Ram Ram ji

There’s a feeling I get… yes it’s in the air, somehow just permeating through the ether as it were, it’s a feeling of joy, of hope, of something deeper than religion or faith, a loved one coming home as it were…

The significance of the rebuilding of the Ram Temple in Ayodhya to the millions of Hindus and Indians around the world is huge. Whether one is a believer or not, whether one sits on one end of the political spectrum or the other, whether one has an orthodox or modernist outlook irrespective of religious or political ideology, the symbolic reference and importance of the rebuilding of the Ram temple cannot be overlooked.

Ram, the seventh incarnation of Vishnu in the Hindu pantheon of Gods, is one of the most worshipped dieties across India. The Legend of Lord Ram runs far and wide across India, South East Asia and beyond. These stories, myths, historical references, poems, songs, dance, theatre have all woven their way into the cultural ethos of India and the legend of Ram plays out in every Hindu household and exposure to these stories is gained at a very young age.

It is of great significance to note that among the Gods, His legend still lives on after thousands of years and He holds a special place in every devotee’s heart. Of greater significance is the fact that His param bhakt, supreme devotee, Hanuman is worshipped as a God as well and in fact there are more Hanuman temples than Rama temples perhaps.

Without one realizing it, these stories, legends, myths, prayers etc weave themselves into the inner subconscious and pour out at times like these.

Temples are a part of the Hindu landscape and have played a very important role in the Hindu community for aeons. They were the centre of religious, social, cultural and educational activities of society for thousands of years. Temples were built to dissolve the boundaries between man and the Divine. Hinduism extols each individual to strive to be Divinity, realise the Divine within as it were and our ancient temples are the living embodiment of the oldest intangible civilization of humanity

These temples were built with strictest accordance to design, architecture, ground plans, and rules laid down in our ancient Scriptures especially the Shilpa Shastra and the Vaastu Shastra. The ground plan of a temple is basically a mandala, a grid of 64 or 81 squares where each square hosts a particular diety. The inner sanctum, the congregation hall, the tower, inner chambers, open spaces etc all follow age old rules to forge a connection between the faithful and the Divine.

Most temples also align with certain principles of astronomy and geometry and are at about a 79 degree angle. Cosmic harmony is a driving principle in Hindu temple construction in the belief that sacred connections with celestial realms are brought forth and cosmic energies and vibrations permeate throughout the temple. This 79 degree angle is believed to be the sacred meridian that passes through the temple connecting the earth with the cosmos giving it spiritual energy and creating a positive environment for worship and prayers.

The orientation of temples is done in accordance with the planetary movements and the position of the Sun. The alignment captures the first rays of the sun on equinoxes and solistices as well as the rays when it sets. Solar alignments also mark the celestial union of the Gods. These angles and alignments also bear astrological significance marking and taking into account the movement of the zodiac with the aim of creating a positive influence on devotees and visitors to the temple.

Like everything else in Hinduism the number 79 has its own symbolism. 7 represents spirituality and 9 perfection, and when combined creates a spiritual resonance in the temple. Hence the location and construction of temples bears a deep cultural, historical and spiritual significance, which is why the importance of Ram Mandir being built on the very site believed to be the birthplace and ancient site of the temple can’t be overlooked. . Any other piece of land no matter how large or small may not have the same spiritual significance .

India has been subjected to a host of invaders, marauders and attacks for centuries. Not only have our towns and cities been pillaged and plundered, our temples and treasuries looted, our citizens subjugated and killed, but repeated attempts have been made to destroy and distort our culture, our faith, our ethos and our way of life. It is only the resilience, the faith and the determination of our people through centuries that have kept this cultural heritage alive.

Historical records and ASI excavations have indicated that temples at the janamsthan date back to the 2nd millennium BC. Historical remains of the temple in the 10th century and a grand structure in the 13th century destroyed by the forces of the Sultanate 300 years before Babur came and then Babur ordering its destruction again are on record.

All the loot and plunder of Babur’s forces when temples were sacked and the tons of gold and precious stones taken away not only from Ayodhya but Somnath and Mathura too form part of the records maintained by his own record keepers.

Thousands of temples were destroyed throughout North India since Muhammad Ghazni’s attacks in 1000 AD followed by the arrival of Qutub ud Din Aibak in 1150 AD and through the centuries to Aurangzeb who became Emperor in 1658.

Despite relentless attacks, marauders, invaders, laws preventing worship, taxes on Hindus and the blood of the faithful martyred to protect these temples, faith kept the ancient traditions alive and historical records show that prayers and offerings in howsoever humble or grand temples at these sites have continued to be offered by ordinary devotees through the centuries. Finally it is the law of the land that has delivered Rama back to the people. Court cases filed during the British Rule, the first of which in 1858, through the countless cases filed independent India finally ended with the Supreme Court judgment in 2019, 161 years later in favour of the Ram Janambhoomi Temple.

The significance today.

After a thousand years, a new temple as grand is this is being built on the very hallowed ground believed to be the birthplace of Lord Rama. Most ordinary Hindus will be overwhelmed with intense emotional feelings that in some way not only pay homage to the millions who died in the struggle in the last thousand years but also lends itself to the shared belief that Rama is finally coming home again… light the diyas, in a way it’s Diwali again!!!

Yes questions will be asked, fingers will be pointed, the naysayers will have their thoughts, the establishment will beat their drums because like it or not religion is politics too, but in the end it is the faith of the ordinary millions through millennia that will not only be vindicated but will triumph. It is not for nothing that the legends of the Gods have survived and thrived these aeons.

The Symbolism of the Ramayana- a simplistic look:-

Talking of Diwali and Rama, the story of the Ramayana symbolises the ultimate aim and purpose of the soul, Self Realization. Here’s a brief and simplistic look at the symbolism of the characters and events in the Ramayana.

Diwali is the celebration of the seeker’s journey to enlightenment. Enlightenment in Hindu Philosophy is the realization that the individual self is actually the Divine Self. The entire Ramayana can thus be seen as the journey of a seeker towards this goal. It marks the upward inner journey of the soul moving from the gross to the subtle dispelling the darkness of ignorance and the unconscious mind to enlightenment and Oneness with the Super Conscious state of Being… It is the return of the warrior to Ayodhya. Ayodhya from A- yodha literally meaning Non Warrior or the realm of No Conflict, which Zen Buddhists call No Mind… The mind is tranquil in equanimity, rekindling the inner light of wisdom as the soul ascends to Kavelya, Oneness…

The 14 year period of exile is symbolic of the spiritual awakening which takes place in twelve year cycles once a seeker has begun practice under a Guru. The 13th year is the year of Samadhi, or deep intense meditation to finally gain enlightenment. Vanvas or time in the forests is actually seclusion from the affairs of the world to focus on one’s spiritual practices. All the Sages, Rishis, Gurus and other learned people they met on their travels signify the spiritual lessons and growth that seeker gains from practice.

This long and arduous journey of the soul takes many lifetimes in different planes to finally attain moksha and hence troubles, hardships, battles, wars, sacrifices faced by the family have been depicted in the story.

Ram’s father Dashrath etymologically from Dus meaning ten and Rath meaning chariots. These ten chariots symbolise the ten chariots of perception, the five sense organs and five organs of action.

Kaushalya, Rama’s Mother symbolises skill. A skilful charioteer of the senses giving birth to Pure Consciousness, Rama.

Dashratha’s other wives Sumitra symbolises a good friend and Kaikayi symbolises benevolence because it is the hard road of meditation symbolised by the Vanvaas that finally leads us to the Spirit. Hence Kaikayi insists that Ram be banished to the forests.

Rama’s brothers Lakshman , Shatrughan and Bharata symbolises the meeting of Awareness ( Lakshman) with Radiance (Rama), thus leaving one with no enemies or negative qualities (Shatrughan) leading to enlightenment (Bharata)

Rama is the pure soul or Divine Consciousness from Ra Light and Ma, resonance or vibration, thus the Light within me…Radiance and Resonance

Sita is the Earth, the individual self, the mind. Hence the trial by fire she faces. The mind has to fight many battles with thoughts, desires, distractions, temptations, karmic tendencies and all other distractions that keep the seeker away from the spiritual path before it begins its upward surge of consciousness. These tendencies are represented by the dark forests where Sita was held captive and the trial by fire is also the removal of all impurities and karmic tendencies before enlightenment. Once this is done we enter the zone of No Mind, hence the disappearance of Sita or the individual soul as it merges with the Supreme.

Rama and Sita’s wedding before that signifies Pure Light or Consciousness merging with the Mind which creates conflict and hence they are exiled as one cannot live in the realm of No Conflict, Ayodhya, when the mind is in the physical realm. The golden deer Sita saw is the distraction of a seeker when mediating on the Supreme.

Lakshman, is the Awareness within us and the Lakshman Rekha is the protective circle that Awareness creates to keep the Mind in check. If the Mind steps out it enters the realm of Ego, Ravana. Lakshman is also Sheshnaga, the cosmic residue after dissolution of the cosmos till creation sprouts again. Shesha also means thousand. Only when the duality is removed, does singularity prevail and the Truth stands revealed. Supharna or the first vibrations felt is our consciousness breaking away from the Supreme moving from Advaita to Dwaidtya, unity to duality. The coils of the Kundalini that lie in our Muldhara Chakra are reflective of the Serpent.

Hanuman, is Prana, the life force as Breath

Ravana is Ego and his ten heads signify negative tendencies and their propensities, pride, desires or lust, delusion, perversion, anger, envy, Ravanna is finally killed by an arrow to the navel signifying one has to go deep within to destroy one’s own ego completely and thus realise that the self and the Divine are but One…

Lanka or the City of Gold, is the material world and its trappings.

The Bridge, Ram Setu, built with large stones with His name on it symbolises the Bhakti Yoga tradition of chanting of the Lord’s name to attain salvation.

Ramayana Valmiki’s epic etymologically comes from two words Rama’s and Ayana, meaning tbe journey of Rama, or the coming of Rama in a sense the the transmigration of the soul.

Ram Charitra Manas Tulsidas’ ode means the character and mind of Rama. Charitra means character, manas means mind. Besides being an incarnation of Vishnu, Ram is also maryada purushottam or the ultimate human being. Thus the work extols us to imbibe the characteristics of Rama to finally transcend the cycle of birth and rebirth, moksha prapti.

The Ramayana like the Mahabharata is the reunion of the individual self with the Cosmic One. It highlights the battles the mind has to fight trapped in ego and delusion to realise the Ultimate Truth and Higher Reality through intense practice and study.

Diwali is when the soul finally finds enlightenment hence it is the Festival of Lights. For us it is a reminder to start or keep at our spiritual practice and direct our senses inward through yogic techniques of meditation, pranayama- breath control and constant unbroken awareness so that our consciousness can rise to dissolve into Divine Consciousness…

This thus ties in with the basic tenet of Hinduism that extols each one to seek the Divinity within and the knowledge base and teachings in the Scriptures, the stories and legends of the epics, the mantras, chants and prayers, the rituals and their ultimate renunciation as well as the design of the temples and meditation practices all go to serve that end…

Yes, there’s a feeling I get… 🙏

#JaiShriRam

Why Modi gets my Vote and not my Goat… Part II

An overview of the Budget 2022-23 and its desired impact

Taking off from Part I where we explored the changes in the political and economic spectrum and the dynamic world we live in and how a nation and its people are inextricably tied to face the challenges in a modern world through development and fast paced, planned and defined progress and the macro vision of Sab ka Saath, Sab ka Vikaas, Sab ka Vishwas and now Sab ka Prayas ( Development for All, together with Everyone’s Efforts and Trust ) the country is powering on on all cylinders to become the third largest economy by 2030.

Let ’s take the Budget for FY2022-23. The vision, macro outlook and intent are clear. The foundation for the next 25 years of economic growth and expansion leading to 100 years of India’s Independence is being laid. The focus is on transformational results rather than incremental growth.

The Budget takes a rational view and focusses on technology enabled growth without pandering to sops, soft sell and largesse especially when five states are going to the polls, including the largest state of Uttar Pradesh and the largest Agricultural producer, Punjab. One thought the Government would be tempted to temper its budget to suit and benefit constituencies in these five states going to the polls a week or so after Budget Day, but the Prime Minister’s firm resolve of development and its benefits to all and the Finance Minister’s clarity on national and economic growth focussed policies rendered a budget that surprised political pundits, economists, corporates and the citizens at large. Political gambles of this nature can only be taken by people with utter confidence in themselves and their razor sharp focus on the development and growth of the nation and all its people.

Before we get to the salient points and the growth trajectory, let’s address the elephant in the room, the needless hijab controversy in Karnataka. We are a nation whose cultural ethos of live and let live, tolerance and harmony have been around for thousands of years. As seen in Part I, it took patience, time, management, foresight and leadership to control and quieten the extreme right elements floating about and the last thing one needs especially in an important election year is another needless controversy. Personal and religious freedom is a constitutional right and tolerance and harmonious living our cultural DNA and we can’t have it squandered to political gimmicks fanning their petty constituencies. A clear path and agenda for development and progress has been laid out and that is a path we must not waver from. Incidents like these create unnecessary complications and diverts attention in an already complex environment. There are far bigger problems to solve, issues to deal with, changes to adapt to and forces to combat than non issues.

Vision Amritkaal – India at 100 in 2047, a 25 year roadmap in this 75th year of our Independence as an Aatamnirbhar ( self reliant) digital superpower, sustainability leader and a healthy nation…
Coming as we did out of a Third Covid wave, nascent economic recovery (albeit the fastest growing one in the world) and upcoming elections in five states, drawing up an action plan for the next 25 years leading to our centenary Independence Day celebrations is itself a huge task not to mention a paradigm shift in budget planning from the short sighted immediate political gains approach due to the elections that could’ve been taken. To think of a concerted, coordinated and planned approach for India @ 100 and commit to it is fantastic. It also throws a challenge to the bureaucracy and the citizens at large to work in concert with the Government and rise to the occasion.

The Plan outlines Infrastructure and Capital Expenditure, Tech enabled growth, Coordinated and Integrated approach to development across States and Digital Economy and last mile delivery of Govt services and facilities. This budget is banking on supply led growth and huge capital expenditure to boost private investment with four priority areas PM Gati Shakti, Inclusive Development, Productivity Enhancement and Financing.

Capital expenditure for 2022-23 is projected at 5.5 Lac crores ( 74.25 billion dollars) and for 2023-24 at 7.5 Lac crore ( 101.25 billion dollars) with an additional 1 lac crore ( 13.5 billion dollars) to States this year to help meet Gati Shakti targets. The focus is on capital expenditure to restore growth because of its multiplier effect. RBI studies that show that for every 1 Rupee spent on Capex, a return of 2.45 in the first year and 3.14 in the second year can be expected.

International agencies project india to grow at 9% this year. India is the fastest growing economy in the world today thanks to a very effective and rapid immunisation and vaccination programme coupled with progressive policies and the focus on supply management rather than demand to boost economic growth.

Supply creates its own demand and this route has been preferred over fiscal consolidation. The emphasis is on growth and not subsidies to boost capacity utilisation, production, services and employment. The dual strategy of capital expenditure and technology should have a multiplier effect on shortening the Capex life cycle and unlocking India’s rural and urban potential through the physical and digital infrastructure being created.

Gati Shakti is the Government’s national multimodal connectivity programme under which data from 16 ministries on all ongoing projects shall converge on on platform so that duplicating efforts, time and cost overruns, inefficiencies and lack of coordination are eliminated speeding up projects and delivery of services in a coordinated and integrated manner facilitating seamless travel of people, goods and services.
The Ministries include Roads and Highways, Railways, Aviations Shipping and Ports, Meity, Petroleum and Gas, Textiles,Food Processing and other infrastructure based ministries.The objective is transformative and sustainable development. The budget for Gati Shakti is 100 lac crores ( 1.4 trillion dollars) and 20000 crores (3 Billion dollars) has been allocated for it this year.

Its Six Plllars are :-
-Comprehensive planned initiatives on a single centralised portal where departments from all these ministries can access each other’s projects and provide critical data while planning and executing their projects.
-Enabling Priortization through cross sectoral interactions of the various departments. -Optimisation of resources, time, costs and movement of goods and services Synchronization by eliminating silos and enabling ministries to plan and implement in a coordinated and efficient manner
-GIS based spatial planning and analytical tools with over 200 layers and assimilating all the data in one place for accessibility
-On going reports and progress through satellite imagery.

