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Jab mai, ek whatsapp message kahi send karta hu, aur jis number par mai usey post karta hu, aur wo waha pahuch jaata hai, to mujhe bahut aashcharya hota hai. Koi mujhe message likhta hai, wo message mujh taq aa jata hai, to bhi mujhe aashcharya hota hai. Ki iss desh mei, jaha kuch kaam theek se nahi ho raha, ye message kaisi aa jaa rahey hai? To isspar maine ek baar bahut gehraai se vichaar kiya, aur yeh rachna usi chintan ka nateeza hai. Kya hota agar whatsapp bhi ek sarkaari suvidha hoti? Iski puri kalpana iss post mei. Angreezo ne jub whatsapp banaya, yeh unka hampar koi ehsaan nahi tha. Agar wo na banwaate, to hum atmanirbhar hokar syawam banatey. Garibi hatane ke liye, samajvaad ke liye, prajatantr ke liye, ya jo bhi naara ho, WhatsApp atyant aavashyak hai. Magar wo WhatsApp aisa nahi hota, jaisa aajkal hai,- ki message likha, send button dabaya, aur turant hi message ki prapti ho gayi. Nahi, hamara WhatsApp, humara hota. WhatsApp ke daak vyavastha ko durust rakhne ke liye, humare...

Amid this pandemic, the otherwise hustling bustling Mumbai was captured in it's sorrow avatar. This footage reminded of me the Thumri song, beautifully rendered by Shobha Gurtu. I edited the original footage, and this was the outcome.  Here, a personified Mumbai is sad. She is missing her beloved. Who is the beloved? It's you dear. Presenting you- From Bombay. To Bombay- Mumbai Speaks  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fkYJEELLNDY&feature=youtu.be

It was winter, and it was Patna. I recently got an opportunity to attend a marriage in the city. After travelling for 30 hrs in train, from Mumbai, I surprisingly reached on time. Why surprisingly? Because the Danapur division of the Indian railways are very notorious in their time management. Legends say that the reason 'Vikas' is late in Bihar, is simply because it is waiting for its turn at Danapur outer. Khair, time for some mandatory Bihari nostalgia. You stay wherever in the world, there is actually something in your home state which magically connects with you. It was 5 am in the morning, and the station was hyperactive with passengers. The auto waley bhaiyas , as their constitution says, were fighting for passengers. The local bidi tobacco shop had a flurry of visitors, and the accompanied tea thela was getting ready to provide the platform to the argumentative citizens all around. With blaring sound boxes playing Shiva strotam, the biggest billboard in the vicinity, w...