting look of this place named “Freedom Park” (Seshadri Road, Bangalore) when I drive by that way. The big road is surrounded by huge trees, clean pavement and the greenery filled park, almost empty.

And now, the place looked so festooned with bunches of people plus the popcorn…peanuts and magazine (what not!) sellers. The noticeable fact was the self motivated huge crowd all over the arena located inside the park. On the other hand, the widespread area outside was occupied by a long array of vehicles coming from different parts of the city(from various small supporting groups). A few protesters were singing rhymes and songs on “Anna” but  rest all were for the country. Slogans against corruption & politicians were on a high pitch and no one knew each other there and still managed to maintain harmony in all ways. All I felt was that if people can have so much energy and unity, why were we lacking bravery till now?! Where was all this fire till today?

 

 Well, the scenes appeared much like a modern day freedom struggle(with cameras, CCTV's, rally of bikes etc) due to the fact that every single person there was out with a common objective and most of the faces expressed the depth of irritation, pain and suffering undergone. "We just want it done.." was the attitude.

Obviously, we have scarcity of good leaders and the amount of sensitivity among people showed that with a few meaningful leaders out there, things could really change around us. Or at least…they could be attempted to change! There is been enough of news on the television on this lokpal bill story but watching the spirit in person was an entire inexplicable thing. There was a common cause – some know well, some don’t have any idea, some just want to be there and support, some drive it but there was lot of effort portrayed. 

 A few admirable things:

1. There was superb discipline among the crowd of 1000(or more…) people. No one pushed each other; people took proper queues and left way for the elderly.
2. There was no age bar : kids, school students, college boys and girls, techies(our colloquial word), families with children and the pensioners – they all exhibited same level of enthusiasm in showcasing their support.
3. People had really worked a lot making posters, paintings, pictures, slogan prints from their own creativity and the time they took for that…mattered a lot.
4. Made me wonder (really :-o) how much of cohesiveness we have and at the same time, fail to utilize it rightly – hopefully this doesn’t end with just one lokpal bill issue but continues for all the good.

A noticeable moment : Mobile numbers of all the State level Ministers were provided on the spot(through the mic..) and people were told to dial in - none of the phones were reachable or answered, a few numbers didn't even exist ! It just spread laughter amongst the crowd !

 And a few (somewhat) disturbing facts:

1. The "shouting slogans mania" was appreciative but just being too loud wouldn’t help – Anna would also prefer people knowing about the bill in detail when we showcase support to this extent.

2. Some of them were also interested in clicking pictures of themselves...in different poses and that looked a bit out of place - mobiles and cameras flashing on themselves.

3. A tiny fear that we have the tendency of blindly supporting something that a hundred people are already doing…shouldn’t become the case here. Hopefully it’s won't proceed in that way..

It wasn't a day of just photographs for me and I truly enjoyed the utmost fact that people can be so united, can behave with excellent co-ordination and wish to fight and ask for their basic rights. We do aspire to have better rules and procedures in the country but should also remember that each of us play a strict role in forming the society.  It's as simple as "Keep your house clean first, then the street...then help your locality to be clean and it automatically diverges forward" - this should be in all aspects from cleanliness to literacy to economy to social responsibility. I know it sounds good and sophisticated but no magic wand to transform things overnight, we do need a lot of people to drive and lots & lots of people to practice - least I can write  this night ,since we are still granted our "Freedom of Speech" :)

Along the virgin beach of Ankola..(part II)

Well, it’s true that part one ended a little bluntly and that was due to my sleepy mood guys (was lazy to write anymore!).

We had made definite interesting plans for the next day, before we left the crabs to rest in peace and returned to our cottage. Multiple options surrounded us…trekking along the hills, trekking plus walking down the hill to reach out to the beach (shaped like the symbol OM) on the other side, visiting nearby places(forests!) and so on. After enough discussion, we chose to do nothing but wake up and sip a huge cup of coffee, rambling along the rocks. Seldom would we get a chance to open our eyes in the morning and (still!) see a huge chain of hills with milky white waves splashing along, isn't it? :) 

 

I started observing the fishermen who were sailing back home…who knew that it was bad monsoon and the sea was fierce, yet couldn’t stop going into the ocean the previous night. That minute, somehow they appeared like the bravest of men I have seen. There was a whole big village of them and their families on the other side and I could sense life all around that place. Of people who work hard, who connect with nature and live within.All that they need is perhaps some education on basic nutrition, health & hygiene, literacy good enough to at least read/know/understand stuff required for their work. I have observed and got to know that they rarely would think of doing any other job, even if you pay them lumps. They are people who worship the sea and wouldn’t afford to migrate that easily. Strange reality that, and made my thoughts dive deep till breakfast time.