The Seven Engines of growth under PM Gati Shakti have been identified namely:-
-Roads- To facilitate quicker movement of people, goods and services An additional 25000 km to be added to the National Highway network this year for which an additional 20000 crores ( approximately 3 billion dollars) has been allocated. In addition Parvat Mala will endeavour to build and improve roads and ropeways in the hills and border areas enabling connectivity and development and adding to the local economy which will be ecologically sustainable as well. Uttrakhand, Jammu and Kashmir, Himachal and the North Eastern States shall benefit from these initiatives. 1.34 lac crores ( approx 16.5 billion dollars) for roads has been allocated this year.
-Railways- Gets 1.4 lac crores ( approx 17 billion dollars) this year new products and efficient logistics services for MSME’s and farmers and integrating the postal and railway network for seamless movement of parcels. Supply chain management through the concept of One Station One Product, 2000 km rail network to be brought under Kavach, a train collision avoidance system the world calls technology railway infrastructure bering built along with 400 new Vande Bharat trains with best in class service and passenger experience and 100 Gati Shakti Cargo terminals in the next three years.
-Airports- In the 70 years prior to 2014, India had 74 airports. Another 66 have come up in the last 7 years and 16 more will be built. Cargo capacity too is at 1760 million tonnes.
Mass Transport- Increasing public transport in urban areas by expanding the metro and bus network. 27 cities are building or expanding their metro rail network increasing the already 700 km metro lines by another 1000 km. Metro Lite and Metro Neo in Tier 2 cities and peripheral areas of Tier 1 cities will also be deployed.
Ports and Waterways and the Sagarmala project to leverage the 7500 km coastline and 14500 km of navigable waterways linked to the Gati Shakti programme. 574 crores have been allocated this year, a trifle small compared to roads and railways but an integrated approach to planning especially in the logistics sector should yield optimum results.
-Logistics – A Unified Interface Logistics Platform is envisaged to enable data sharing between all mode operators and stakeholders allowing real time monitoring and planning to moves goods in the quickest, cheapest and most efficient manner possible, reducing costs and wastage, eliminating lengthy documentation and increasing international competitiveness.
Our logistics costs are currently 14% of GDP far above the global average of 9%. UILP and other initiatives seek to bring down costs significantly over the years Four multimodal logistics parks are also being commissioned. The Logistics sector in India is about 11.2 lac crore (150 billion dollars) and contributes 14% to the GDP and the competitiveness gap between India and other countries due to higher logistics costs is currently 13 lac crore (180 billion dollars) slated to grow to 37 lac crore ( 500 billion dollars) by 2030 if steps are not taken on a war footing. These plans hopefully will reverse the trend bringing our costs at par or lower than American and China.
-Modern class infrastructure, IT, Tech enabled governance and monitoring, implementation, cost management and speedy clearances will lay a strong foundation to achieving the economic and social goals envisaged. Back of the envelope calculations suggest ready projects worth over 30 lac crore ( 405 billion dollars) are in the pipeline and many projects have overcome the hurdles of clearances and and acquisition etc and thus absorption of capital is not such a major issue.

PLI Production Linked Schemes

14 Sectors have been identified to power this growth and the Production Linked Schemes introduced by the Government to create employment and drive the Make in India and Aatmanirbhar programmes. An outlay of 1.97 lac crores ( 26 Billion dollars) was made in the 2021-22 Budget. The PLI scheme has the potential to create 60 lac jobs and generate production worth 30 lac crores ( 405 Billion dollars) over the next five years.
The sectors include
Automobiles and Auto Components
Drones and Drone Components
Chemical Cell Battery
Large scale Electronic Manufacturing
IT Hardware
Food processing and Exports
Medical Devices
Metals and Mining for speciality steel
Pharmaceuticals, Drugs and API’s
Renewable Energy Solar PV Modules
Telecom and Networking Products
Textiles and Apparel
White Goods
Semi Conductors which has received the largest outlay

Gati Shakti along with the PLI Schemes to boost Make in India and the IT and Start Up Eco system, IT services itself is poised to grow to 16.5 lac crore (220 Billion dollars) this year and 26.2 lac crore (350 Billion dollars) by 2025 all promise greater employment opportunities and the growth of the formal economy. Unemployment is still a concern given our population, percentage of youth and able bodied work force, skill match to job requirement and greater strides to be made in education.

A large part of our work force is in the unorganised centre and speed is of the essence to implement plans to rationalise this vast employable demographic and sector. An attempt has been made to recognise workers in the gig economy as a class and their rights and work rules are being brought into the formal ambit with regulation, legislation and corporate governance including transparency, rights, terms and conditions etc. adding to the formal employment numbers. At 7% unemployment rates are high though 4-5% is normally considered full employment by some.

The pandemic along with the world economies in a spin and technology replacing labour in some cases have contributed to these declining employment numbers but with these new measures and supply side boost, employment numbers are set to rise significantly.

Our direct tax collections and GST collections this year have also been the highest which does throw some light on more earning capacity and more people working as well as higher consumption capacity and the fact that the housing sector is seeing an uptick in demand for housing from genuine buyers and not speculators seems to suggest that the wheels have begun to spin and the projections that the new Capex suggest could significantly lower our unemployment rates. PMI ( Purchase Manager Index) a measure of production and capacity utilization has averaged over 50 for the large part of the year as well.

After Covid 19 hit the world, its after effects made the world realise that for most manufacturing needs they were totally dependent on China especially for hardware, electronics, semi conductors, pharmaceuticals etc. To reduce dependence on one single region and to promote indigenous production, India launched the PLI Scheme in 2020 to invite organisations to set up business operations here and make in India for the world. Over the next five years, India should become a manufacturing powerhouse with made in India products proudly competing with the rest of the world and second to none in quality.

Efforts in signing FTA’s ( Free Trade Agreements) with the US, UK, Europe are ongoing and the recent FTA signed with the UAE to cover goods and services could increase bilateral trade from 60 to 100 billion dollars over the next 5 years giving our exports a high fillip and add over a million jobs from this agreement alone besides attracting investment in India.

Inclusive Development

-Direct payments of 2.37 lac crore ( approx 32 billion dollars) to 1.63 crore farmers (163 million) for procurement of wheat and paddy. -Kisan Drones for crop assessment, land record digitisation, spraying of insecticides and nutrients , financing of startups in the agricultural space and organic farming initiatives along the rivers starting with the Ganga and river linking projects for transport and irrigation.
-95 of the 112 Aspirational Districts have made significant progress in the set parameters of health, infrastructure and financial inclusion. Work to connect rural India and its 2,50,000 gram panchayats and 6,00,000 villages through Bharat Net is underway.
-130 lac MSME’s to be given additional credit under the Emergency Credit Linked Guarantee Schemes and the scheme itself has been expanded to 5 lac crores ( 65.5 billion dollars) as well as an additional credit for 2 lac crore ( 27 billion dollars) under the Credit Guarantee Trust . 3.1 lac crore ( 40 billion dollars) has already been advanced as loans with a guarantee space of 1.4 lac crores ( 18.6 billion dollars) under the ECLGS. Udyam ( Company registration) , E shram ( labour registration) , NCS ( national career service) and ASEEM ( Aatmanirbhar employer employee skill mapping) portals will also be linked.
-In addition skill development, skill enhancement and reselling programmes will be run through the DESH Stack e portal.
-A Digital University for world class quality universal education with personalised learning will be established with high quality E learning content for all classes so that kids in the rural areas dont miss out, 200 TV Channels to facilitate non classroom learning will be launched. This is akin to lighting a billion minds with education truly for all, fundamental right now a reality.
-PM Awaas Yojana gets 48000 crores (approx 7 Billion dollars) to complete 80 Lac houses for the poor in the year. Har Ghar Jal the mission to provide tap water in every home also gets a sizeable allocation of 60000 crore ( approx 8 billion dollars) to cover 3.8 crore ( 380 million) households this year
-The border areas get a new Vibrant Villages programme. Focussing on border areas for connectivity, development and infrastructure is a far sighted move to not only build and develop the areas in the spirit of inclusiveness, but to provide youth and children opportunity for education, work and self reliance and build on our own security.
-Financial inclusion efforts are being further strengthened by the inclusion of all 1.5 lac ( 15 million) Post Offices to function as bank branches and 75 digital banking units to be set up in 75 districts. RBI has already set up a working group and 43 districts have already been identified.

-The focus on urban planning and development is not lost as it is estimated that 2047 50% of the population will be living in urban towns and cities. Planning for sustainable living, opportunities for all, capacity building, governance, town and city planning, mass transport, etc has to be done on a war footing. Digitisation of land records through a Unique Land Parcel Identification Number, under the One Nation One Registration software and over 90% have been digitised in 24 States.
-Health and well being with the focus on building a resilient, sustainable and inclusive healthcare system, digital health platform, unique health ID allowing all records, diagnostic reports, patient case history to be uploaded, shared with health professionals and tracked.

Productivity enhancement and investment
-25000 compliances and 1500 laws have been repealed in an effort to continue to enable ease of doing business and ease of living. Trust based governance, integration of Central and State systems through IT bridges, single window clearance green portal for all approvals through one form, allowing corporates to wind up within six months of filing proceedings are some of the initiatives.
-The start up eco system has also caught the Government’s attention. Changes to strengthen innovation, entrepreneurship and the start up ecosystem by removing bureaucratic silos, institutional mechanisms to promote innovation and hand holding young innovators and enterprises are being effected. Five years ago we had 500 startups, today there are 60000. 83 of these are unicorns, valued at over a billion dollars each, of which 40 became unicorns in 2021 alone. Currently the US has 487 unicorns, China 301. We are number three in the world. And currently have 55 more soon to be unicorns. Startups attracted over 3 lac crores (42 billion dollars) of funding in 2021-22.
-Government procurement has been eased and bills will be raised end to end by all suppliers. The Government departments have been mandated to clear 75% of the invoice value within ten days of billing. Surety bonds will now also be accepted instead of the cumbersome bank guarantees.
Tax stability and tax reforms along with easy recourse to dispute resolution mechanisms have been put in place. There were no increases in tax structures this year.
-Our R&D percentage to GDP is currently below 1%. This year we clocked 3.6 lac crores (48 billion dollars) the 7th largest in the world. US and China send about 5% of their significant GDP on R&D. -The Private sector too hasn’t pulled its weight in this regard. In developed countries , 70% of R&D spends come from the private sector and measures to attract private sector players are now underway such as flexible tools in procurement, ease of doing business, collaborative funding etc. More measures are required like Public Private partnerships in key sectors, R&D as a policy mandate in both the startup and industrial sectors, incentives for engineering a reverse brain drain and getting our scientists working in other countries back, stronger patent laws, private sector incentives to fund university research labs and hubs. Defence R&D too has been opened up for the private sector.

-Sunrise opportunities in Artificial Intelligence, Geo Spatial systems and Drones, Semi Conductors, Green Energy and Clean Mobility. Supportive polices, minimum regulatory compliances, facilitating environment to make in India and impetus for R&D can lead to sustainable development, opportunities and jobs.
Financing. Space Technology for eg has already seen investments of approx 5.5 lac crore (70 billion dollars) this year with more in the pipeline.

The Centre’s effective Capital expenditure is estimated at about 10.68 lac crores (142 billion dollars), 4.1% of GDP, Forex reserves at an all time high of 48 lac crore (632 billion dollars) robust tax collections of 25,16,059 crores ( approx 336 billion dollars) in 2022 and estimated 27,57,820 crores (367.4 billion dollars) in 2023. For every rupee in the Government’s coffers, 58 paise is to come from tax.
Public borrowing 14.9 lac crores ( 19.8 billion dollars) to bridge the deficit. Fiscal deficit at 6.9% this year and 6.4% next year and 4.5% in 2024-25 to provide impetus to growth by increasing capital expenditure and strengthening supply. The debit to GDP ratio at 60% is far from the desired 40%. The tax to GDP ratio of 10.8% also needs to go up by widening the tax base.

India is currently the 6th largest economy project to grow to the 3rd largest by 2030. It has the 4th largest Auto market in the world, ranks number two in mobile phone production and steel production, number three in electricity generation, number 10 in climate change performance. It needs to work on its global innovation index at 46, governance index 49 and ease of doing business, 63. While there haven’t been any major scams involving the Government, corruption , complacency and accountability down the line across the States and Regional areas top down to the base levels have to be addressed.

A big picture macro outlook with last mile execution requires strong leadership, buy in from all stakeholders including policy makers, bureaucrats, private sector, professionals and the citizens at large, commitment, focus and above all vision and its implementation. Political parties of the day have to realise that the old ways of socialist policies, dole, freebies and subsidies etc have run their course and a big vision and dynamic ideas are required more than just cobbling up an Opposition with a single point agenda to beat the party in power.

There is a new order in the world now and it is changing rapidly. It is not enough to keep up for keeping up would mean running in the same place. It is time to outgrow, outpace, predict, preempt and unlock our full potential. if we have to become the powerhouse and bring the vision of a self reliant, confident, rich, healthy and vibrant India to life… to rephrase the Sharks in Shark Tank ‘ and for those reasons, I’m in…

Why Modi gets my Vote and not my Goat… Part I

No, not a Modi Bhakth, but a Modi ke Matwale Raahi perhaps. For those old enough to remember Hawa Mahal, the radio programme on All India Radio back in the day, the adventures of the two truckers solving mysteries as they drove through the heartland of India in their truck equipped with Modi Continental Tyres (not a sponsor!)might evoke some memories. The radio play was called Modi ke Matwaale Raahi.

Oh and don’t read too much into the title either, there are no subtle references made or inferences to be drawn, just the poet in me finding an apt rhyming line, though truth be told the man does evoke those feelings and reactions, either he get one’s vote or he gets one’s goat. One can’t have a civil discussion these days it seems, on any political or even economic issue, report, observation, insight or opinion without the risk of landing into a full blown war, or plain name calling, passing judgement and damaging impressions, relationships and friendships perhaps forever. Tread softly, these issues seem to say, because you tread through a minefield. This has been the case the world over these past few years as the shift from left of centre has slowly made its way to the right, some might even argue extreme right. However, that’s an argument/discussion (insert smiley here) for another day.

As for me personally I will admit the man has made an impression for sure. Whether I look at optics, impressions, tangibles, intangibles, ‘jumlas’, ideas, vision, macro thinking, implementation, conviction, work ethic, execution, force of personality and idea of and ideas for India and nationhood, I think he comes out trumps (no pun intended).
One has only to take a look at his Independence Day announcements and implementation of those ideas into policy and the cascading effects and benefits (or not ) to gauge for themselves whether there has been any impact.

Jumlas, Optics and Impact
Whilst jumlas can remain just that, empty sloganeering to catch media and mass attention, it is effective execution that finally is the proof of the pudding coverting a jumla into a vison statement and from there into results that are impactful and meaningful. Corporate honchos keep reminding us that execution of ideas is everything and that’s the play. To spell out a vision and then to create an enabling environment to implement those ideas on the ground and bring that vision to life is the hallmark of a great leader.

Sab ka Saath, Sab ka Vikaas, Sab ka Vishwaas Sab ka Prayas
( Loose translation With everyone, development and prosperity for all and with everybody’s trust and efforts )
As good a mission statement, vision outlook, election slogan, jumla, purely for optics and impact measurement slogan as any.

Sab ka Saath
The BJP under his visionary leadership has grown from its restricted base, cluster, constituency of the Hindu cultural ethos, fragmented as it is due to caste divides within and its so called ‘trader-business base’ to the biggest National Party present, active and strong pan India entering new territories, forging new alliances and partnerships and gathering and winning support from constituencies and area where it didn’t have a presence before. It is also now the largest political party in the world.

The party realised that the old ways of maintaining the status quo, doling out the odd benefit but essentially keeping the poor, poor and making empty promises are over. If the nation and its people have to progress and grow and fulfil its potential, then development and its fruits have to reach the last man. By ensuring schemes and infrastructure development plans and projects roll out across the country not only in towns and cities but villages and focusing on areas hitherto ignored or overlooked like the North East states and now J&K the effort to bring the entire country together on the development platform can be seen and measured.

They have expanded their base from the Hindu middle class divided base (divided because not all are supporters though they are growing) in towns and cities to include the Dalits, scheduled castes and tribes across states in the developed and underdeveloped districts and village which were largely supporting regional caste based parties. Most of those who vote for these parties in the state elections, land up voting for Modi at the Centre by voting BJP in the national elections which explains to an extent the large base and win margin.

I must admit when the BJP first came to power even moderates and supporters like myself were a bit wary of the rise of the right wing extreme which could disrupt the social fabric and cultural ethos of our country and for awhile it did seem that way. However, it took foresight, leadership, tact, time and patience to control and quieten those elements and reign them in. Balancing so many stakeholders, political, cultural and religious organisations, institutions, sects not to mention expectations of over a billion people and navigating the not so calm waters takes some doing and with time over the last seven years they have more or less bought into the development (vikaas) narrative that the government is pushing aggressively and have minimised incidents and public rhetoric and with continued efforts will hopefully quell any untoward events completely.

From being seen largely as a party for corporates, business and trade, they have shifted their focus to include the weaker sections across the country. The introduction and implementation of various schemes, initiatives, financial benefits, infrastructure development and inclusion and participation by aggressive ongoing efforts to provide last mile connectivity with digital and physical infrastructure to improve the lives and livelihood of these sections are benefitting society and the party.

They have also expanded their base from their limited northern bastion back in the day and are present either as a ruling party or a major force in almost all the states across the country. Modi’s Act East Policy has paid large dividends as he focused on the hitherto ignored North East States, Bengal, Orissa and Bihar. Development projects, infrastructure, political leadership and regional integration by creating resilient value chains, digital and physical connectivity, facilitating trade, promoting tourism and effective management of non state actors and naxals bringing security and the fruits of development to the NER North East Region is in itself a huge integration effort as earlier dispensations didn’t pay much attention to the region and the relationship and involvement between the Centre and the North east States was at best minimal. While the broader contours of the Act East Policy extend to South East Asia, Japan and Australia, a good hard look within the country was required. Likewise, they’ve made inroads into the Southern States and are now pursuing aggressive development goals in J&K and have worked on including the Muslim population and balancing the Hindutva narrative with one of Development and Progress for all.

