Mimi Meme

Post the Loksabha election results of 2019, there seems to be a lot of uproar over the win of Ms. Mimi Chakraborty, an young actress over Mr. Bikash Bhattacharya, a lawyer and a veteran politician. I am myself not a big fan of Actors / Actresses / Celebrities being pushed in to active politics; however, there is no denying that this has been a trend in Indian politics. Many leaders in our southern states have been actor turned politicians, namely Jayalalitha, NTR, MGR. And why just South, Amitabh Bachhan, Shatrughan Sinha, Jaya Prada, Jaya Bachhan, Sunil Dutt and many more stars had also joined politics in the past and continue to do so.

However, Mimi seems to be particularly getting targeted, even though, in the same elections, her friend and another movie star, Nusrat Jahan also won. Somehow, it is ok for the so called intellectuals to accept Babul Supriyo as a member of parliament, but not Mimi. Some even argued with me that Babul is a seasoned politician, but they were unable to answer what Babul's credentials were before he was made a candidate in last Loksabha elections in 2014. People also seem to forget that Deepak Adhikary or Dev as he is popularly known as was also a first time politician in 2014. Locket Chatterjee won in another constituency, and people doesn't seem to mind that she is an actress too! Sunny Deol is fine, Gautam Gambhir is OK, but poor Mimi is not!

There is another constituency in West Bengal, where the winner is a known strongman, and he beat the sitting MP, who did his post graduate studies in the US, known as an honest person, and was a very capable Union Minister! So, my request to people - don't judge a book by it's covers; maybe she will work, maybe she won't - but give her equal chance at least.

It's getting complicated up here

Scamander, Grindelwald, Merlin, Albus Dumbledore, Potter, Black Widow, Hulk, Nick Fury, Shields, Thanos, Wakanda, Bane, Jor El, Westeros, Arya, Sansa, Night King, Snow, Magneto, Wolverine, Storm, Professor X...

Too many characters! Too many plots and subplots! I am all confused.

Ramsar

Just yesterday, I had gone for a picnic to a corner of Sundarban, and today got to know Sundarban Wetland has been designated as a Ramsar site just three days ago! To add Co-Incidence to co-incidence, day before was celebrated as World Wetlands Day! To celebrate, I give you a brief lecture!

The Ramsar Convention was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971 and came into force in 1975. The Convention’s mission is “the conservation and wise use of all wetlands through local and national actions and international cooperation, as a contribution towards achieving sustainable development throughout the world”. As on today, there are 2341 sites globally and 27 sites in India.

Sl	Name	Location	Designated	Area (km2)
1	Ashtamudi Wetland	Kerala	19-Aug-02	614
2	Bhitarkanika Mangroves	Odisha	19-Aug-02	650
3	Bhoj Wetland	Madhya Pradesh	19-Aug-02	32
4	Chandra Taal	Himachal Pradesh	8-Nov-05	0.49
5	Chilika Lake	Odisha	1-Oct-81	1165
6	Deepor Beel	Assam	19-Aug-02	40
7	East Kolkata Wetlands	West Bengal	19-Aug-02	125
8	Harike Wetland	Punjab	23-Mar-90	41
9	Hokera Wetland	Jammu and Kashmir	8-Nov-05	13.75
10	Kanjli Wetland	Punjab	22-Jan-02	1.83
11	Keoladeo National Park	Rajasthan	1-Oct-81	28.73
12	Kolleru Lake	Andhra Pradesh	19-Aug-02	901
13	Loktak Lake	Manipur	23-Mar-90	266
14	Nalsarovar Bird Sanctuary	Gujarat	24-Sep-12	123
15	Point Calimere Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary	Tamil Nadu	19-Aug-02	385
16	Pong Dam Lake	Himachal Pradesh	19-Aug-02	156.62
17	Renuka Lake	Himachal Pradesh	8-Nov-05	0.2
18	Ropar Wetland	Punjab	22-Jan-02	13.65
19	Rudrasagar Lake	Tripura	8-Nov-05	2.4
20	Sambhar Lake	Rajasthan	23-Mar-90	240
21	Sasthamkotta Lake	Kerala	19-Aug-02	3.73
22	Surinsar-Mansar Lakes	Jammu and Kashmir	8-Nov-05	3.5
23	Tsomoriri	Jammu and Kashmir	19-Aug-02	120
24	Upper Ganga River (Brijghat to Narora Stretch)	Uttar Pradesh	8-Nov-05	265.9
25	Vembanad-Kol Wetland	Kerala	19-Aug-02	1512.5
26	Wular Lake	Jammu and Kashmir	23-Mar-90	189
27	Sundarban Wetland	West Bengal	1-Feb-19	4260

Sunset

when it's time for dusk,

not west, but east I face

and think of places 

the sun is about to grace!

translated from a Bengali song by Kabir Sumon

Good Bye 2018

I don't even know if it is appropriate to write "Good Bye" to a year which I would mostly remember for painful memories than good memories.

