कॉलेज कट्टा

स्वप्नात माझ्या काल कॉलेजचा कट्टा आला..
सर्व प्रथम अण्णाच्या टपरीचा  गर्मा-गरम वडा दिसला.
तोड नव्हती त्या चवीला कशाची..
आणि साथ होती न संपणाऱ्या गप्पांची .

नकळत मग पाऊले वर्गाकडे निघाली,
आणि वर्गाकडे जाणाऱ्या जिन्यावर जाऊन अडखळली ..
कधीतरी तिथे बसून ‘assignment’ चे कागद खरडण्यात वेळ गेला
आणि कधीतरी परीक्षे नंतर पेपर ‘discuss’ करण्यात वेळ घालवला

पुढे जाऊन मी आमच्या वर्गात डोकावले..
गंमतीशीर ते, शेवटचे बाकड़े दृष्टीस पडले.
अरे! आत्ता तर वर्गात सगळी हजर होती..
हजेरी नंतर निम्मी बाहेर सटकती.

सरांच्या  हि गोष्ट लक्ष्यात का येणार नव्हती?
त्यांनी सुद्धा मग दोनदा हजेरीची प्रथा पाडली..
वर्गात बराच वेळ रेंगाळले,
कारण तिथे आठवणींचे बरेच धागे उसवले..

कधी आवडत्या सरांचे ‘lecture’..
तर कधी नावडत्या सरांचा ‘anger’..
कधी वार्षिक समारंभाचे ‘preparation’..
तर कधी प्रचंड गडबडीत करा ’submission’..

“सर, आज तरी आमचा प्रोजेक्ट ’submit’ करून घ्या!!”
“हा पहा मुलांनो.. इलेक्ट्रोनिक प्रोजेक्टच्या नावाखाली, बाळाचा खुळखुळा “..
“सर मार्कं कमी दिले तरी चालतील, पण घ्या..”
छे हो कोतवाल - इथे नको!! वर्गाबाहेर जाऊन पसरा गळा!!…

सर असं बोलले  आणि दचकन जाग आली..
आमचे हे घोरत होते आणि मी घाबरून कूस बदलली.
कडू गोड मालिकांचा असा हा अनमोल साठा..
प्रत्येकाच्या आठवणीतला कॉलेज कट्टा.

गौरी कोतवाल-पांडे ०१-०३-२०१०

सवंगडी माझा

सवंगडी माझा बालपणीचा हा,
असेल कोण जरा डोकं खाजवुन तर पहा..!

शाळेत याचा ‘Nursery’ साठी ‘Interview’
याचा नंबर आला आणि नेमका याला हवा खाऊ
आई बाबा हैराण याच्या तोंडाला नाही मटट
‘Admission’ मिळव बाबा पुरवू ‘Ice-cream’ चा हट्ट

सवंगडी माझा बालपणीचा हा,
असेल कोण जरा डोकं खाजवुन तर पहा..!

खेळातली नवीन गाड़ी आणून द्यायचा अवकाश
गोल गोल स्वतःभवती फिरवून केलास का सत्यानाश ?
मामाच्या गावी गेलो तरी लुडबुड याची चालू
दुपारच थोडा वेळ झोपू दे, टवाळक्या नको करू

सवंगडी माझा बालपणीचा हा,
असेल कोण जरा डोकं खाजवुन तर पहा..!

वर्गात माझ्या नव्हता तरी लक्ष्य याच्याकडे असायचा
शिक्षा ह्याला व्हायची आणि डोळ्यात पाणी माझ्या यायच
देशभक्तिपर गीत याचं मी कान देऊन ऐकायचे
‘Football’ ची ‘Match’ सुद्धा अगदी टक लावून पहायचे

सवंगडी माझा बालपणीचा हा,
असेल कोण जरा डोकं खाजवुन तर पहा..!

अचानक एक दिवस अल्लड़पणा नाहीसा झाला
‘Steering’ हातात मीळ्ताच चौथ्या ‘Gear’ वर गाड़ी आली चालवायला
समजूतदार झाला आहे हुशारीच्या गोष्टी करतो
महत्वाची कामे उत्तम रित्या पार पाडतो

सवंगडी माझा बालपणीचा हा,
असेल कोण जरा डोकं खाजवुन तर पहा..!

सोबत खेळलो, धडपडलो, बागडलो, भांडलो
तरी सुद्धा गट्टी जमायला कधीतरी वेळ लागतो
मोठा माणुस झालास की विसरून नको जाऊ
तो पहा ऐटित चले माझा ‘Handsome’ भाऊ

सवंगडी माझा बालपणीचा हा,
नक्की कोण हा खट्यळ समजलच असेल तुम्हाला

गौरी कोतवाल-पांडे १८-०२-२०१०

एक टुमदार घर असावं

In LoVe with SinGinG.. all over again

Recently I and one of my friends Shri, have started singing one song every week since music is our passion and lies deep within our hearts. We have planned to meet every Friday and sing songs together – motivating each other. Long time since I eagerly wanted a companion. It has also been long since I have been singing. I would rather say it was a long pause since singing has been very close to my heart since childhood. My mother is a very good singer and I am one of those lucky ones who has inherited this treasure (From grand-mother, mother and so on..). Music is one love that I have a very close relation with since childhood.