In his Independence Day speeches he has called for building national character, national interest and interest of the common people rolling out policies and schemes that are targeted towards achieving those goals with clear timelines.
Sab ka Vikas
Development and Progress for All is the jumla, motto, vision statement call it what you will, which has made a strong impression and helped in shifting perceptions and winning vote banks. Votes however can be won once perhaps, but if the party has winning on the development plank consistently then there’s something to be said for it.

Torture numbers hard enough and they’ll pretty much say what you want them to say. Data can be crunched in many different ways and present different perspectives, numbers can be fudged, data can be massaged as it were but as we move into the digital realm and juxtapose that with happenings on the ground, we can from our own contexts, ascertain whether a) any development is taking place at all and b) whether the trickle down effect of development is really happening:-

Bijli, Sadak, Paani
With the present installed capacity of 384 GW, electricity in rural areas is about 20-22 hours a day and urban areas at 23 odd hours. All States have reported 100% electrification. 199 crore LED Bulbs have also been distributed to the poor.
One Nation One Grid will integrate all regional grids into a national grid. India has set a 500 GW non fossil fuel target by 2030 to meet Cop 26 goals. It has also committed to a reducing net carbon emissions to zero by 2070. India met its generation of 40% non fossil fuel target by 2030, in 2021 itself on the back of liberalised FDI Rules and Green Energy Initiatives. Current installed capacity for non fossil fuels 147 GW with solar and wind at 100 GW and India aims to grow solar capacity alone to 175 GW. Investments required for this are huge and targets are very ambitious but the work is being carried out on a war footing. India has seen the fastest growth in the world in non fossil fuel energy capacity growth in the last seven and a half years.

Drinking water for all is on mission mode adding 1 lac households a day. In 2020, 2 crore households in far flung villages and jungles got drinking tap water in their homes. 4.5 crore families have now received piped water in their homes over the two years the scheme has been in existence. Jal Jeevan Mission investing 3.50 lac crores for water conservation, irrigation, harvesting, treatment and regeneration, interlinking of rivers, building check dams etc. Har ghar jal is the mantra they are following.

National Highways built in the last 7 years total 1,51,000 kms almost double the 91287 km in April 2014 at a pace of almost 37 km per day from the earlier 12 km per day and aims to complete another 11000 km by March 2022. Bharatmala contract value awarded 3.30 Lac crores with an additional 1.08 lac crores for highways State Highways encompass 1,86,000 km currently
Rural Road network built from 2014-2019 was 200,000 km at 109 km/day and projects now take less than six months as against two years earlier. By 2019 91% of the village population were connected by roads as against 55% in 2014. Current rural road network stands at 453511 km. All weather connectivity at 74%

Digital India
The Government has recognised the power of the digital economy and given it wings. India’s digital connectivity, architecture, policies are growing at a rapid rate and just as the earlier decades saw the rise of doctors and engineers, the next ten years will see the rise of the Indian entrepreneur and a lot of this will be due to the digital infrastructure and policies being laid down today. These initiatives will not only build India’s digital infrastructure, but develop and up skill its manpower to generate employment and produce products and services that will deliver impactful solutions to scale.

The Aadhaar Platform for eg. has been used now to deliver so many benefits and solutions to the common man linking 70 crore ( 700 million) people to the system, but at one point there was a clamour for its removal. When the BJP won in 2014, Modi Jaitley and Nandan Nilekani, the chief architect of Aadhaar and UIDAI Head met to discuss Aadhaar in the backdrop of the then common held view that the NPR National Population Register may replace Aadhaar and this would be scrapped. Modi’s decision to back Aadhaar is significant seeing the transformational change it has made to the electoral, financial inclusion, health and direct benefits transfer ecosystems. Aadhaar, a Public Digital Asset, much like a PSU is now part of the emerging Open Digital Ecosystem ( ODE) forcing a cultural mindset reset. It is currently doing 50 million authentications a day. Direct benefits transfers to linked bank accounts via Government Schemes like Jan Dhan Aayojana, Jan Aarogya, Covid related compensations and benefits, financial inclusion, loans, public health, vaccinations, amongst a host of others. Its stated objectives are to deliver good governance, efficient, transparent and targeted delivery of benefits, services and subsidies. It has resulted in the elimination of middlemen and corruption, brought in millions into the formal banking system resulting in financial inclusion and added muscle to electoral reforms and delivery of services.

The Electronic Registry for people, entities or things allowing digital authentication and registration which powers the COWIN platform, India’s mass vaccination programme. The Fast Tag highway toll solution, the Beckn Protocol is paving the way for the Open Network for Digital Commerce an open platforms for buyers and sellers on the digital commerce platform enabling and digitising supply and value chains, vendor and price discovery with standardised processes for onboarding retailers on e market places. It is the first global initiative of its kind.

Gati Shakti the new interlinking and integration platform development to bring together all the various Ministries involved in huge infrastructure projects breaking silos and allowing each ministry and department to see each other’s projects through a centralised portal omitting wasteful expenditure, doubling of work and saving time. GIS satellite imagery will allow departments to review and monitor each other’s projects to allow seamless and coordinated efforts. For eg a constructed road won’t need to be dug up again because another department wants to lay underground cables. They’ll be able to see where plans for a road are underway and move in and set up their cabling so no disruptions occur. The plan is to link highway projects, sagarmala, ports, defence corridors, industrial clusters, electronic parks and agri zones to leverage technology.

The Government E Market Place set up in August 2016 for small businesses to sell directly to government has 3.5 crore sellers and service providers with over 4 crore products and business over 1.8 lac crores ( 27 billion dollars) has already been transacted.
Government laws changing to strengthen innovation and entrepreneurship. Angel tax, self registration simplifying and/or removal of over 26000 plus compliances has been undertaken and 770 offences decriminalised. The start-up ecosystem is thriving with 83 unicorns ( unicorns are startups valued at over 1 Billion dollars) 42 of which became unicorns in 2021,a pandemic year! Funding in 2021 reached 24.1 billion dollars (INR 1.8 Lac crores). Deep tech Ed Tech AI, Analytics, Agri Tech, Health Tech, E Commerce, Fin Tech are all seeing exponential growth and projections for the future are really bright.

Fibre optic digital connectivity targets now have been set. Besides the 1.5 lac Gram Panchayats who have been connected from the 60 in 2014 and a further 1 Lac to be connected soon, the PM also announced in 2020 that all 6 lac villages will be connected within the next 1000 days. A huge ask, but high targets bring impactful results. 1 billion internet connections are envisaged by 2025.

India is the fastest growing market for Digital Payments and transactions are expected to cross 75 Lac crores (1 trillion dollars) by 2026. Current values are 7.5 lac crores (300 billion) fuelled by cheap data, handsets, financial access, and Aadhaar. On another note, the Jan Dhan Yojana has over 36 crore accounts and 1 lac crore in deposits.

Make in India
The Make in India campaign to encourage global and local businesses to invest in manufacturing facilities and produce world class good for the world. He has called out the fact that chalta hai, hota attitudes should go and we should work towards zero defect quality products.
Easing of FDI norms, incentives to many sectors like semi conductor manufacturing, electronics, telecom, EV’s, automobiles and auto components, textiles, defence, space, renewable energy, etc.
The new PLI Performance Linked Incentive Schemes to boost production are finding traction and results of these schemes and investments will be seen in the next few years.

Money has no friends. It goes where it can grow. With record FDI’s pouring in year after year currently at 440 billion dollars and equity inflow touched 312 billion dollars in the last 7 years. FDI in 2020-21 was 82 billion and touched 42.9 billion in the first half of 2021-22. IPO’s in 2021 crossed 1.19 lac crores.
The fact that we are the fastest growing economy even in a global pandemic speaks volumes for our resilience, people and the ecosystem. The IMF Forecast for 2022-2023 is 8.5%. While growth rate fell to as low as 4% during the peak pandemic, its policies and internal resilience of its markets have kept its head above waters
All these measures including huge infrastructure spends ( 100 lac crore /1.5 trillion dollars, investments in 5 Years targeted will help achieve the bold 5 trillion dollar economy ( 375 Lac crore) from the 3 Trillion dollars today ( 150 Lac crore) target Modi has set to reach 10 trillion dollars ( 750 Lac crore) in 10 years.

Removal of over 1700 laws and over 1500 compliances for ease of living and doing business, and , introducing the IBC (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code) , GST, Labour Code, RERA Real Estate Regulation and Development), Benami Act , Scrapping of Retrospective Tax, Clear Divestment policy, to boost the formal economy and bring structural reform and sustainable growth.
80 crore beneficiaries for free dry ration from April 2020 has been in effect during the pandemic. The scheme will continue till March 2022. Housing, Insurance, Health, Connectivity both physical and digital or all are various programmes being run by various ministries and States, with guidance from the PMO.
National Health Card for all to digitise their medical records and streamline appointments in any hospital. Ayushman Bharat, Insurance scheme for the poor has seen 2.6 crore admissions to hospitals since launch.

Covid Management – task forces, central, state and district administrations, deep tech, vaccine manufacturers, health professionals and frontline personnel all worked on a war footing and showed the world what we can do. Everyone thought we would crumble, our population was too large, or health service and infrastructure inadequate, but we have shown the world how its done. Over150 crore vaccinations have been administered (1.5 billion) with 65 crore (650 million) having received both doses and 90 crore (900 million) having received the first dose. Yes there was a brief spell during the second phase when we faltered badly and tragically but speed of ramping up infrastructure, oxygen availability and vaccination drive were enhanced and personnel trained to operate ventilators and oxygen plants, monitoring of stockpile of medicines, 1222 oxygen plants commissioned and installed in 7 months tracked daily are measures that have helped control the effects of the pandemic. This takes leadership and commitment.

All these measures help in the Prime Minister’s Vision of Aatmanirbhar Bharat, a self reliant India. A 20 lac crore (10% of India’s GDP) package was announced last year during the peak of the covid crisis for the economy, infrastructure , people and to boost demand.

Sab Ka Vishwas ( Not the Legacy Dispute Resolution Scheme, though that’s a thing too)
They’ve also broadened their outlook and are working on changing perceptions by addressing issues faced by the Muslim population which is where the Sab Ka Vishwas ‘jumla’ comes in. A lot of the right wing rhetoric as mentioned earlier has been controlled or quelled though a lot remains to be done for sure. Extensive work in the States where the party is in power by the administration, the RSS and its Muslim Wing, MRM, Muslim Rashtraya Manch and other organisations and the Party’s own schemes rolled out at the national level as well as the repeal of certain laws for their benefit have created grounds for trust building, wellbeing and peace. 36 schemes for the community have been introduced like Nai Roshni, Usttad, Seekho aur Kamaao, Naya Savera, Nai Udaan, Nai Manzil besides benefits accruing from other schemes such as Jan Dhan Yojana, Ujjwala Yojana, Atal Yojana, Awaas Yojana Startup India etc.

Nai Roshnee is Leadership Development Programme for Minority Women providing knowledge, tools and techniques to empower women to interact with Government systems, banks and institutions. It runs programmes on Financial Literacy, Swacch Bharat, Health and Hygiene, Life Skills, Legal Rights etc.reaching about 5 lac women beneficiaries. USTTAD Preservation of national crafts and arts. Naya Savera is a scheme providing free coaching for candidates and students belonging to minority communities and in some case financial support for free coaching for qualifying and competitive exams. Nai Manzil an integrated education and livelihood scheme for minorities with job placement support. Nai Udaan support for minority candidates who’ve cleared their UPSC Prelims. The PMJVK ( Pradhan Mantri Jan Vikas Karyakram) a centrally sponsored Core Scheme identified by the Niti Aayog to develop infrastructure and basic amenities in 1300 areas where large numbers of minorities are present. Across 32 states and 308 districts. Projects include IIT’s, Polytechs, Residential schools, College buildings, Labs, Computer rooms, Sanitation projects etc with budget allocation of over 10000 crores over the last 7 years.
These schemes come are implemented by the Ministry of Minority Affairs which addresses all minorities Muslims, Sikhs, Christians, Jains, Buddhists and Parsis.

The repeal of the Triple Talaq Law will boost the confidence and social security for countless Muslim women. Communal Riots are also more or less a thing of the past. Rival parties and leaders must realize that Appeasement Politics won’t cut it anymore. Modi also has strong personal relations and friendship with leaders of Muslim countries such as Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, UAE and till recently Afghanistan besides others. A lot more remains to be done before the spectre of communal violence, intimidation, rhetoric, conversions and reconversions, coercion and the legacy atmosphere of mistrust is completely removed and we work towards being One Nation, One People again.

Demonetization also bore out the trust and confidence common people had in what was being attempted. The merits or demerits of that as an economic argument are always up for discussion, but it is to his credit and the credit of the people that there were no social disruptions on the streets when there were long staggering lines at ATM’s and Bank’s as people waited to withdraw cash from their own accounts. The cash one could withdraw was limited too but there was not one incident in so vast a country with a very large section dependent on cash at that time.

Under the Sab ka Vishwaas banner, a word on the strengthening of internal security, security agencies and our borders and the firm and quick response to terrorist acts and acts of terrorism have been great confidence boosters. No matter what side of the fence they sit on, everyone’s chest swelled with pride and they walked two inches taller when the Uri Surgical strike and the Balakot Strikes took place. This is not to say that such operations haven’t been carried out successfully earlier, but the fact that it was quick, decisive and made public gave us all a sense of not only pride but realisation, that the old ways of turning the other cheek, perceived weakness in backroom discussions and the acceptance that these incidents are par for the course were gone. Nirmala Sitharaman’s visit to Doklam as Defence Minister at that time, during the standoff with the Chinese also sent the right message besides ofcourse the optics both for international and domestic consumption. The transgressions in Ladakh and Arunachal have also been met appropriately with Defence Minister Rajnath Singh at the helm and with India winning international support on these issues shows that the political and military establishments are in sync which is a great sign.

Another great initiative in this regard is NATGRID the National Intelligence Grid mooted by P Chidambram after the 26/11 attack providing cutting edge technology and a seamless and secure database to counter terrorism agencies all linked via national grid which will integrate in the coming years over 1000 organisations on to the platform. Intelligence Agencies such as NIA, RAW, CBI, DRI, NCG, FIU etc are all part of this grid where data is captured and monitored. Work on this had slowed down after 2012 but was revived in 2014 after Modi came to power.

To take it a little further, one has only to look at the stature and standing and personal relationships Modi enjoys with foreign Heads of State. From a time when no one wanted to have anything to do with him, when certain countries weren’t even granting him a visa, he has gone on to become the golden one in international politics. All the world leaders want to do business with him and he is an honoured invitee at Leadership Forums all across the world. His views on International cooperation, business, policy, renewable energy, climate and environment, anti terrorism, global governance not only bring out India’s ‘proactive strong and sensitive fast track diplomacy’ tact but the trust and confidence he enjoys of international leaders the world over. Everyone now wants to do business with India and are forging cooperation, alliances and strategic partnerships in defence, business and trade, development, climate and environment and finance.

Swacha Bharat
A landmark cry from the ramparts of the Red Fort on his first Independence Day speech in 2014. The first time a Prime Minister or anyone actually choose to speak of so vital and critical an issue in the public domain. The benefits are for all to see. While the physical benefits of toilets for all and open defecation free India are visible and measurable and an ongoing porches, it is the changing of mindsets that is the big win. When habits are changed, that’s when real transformation takes place. This has also led to the added benefits of health and nutritional habits. Coverage of toilets increased from 34% to 95% in 2019. The aim now is too make cities garbage free through technology driven sanitation and waste management along with public participation. These things are possible only when there is direction from the top. Nothing happens on its own unfortunately. One would think cleanliness and hygiene is a personal requirement but it seems it wasn’t so. Things though are changing.

Ease of Living
The Ease of Living programme is being run in the rural areas through Gram Panchayats and village households making life easier on a set of parameters including basic amenities like home, food, electricity, LPG, toilets, employment, self help groups, village infrastructure and so on and a lot of flagship programmes are ongoing. The PM Awaas Yojana has delivered 1.78 crore houses so far, Crop Insurance to 5.29 crore farmers, Jan Aarogya to almost 64 lac beneficiaries, optical fibre network to 1.29 ac gram panchayats etc.
The Aspirational Districts programme where a new call out has been made to District Magistrates by the PM to target 100% saturation of government services and to identify 10 tasks to be completed in the next three months to enhance ease of living and a two year target for raids, Ayushman cards, Ujjwala gas connections etc.

Reform Transform Perform
All these initiatives bring us to the new jumla Reform, Perform, Transform. We’ve already seen the Union Government and bureaucratic machinery arriving office on time, a fact he lamented stating that if people coming to office punctually makes news, it shows the sloth and don’t care attitude we all have got used to. By ensuring accountability, high targets, ambitious even audacious goals, he has set the bar high for all officers and States. Competitive Cooperative Federalism where States now compete on parameters for development and good governance and has made states and the centre a part of Team India for national development.

Reforms in business, taxation, laws, compliances some listed above and bold initiatives like the abolition of Article 370 and Article 35A are ongoing. The scrapping of the new Farm Laws though is a setback and one didn’t expect the Government to back down from it. The announcement of reversing then laws though, made by the PM himself to the nation in a public apology itself is an indication not only of optics ( any secretary could have made a Press announcement to the effect) but also of the seriousness of the issue both to the constituency and the public at large.