Losses - the elderly in the family, though close, that's still easy to deal with; but when one of your friend in your age group leaves you, you don't know what to say! Then the untimely deaths of grown up children of friends and extended family, I just didn't know what to tell them! And there were two such incidents this year! Perhaps even painful was the death of friendship, where the friends are there but we will never ever cherish the good times that we had again! Then, the cracks in relationship within the family, that will be perhaps be sealed, but will never have the same strength!

Maybe should just say "Good Riddance" and look forward to a brand new year!

Biggest issues in our country (if we go by news)

The biggest statue in the world is built in India. Full page govt paid ads compares it to other statues in the world (by height). Wonder how we compare with those countries on key factors like infrastructure, corruption, healthcare system, education system, etc.

Whether ladies of child bearing age can enter a temple or not! I would rather have ladies of all ages (child bearing or not) get education and security, both social and physical!

Over 300,000 earthern lamps were floated in a river one evening to create a world record! To create an even bigger statue in the same riverbanks.

Wonder if these are so since elections are next year! I am even predicting escalation with our neighboring countries in the months ahead.

Just another trek post

My first blog post was a travelogue – I started writing blogs because there was so little information on the web on these places where I visited. This post is a throwback to those posts.

Anyone who knows me, knows how I love the mountains. And how I like a little physical outdoor activity like trekking. Since our marriage, I have taken Smita to two treks – the first one resulted in us returning in two days from the hills of Dzongri / Goecha la. The second, to Sandakphu and was a grand success. Since then, due to our daughter being very young, we have not planned treks at all, although it was always my wish to do a proper trek alone, since Smita doesn’t really enjoy them. After planning and pondering for over two years, finally booked a trek to Hampta pass, a popular trek near Manali, Himachal Pradesh. The trek takes one from the green Kullu valley to the dry Spiti valley.

Took a flight to Delhi on 15^th June and an overnight bus to Manali the same day. Checked in to a backpacker’s hostel (my first time) in Old Manali and roamed around the city a bit. The next morning, started the trek from Prini, a village nearby where we met our fellow trekkers. The first part of the journey was a ride to Jobra from Prini, negotiating 40 odd hairpin bends on the road. From Jobra, the trek to Chikha campsite was an easy one, and covered in about three hours with at least 6 – 7 breaks! The Chikha campsite was in a valley, right next to the Jobri river. The evening was spent roaming around the campsite, crossing over the river for a stroll, and generally getting to know our fellow trekkers better.

Next day was slightly longer with the hike taking us about 6-7 hours. The highlight of the day was crossing of the river near Jwara just before lunch, and the pretty site where we had our packed lunch. The campsite at Balu ka Ghera was once again in a valley and next to the river. The evening was a blast thanks to all the singing and games we played before an early dinner.

Next day we started early as there was a long way to Hampta Pass and cross over to Spiti valley onward to the next camp site at Shea Goru. The trek was slightly tougher than the other days, with a lot of boulders to negotiate. There were few patches of snow which we had to cross too. The final approach up to Hampta Pass was also covered with snow and it slowed the entire group down. Once we reached Hampta Pass, it started to rain with ice crystals. We had our lunch of Veg Biryani in the rain and started the steep descent towards Shea Goru. The first segment was slippery with a lot of mud and slush, and then there was a section where a steep slope full of snow was traversed with sliding on the snow. The last section was a gradual slope down the hill and on to the valley where the camp was set.

Hampta Pass

The next day started with crossing of the river – and this was some cold water. The fingers instantly went numb, and even after several minutes, could not feel the feet. The walk thereafter was through gradual slopes and ridges, and with the sun shining bright, was an easy walk, especially compared to the previous day. We reached the campsite at Chhatru, and soon took the waiting cars for a drive to Chandrataal, a high altitude lake about 50 km away.

Chandrataal

Next day, the same cars took us back to Manali via Rohtang Pass. Enjoyed Manali through the day and just roamed about leisurely. The old trees in this city simply makes a great sight and makes one realize how mountains are meant to be. Wrapped the trip by meeting few friends in Delhi, which is always a joy for me.

His Majesty, @Chhatru

Manali (2000m) - Jobra (2707m) - Chikha (3000m) - Balu - Ka - Gheera (3600m) - Hampta Pass (4270m) - Shea Gahru (3700m) - Chatru (3300m) - Chandratal (4250m) - Chatru (3300m) - Manali (2000m)

Hidimba Mandir, Manali