The Gangotri Pandaji !

Coming all the way from Gangotri, where the mighty River Ganga originates, is our Gangotri Pandaji. We first met him almost thirty years ago in the early nineties when I must be still in college. My sister and myself had accompanied our parents on this perilious journey in the Himalayas on the char dham yatra. Yamnotri is the origin of the Yamuna. Gangotri for Ganga,then Kedarnath and then Badrinath Then there were no helicopter services. Like all pilgrims we travelled in an ordinary bus, snaking up the mighty Himalayas, the only thing louder than the bus engine was the roar of the river. And the roar is so loud that you realise your own insignificance in the scheme of things. This morning when the Pandaji offered us some Gangajal brought all the way from Gaumukh it brought back all the memories. How on our return from kedarnath my father had eaten a full breakfast while we skipped the meal, but later we found all shops shut on way. We slowly learnt Rajiv Gandhi had been assassinated. So for thirty years every year various Pandajis come home during winters when the temples are covered in snow and shut for pilgrims. The last time he was here was three years ago before COVID and lockdown I remember he supported Modi. But this time we spoke of Covid how so many died, so many doctors died. He said he would pray so Covid does not come again. He also asked me about the war in Ukraine, about the bravery of the people in Ukraine in the face of an ugly invasion. We also spoke about Gaumukh, the glacier and how fast it's melting. It's a 20 kms trek from the temple and he said you cannot stop for even 5 minutes at the spot because of falling ice boulders. And it's all voluntary. There is no government there. You just get a token from the forest department, in case you don't return due to an avalanche. We spoke of Protima Bedi who had died in a landslide on the Kailash Mansarovar Yates. The Modi government is widening the roads that is destroying the ecology forever. In the Supreme Court the government told the court they were building roads for defence, and so the court shut the case. Defence is a brahmastra for governments. Even thirty years ago I felt sad looking at the Tehri landscape. Now it must surely be worse. Then we spoke of General Bipin Rawat who died in a helicopter crash. He was from Uttarakhand. The Pandaji informed even India's National Security Advisor Ajit Doval is from a village in Uttarakhand. I asked him if Dovals village is safe. He smiled and replied, Very safe, nobody lives there.

Wuhan Health Organization

Like the World Health Organisation should be renamed to Wuhan Health Organisation. And they should move their headquarters to China. Early warning of Covid could have saved many, many lives. But WHO failed. And not only that they have so far been unable to uncover what really happened at Wuhan The Australian media and researchers have done a far better job than WHO. I am now not sure how much funding plays a role in the functioning of these international bodies, but if it does then they are doing a huge disservice to the cause they represent. Like governance in India is often referred to as Meeting, Sitting and Eating!

And where the hell is the UN?

While Pootinpot dictator continues to relentlessly bomb Ukraine and the world is going topsy turvy where the hell is the United Nations in all this. Apart from a vetoed Security Council Resolution it has nothing to show. The UN for all its grandeur has been reduced to a talking shop at best. Surely Russia's membership as a permanent member should be reviewed and revoked. Permanent memberships should not be inherited as a right. The USSR is the original member and since it split up so how can Russia be a permanent member. In that case Ukraine could become a permanent member or so many breakaway republics. At the least the UN should send a peace keeping force to the UN. As well as observers to check the unfolding humanitarian tragedies. It's very brave of Europe's three Prime Ministers to visit Kyiv even if it is a show of solidarity with the people of Ukraine. Will our 56 inches also go to Ukraine?

Fourth World War !

American President Biden says if the USA insists on a No Fly Zone in Ukraine it would lead to the Third World War. I think it would lead to the Fourth World War. The Third World War is actually nearly over. The Third World War was the spread of the virus Corona all the way from Wuhan. The worlds governments were so scared of China that they did not even insist on a proper inquiry. What the UN and WHO did was an eyewash. We still do not know the real cause. What governments did however rather efficiently was hide the death figures of its own citizens. So right from Gujarat to Uttar Pradesh millions died, and they even voted BJP again. I now understand why my late friend Sauvik always called it Chuttar Pradesh! Of course now fresh global research suggests the death figures could be three times what was originally given by governments. And now we have a brutal war in Ukraine. Russia wants to conquer a free people. But the world is dithering. I watched the Live CNN debate last evening and one guest was Susan Glasser, a staff writer for The New Yorker. This is what she said, "President Biden says going into Ukraine would lead to the Third World War. But how do we know we are not already in Third World War? Do we need Biden to declare it is...Putin already says Russia is at war with America... "

India's National Herb !

After international chef Ranveer Brar launched a campaign to make the humble coriander India's national herb, Hindutvawadis have been alerted. At the Nagpur headquarters of the RSS there is much chintan baithak going on after all an ancient country like ours how can coriander be our national herb? We are after all a Hindu Rashtra.... After much discussion amongst it's think tank they have asked Modi sarkar to oppose coriander. Because after all coriander is not Hindu....its secular... all Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians eat them. And Modi only listens to Nagpur. So RSS has sent in their choice 🌿. It's not ganja. Its tulsi. After all see how tulsi cured COVID. A panditji pointed out how even Muslims were eating tulsi during Corona. And so only tulsi eating Muslims should have voting rights. Even aadhaar card. Even citizenship. Just then one member from Ayush mantralaya suggested Sanjeevani booty as national herb. it's a life saving herb so rare that Hanumanji had to lift an entire mountain. But Modi turned down the idea because Sanjeevani bootee sounds like Sanjeev Bhatt, the police officer in jail whom Modi hates.

And Modiji is an internationalis, he even wants Tulsi Gabbard as the POTUS.

Nal Jal Yojana!

The other day a bearded man shouted at my gate. He had a beard like Narendra Modi or perhaps like Nitish Kumar... they all look the same. But I could smell the corruption. And sure enough when I asked him what he wanted he replied he wants to install a piped tap on my property. Although I had never asked for one. Behind him was a thela carrying hundreds of metres of plastic pipes. I told him to leave because he was trespassing on private property. I have my own water and don't want to pay this government any further taxes. Drinking water for all is a noble concept and it's the Congress Party who should be credited for the idea. But Nitish Kumar added the taps and pipeline to the scheme. The family members of BJP leaders took the contracts to implement the scheme. Modi decided to raise the water tax and give it to Adani and Ambani. Then kejriwal comes and says everything is corrupt. And he decides to give free water for two hours everyday. And Indians are so happy that they decide to elect him Prime Minister. But Modi is smarter. Every District Magistrate fears him. So before the counting all they do is replace the EVMs. And Modi sweeps the polls.. even without a wave... Operation Ganga.....

Support Ukraine 1

Like India has already abstained so many times during votes in the UN Security Council that it does not count any more. And we have lost our moral high ground. Agreed that Russia has supported us in the past but does that mean India supports all mad ideas of Russian dictators? And if Russia was truly our friend then Indian students would be flying out from Russia and not Poland and Romania and Moldova. The war in Ukraine has brought into focus Eastern European countries and the flashpoint between them and Russia. There is no guarantee that Russia is going to stop at Ukraine so the world must act. Ukraine may not be a part of NATO but it surely is a part of this world. Not just embargoes but militarily Ukraine must be supported. And as Christiane Amanpour suggested on CNN Russia must be thrown out as permanent member of the UN Security Council, a seat it inherited from USSR, it was never voted in.