The mantra is a guideline for all Ministries and Departments and even for our own mindsets to use in our own work, business, goals, expectations and so on. It entails changing the way we work, deliver services, set up expectations and get rid of the chalta hai attitude.

As mentioned earlier it takes execution to transform jumlas into tangible results and whilst a lot has been done over the years including during previous regimes, a lot remains to be done especially in areas of cost of living, education, research and development, broader tax net lower taxation, national development, legal reforms and justice expediency and so on, but it is only with strong and effective leadership that bold steps can be taken. India needs strong leadership, Gandhi, Nehru,Sardar Patel, Shastri, Indira Gandhi, Vajpayee were all tall, strong leaders and so is Modi with his ambitious goals and audacious targets together with the strong organisation the party has from its Ministers right up to the grassroots level, could be the engine that could take the country to great heights.

As the largest party in the world and the only effective National Party, it has an even higher responsibility to all the citizens of the country. It is a sad lament that the Congress, the grand old party has ceded its national relevance. A strong democracy needs a strong and relevant opposition as well and whilst regional parties may be at play in various states, none of them have a pan nation appeal. Leadership, depth of leadership and well ironed processes and discipline is what the party has to its advantage. Their booth level organisation across states balancing the diverse groups, castes, subcastes and local politics and getting the electoral arithmetic right is something others can learn from but more importantly the days of appeasement politics are over and delivery of services and governance are here to stay.

These are very strange and interesting times and the world is changing ever so rapidly as economic systems, political spectrums, and technology evolve in an ever dynamic world. We need strong and focussed leadership with an understanding and clarity of vision to propel us into the future. As The Doors sang a long time ago, ‘keep your hands on the road and your hands upon the wheel’ I think if he’s driving I’ll just tag along for the ride as a Matwala Rahi…

Road Trippin VI Chandertal- Ladakh- Kashmir

COVID 19 put paid to most travel plans throughout 2020 so when the year turned a corner we all thought so did we. A quick trip in January with the road trippin gang to Bangalore, Bandipir National Park and Coorg and a short road trip with the family from Gurgaon to Rajasthan covering Jodhpur, Bikaner and Jaipur was all we managed before the second wave hit big time and affected almost everybody one knows either directly or indirectly. Those were terrible times for all.

With rumours of the third wave doing the rounds planning a long road trip was really difficult because we had to factor in a lot of uncertainties. Anyway, as time went on we finally decided to keep September 15th as our cut off date and hit the road. The where was already decided. Ladakh and Kashmir with Chandertal thrown in for good measure, and this time there were a few family additions to the party. That meant two vehicles.

Day 01 Gurgaon – Una 440km

We generally prefer breaking the journey to Manali and land up in Una via Anandpur Sahib and the Bhakra Nangal Dam area.

Departure 0730 Arrival 1630 with an hour’s break in Karnal for breakfast and a brief detour in Chandigarh

Day 02 Una – Manali 240 km

Departure 1006 Arrival 2000.

The Una Manali road via Hamirpur wasn’t as scenic as I remembered it the last time but it’s much better than the Bilaspur – Mandi stretch which has always been terrible as far back as I can remember. The road from Mandi to Kullu was terrible with a lot of breaks coupled with road building construction work and the Mandi Kullu stretch took forever. After a leisurely lunch at Kullu we finally reached Manali at around 8pm covering around 233 km.

Day 03 Manali- Chandertal 124 km

Departure 0900- Arrival 1600

The 124 km to Chandertal took us a whole day. We reached Atal Tunnel around 1015 and those 8 km saved us at least two hours. It’s a super tunnel and helps cross Rohtang Pass in a jiffy.

There were some spots along the route to Khoksar that were great that for some reason one has always missed. From Khoksar though the 62 km to Chander via Batal was plain rough driving, there were literally no roads at all and it took us 5 odd hours to get into camp. After settling in we took a walk to the lake, as mesmerising and awesome as ever. For those who haven’t been to Chandertal, it’s a must visit! Yes it’s a rough getting there and the night will be rough too but the lake, the views, the stillness and the magnetic pull of the entire mountain just draws you in… The night was fun, a full house and some boisterous singing…

Day 04 Chandertal-Jispa 124 km

Departure 1030- Arrival 1700

Our next stop, Jispa, was along the Manali- Leh Highway. We decided not to shoot for Sarchu but have an easier day to Jispa. Took us a little over 4 hours to get on to the highway and thereafter we made good time to Jispa.

Day 05 Jispa- Leh 347 km

Departure 0730- Arrival 1800

A long day this one. A 350 km stretch that suddenly turned really bad after Sarchu. It was like driving through a desert, fine dust and sand everywhere. Even the More Plains that have always reminded us of runaways, was bumpy and uneven. This road this time was the worst I’ve ever seen it. Along the route we met four fine young ladies, three of them in their 80’s who where taking ‘hold your breath,’ their fourth road trip to Ladakh. Just as I was thinking of retiring!!! Their joi de vivre, enthusiasm and energy was fantastic to see and experience and they told us they’d started doing these trips 22 years ago which means they were in their 60’s when they began. So for those who think they’re getting too old or whatever, it’s never too late and now’s as good a time as any.

Day 06 At Leh

Day 07 Leh- Nubra 140 km

Departure 0900- Arrival 1230

A great drive over Khardungla the highest motorable pass in the world. Spectacular views this time round, a trifle nippy, and a smooth drive down

Having visited the Panamik Hot Springs the previous evening we set off for Turtuk, an idyllic village 90 km away, a hamlet we captured from Pakistan during the ‘71 War.

Day 08 At Nubra

Day visit to Turtuk the last outpost just before the Pakistan border. A beautiful idyllic village 90 km away with gurgling stream, farms and lovely woods and friendly folk.…It’s a delight and a must do… took us about 2 hours each way. Whilst there are a few cafes etc to grab a bite if you don’t get a spot make sure to stop at the Army outpost between Beniwal and Diskit where you can get the most scrumptious samosas!!!

Day 09 Nubra- Pangong- Leh 360 km

Departure 0800 Arrival 1800

A long one this but a beautiful drive from Nubra along the Shyok River via Agam. Some stark and stunning views enroute. We reached a very crowded Pangong Lake about noon. Two hours later we were off to Leh via the Chang La Pass the third highest motorable mountain pass in the world at over 17500’ and our first snowflakes…

Day 10 At Leh…a day off the road instead of off-roading resting up for the long day ahead. Leh was fantastic and I really enjoyed my time there. The food in the cafes is great, the streets are clean, traffic organised and the people are friendly and helpful. The markets are bustling too and generally the vibe is fantastic.

Day 11 Leh- Srinagar 420 km

Departure 0800- Arrival 1845

A long drive through some scenic routes and we crossed three passes on this route Fotu la at 13479 feet the highest pass on this road, Mika La 12,388 feet and Zojila at 11,649 feet.. Zojila was somehow not as dangerous as we remembered it to be, though it was very crowded and the one way routes had given way to both downward and upward traffic due to work in the road and the tunnel. We crossed the Pass around 1345 arriving at Sonmarg around 1500 for a nice leisurely lunch and onward to Srinagar 70 odd km away

Day 12 Srinagar- Pahalgam – Srinagar

Our planned sightseeing of Srinagar went for a toss because of the Airshow that day so we took off to Pahalgam. A three hour drive got us in time for a leisurely lunch and then it was another three hours to return. As far as the Kashmir leg of this trip goes, I’d like to reserve my comments. All I will say though is after Ladakh, it’s a dampener. We cut short our planned stay and moved on.

Day 13 Srinagar – Katra 240 km

We left around 0830 and got into Katra around 2ish a slow and tricky drive in some sections with a lot of roadwork going on not to mention goatherds on a narrow hill road with oncoming traffic. We started the climb to Vaishnodevi at 1830 and took five odd hours to get there. After a really nice darshan 🙏 we made our way back down and two and half hours later hit terra firma.

Day 14 Katra- Chandigarh 420 km

A long drive this with a nice stop for lunch around Hoshiarpur. Got in by 1800 and hit the bar thereafter, ending the trip as road trips always end…

Day 15- Chandigarh – Gurgaon 290 km

The group split in Chandigarh, some flew out some drive on and we made the trek home. Took us five hours to get in and one hour in Gurgaon traffic…

All in all we covered about 3500 km over 14 days approx 360 litres of fuel…

Cars Kia Sonet and Volvo XC 60 both performed really well… smooth as silk on those no so silky roads with a twist here and there but nevertheless a rockin ride

Less booze this time round, perhaps because we hit the bars a few more times in Leh and Chandigarh! For the record 3 bottles of whiskey, 3 bottles of vodka, 2 cases of beer and a bottle of rum were all the party of 9 polished off…

For those planning a trip, wanting to go, dreaming of taking a road trip, thinking of going, just go… jump in and drive/ride out. That’s the only way to do these things. For Ladakh I’d urge you to do tour research, you can read my blog here called Leh Essentials for some tips and do your own research as well. Have a good one

आगे क्या… कोविड -१९ के सामाजिक प्रभाव

दुनिया इस वक्त एक बहुत कठिन दौर से गुजर रहा है । विश्व भर में सामाजिक और आर्थिक तौर पर लगभग सारे देशों का बहुत नुक़सान हुआ है जिसकी बहुत बड़ी क़ीमत लोगों को चुकानी पड़ रही है। आर्थिक समाधान तो शायद आने वाला कल तो सुधार लेगा मगर सवाल यह है के हमारे निजी, सामाजिक और व्यापार व्यवहार में कितना बदलाव आएगा?

क्या हम जल्द इस वाक़या को भुल जाएँगे और ज़िंदगी जैसी थी वैसे ही फिर से बसर करने लगेंगे ? क्या कोविड १९ का हमारे काम करने के तरीके, मनोरंजन के साधन, रहन- सहन, लोगों से मिलना-झुलना आधि इन सब पर आगे जाके भी प्रभाव रहेगा? क्या यह हमारे निजी, सामाजिक, आर्थिक और सियासी मामलों के हर पहलू में बदलाव लाएगा? 

क्या सामाजिक दूरी एक नई सामान्य स्तिथि होगी? क्या अब एक दूसरे से हाथ मिलाने से , गले लगने से और जादू की झप्पी देने से लोग कतराएँगे? क्या हम क्रिकेट मैचेज़ स्टेडीयम में देखने जाएँगे, क्या हाउसफ़ुल के बोर्ड सिनेमा घरों में फिर देखने को मिलेंगे, क्या मॉल्ज़ में, रेस्ट्रांट्स में वो भीड़ फिर दिखायी देगी? क्या मेलों में, बाज़ारों में और  प्रोग्रामों में वो चकाचौंध कर देने वाला माहौल वापस आएगा? क्या हमारे ब्याह शादी उसी प्रकार से होंगी जैसे पहले होती थीं? क्या हमारी छुट्टियाँ, सफ़र और आम मनोरंजन के साधन वैसे ही हुआ करेंगे जैसे पहले थीं?

क्या तकनीकी अविष्कार ( technical discoveries), प्रौद्योगिकी( technology), कृत्रिम होशियारी( artificial intelligence) आधि हमारे काम करने के और पढ़ने के तरीक़े और सामाजिक व्यवहार में बदलाव लाएँगे?  

काफ़ी व्यावसाय  ऐसे हैं जो घर से कार्य करने के लाभ और सुविधा से प्रभावित होकर अब पूरी संजीदगी से अपने काम करने के तरीक़ों में तब्दीली कर रहे हैं। बड़ी कम्पनीयाँ जैसे TCS एवं Wipro अब अनुमान लगा रहे हैं के अगले  ५ साल में सिर्फ़ २५% लोगों को दफ़्तर आने की ज़रूरत होगी, बाक़ी घर से काम कर सकेंगे। विश्वभर में TCS के तक़रीबन ४.५ लाख कर्मचारी हैं। अगर अब सिर्फ़ २५-३५% को दफ़्तर आने की ज़रूरत हो तो उनके प्रॉपर्टी की आवश्यकताएं कम हो जाएँगी और उनको लागत अनुकूलन ( cost optimization) का लाभ भी मिलेगा। ऐसी विश्वभर में हज़ारों लाखों कोंपनियाँ होंगी जिससे रियल इस्टेट के क़ीमतों में काफ़ी फ़रक पड़ सकता है । हाँ घर से कार्य करने की रसद (logistics) और उससे जुड़े खर्चे इत्यादि होंगी लेकिन आगे जाकर फ़ायदा ही रहेगा। ज़मीन की क़ीमतों में गिरावट की और सम्भावना है जब बड़े होटेल और मॉल्ज़ की परियोजनाओं में भी रुकावट आएगी और इन व्यवसाय के नए  व्यापार के नए ढंग और तौर तरीक़े  (business models) सामने आएँगे। 

शायद स्थायी रोज़गार ( permanent employment) से ज़्यादा अब संविदआत्मक रोज़गार (contractual employment) का प्रमाण ज़्यादा हो। इस से परिवारों पर और देश की आर्थिक अवस्था पर क्या असर होगा? 

क्या पढ़ाई के पाठ्यक्रम ( syllabus) पे अब ध्यान देने का वक्त आ गया है? बदलने का वक्त तो और कारणों के वजह से था ही, पर अब आगे के हाल देखते हुए इसे और गम्भीरता से लेना होगा।  क्या स्कूल कॉलेज में बच्चे कम आएँगे और दुनिया भर से किसी भी विद्यालय या विश्विधलाय से वो ऑनलाइन डिग्री प्राप्त करेंगे? इसके नियम कौन तय करेगा जिससे इन डिग्रीज़ की क़ीमत विश्वभर में हो। एक होता है बचपन में औपचारिक शिक्षा (formal education) पाना फिर ऑनलाइन डिग्री हासिल करना मगर जब औपचारिक शिक्षा  ही ना रहा हो तो क्या हर एक देश इस शिक्षा  को सामान्य नज़रिए से देखेगा?

इस में दो राय नहीं के कोविंड-१९ के अनुभव और असर ने दुनिया भर में बहुत सारे सवाल और  मुश्किलें खड़े कर दिए हैं जिनके समाधान में उनके सरकार,शासन-प्रबंध, उद्योगपति और आम नागरिक पूरी तरह से जुटे हुए हैं। फ़ैसले बहुत जल्द लिए जा रहें हैं चाहे वो प्रशासन के हों, स्वास्थ्य से जुड़ी हर पहलू से हों जैसे कि अनुसंधान(research) मेडिकल साधन बनाने की अनुमति  (permissions), अस्पताल और चिकित्सालय को तेज़ी से बढ़ाना और लोक स्वास्थ्य के नीतियाँ में बदलाव लाने का काम जारी है। प्रशासन सम्बंधित फ़ैसले भी जल्द लिए जा रहे हैं और हालत देखकर हर दिन हर पल कोई ना कोई बदलाव या नीति के प्रस्ताव आ रहे हैं। क्यूँकि पूरी दुनिया इस जंग से भिड़ने में जुटी हुई है, कई फ़ैसले अगर जल्द बाज़ी में लिए जाएँ बाद में भारी पड़ सकते हैं। 

वक्त अब हर देश को अकेले राष्ट्र एकांत में नहीं परंतु वैश्विक तौर पे एकजुट्ट होके (global solidarity) साथ काम करने का है।  एक सामान्य कार्य योजना ( plan of action) की सक़्त ज़रूरत है जहां विश्व भर के साधनों को हर एक देश को उपलब्ध किया जाए ताकि किसी भी प्रकार की  कोई भी खोज, आविष्कार, दवाई, उपकरण, समाधान, विशेषयज्ञ, कर्मियों या धन की अगर ज़रूरत पड़े तो बिना शर्त और हिचकिचाहट के मिल जानी चाहिए। 

दुनिया भर में आर्थिक अवस्था बहुत गम्भीर है। भारत में ही नुक़सान १७-२० लाख करोड़ का बताया जा रहा है। दूसरे आक्रें तक़रीबन १०० बिल्यन डालर्ज़ यानी लगभग ७.६ लाख करोड़ का अनुमान लगाए बैठे हैं जिसमें ४ लाख करोड़ पूँजीगत व्यय ( capital expenditure) १ लाख करोड़ आधारिक सरंचनाएँ ( infrastructure), १.५ लाख करोड़ डिरेक्ट बेनेफ़िट्स ट्रान्स्फ़र,  

२ लाख करोड़ उनौपचारिक क्षेत्र ( informal sector) एवं माध्यम और छोटे वर्ग के उद्योग को वेतन सहयोग,  नए चिकित्सा प्रबंध ५०००० करोड़, हाउज़िंग सेक्टर को २५००० करोड़ और nbfc को २५००० करोड़, २ लाख करोड़ बैंक्स को पूँजीगत सहाय और २ लाख करोड़ सरकार के बकाया. २ लाख करोड़ sidbi जैसे संस्थानों के लिए इत्यादि। कुल मिलाकर क़रीब १७.५ लाख करोड़ की आर्थिक सहायता की अपेक्षा है।

 अब तक सरकार ने कोविड के बाद लिए गए फ़ैसले, और सारे माध्यम और नीतियों एवं रिज़र्व बैंक ओफ़ इंडिया के उपायों से लगभग ५-६ लाख करोड़ सिस्टम में डाल दिया है। अन्य अक्रों में भारत ने २२.६  बिल्यन डालर्ज़ की आर्थिक सहयोग को घोषणा की है। साफ़ ज़ाहिर है के इन सब प्रयासों के बावजूद अभी बहुत कुछ करना बाक़ी है। 