 

We decked out in nice outfits (vibrant colors) and went to the beach straight to get it all spoiled in matter of minutes. Somehow, it felt happy to do that…not everyday right! Those huge waves which did the needful also splashed on my camera dramatically and forced me to shut it down. Later, deciding to venture out (trying to catch the route back to the city), we drove down to visit the very famous “Mahamayi” temple of Ankola. No pictures allowed but it looked very elegant, though simple.

The architecture was a bit different from usual South Indian temples, showcasing a mixed look of Kerala and Buddhist style. That was may be because it was North Karnataka and the seashore was a long stretch along the coastal line from Kerala to Maharashtra.

That evening, we could see signs of sunset with magical crimson color borders behind the ocean blues. Dad and bro were chilling out with massage and rejuvenation. Mom got busy exploring the plants (weeds?!!) peeping from the rocks plus studying the geography around. 

Clicked with Canon digi (power shot)

She is well known from her college days, for collecting (stealing) saplings and doing quick projects on nutritional value of the herbs and greens available at any place. I set my tripod and threw a wide smile to myself…one of my beautiful crazy dreams to dance along a virgin beach came true to an extent. After i was done with a few English songs,i felt my mind transverse towards “Ilayaraja”(only someone who has grown up listening to his music would know about its depth and originality). 


I picked up my favorite musical bit and ran around dancing for more than a while. The waves were a sweet disturbance making me lose balance and wetting me too often and I didn’t want to stay too long, realized the ocean started looking a bit scary with crushing silence and gigantic tides, after sunset. 

Trekking was the only left over (interesting) item in our agenda. With sport shoes on, the friend/guide from the resort by our side, we advanced towards the mighty hill next morning, in high spirits. It was indeed slippery as we started climbing and my rain girl joined us soon; I was the only one to say “wowwwww” as the rest of gang stared at me. We never imagined such a marvelous landscape view and a surreal scene from the top of the hill. It was a speechless moment as we walked further to capture the look of fishermen’s village and the “OM” shaped beach,on the other side. Greens and blues on the ground with dark grey clouds as huge curtains appeared like an animated scene.

I played enough in rain whilst climbing down (c'mon…how much ever I shouted happily, there was no one except us to feel conscious about,how lovely that !). Didn’t forget to make friends with a few women from the village who took the same route to cross the hills – and click their very different attractive attire.For a change, it wasn’t me but my bro who was busy slipping (humpty dumpty had a great fall ;)) with his hi-fi shoes on, and his grumpy face was worth watching:-P 

We had to pack our bags soon after as we were getting late to drive back. I did my quick “to-do’s” of collecting shells, dry pine nuts (with a bit of work, they can be transformed to beautiful artistic pieces) and a few yellow lilies which happily glowed along my curls. With a few thankful words and some chocolates, we bid adieu to the service team and set for our journey again. 

 

 Not wanting to be a in a hurry unlike our onward drive, we diverted via the green tinged hilly route which would touch the glorious “Jog Falls” and a few wildlife sanctuaries. The complete small town of Ankola had a damp but fresh feel with small food outlets, a few temples and churches. There was a strange aroma of spices and a variety of herbs filling the air and it had the capability to magically cure any pain or discomfort - I  could sense it thoroughly.

The must see places not located very far were "Gokarna"  and "Murudeshwar temple"(with the very elegant 120 feet high Shiva idol). We had to skip those because of time constraints and not wanting to experience them in a  hurry, we could always come back to cover these along with the wildlife(birds too) sanctuaries. Luckily, Jog falls was too near(2 km) from the main road of the hilly place named Jog and we decided not to miss taking a look.

 It suddenly started pouring as we stood near the huge stairs which led to the falls below. There was enough time for season , hence not a heavy flow but still the water fall scene mesmerized our senses for a few seconds. It gave me a feeling of exhilaration to even think how it would look during monsoon time. An hour was definitely not sufficient to explore the place and walk 4miles downstream to reach the foothills of the falls. I strolled along the bridge promising myself to get back there on a weekend (in a few months) and reached the car.

 It was late noon already, we had to pick up speed though the whole stretch had  amazing beautiful sceneries. As others dozed off... I didn't want to miss accompanying dad(we like to chatter at such times) who was driving, also the visual treat outside the window. After crossing Shimoga, we came across a lot of pineapple farms and farmers who would sell them on the road. I forced dad to stop at one of the places, because of the temptation the farm fresh fruit got me into. 

We relished a few pieces as I seemed to had impressed the pineapple farm owner with my talks(animated excitement?!!). As a result, he offered me a few free samplings and was forced to pose for a picture in return(he looked more scared whether my Arnold looking bro would crush him and stood a few feet away);). There was no stopping allowed after that since our estimated time of reach looked like beyond midnight already. We took turns in driving later and were sure it would have been around 3am when we parked the car, threw the bags inside our den(home) and fell asleep at random places. I was still dancing around the beach(obviously) in my dreams and it took a day or two to resume work life :( :)