Ours was an average middle class Indian family and my mother was usually occupied with loads of work. The only hobby she could pursue without any significant investment was singing. Occasionally in our spare time we used to hum songs. I learnt numerous songs from her. She used to cook and simultaneously teach me new songs and correct me even if I went wrong while just humming the song. I could clearly make out her love for singing by this gesture.. During my continuous singing sessions, I bet our neighbors would have put cotton ear plugs. Once I start singing, I just forget about everything around. At times it is difficult to raise the pitch of my voice to the pitch of original song, it might sound terrible.

I have been learning Indian classical singing since I was in school. My friend Tejaswini, Priyanka and I used to go for music classes together. Our moms generally came to drop us and then pick us back. Our singing teacher Mrs. Pandit had a lovely 2 floored bungalow with a nice garden around. I recollect of a big swing as well in their garden. We used to sit on the first floor which had an attached terrace. Many a times we used to sit in the open terrace during our learning sessions. Sitting and singing on the terrace was so very relaxing and tranquil. We used to have a small function for ‘Guru-pournima’ every year. It was the responsibility of senior members in our class to organize this function. We participated actively in this event every year. At that time we were among the youngest students in the class and our teacher took great delight in hearing us. I fondly recollect she being very proud of us, her beloved students perform. We managed to take 4 Indian classical music exams and win a couple of prizes at various functions held in the city. We were unfortunate that our dear teacher fell sick. She was suffering from throat cancer but still managed to conduct classes. She used to play the harmonium while we synchronized with the music and continued singing. Finally she left us one day and thus we lost all our enthusiasm. Here is a tribute to her from the bottom of my heart for all the initial lessons and love for music she sowed in us.

I feel very lucky to be associated with such a devoted teacher. I almost lost touch with singing since then and was mostly occupied with lots of submissions, assignments, exams and later work. I badly missed those wonderful days.

Coming back from the sweet memories, now that we have decided to get back to singing; I am continuously in search of new songs.. Since long I had an eye on one of this classics ‘Jay Sharade Wageshwari’ from the album ‘Rutu Hirwa’. This song keeps lingering in my mind. I believe it is one of the best and most difficult songs sung by Ashaji. Just thinking of this grand personality brings shivers to me.  Hence I merely kept appreciating the melody of this song without bravely deciding to sing. This song, I think, is a wonderful piece of heart, soul and voice put together… by the composer, the singer ‘Legendary Asha Bhosale’ and the music director Hridaynath Mangeshkar. The song describes Goddess ‘Saraswati’, the Goddess of knowledge, music and art.. The song makes one form an idol of the divine Goddess in one’s mind. Keeping all this in mind, I have chosen to sing this song in the coming week!

I already have this song loaded on our ipod-mini which I carry to work every day. I thought of listening to the song on my way to work today and get myself a wonderful day. I sat in the bus and alas found the ipod power dead.. Never mind I thought.. Reaching office, I eagerly searched the song on you-tube. To my disappointment, I did not find the original piece and lyrics in Marathi anywhere!! There were all other songs from the same album but not this one. Ultimately I could not listen to the song today and decided to post the lyrics on my blog.

The song.. जय शारदे वागेश्वरी

जय शारदे वागेश्वरी
विधि कन्यके विद्याधरी
जय शारदे वागेश्वरी

ज्योत्सने परी कांती तुझी
मुख रम्य शारद चंद्रमा
उजळे तुझ्या हास्यातुनी
चारी युगांची पौर्णिमा
तुझिया कृपेचे चांदणे
नित वर्षुदे अमुच्या शिरी
जय शारदे वागेश्वरी

विणे वरी फिरता तुझी
चतुरा कलावय अंगुली
संगीत जन्मा ये नवे
जड़ता मतिची भंगली
उन्मेष कल्प तरु वरी
बहरून आल्या मंजिरी
जय शारदे वागेश्वरी

Peace divine…

My eyes wide open at this wonderful sight..
I wonder why beautiful thoughts won’t arise..

Stretched farms with sea besides,
grazing cattle with great delights
Stretched blue seamless sky,
I can only wish if I could fly..

Countless shades of greens,
dancing to the rhythm of winds..
Countless sweet tiny flowers,
each with unique shape and color..

Immense wind hitting my face
Isn’t this a charming place?
Fascinated with this phenomenal sight
Why not for such peace divine…

Gauri Kotwal-Pande 30-07-2009

का सारखा तुझा भास्?

हलकेच पचोळ्याच आवाज  होतो..
तुझी चाहूल लगते
तू दिसला नाहीस की खूप उदास वाटतं
अखंड जग जरी सोबतीला असल
तरी सुद्धा अगदी एकट
का सारखा तुझा आभास?