भारत में ५० कोंपनियों में आज भी २५००० करोड़  से ज़्यादा अधिशेष नगद ( cash surplus) प्रत्येक कम्पनी में हैं। ज़रूरत है इन कम्पनियों को भारत में और निवेश करने की। ज़रूरत है यहाँ निवेश करने के लिए और भी सरल नीतियों की। ज़रूरत है उद्योग को बढ़ावा देने के लिए हर वो रास्ता खोजने की, हर वो उलझन सुलझाने की , हर वो बाधा दूर करने की जो उद्योग और उससे जुड़े रोज़गार को बढ़ने से रोक रहा है। 

चीन के प्रति सारे देशों में क्रोध,आक्रोश और असंतुष्टि है।  कुछ देश तो वहाँ से अपने उद्योग निकालने का फ़ैसला भी ले रहे हैं और अपने उद्योगपतियों को आर्थिक सुविधाएँ भी दे रहे हैं जिनसे वो इन उद्योगों को अपने यहाँ या अन्य देशों में शुरू कर सकते हैं। इसका पूरी तरह फ़ायदा हमारी सरकार को लेना  चाहिए। अपनी नीतियों में,  व्यापार शर्तें, भूमि अधिग्रहण, निवेश और उद्योग से जुड़ी हर पहलू को सम्मान्य, सरल और साफ़ करना चाहिए। कुछ राज्यों ने इस पर काम करना शुरू भी कर दिया है और वो अपनी नीतियों को और निवेश के हालात में सुधार ला रहे हैं मसलन उत्तर प्रदेश जिन्होंने कुछ दिन पहले इसकी घोषणा की है और अब सारे देशों के राजदूतों के सम्पर्क में है। 

देश की आर्थिक अवस्था को मज़बूत करने के लिए बहुत महनत करनी होगी और इसके जल्द सुधरने के आसार नही हैं। मज़दूर वापस चले गए हैं, डिमांड नहीं है और टैक्स या कर और निवेश के नीतियों में और बहुत सुधार की ज़रूरत है। इंटर्नैशनल मनेटेरी फंड IMF ने इस साल भारत की GDP की बढ़त १.९% का अनुमान लगाया है लेकिन साथ में यह भी कहा है है के अगले  साल यानी २०२१ में  ७.४% हो सकता है। यह एक उम्मीद की किरण से ज़्यादा है क्यूँकि इस अनुमान से मालूम पड़ता है के यह स्तिथि अस्थायी है सिर्फ़ कुछ महीनों के लिए, और संरचनात्मक ( structural) नहीं है। इस रात की सुबह तो आएगी पर देखना यह है के कब। 

क्या दुनिया के सभी देश चीन से हिसाब माँगेंगे और क्या चीन अपनी महाभूल की ज़िम्मेदारी लेने को तैयार है?  विश्व आर्थिक उत्पाद का १% तक गिरने की सम्भावना है। पिछले साल ३.९% से बढ़ा था और तक़रीबन ९० ट्रिल्यन डालर्ज़ था। सियासती तौर पे बहुत चीजें बदलेंगी और चीन को इस नुक़सान का किसी ना किसी तरह भुगतान तो करना पड़ेगा। कहीं जाँच में पाया गया के  यह विषाणु प्राकृतिक नहीं, कृतिक्रिम है और उनके प्रयोगशाला में बनायी गयी है तो ना जाने क्या राजनीतिक फ़ैसले और कदम लिए जाएँगे।

कोविड – १९ ने बहुत कुछ बदल दिया है और ज़रूरी नहीं के अगर इसका समाधान भी हो जाए किसी टिके या दवाई से के कोई नई संक्रामक बीमारी नहीं होगी। हमें  अपने पर्यावरण की सुधार के लिए अब अधिक श्रम करना होगा,और नए नीतियाँ लानी होंगी। वन्य जीवन और उनकी रक्षा हेतु कड़े कदम लेने होंगे और लुप्तप्रायः पशु और चिड़ियों ( endangered species)  की रक्षा करनी होगी और दुनिया के वेट मार्केट्स बंध करने होंगे। 

उम्मीद है के जो  समाधान और फ़ैसले हर सरकार लेगी वो सोच समझ के और सभी के हित में होगी। मानवता पर कभी इतनी बड़ी संकट नहीं आयी के विश्व भर में एक साथ सभी पर एक ही समय वोहि तबाही आयी हो। इतिहास के पन्नों में चाहे वो विश्व युध क्यूँ ना हुए हों, प्लेग, ग्रेट डिप्रेशन, पॉर्टिशन वो सभी कुछ हिस्सों तक सीमित थीं, लेकिन विविड – १९ ने तो सारी दुनिया एक समान कर दिया। 

इसके हल के आसार अब बहुत ज़्यादा हैं, बीमारी अब कम हो रही है, अगर बढ़े भी तो लेकिन वीगन चिकित्सा देखभाल की ज़रूरत कम होतीं जा रही है संक्रमित लोगों के १-२%। दूर दृष्टि, कड़ी महनत, पक्का इरादा और अनुशासन साथ में संकल्प और सैयम से हम इस दौर से भी गुज़र जाएँगे। 

हरिवंश राय बच्चन जी की वो पंक्तियाँ याद आती हैं 

‘आ पहुँचे अब दूर नहीं बस चार कदम और चलना है 

चहक रहे हैं सुन पीनेवाले, महक रही ले मधुशाला’ 

Road Trippin V – Kumaon I

Bhimtal- Nainital – Binsar – Jageshwar – Almora – Kausani – Rudra Falls – Bageshwar- Vijaypur – Chaukori – Thal – Munsiyari ( almost but not quite) – Patal Bhuvneshwar – Ranikhet…

September, that time of the year again. The month we usually take off on our little sojourn driving through parts of this beautiful land. We’ve been at it now since 2014 our motley bunch of four classmates from school and have done Ladakh twice, Spiti, Lahaul and Sangla, Western Himachal. Unfortunately we missed 2018 though two of the blokes did manage bike rides through Sikkim and parts of the south and from of them even did a road trip through Western USA earlier this year but that’s another saga.

Though we were supposed to go to the North East we deferred those plans for want if time and decided to drive through the Kumaon instead hoping to make it to Munsiyari and Dharchula.

So after getting on the phone a few times and ensuring all roads were more or less open considering the monsoons were still on, we packed up and decided to go for it kick starting the trip from Gurgaon on 1st September 2019.

Day 01 1st Sep 2019

Gurgaon – Bhimtal 327 km

We set off at 0700 driving through Gurgaon, Delhi, Ghaziabad where it started to pour heavily to reach the Meerut expressway and eventually the new merged NH9. Breakfast at Gajraula which has changed a lot now the dhabas of yore giving way to the McDonald’s and Burger Kings of the world.

We left Gajraula at 1100 and after taking the fork at Moradabad drive through Rampur and reached Haldwani for lunch at Woodpecker an old buddy and classmate’s restaurant. We then headed for our last destination of the day, Bhimtal and rolled in to Country Inn through the hills at around 5:30 pm

Day 02 2nd Sep 2019

Bhimtal – Nainital – Bhimtal 44 km

After debating whether we should do a local hike around Bhimtal or trudge up to Nainital and hike up to China Peak called so because one could see the China border on a clear day but now its known as Naini Peak. We chose the latter and set off at 1000 after breakfast.

We reached Naini at 1100 and set off for the hike from the flats at 1130 walking up through the High Court road and the Sanctuary route.

The weather was fantastic and although thundershowers were predicted and there was a bit of rain by some act of Divine Providence we didn’t get wet at all. The climb was beautiful through the woods and horse tracks, wild flowers, trees, clouds and the views… there was a time we considered going back before reaching the summit seeing many youngsters turning back halfway due to inclement weather or plain fatigue but we plodded on encouraged by the nice young woman coming down from the top telling us we were fit and it was just a short distance away. That was motivation enough to run up and finally scale the peak after 3.5 hours of walking at 2:45 pm. The peak is at 8622 feet and we’d walked up from around 6800′ or so. Not bad for a bunch of 57-58 year olds!!!

After the customary chai break and photographs it was time to trudge back down. We chose to go down another route and the walk through that section of the woods was even more spectacular. We made it down to the lake at 5:30

Spent the evening by the lake and headed back to Bhimtal after dinner. Incidentally none of the restaurants through the Kumaon serve up a beer or any alcohol so do stock up if you’re so inclined!

Day 03 3rd Sep 2019

Nainital- Bhowali – Almora – Kasara Devi- Binsar 150 km

We headed out around 1030 for our final port of call Binsar. While recording a few tracks earlier in the year for the Living Hanuman project I was told about Neb Karori Baba and his ashram now a temple just off Bhowali and we headed there first. We spent about half a hour at the beautiful temple and drove on through Almora hoping to find some lunch at Kasara Devi which we were told is mini McLeodganj but wasn’t anywhere near. Anyway we decided to try our luck at Binsar and guess what! lunch and beer at the Mahindra Resort there as we rolled in around 1430

After a leisurely lunch we moved on to our digs for the night at the KMVN in the Binsar sanctuary. The drive in is fantastic as you trudge through the lovely woods. It was getting to sundown and there was no site of the resort and at a point in the middle of the road in the dark Google Aunty said we’d arrived all there was to show for it was a tree!!! We circled back and a couple of bikers told us to turn around as we were only 800 meters and two twists round the hill away!!! Guess Google Aunty was right as the Techies in the group pointed out maybe she doesn’t read altitude ha ha!!! So the damn thing was there except directly above is only we couldn’t see a thing.

The lodge itself was situated at the very top of the sanctuary and on a clear day great vistas would be there to see…

Day 04 4th Sep 2019

Binsar – Jageshwar – Binsar 90 km

We decided to take a little jungle hike in the early morning and set off at 0645 and 45 mins later we reached Zero Point on a misty and drizzly day. Couldn’t get the views but the walk was rejuvenating and our second 8000′ hike of the trip.

We then left for Jageshwar about 50 km and the Shiva Temple believed to be one of the original 64 Jyotirlings of which only 12 remain… built about 1400 years old these temples are dedicated to Lord Shiva.

Day 05 5th Sep 2019

Binsar – Almora – Kausani 82 km

We left at 1000 and arrived at 1330. One thing to be said about driving through Kumaon, the drives are fantastic and the roads are really good and well maintained. Maybe the Army maintains them what with the mighty Kumauni Regjment based there.

Day 06 6th Sep 2019

Kausani – Rudradhari Falls- Bageshwar- Vijaypur -100 km

We checked out after breakfast at 0940 and back tracked 12km to make our way to the starting point of the hike to Rudradhari Falls. We reached the point at 1030 after overshooting it a bit and after the hike through the beautiful woods with a local guide. There were 5 stream crossings along the route and the day was a dream. It was sunny and there was a nice breeze and an easy walk on a blissful day… the falls themselves were a sight it was quiet and there was a little poll of water and a small temple and as always lots of legend.

We reached the fall after 45 mins of walking and left at noon to return to the road at 12:30.

We then headed for Chaukori and stopped from lunch at Bageshwar by the Saryu River which for some reason was very muddy and greenish grey.

After a nice lunch at Narendra Palace we headed up to Chaukori and decided to camp at the lovely Chestnut Grove HImalayan Lodge in amongst the woods in Vijaypur. We reached around 1730 or so and settled in.

Day 07 7th Sep 2019

Vijaypur- Chaukori- Thal- Patal Bhuvneshwar- Dhukchina 220 km

It had rained really heard the previous night but we woke up to a beautiful day with there clouds below us wafting through the trees. Stepping up just a little bit we suddenly saw the entire Nanda Devi Range open up in front of us. It was magical. The clouds below us the snow peaked Himalayan range above and each mountain was clearly visible. Trishul, Nanda Kot, Nanda Devi, Panchachuli all these magnificent mountains standing tall and proud and silent was a sight to behold. We were told that the views from Munsiyari where we headed next would be even more spectacular but alas that was not to be.

We set off at about 0930 but 12 km after Thal we found workmen on the road ahead turning back all vehicles. Apparently the roads had caved in any more than one place and would be closed for the next three days at least. So at 1205 we found ourselves backtracking without a plan. Patal Bhuvneshawar the ancient Shiva Cave was on our list but we’d missed it enroute so we decided to head there and take our chances on getting there before it closes.

We reached Parvati Resort 3 km short of the Caves at 1455 for a spot of lunch. It was also the first time in our 5 Road Trips off season that we found a hotel was fully sold out which had us scurrying for plans as well but right now there was a cave to dive into.

The walk along the ridge to the Cave was nice and we were lucky to be on time and gain entry as the last ones for that day. They normally close entry at 1730.

Climbing down into the cave barefoot on slippery rock was an experience in itself though bare feet did hold better than keds would have for sure. We discovered muscles we never had as we sat and negotiated the twists and turns and boulders literally by the seat of our pants and two long chains for grips.

Once down we were 90 feet under and the world literally opened up. Believed to be as old as the Earth itself the legends surrounding the cave and the beginning of time is all set in stone through natural formations of rock and stalactites. You see the Sheshnag in all His glory, you see The Rishis and their shadows etched on the walls, you see a rock formation of the solar system as Brahma designed it, you see Kailash Mansarovar, you see the legendary thousand foot elephant and the piece de resistance the massive rock cut of Shivji’s tresses, layered white, brown and black from floor to ceiling as the 33 crore Gods pray to Him represented by 33 natural slabs in supplication.

A final bow at the inner sanctum where the Shivling is represented by all three Brahma Vishnu and Mahesh and you make your way back the same way you came. Going up is easier.

They have oxygen cylinders on standby and it is recommended that people with breathing issues and prone to claustrophobia should avoid or check with your doctors beforehand.

We decided to keep driving and shack up and close as we could to Ranikhet our final destination. We made it to Dhulchina around 9pm in the middle of nowhere and 500m off road dirt track to settle on at Binsar Oak

Day 08 – 8th Sep 2019

Dulchina – Almora- Ranikhet 77km

We left around 0930 and arrived Ranikhet at 1240 driving past Jageshwar and Almora overnight at the Chevron Rosemount. The Ranikhet Club so beautifully located unfortunately wasn’t in ship shape.

Day 09 – 9th Sep 2019

Ranikhet- Moradabad 190km

We decided to head to Moradabad and save 6 odd hours of driving time back to Gurgaon. We took an alternative route down driving through Nainital, Kaladhungi and Corbett.It was a lovely drive with the mist in and out passing by Jeoilkote. We left at 1240 and reached Moradabad at 1740 and checked in to the nice Clark’s Inn

Day 10 – 10th Sep 2019

Moradabad – Gurgaon 220km

Departure at 1030 home by 1430. High mountains to high rises…

Vehicle Volvo XC 60

Drove like a dream and for those wondering whether it’s electronics or software went out out of sync nothing did. Worked like clockwork and made the mountain its own

Total distance: 1500km

Fuel approx: 150 L ( half a tank to spare so I guess actual consumption 120-130 L)

The Usual Suspects: PK Dilip Kumar ( 3rd from left), Amit Karia (extreme right) Shyam Kanjani(extreme left) and Self (2nd from left) in the pic at the end

For more pics of music and the open road please follow me on Instagram ravisasan9

Road Trippin IV- Western Himachal Palampur- Dharamsala- Dalhouse- Khajjiar

Road Trippin III Ladakh and Zanzkar

Road Trippin II- Lahul, Spiti, Sangla

Road Trippin I- Ladakh

Ladakh Essentials

At the Movies- The Lyricists

Song and Dance has been an integral part of Indian cinema since the talkies. Mainstream Hindi movies along with commercial regional cinema have effectively used music and songs cleverly weaved into the narrative either to keep the storyline moving or to convey a character’s thoughts and feelings. Pain, joy, love, challenges, victory, defeat and every other emotion possible have all been essayed on screen through music and the lyrics accompanying them. 

Lyricists like writers were a much sought after breed. Back in the day during the peak creativity years as cinema was evolving, the film industry attracted and recruited phenomenal talent and a lot of published authors and poets found themselves in the studios penning the most intense and philosophical lines as they found another outlet for their creativity.

These hugely talented lyricists met and mingled with highly creative directors, script writers and movie stars which was to lead to some of the best work cinema or published poetry has seen as young an old stalwarts came together to create something everlasting.

Whilst the talkies, as they were called, started in the early 1930’s, the period between 1940 and 1960 is referred to as the Golden Age of Indian Cinema. This is not to negate the works that came through the classic 70’s or thereafter and with the resurgence in content, technology and craft in recent years but historically the period between the 40’s and 60’s is called the Golden Age for good reason.

This period was the height of innovation and technique as a young recently independent and poor nation struggled to find normalcy in the aftermath of the freedom struggle. Social disparities, societal constructs, political upheaval, industrialisation all provided a lot of fodder for the creative minds of the day and literature and cinema benefitted.

While there have been great lyricists and music directors through the ages, this will feature on the creative output and the minds that worked between the 40’s and 70’s.

To understand song writers and poets, it would also be fitting to shed some light on the music composers of the day. They came from diverse backgrounds, the great SD Burman from the Tripura Royal family, Naushad one of the most prolific composers of his time, the powerful duos of Shankar- Jaikishen, Laxmikant -Pyarelal, MadanMohan etc. All these were stalwarts in Indian classical and adapted it to light folk and western instrumentation to create a unique sound.

These music directors were powerful entities in themselves and worked with a chosen clique of singers, musicians, arrangers and lyricists. Lyricists themselves were also powerful and had on occasion refused to work with certain  music directors or had them replaced on projects if they didn’t think they were suitable. All this led to coteries, ego clashes and some of the most creative work of that era.

Shailendra (1923-1966)

While the more famous names Sahir Ludhinavi, Majrooh Sultanpuri and in later years Anand Bakshi come to mind as some of the top most Hindi lyricists, Shailendra was a titan,  ‘geeton ka rajkumar,’ the prince of songs.  He was Raj Kapoor’s main songwriter and worked on all of his films. An idealist, he had first refused to work for Raj Kapoor when he was offered the opportunity at a mushiara after the reading of his poem ‘Jalta hai Punjab.’ Besides RK Studios he worked with Dev Anand and Naveketan and Bimal Roy.

Shailendra’s film credits include Awaara, Shree 420, Sangam, Anari, Chori Chori, Dil Ek Mandir, Guide, Kala Bazaar, Teesri kasam, Mera Naam Joker, Madhumati, Junglee, Dil apna preet parayi, Harayali aur Raasta, Bandhini, Door gagan ki chaaon mein, Yahudi, Aah amongst many others.

His lyrics had far deeper meaning and a philosophical approach. His ‘wahan kaun hai tera musafir’ song from Guide preaches wisdom of the ages and exhorts the traveller to just take it easy and live life in the present.  The monumental ‘ae bhai zara dekh ke chalo’ from Mera naam Joker which basically throws light on the impermanence of it all and compares life to a circus show as Shakespeare did when he wrote ‘ All the world’s a stage…’

‘tu jahan aaya hai woh tera ghar nahin galli nahin gaon nahin kucha nahin

basti nahin rasta nahin duniya hai

aur pyare duniya yeh circus hai…’

in a later stanza he describes the cycle of life and karma   and triumph and defeat              ‘upar se neeche neeche se upar toh aana jaana padta hai and  ‘hero se joker ban jaana padhta hai…’

His understanding of human character and its failings and triumphs allowed him express himself writing for a variety of filmi situations and emotions. He was equally at home with light folk based tunes such as ‘ramaiya vastavaiya, ‘paan kahaye saiyaan hamar ‘ ‘chalat musafir’  a tip of the hat no doubt to his childhood in Mathura, and the romantic songs from Shree 420, Madhumati and Sangam. His track for Barsaat became the first ever title song to be  featured on film. When he was taken in his fledging days by Raj Kapoor to K A Abbas’ house for the narration of Awaara which lasted two and a half hours, when asked by Raj Kapoor whether he’d understood the script and story, he summed it up in two lines ‘gardish mein hoon aasman ka tarra hoon, awaara hoon.’

His understanding of phoentics introduced new words to the lyric lexicon such as zindagani, a word not used before. He wrote ‘khoya khoya chaand’ composed by SD Burman by asking RD Burman to play percussion on a matchbox. He also introduced the concept of riddles and answers in his lyrics like the song ‘ek sawaal mein karoon’ where one character asks a question and the other answers or counters with another question of their own.

Shailendra’s poems are more reflective of society and its taboos, poverty, societal struggles as well as a commentary on the politics of the day. He shot straight from the hip, was a man who stood up for and never compromised his principles. His lyrics were accepted by producers as they were, with no changes. He also used poetry as a platform to voice the cry for freedom during the Independence struggle.

His songs have an optimism about them even though they talk of the daily struggles and hardships the poor and oppressed face. Like this one from Awara

‘abad nahin barbad nahin gaata hoon khushi ke geet magar,

zakhmon se bhara seena hai mera, hasti hai magar yeh mast nazar…’

Guide’s ‘wahan kaun hai tera’ is an introspective philosophical look at life and its meaning

‘wahan kaun hai tera musafir jaayega kahan

dum le le ghadi bhar yeh chaiyan payega kahan

kehte hain gyaani duniya hai paani

paani pe likhi lihayi sab ki hai dekhi sab ki hai jaani haath kisi ke na aayi

kuch tera na mera musafir jaayega kahan…’

His ‘Ae Bhai zara dekh ke chalo’ from Mera Naam Joker talks of the impermanence of all things including life. Life is compared to a circus show and how everyone plays their part but  ultimately are just puppets in the hands of the Creator. It also exhorts the listener to be positive and strong and overcome the obstacles and struggles life puts in one’s path

‘ girne se darta hai kyun,marne se darta hai kyun,

thokar tu jab tak na khayega, zindagi kya cheez hai nahin jaan payega

rota hua aaya hai rota chalajayega…’

‘ jeena yahan marna yahan’ from the same film is another example…

‘kal khel mein hum ho na ho gardish mein taare rahenge sada

bhoolenge hum bhoolenge tum par hum tumhare rahenge sada

rahenge yahin apne nishan iske siva jaana kahan…’

The song was completed by his son Shaily on his passing. Raj Kapoor said later it captured the spirit of Shailendra.

Shailendra will never be forgotten and his songs and poems will live on forever. Not for nothing did Gulzar call him India’s greatest lyricist.

Sahir Ludhianvi (1921-1980)

Another great son of the soil, poet and lyricist Sahir Ludhianvi, born Abdul Hayee, penned some of the greatest songs in Hindi cinema for producers and music directors like Guru Dutt, S D Burman, Yash Chopra, Khayyam, Dev Anand amongst others. Sahir Ludhianvi was already a published poet when he entered the film industry. His book Talkhiyan written when he was 22 was published in 1945.  It became one of the most popular published works second only to Ghalib. A revolutionary with communist leanings, he  like others of the day used his pen  as a weapon and wrote about the daily struggles of the poor and oppressed. He captured the the pain of the daily wage labourer, the farmer, the prostitute, partition and victims of the system. His next work, the long  Parchaeeyaan also came out soon after catapulting him among the top poets of the day.

He was born in Ludhiana but later went to Lahore. His strong revolutionary ideas and communist leanings forced him to leave Lahore when a warrant was issued for his arrest and he made his way to Bombay where he lived till his death.

He started writing lyrics in 1949 but it was only in 1951 that with Naujavan and later Dev Anand’s Baazi, with music by SD Burman directed by Guru Dutt that he found success.

Credited for raising the profile of lyricists, he was the one who insisted on lyricists being credited on film posters and had All India Radio announce and credit lyricists of the songs they would play on the radio. He also insisted on being paid Re. 1 more than Lata Mangeshkar, arguably the greatest playback singer of the Indian film industry. He was instrumental in replacing the top music directors of the day Shankar -Jaikishen  with Khayaam for the Raj Kapoor starrer Phir Subah Hogi based on Fyodor Dostoveski’s Crime and Punishment saying the movie required music by one who had not only read the book but understood it as well. His ego and persona did come in the way of his relationships though, which eventually led to the break up of his extremely successful partnership with S.D. Burman with whom he did 15 odd films between 1951-57.

His songs from Pyaasa are monumental. Just these two gems are enough for his name to be written in golden letters as one of India’s greatest.

‘ yeh mehlon, yeh taqton yeh taajon ki duniya

yeh insaan ke dushman samaajon ki duniya,

yeh daulat ke bhooke rawazon ki duniya

yeh duniya agar mil bhi jaaye toh kya hai… ‘

One of Nehru’s favourite lines from the song                                                                               ‘yeh kooche yeh nilamghar dilkushi yeh loot te hue karwaan zindagi ke,                          kahan hai kahan hai muhafiz khuda ke, jine naaz hai hindustan pe kahan hain..’

His relationship with Amrita Pritam which could not be sustained found its way into the following from ‘Gumrah’

‘tarruff rog ban jaaye to usse bhulan behtar

talukk bhoj ban jaaye toh usko todna accha

woh afsana jisse anjaam tak laana na ho mumkin

usse ek khoobsurat modh dekar chorrna accha…’

This philosophical song from ‘Hum Dono’ teaches you how to really live life in the present and take its ups and downs in one’s stride. It puts into words the fine art of living…

‘main zindagi ka saath nibhata chala gaya

har fiqr ko dhuein mein udata chala gaya

gham aur khushi ka farq na mehsoos ho jahan

main dil ko uss muqam pe laata chala gaya

jo mil gaya ussi ko muqaddar samajh lya

jo kho gaya ussi ko bhulata chala gaya…’

The optimistic song from Humraaz is a primer on how to live one’s life

‘na mooh chuppa ke jiyo aur na sar jhuka ke jiyo

ghamon ka daur bhi aaye toh muskare ke jiyo

ghata mein chupke sitarein fana nahin hote

andheri raat ke dil mein diye jalake jiyo

na jaane kaun sa pal maut ki amanat ho

har ek pal ki khushi ko gale laga ke jiyo

His romantic songs weaved the elements of nature beautifully to express the longing, desires and feelings of the heart like this gem from the movie ‘Railway Platform’

‘Chaand madham hai aasman chup hai

neend ki god mein jahan chup hai

duur vaadi mein doodhiya baadal jhuk ke parbat ko pyaar karte hain

dil mein naakaam hasratein lekar hum tera intezaar karte hain’

His  other lighter and romantic songs like ‘ae meri zohra zabeen’ from Waqt  ‘ abhi na jao chorkar from ‘Hum Dono’ or the  light folk tunes from ‘Naya Daur’ and the intense poetry from ‘Kabhie Kabhie’ showcase his versatility and depth as a songwriter and poet.

His main pal do pal ka shaayar hoon from Kabhie Kabhie  has the lines ‘kal koi unko yaad kare kyun mujhko koi yaad kare’ but Sahir Ludhianvi has written his name in golden letters across the sky…

There is talk of a biopic on his life with Sharukh Khan slated to play Sahir. Lets hope the movie rolls and we get to relive and celebrate his life and his work…

Majrooh Sultanpuri (1919-2000)

One of the most prominent lyricists through the ages, Majrooh Sultanpuri or Asrar Ul Hassan Khan, was an Urdu poet born in the 1920’s just like the illustrious lyricists listed above. He was at the forefront of the Progressive Writers Movement and was even jailed with other leftists of the time in 1949 and spent two years in prison because he refused to apologise. He came to Bombay in 1945 and after resisting the lure of Hindi Cinema, he finally wrote a few lines for the great composer Naushad for the film Shah Jahan on the basis of which he was signed on and didn’t look back in all the sixty years he spent in the industry.

Schooled in a Madrassa he actually studied to be a doctor. He practiced as a hakim and the language used by hakims in those days was Farsi. His knowledge of Farsi and Urdu made him a formidable force.

His work in the Dilip Kumar starrer Andaz was highly successful as was the song  he wrote at Raj Kapoor’s request for Teesri Kasam ‘ Duniya banane wale kya tere mann mein samayi ‘ KL Saigal had said he wanted Majrooh’s song ‘jab dil hi tooth gaya’ to played at his funeral which was actually played in accordance with his wishes.

He worked with all the greats including  Naushad, SD Burman, Shankar- Jaikishen, Laxmikant- Pyaarelal, Kalyanji -Anandji and RD Burman. He also worked with the next generation of directors through the 80’s and 90’s including Anu Malik, Anand -Milind Jatin -Lalit etc

While his poetry or shaiyari was a commentary on the Independence struggle and the socio political landscape of his time, his songs were rich in capturing the diversity of human experience. His songs in Yaadon ki baraat, Qayamat se Qayamat Tak, Teesri Manzil, Baharon Ke Sapne, Tumsa Nahin Dekha and  so many others will always be remembered. His understanding of the finer nuances of human relationships gave birth to some of the most romantic tunes of the day that are still heard, hummed and sung by many to this day like this one from Teesri Manzil  produced by Nasir Hussain with whom he did 13 films from Paying Guest to Akele Hum Akele Tum  – ‘o lekar yeh haseen jalwe tum bhi na kahan pahunche aakhir toh mere dil tak kadmon ke nishaan pahunche’  or the irrepressible optimist lover’s call ‘vaadiyan mera daman raaste meri baahein jao mere siwa tum kahan jaaoge’ from Abhilasha. Poets of the day used metaphors and similes from nature to highlight human feelings and emotion and Majrooh Sultanpuri did it admirably as is evident in all his songs especially from Mere Jeevan Saathi .

His work in Dosti though was outstanding and the songs he created whether the pathos filled ‘Chahunga main tumhe shaam savere’ or the philosophical ‘rahi manwa dukh ki chinta’ touched a chord and left an indelible mark.

‘Duur hai manzil duur sahi, pyaar hamara kya kum hai

pagh mein kaante lac sahi per yeh sahara kya kam hai

humraah tera koi apna toh hai

sukh hai ik chaaon dhalti aati hai jaati hai dukh toh apna saathi hai’

One of his most quoted couplets best mirrors his life… ‘main akela hi nikla tha janib e manzil magar log saath aate gaye aur karvaan banta gaya…’

Hasrat Jaipuri (1922-1999)

Born Iqbal Ahmed in Jaipur he came to Bombay in 1940. He had already started writing poetry and was discovered at a mushiara by Prithviraj Kapoor who recommended him to Raj Kapoor. He started his career writing for Raj Kapoor’s ‘Barsaat’ and together with Shailendra remained in the RK Camp throughout his life. When Shailendra turned producer with the Raj Kapoor starrer Teesri Kasam, he requested Hasrat to write the lyrics for the film.

A published poet both of Hindi and Urdu poetry, Hasrat Jaipuri made his mark in the film world penning lyrics for  the great Raj Kapoor. Films like Barsaat, Mera Naam Joker, Prem Rog, Ram Teri Ganga Maili and Shammi Kapoor starrers like Junglee, Andaz etc cemented his place in filmdom. In fact the philospohical ‘zindagi ek safar hai suhana’ from the Shammi Kapoor starrer Andaz but ‘picturized’ on the superstar of the day Rajesh Khanna, went on to become a hugely popular hit hummed to this day.

‘zindagi ek safar hai suhana yahan kal ya ho kisne jaana

maut aani hai aayegi ek din jaan jaani hai jayegi ek din

aisi baaton se kya ghabrana yahan kal kya ho kisne jaana…’

His early days in Bombay though were a far cry from the dizzying success he saw later. He lived on the footpaths and worked as a bus conductor for the princely sum of Rs 11/- a job he did for 8 years. He never charged women for tickets apparently and said the experience helped him  tremendously in his writings as he saw the daily trips and the coming and going of so many passengers as a metaphor for life itself. It was his poem Mazdoor ki laash written about a daily wage labourer who used to sleep next to him on the footpath that caught the attention of the great Prithviraj Kapoor at a mushiara. He introduced hime to Raj Kapoor who was working on Barsaat at the time. The rest is history.

Shakeel Badayuni ( 1916-1970)

Born in Badaun UP, Shakeel Badayuni moved to Bombay in 1944 after having attended Aligarh Muslim University and winning a lot of shayari competitions. While other poets were writing about the issues of the day, the poor and the freedom struggle, he focussed on romance and matters of the heart. Asked to sum up his shayari in one line by the great Naushad, he said ‘hum dard ka afsana duniya ko sunna denge, har dil mein mohabbat ki aag laga denge… ‘ He went on to work with Naushad for 24 years forming one of the most successful collaborations of all time with movies like Mughal -e- Azam, Baiju Bawra, Mother India, Deedar, Ganga Jamuna, Mere Mehboob. He also worked with other music directors like Ravi and S D Burman for films like Sahib Biwi aur Ghulam, Chaudhvi ka Chaand etc.

The qawaali from Mughal-e Azam showcases his craft and understanding of romance         ‘agar dil gham se khaali ho to jeene ka mazaa kya hai agar na ho khoon e jigar to ashq peene ka mazza kya hai mohabbbat mein zara aanso bahakar hum bhi dekhenge…’          as does ‘Chaudhvi ka chaand ho ya aftab ho jo bhi ho tum lajaawab ho…’and of course the evergreen ‘pyaar kiya toh darna kya…  His versatility was evident with Ganga Jamuna where he was equally at home in Bhojpuri and dialects of the heartland as he was in Urdu.

These nuggets from his poems encapsulate his life…                                                                jab hua zikr zamaane mein mohabbat ka toh mujhe shakeel apne dil e nadaan pe rona aaya…

mujhe fakr hai meri shaayari meri zindagi se judaa nahin…

Anand Bakshi (1930-2002)

Prolific lyricist Anand Bakshi is credited with writing over 3500 songs and in a career spanning several decades he has written songs for 636 films with about 205 directors capturing almost every emotion and feeling known to man. Born in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, his family arrived in India in 1947 and settled in Delhi. He joined the Navy at 14 was relieved of his duties at 16 and then later joined the Army at 20. He left the Army in 1956 to try his hand as a songwriter, singer and composer.

To compete with the stalwarts of the day like Shailendra, Hasrat Jaipuri, Sahir Ludhianvi, Kaifi Azmi and Majrooh Sultanpuri was no mean feat and it was along time before he got a break writing for some decent films. His determination to get work was such that once after perstering Roshan the music director to listen to his songs, Roshan told him to come to his house in Santa Cruz at 10 the following morning. The next day it was raining heavily in Bombay and all transportation services had ceased. Anand Bakshi was up at 6 and decided to walk from his shared room in Borivilli to Santa Cruz and arrived at the appointed hour.

It took 50 films and and almost nine years to get his first super hit Himalay ki god mein which released in 1965 proving that patience, persistence and determination pays. The film catapulted him into the big time. Jab jab phool khile also came out in 1965 where each song was a major hit. In aaye din bahar ke he went against the trend of normal romantic or ‘sad’ songs by writing a song written keeping the enemy or the one who has hurt you in mind ‘ mere dushman tu mere dosti ko tarse…’

His understanding of all styles of music from classical to folk to pop and his ability to write so that the common man could understand the lyrics by simplifying language  from the high flowing poetry that the other stalwarts were writing, made him extremely popular.

Milan and Farz in 1967  and then Aradhana cemented his position as the premier lyricist of his time. By the 70’s he was writing songs for about 80% of the films and was the then superstar Rajesh Khanna’s lyricist of choice. While most of his songs were of the romantic nature a few philosophical gems did come out of his pen like these immortal songs:-

‘yeh jeevan hai iss jeevan ka yehi hai chaon dhoop

thode gham hai thodi khushiyaan yehi hai rang roop

yeh na socho iss mein apni haar hai ke jeet hai

usse apna lo jo bhi jeevan ki reet hai…’

‘zindagi ke safar mein guzar jaate hain jo makam woh phir nahin aate

kuch log ik roz jo bichar jaate hain woh hazaron ke aane se milte nahin

umr bhar chahe koi pukara kare unka naam woh phir nahin aate…’

Amar Prem is another movie which had a lot of songs with a varied look at life and society and love.  From the thought provoking ‘ chingari koi bhadke’ to the tongue – in- cheek ‘yeh kya hua’, or the social ‘kuch toh log kahenge with the line tu kaun hai tera naam hai kya seeta bhi yahin badnaam hui phir kyun sansaar ki baaton se bheeg gaye tere naina’

His song ‘gaadi bula rahi hai’ beautifully used the train as a metaphor for life and he says his biggest award was when he received a post card from the hinterland written by a poor man who had lay down on the tracks to give his life when he heard the song play from a hutment nearby and the lines ‘gaadi ka naam na kar badnaam patri pe rakh ke sar ko, himmat na haar kar intezaar aa laut jaaen ghar ko, yeh raat ja rahi hai woh subah aa rahi hai…’ made him change his mind and saved his life. Each verse in the song is an inspiration to keep going no matter what like these exhorting the traveller to overcome difficulties with a song in one’s heart:-

‘sar pe hai bhoj seene mein aag, labh pe dhuan hai jaano,

phir bhi woh ga rahi hai nagme suna rahi hai

aage toofan peeche barsaat upar gagan mein bijli

soche na baat din ho ya raat signal hua ke nikli

woh dekho aa rahi hai woh dekho ja rahi hai’

or these inspiring lines full of grit, optimism and  encouragement saying the power to shape one’s destiny lies in one’s hands

‘sunn yeh paigham yeh hai sangram jeevan nahin hai sapna

dariya ko phaand parbat ko cheer raasta bana le apna

neendien uda rahi hai jaagi jaga rahi hai…’

and of course the clincher ‘jeena sikha rahi hai marna sikha rahi hai…’

Unlike the other poet/lyricists of the day, he came with no intellectual baggage. He didn’t claim to be a poet or shaiyar but would write simple songs to fit the mood, situation and sensibilities of the music composers and the film director. He was a prolific writer and would write many verses for each song for directors to pick and choose sometimes writing 39-40 verses for a song.

‘main koi barf nahin hoon jo pighal jaaoonga chaand suraj ki tarah waqt pe nikala hoon mein chaand sooraj ki tarah waqt pe dhal jaaoonga…’ sums up his life, his work and his impact on generations to come.

All these lyricists came from an era where songs were composed over various ‘sittings.’ The director, producer, music director/s, story writers and lyricists sat together to understand the story, the situations, the characters and then went on the create. Each song could take roughly a month from conception to the final outcome. There were many other great lyricists of the day like Kaifi Azmi, Indeevar and many that followed like Gulzar and Javed Akhtar each contributing immensely to the rich and varied

Javed Akhtar recounts meeting Majrooh Sultanpuri  towards the end and asking him how he was doing. Majrooh replied ‘andhon ko aaiyana bech raha hoon…’ I’m selling mirrors to the blind…’ Unless people start listening to  the spoken word and reading the written lines and unless educational systems don’t encourage reading, writing and a deep appreciation of literature and the fine arts and unless Government institutions and private houses don’t build monuments and museums showcasing our finest poets and writers, we will be nothing but a robotic society having acquired bookish knowledge but having lost an education…

At the movies…1975

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At the movies…1975

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1975 saw India enter a turbulent phase politically, socially and economically with the imposition of Emergency in June ’75 which continued for two years.

While India had come out of a war with Pakistan and helped create the nation of Bangladesh in 1971. While the political events leading up to this started way back in 1967 with efforts to control the judiciary, the student movement, the growing law and order problem in the country and the unseating of Prime Minister Indira Gandhi by the courts was the straw that broke the camel’s back and led her to ask the President to declare Emergency.

While political and social turmoil seemed to be the order of the day, the movie’s surprisingly were upbeat and some of India’s greatest blockbusters were released that year.

Deewar

Starting from the iconic and classic Deewar cementing Amitabh Bachchan’s position as one of India’s greatest superstars which released in January that year to Sholay none of the greatest Indian movies of all time and so many others which we shall take a look at as well.

Salim- Javed, Hindi film’s iconic film writers and superstars in their own right had created the Angry young man a few years earlier as a response to the uprising of the common folk to socio economic injustice and rebellion against the system and the tall dark handsome Bachchan with the baritone voice and smoldering eyes fit the bill perfectly.

While Deewar itself was inspired by the classic Ganga Jamuna featuring one of India’s greatest actors Dilip Kumar, they gave it a modern city feel with a likeness of the main character to certain events in the life of the Don Haji Mastan.

Yash Chopra known for his love stories,multi starrers and family dramas was approached to direct this epic which he did after initial misgivings. Earlier star casts considered were Rajesh Khanna and Navin Nischol as Vijay and Ravi respectively but the writers insisted on Amitabh Bachchan and while Shatrughan Sinha was considered briefly for the other role it finally went to Shashi Kapoor. Sinha lost out on the other mega release of that year, Sholay as he was first considered for Amitabh Bachchan’s role but Dharmendra who didn’t know that at the time had recommended Bachchan and history was made.

The dialogues were crisp and cutting, the scenes tight, the action and violence was more in the plot and dialogue than in physically violent scenes and each frame was memorable in its conception and execution. The hard hitting dialogue of Bachchan blended well with Shashi Kapoor’s easy and outgoing manner and some of the scenes featuring the two brothers are landmarks of Indian cinema. The mother played by Nirupa Roy to was depicted as a strong willed woman rather than the typical weepy soft ever pure ever sweet ways mothers were feathered earlier. Praveen Babi as a prostitute playing the anti hero’s love interest was another ground breaking first. Indian movie heroes were always goody two shoes and this was a marked departure.

The dialogues of the film are still remembered and every aspiring actor still enacts at least one scene from the movie either the temple scene or the scene under the bridge when giving an audition.

The temple scene with Bachchan’s soliloquy was the toughest he says he had to do and he requested Yash Chopra time to prepare. Yash Chopra told him to tell his time and call home when he was ready. Amitabh Bachchan took the whole day over ten hours and finally called him at 10pm sayjing he’s was ready to shoot and thus was born of the most powerful scenes in Indian cinema.

When Bachchan signed for the mega blockbuster Sholay he wasn’t a big star. The release of Deewar in January 1975 catapulted him to superstardom and by the time Sholay released in August that year he was already a mega star.

Sholay

Sholay was India’s mega western, larger than life with each character big or small having a really well etched and well written part and dialogues that people remember and quote even today. Sholay has dialogues, metaphors, quotes and similes that can be used in any situation in life and the Sholay repartee by long time fans is a sight to behold.

Directed by a young Ramesh Sippy who went the whole nine yards creating a real village on the outskirts of Bangalore and using a team of action choreographers from Hollywood he Shor the film in 70mm and stereophonic sound giving Indian audiences a quality of cinema they had never seen before.

The writers Salim-Javed had started brief four line narrations back in 1973 and met all the leading directors of the day who refused to take on the project.

The film had many firsts to its credits from the tag line of the greatest star cast ever assembled, to international production quality, 70mm and stereophonic sound to one of the greatest villains ever. Amjad Khan a stellar choice and inspired piece of casting cake into the movie when long time baddie Danny Denzongpa couldn’t take the role as he was shooting for Feroz Khan’s Dhramatma. Amjad Khan changed the look and style of the dacoit that Hindi film audiences were used to seeing and gave Indian cinema its most iconic villain Gabbar Singh. Instead of the traditional bush shirt and dhoti and jooties that dacoits were shown to wear he wore a military green outfit throughout with military boots. His walk, talk and eyes were menacing. He was shown as pure evil with no apologies for being so. He also was not the leery lech when it came to women and there was no untoward incident involving women depicted in the film, which used to be the norm back then. The movie soundtrack was released with a separate LP featuring dialogues from the movie which played at every corner paan shop for years.

The writers were involved in every scene and every character and there was no character too small. Each character was detailed and given memorable lines. The film was gory and violent with lots of humour and sidebars thrown in to lighten the mood. The background music was also brilliant and some of the effects during Amjad Khan’s villainous exploits were eerie and creating to the overall chilling atmosphere like the sound of the swing as the horse ambles in slowly and he rides and shoots a seven year old boy point blank after wiping out his entire family. The other scene where he looks at the ant walking up his arm with such amusement toying with it before finally squashing it depicted his character as much as all the iconic dialogues and action.

Sholay is India’s greatest and most successful film and inspired a generation of filmmakers and story tellers. It ran for over five years in cinemas at a stretch and for a movie that was written off by the critics and considered a flop and failure three weeks after its release suddenly picked up purely by word of mouth when audiences literally came out of the shock to the system they had experienced. No one had ever seen a film quite like it before…

Chupke Chupke

Another masterpiece featuring Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan Sharmila Tagore, Jaya Bhaduri and Om Prakash directed by the great Hrishikesh Mukherjee this light hearted family comedy was the total opposite of Sholay and Deewar as well as the socio political atmosphere of the country. audiences escaped into this world of comic confusion and light hearted banter and the two lead actors were in fine telltale displaying their talent equally in a light film with incredible comic timing as they did in their action roles showing their versatility and talent as artists extraordinaire.

Incidentally the film was shown by doordarshan on the day of the eclipse to keep audiences indoors.

Khel Khel Mein

Featuring Rishi Kapoor and Neetu Singh the darling of the masses, this couple went on to make many great romantic movies. Rishi Kapoor as the eternal romantic hero held his own against the angry young man and the turbulent times they lived in creating this soft fluffy romantic world of colour and jerseys and wealth and ofcourse nusic. The songs filmed on him were some of the best and khel khel mein has great music, love story and was a thriller to boot.

Dharmatma

The inimitable Feroz Khan’s tske on The Godfather. Feroz Khan was a man with great sense of style. He shot this film in Afghanistan a first for Indian cinema with an ensemble star cast.

Jai Santoshi Ma

The film was true block buster made a fraction of Sholay’s ever expanding budget it made almost the same amount of money. Temples devoted to the hitherto unknown Goddess certainly appeared everywhere with everyone trying to cash in to its popularity. The songs were smash hits and played everywhere. A folk tale style of shooting together with socio narratives of suffering wives experiencing the joy of satisfaction and contentment seems to have struck a chord with millions which baffled movie critics and social observers then.

Women took to the film both in cities and in villages and the film with its message of triumph and victory for women in a male dominated society held its own against the block busters of the day.

Geet Gaata Chal

Another movie whose songs went on to become massive hits, this Rajshri film was blockbuster too. Featuring Sachin who had a small role in Sholay as the lead playing a wandering journeyman who plays the flute and lives free and unattached the film was another family hit from the house of Rajshri Films.

Dharam Karam

The great Raj Kapoor was still doing his thing. Directed by his son Randhir Kapoor this film released on the same year as his son Rishi Kapoor’s Khel Khel Mein and Rafoo Chakkar, Randhir Kapoor’s Ponga Pandit and Lafenge his brother Shashi Kapoor’s Deewar, Chori mera kaam, Sanyasi, Prem Kahani and his very own Do Jasoos with Rajendra Kumar. The Kapoors sure had it good that year.

Warrant

The evergreen Dev Anand has a release too with his ‘discovery’ the sexy Zeenat Aman…

The 70’s was a time for growing up, adolescence, the rebellious teen years, love, energy and hope and the movies and music of the day reflected all that whether it was films , film music or the rock groups and artist from the west who were speaking to and about a generation. Amitabh Bachchan more than anybody contributed and reflected that growing angst, energy, ability to want to take on the system and just be comfortable in being who you are that spoke to generation and made him everybody’s hero.

R.D. Burman was ruling the roost with his music too by then inspiring a generation of musicians with pop and western melodies juxtaposed with Indian folk and classical in the right measure to create hummable tunes.

The 70s was great for Hindi cinema and 1975 was one of its best ever years with films that are still talked about and watched even today…

The Best Albums II- LIVE

In the first article of this series on  The Best Albums,  I talked about the best debut albums by bands or artists, which by no means was an exhaustive list but was based purely on personal preference and the influence the bands went on to have on the industry. Here’s a link to that article:- The Best Albums I- Debut

We now take a look at what in my opinion are some of the best LIVE albums to have been captured on tape.

The LIVE album was an event. It was the hallmark of a great band or artist to have a stellar LIVE record that captured the essence of their music and their relationship with the fans and back in the day when there was no video or internet, the only way the audience got to see their favourite artists were cameo appearances on TV or LIVE Concert venues and of course pictures in the magazines and posters on the wall.

However to reach a wider audience of hungry fans who wanted a piece of the action and who wanted to experience what their favourite bands sound and look like LIVE, bands and performers started to record their LIVE concerts and after some studio overdubs to get rid of the odd glitches here and there, released ‘in concert’ albums which were either culled from a variety of performances while on tour or served straight up LIVE in whatever city the band was playing in.

LIVE albums are always exciting for the band and the audience. Bands get to connect with their audience, revisit their material especially if they’ve been around awhile and they have an exhaustive catalogue and reinterpret their music to add some freshness for the fans. Fans also get to see their idols and experience their music in a new light.

Pop, Jazz, Rock, Metal, Soul, Funk, Reggae, any every other genre and their Uncle has seen a slew of LIVE releases over the decades but in this one we revisit some of the rock and pop releases of the 60’s 70’s and 80’s  which  capture the sounds of what could arguably be the best era the music scene has well, ever seen…

Deep Purple – Made in Japan

Capturing the energy and musicianship of one of the best bands in the world, Made in Japan was a double album which had just seven songs featuring extended versions of their loud and rocking studio albums Machine Head, Fireball and In Rock this arguably one of the best LIVE albums of all time. The album captured the spontaneity, the trade- offs and moments rarely captured on vinyl since. There were also no studio overdubs, fake applause and all of that studio jugglery to enhance the production.

Improvisations, extended solos and interplay between the band recorded by legendary producer Martin Birch who after his work wth Deep Purple  and other outfits went on to produce metal band Iron Maiden’s work right through the 80’s.

The Mark II line-up featuring Ian Gillian- Vocals, Richie Blackmore- Guitar, Jon Lord- Keyboards, Roger Glover- bass and Ian Paice- Drums is in top form belting out their hits including Highway Star, a twelve minute version of Child in Time, a twenty minute version of Space Truckin and the eternal smash Smoke on the Water. The musical interludes and jams in between make those extended versions a collectors item. Recorded over concerts in Osaka and Tokyo in 1972, Made in Japan is a piece of music history.

Scorpions- World Wide LIVE 

My personal favourite, this is a must have for any collector or music fan. Released in 1985, that mega year in music, the album, a double LIVE set successfully captured the band in their element. Recorded over large arena concerts and festivals shows a tour that spanned over 13 months and saw 2.2 million fans in attendance, the excitement and energy of the band and the audience is what strikes you from the get- go  as the countdown begins and the band rips through Coming Home, Blackout, Bad Boys Running Wild, the ballad Still Loving You, the monster Rock you like a hurricane and the sing along Holiday amongst others. The tracks featured from their Love at First Sting, Blackout, Love Drive and Animal Magnetism are all powerhouses and are taken from the Mathias Jabs era. For fans of the Uli Jon Roth era, Scorpions’ Tokyo Tapes is an excellent LIVE album as well. By the time they get to Dynamite they are powering full steam ahead. It really knocks your socks off this one, its a trip… Incidentally the album ranks number two behind Frampton Comes Alive as the largest selling LIVE albums of all time in the US.

Iron Maiden- LIVE After Death

Mega band Iron Maiden’s 1985 ( what is it about 1985?) offering LIVE after Death recorded over 4 nights in Long Beach, California, as part of their World Slavery Tour to promote their 1984 release Powerslave. No studio overdubs on this one and what you hear is what the audience in the arena got on the night. 90000 people and a heavy metal band means only one thing, a helluva lot of noise… The band is rocking, the fans are ecstatic, the critics are bewildered wondering as frontman Bruce Dickinson says how a band with no radio airplay cold sell out Long Beach Arena four nights in a row. Because its Iron Maiden, because its the music and because heavy metal fans are known to be some of the most loyal fans in the world…

The band sets the mood with a snippet from Churchill’s World War II Speech as they rip into Aces High after which there is no let up. They power through the staples Two Minutes to Midnight, Trooper, Number of the Beast, the 13 minute Rime of the Ancient Mariner, Hallowed be thy Name amongst others… The album was recorded and produced by the previously mentioned legendary Martin Birch.

Neil Diamond- Hot August Night

Another personal top favourite LIVE album of mine, Neil Diamond’s voice just takes you away to that special place and the pace, tone and flow of the album transports you to this magical place where all the elements are aligned as it were and you’re one with the music and the moment…

Hot August Night came out in 1972. What is it about 1972? As we saw earlier, Deep Purple’s Made in Japan is a 1972 release as well. It was recorded at the Greek Theater, Los Angeles over a series of sold out dates. The Prologue sets the tone of  the album as the orchestra kicks in building up to Neil Diamond’s entry on stage and launching into Crunchy Granola Suite and making his way to Solitary Man, Sweet Caroline, Song Sung Blue, I am I said and so many more talking about the stars and the night and the tree people, it has it all, orchestral highs, powerful sequences, quiet moments the works…  Featuring quintessential Diamond, it covers his body of work from the mid sixties up to that point extensively.  A collector’s absolute essential and a ‘trip…’

Peter Frampton- Frampton Comes Alive

One of the best selling LIVE albums of all time, it featured 25 year old Peter Frampton ex Humble Pie LIVE in San Francisco, it showcased the talented performer at his finest backed by a stellar band. Both Electric and Acoustic material were part of the  set and his trend setting use of the Wah pedal and talk box inspired a generation of musicians who came later. Featuring Show me the way, an extended sing along version of Do you feel like I do, Baby I love your way, All I wanna be is by your side and a cover of the Rolling Stones’ Jumping Jack Flash amongst others. A double album release in 1976 it went straight into the Billboard Top 200 and has sold over 11 million albums so far.

The songs were so popular on radio that it prompted Thin Lizzy’s Phil Lynott to ask what’s it about this album that’s so special. What’s he doing that we can’t, why can’t we do this, which set the stage for Thin Lizzy’s iconic LIVE offering LIVE and Dangerous…

Thin Lizzy- LIVE and Dangerous

Running in contention for the best LIVE album, LIVE and Dangerous was recorded over many different concert tours and released in 1978. Featuring the classic line up of Phil Lynott- Vocals and Bass, Brian Robertson- Guitar, Scott Gorham- Guitar,Brian Downey- Drums, and their twin guitar sound,  the double album hit No. 2 in the UK charts. The band’s high voltage energy was recorded and captured on tape and while there were studio overdubs to remove the glitches, the album remains iconic and one of the best ever.

Pink Floyd- p.u.l.s.e.

Pink Floyd fans would be hard pressed to choose between Delicate Sound of Thunder         ( love the title) and p.u.l.s.e. However with the latter offering a full LIVE play through of the phenomenal Dark Side of the Moon as well besides their regular set and a song from the Syd Barett era Astronomy Dovine and the fancy LED cover had all the bells and whistles. Featuring a full backing band besides Dave Gilmour, Nick Mason and Rick Wright of Pink Floyd, the band is in its usual element. It reached Number One in many countries.

Dire Straits- Alchemy

A Dire Straits LIVE recording is a phenomenal piece of work. Dire Straits in the early days were a two guitar band but LIVE they transformed their material  with a bigger band, two keyboardists, two guitarists, a steel guitar player, drums, percussion and a sax. The whole sound just gets bigger and the songs feature extended solos, parts and pieces that so take you to a higher place… Alchemy featured songs from their first four albums, the classic Dire Straits catalogue but the treatment especially in the opener Once Upon a Time in the West with the groove they set and extended guitar solo , or the beautiful sax piece in Romeo and Juliet, the extended Telegraph Road, Tunnel of Love and need I mention Sultans of Swing. The album has fewer songs but still spills over to two CD’s and is an absolute must have for any music lover. Oh yes it classifies as a ‘trip’ as well…

UFO- Strangers in the Night

Anybody who hasn’t heard the seminal guitar player of Michael Schenker hasn’t lived. The 70’s was an experimental time in music and fans were open to all sorts of music and influences and ideas and so on. Their demand for explorative musical ideas to existing and new material spawned a lot of the studio double albums and LIVE album releses of the time. UFO’s Strangers in the Night released in 1979 was one of them.  Recorded in the USA over two nights it captured the UFO sound and Michael’s playing in all its glory cementing his position as a guitar hero and player extraordinaire.

Another album in contention for the best LIVE album of all time, the classic lineup of Phil Mogg -Vocals,  Michael Schenker- Guitar, Paul Raymond- Guitar and Keyboards, Pete Way- Bass and Andy Parker – Drums , play through the UFO catalogue including the smash hit Doctor Doctor,  Only You Can Rock Me, I’m a Loser, Let it Roll and carry with them the emotions of not only those who were there but the listener as well. The deafening roar of the crowd is proof enough of the impact of the show.

Simon and Garfunkel- Concert at Central Park

Slated as a fund raiser as well as the reunion for night only of the classic duo Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel who came together after eleven years in 1982 to raise funds for the conservation of New York’s Central Park. They played to an audience of 500,000 people with an eleven piece band and captured the essence of their classic hits of the 60’s and 70’s despite working together after so long. The concert also covered some of their solo recordings. The voices were in fine fettle and the night despite rains earlier in the day was magical.

Al De Meola, Paco De Lucia, John Mclaughlin– Friday Night in San Francisco

45 minutes of acoustic guitar madness, this album which released in 1981 features five tracks, four of which were recorded LIVE at the Warfield Theater and one in the studio. The recordings feature left and right channel separation so the audience can discern who’ds playing each piece.  Featuring a fusion of Jazz and Flamenco styles, the album featured stalwarts John Maclaughlin of Shakti, Mahavishnu Orchestra, Chick Corea, Spanish sensation Paco de Lucia who despite not studying music formally played with the greats all over the world and Italian American Al de Meola who played with Chick Corea, Stanley Clarke and Lenny White in Return for Forever and went solo after recording three albums with them. All three stalwarts are legends in their own right and their solo and collective work and projects are monuments by themselves. An exciting album to have.

There are many others Rush, Exit Stage Left; Clapton 24 Nights; The Who Live at Leeds; , Wishbone Ash LIVE Dates an album I have to get my hands on, Dream Theater, Scenes from a memory,  John Mayer Live in Los Angles and a few Englebert Humperdink LIVE albums floating about as well, BB King LIVE in Japan or LIVE in San Quentin and the lsit goes on…

The Best Albums I- Debut

That year in Music I; 1969

That Year in Music II… 1972

That Year in Music III… 1985

The Best Albums I- Debut

The Best Albums II- LIVE

 

 

 

 

The Best Albums I- Debut

In this series we’ll take a look at the best albums in my humble opinion and mostly off my personal CD collection. We kick of this series with the best debut albums.The debut albums featured here and in the subsequent articles are my own personal preference and everyoneI’m sure will have their own personal favourites and lists and you’re welcome to take up the thread and list out your own.

While I will be attempting a top ten list, the albums will not be listed in any particular order:-

Van Halen:: Van Halen

The band burst into the scene in 1978 with this self titled monster debut. The tome of the album, nay the band, is apparent from its first cut, ‘Running with the Devil’, still on the set and a crowd favourite. The overly flanged and phased sound of guitar cranked up beyond maximum signalled the birth of a band that cold truly take over from where Led Zeppelin left off. It also introduced to the world guitar hero and genius Eddie Van Halen, who literally rewrote the book on what a guy could do with six strings and 22 frets. His experiments with amplifiers and guitar sound are now stuff of legend and his two handed tapping technique, use of the tremolo bar, harmonics, speed and flash have all gone to trademark his playing style all evident on the second track ‘Eruption.’ Their version of The Kinks’ ‘You really got me’ was wild and loud and certainly got everyone’s attention and the opening bars of ‘Ain’t talking about love’ is a guitar chugging sound that went on to define ’80’s metal. Songs like ‘Jamie’s Crying’, ‘ Atomic Punk’ with its speed metal feel and ‘ Little Dreamer’ featured a new playing style and sound.

The sound was big with loud tight drums by brother Alex Van Halen and Michael Anthony’s pulsating driving bass line keeping pace with Eddie’s guitar notes and extended chords by Michael Anthony and the ultimate showman on stage David Lee Roth ensured the band would write itself into the history books.

Despite initial reviews that trashed the album, it went gold soon after release and has sold over ten million copies. It is considered a  ‘must have’ for any collection and Eddie Van Halen will always be regarded as one of the greatest guitar players ever.

Led Zeppelin :: Led Zeppelin

Take yourselves back now to 1969. The Beatles have just released the phenomenal Sergeant Pepper, The White Album and Abbey Road in the years between 67-69 and are on the verge of splitting up. A lot of new exciting sounds seem to be rumbling out and Cream, Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, The Who are all spilling out the woodwork. In the midst of all this ace session player Jimmy Page finally puts together his band who release the phenomenal self titled Led Zeppelin album. The cover with the Zeppelin flying overhead sets the tone and as you spin the album, the first sound of what would later be termed Heavy Metal assail your ears.

Jimmy Page, guitarist extraordinaire was a studio veteran having played with super groups like The Yardbirds and on many sessions, recorded and funded the album himself. He was going for a new heavier sound while still retaining his blues roots but the writing, arrangements and  lyrical content was moving towards heavy rock interspersed with some brilliant acoustic songs.  He also used many innovative recording techniques to capture the band in full flight. The opening cut ‘Good times bad times’ lays down their intentions  and John Bonham’s powerful drum sound, John Paul Jones bass and Jimmy Page’s overdriven riffs perfectly complement Robert Plant’s distinctive wail and high pitched vocals which would form the template for many rock and metal vocalists to come. The blues influenced ‘ You shook me’, the trippy ‘Dazed and Confused’ the acoustic ‘Babe I’m gonna leave you’ all set the bar and standards for the ultimate rock song. Chords, Riffs, melodic parts and heavy layered rhythms and searing guitar solos with screaming vocals went on to form the sound we now know as heavy metal.

Dire Straits :: Dire Straits

Another stellar 1978 release, Dire Straits came like a breath of fresh air. Just what was that sound seemed to be the constant refrain. The album that kicked off a sterling career and brought guitar legend Mark Knopfler to the forefront. His Dylanesque voice, storyline lyrics and finger style guitar picking and unique tone brought a whole new dimension to easy listening and rock that was undefinable. One of the few debut albums that received critical acclaim when released and went on to become a multi platinum album worldwide.

From the first bar of the opening track ‘Down to the Waterline’, you can feel this band is special. You can almost smell the places and touch the characters  as the music draws you in to the lives and times of all that it speaks of. ‘ Water of Love’ has that cool groove and ‘Setting me up’ and ‘Southbound Again’ uses the rock n roll shuffle to pep things up. ‘ Six blade knife’, and ‘Lions’ strike a sombre note with a heavier slower tone and groove while ‘In the Gallery’ has an upbeat funkier style but its the first cut on Side B the monster ‘ Sultans of Swing’ that lifts the album and sets the band truly apart. Knopfler’s chops with the band keeping pace ensured the song would catapult them to super stardom. The album is a great listen front to back even today and Mark Knopfler whether with Dire Straits or as a solo artist  will go down in the annals of history as one of the all time greats…

Steve Forbert :: Alive on Arrival

There are those who’ve heard of Steve Forbet and there are those that haven’t. Those who haven’t, well too bad you’ve missed out and those who have know him as a serious singer songwriter  whose songs are rooted in the old folk traditions with a modern touch. He’s a poet and philosopher knows as the melodic Dylan whose finely crafted songs and unique voice touch a chord somewhere deep down. Street busker, folk rocker, pop singer call him what you will, his songs and his music are sublime.

Alive on Arrival, believe it or not also came out in 1978, a year that’s is turning out to be quite the year for stellar debuts. ‘ Going down to Laurel’ ‘A midsummer night’s toast’, ‘Thinkin’ and ‘It isn’t gonna be that way’ all had wistful and introspective lyrics  set to an acoustic guitar and instrumentation that’s playful, grooving and a voice that’s sincere. while ‘Big City Cat’ was the big band sound, loud and a rock n rolla while’ Grand Central Station’ was autobiographical in a way since he used to busk there in the early days. Get it if you don’t have it and all his other stuff too, its brilliant.

Jimi Hendrix Experience :: Are You Experienced 

What does on say of the phenomenal Jimi Hendrix? This 1967 release, which came out in the same year as that landmark Beatles album Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band launched Jimi Hendrix into the stratosphere. as one of the best debut albums ever, it set the stage for psychedelia and a harder sound through innovative chord structures and rhythm and lead playing enabling a three piece to belt out a lot of music. It had the standard classic hits which still rock today ‘ Purple Haze’ ‘Foxy lady’ And the wind cries Mary’ ‘Red House and ‘Hey Joe’ are still the standards that every garage and bar band starts out playing> Hendrix was a virtuoso and inventive guitar player who had style and stage presence as well. The music borrowed heavily from  blues and R&B as well elements of jazz. Long solos, interesting chord progressions, heavy rhythms and melody are the hallmark of this cracker of an album. Not for nothing is Jimi Hendrix regarded as one of the greatest guitar players ever. He set the bar back in the 60’s when there were no real guitar effect pedals and all the technology that goes into recording albums and staging concerts today.

Queensryche :: The Warning 

One of my all time favourite albums, this is a monster. Each track pulsates with heavy guitars, a throbbing backbeat, driving bass and searing vocals and the album moves from one song to the next rolling like an unstoppable heavy metal train at full speed. The title track’ Warning’ ‘ Child of Fire’ ” Enforcer and the international hit ‘ Take hold of the flame’ are crowd favourites even today. Twin guitars, screaming vocals, melodic runs and heavy rhythm define the band. Their experimental albums were to come later. This one though is a classic.

Incidentally an Ep featuring their demo recordings before they were signed was also released by the record label later as bootleg versions began to become popular and while technically they predate the Warning album, Warning is their first full length studio cut and was released in 1984.

Incidentally I have never heard this album right through sitting down. Somehow I’ve always stood and head-banged from the first song down to the last. So no, its never played in my car…

Guns and Roses :: Appetite for Destruction

1987 announced a band that would bring back the legendary excess and musicality of the bands of the late 60’s and early 70’s. Guns and Roses with their hard rock sound, melodic content, vibe and energy burst onto the world stage with a debut album worthy of the best. Appetite for destruction had everything, energy, melody, flash, and a band that everyone could see had immense talent and attitude proven by the fact that their debut album sold over 30 million copies. Further testament to the greatness of the record is the fact that decades later at least six of the twelve tracks form part of the band’s current LIVE set. The moment you spin the album and hear the first notes of ‘Welcome to the jungle’ you know the band is special. With ‘Nightrain’ ‘Mr Brownstone’ ‘Rocket Queen’ and the epic ‘Paradise City’ and  massive ‘ Sweet Child of Mine’ this is an unbelievable debut album which launched the band into the big time.

Black Sabbath :: Black Sabbath

Featuring the Prince of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne himself and the other three giants of metal, Toni Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward, Black Sabbath released their self titled album in 1970. Dark, brooding and heavy as hell, this one spawned the title track ‘Black Sabbath’ ‘The Wizard’ and ‘NIB’ with their signature riffs and heavy sound immediately struck a chord signifying the beginning of a new era and a million bands that still dish out pure metal.

America :: America

America’s self titled debut album released in 1971 and amid all the loud hard and heavy sounds coming out at the time, an acoustic laid back folk rock band was like a breath of fresh air. Featuring their trade mark vocal harmonies and guitar parts, the album went to number one on Billboard and became an international hit.  Featuring eternal favourites ‘ Horse with no name’ ‘Sandman’ ‘I need you’ as well as the opening track ‘Riverside’  ‘Rainy Day’ where one hears their unique style of singing vocal harmonies and arrangements that enthralled fans for years to come.

The Doors :: The Doors 

No discussion on albums is complete with a mention of the mighty Doors. Released in 1967, the album featured perennial hits ‘ Light my fire’  ‘Break on through to the other side’ ‘ In the end’ and ‘ Soul Kitchen’. As the opening bars with the drums and keyboards sets the groove on the opening track ‘Break on through to the other side’, the excitement and curiosity of the listener is drawn to this new sound that uplifts them through the haze and holds the promise of a new world. The pace doesn’t relent as it moves into ‘Soul Kitchen’ but slows down for ‘The Crystal Ship’ and its promise of newer pastures The album heralded the birth of psychedelic rock era as The Beatles’ concept album Sergeant Pepper and Pink Floyd’s Piper at the gates of dawn released the same year.  Jim Morrison’s poetry and personality further cemented the band’s cult status. The album sold over 20 million copies and

There are many more albums and many genres that could easily make any list. Being a musician one understands how special the first album is, I still love listening to and playing our own…  Anyway these are just some of my favourite debut albums. They also stand testament to the longevity not only of the artists and bands who wrote, recorded and performed the music but to the music on those first recordings. Do give them a spin…

The Best Albums II- LIVE

That year in Music I; 1969

That Year in Music II… 1972

That Year in Music III… 1985