एकटी असले तरी तुझाच विचार करते
तुझ्यावरच कविता सुचते
तू आला नाहीस लवकर की मन बेचैन होतं
पुस्तकांचा ढीग जरी सोबत असला
तरीसुद्धा लक्ष्य तुझ्याकडे असतं
का नेहमीच तुझ्याकडे वाट?

रुसतोस तू माझ्यावर जेव्हा
गळून जाते, दोर तुटलेल्या पतंगासरखी
माझच  मन मला खातं
तू धावत येउन मिठीत घ्यावस
अस सारख वाटत राहतं
का निरंतर तुझीच आस?

त्या टेकडी जवळ्च्या डोहात जेव्हा
मी माझ प्रतिबिंबा पाहते
तू मागून माला बिलगलास असा भास होतो
नकळत चेहरयवरल  हसू पाहून
माझीच माला लाज वाटते
का सारखा तुझा भास्?

गौरी कोतवाल-पांडे १७-०६-२००९

मी अशी

मी अशी
निळ्याभोर आकाशाकडे पाहत
तासंतास रमणारी

मी अशी
इवल्याश्या गवतफ़ुलशी
गप्पा मारणारी

मी अशी
लाटांच्या आवाजात
नाद शोधणारी

मी अशी
मावळत्य सूर्याच्या दिशेने
धावत सुटणारी

मी अशी
नदी पलिकडच्या झोपद्याकडे
एकटक पाहणारी

मी अशी
चंद्रप्रकाशात बसून
चांदण्याच  वेध घेणारी

मी आशी
एकूण एक आठ्वणीना
काव्यातून जपणारी

गौरी कोतवाल-पांडे १२-०६-२००९

सारं विसरलास का रे?

तू

समोर आलास तू , निखळ हसू घेउन
मनमोकळया गप्पा मारल्या तुझ्या बोलक्या डोळ्यात पाहून
सामान्य होता तो दिवस, तरीसुद्धा सर्वात निराळा
वाटलं नव्हतं तुझ्या रूपात आयुष्याचा सोबती मिळेल मला

नव्हती गाणी, झगमगाट नव्हता
न स्वप्नातल्या राजकुमारासरखा तू घोड्यावर होतास
फक्त होत्या गप्पा आणि अगणित विषय
बोलत राहिलो आपण आणि वेळेचा पत्ताच नव्हता

तुला मनात ठेउन मी घरी परतले
तुझ्या समवेत गेलेल्या वेळेचा विचार करत राहिले
निर्मळ प्रेमळ अगदी मला साजेसा वाट्लास
सहजच ह्रुदयात जागा करून राहिलास

अजुनही तो दिवस आठवतो पुन्हा आपली भेट झाली
परत एकदा भरपूर बोलायची संधी मिळाली
निरागसपणे सांगत होतास तुझ्या मनातल्या गोष्टी
एकरूप होतील का त्या माझ्या आयुष्याशी?

बागडत दुसर्या दिवशी मी तुझ्याकडे आले
नकळत पुन्हा एकदा गप्पांमध्यें गुंतून गेले
सोपवेन कायमचा हात तुझ्या हातात
देशील का अशीच आयुष्यभराची साथ?

सगळी कोडी सुटली आणि मी तुझी झाले
एकमेकांपासून दूर असण्याचे क्षण सुद्धा नाहीसे झाले
जीवनातील  दुःख आता तुझ्या सोबत विरघळतात
आनंदाचे क्षण मोहरून खुलतात

गौरी कोतवाल-पांडे २४-०४-२००९

Speech at the Indian Embassy in Copenhagen, Denmark by Nikhil Pande

Namaste everyone,

My heart felt sympathies to all fellow countrymen who lost their lives; even more to those who lost their near & dear ones during the thoroughly planned & well coordinated Mumbai terror attacks.

A grand salute to the brave staff of The Taj & Oberoi, our black cat commandos, the servicemen assisting this operation and all those who directly or indirectly fought the terrorists. They all made every Indian feel immensely proud of being an Indian. They made us feel that we are placed in safe hands – a daunting task under the circumstances.

What happened in Mumbai is an unpardonable crime. My anger knows no bounds especially because of the confused response of the authorities adding to even more chaos in the international community.

It was very unfortunate and extremely shameful that human lives were lost due to negligence on various fronts. What we had in Mumbai was a complete systemic failure. All systems grossly malfunctioned.

What can we learn from the 26/11 terrorist attacks?
The most important lesson is that this can happen again. There are so many vulnerable national assets all over the country and we are ill-prepared to protect them. Terrorists used aircraft in New York, trains and buses in London, trains in Mumbai and Madrid and they came by sea to Mumbai. They could target many of our national iconic sites like Vishakapatnam, Jamshedpur or Lucknow. They could target the IT industry in Bengaluru which has already faced terror attack earlier. These are all irrecoverable assets. We must take every step to safeguard them.

The second lesson is that we must never forget what happened. No stone must be left unturned till all the perpetrators – wherever they are in the world – are punished.

Third, we must not let our tolerance be viewed as weakness by international community.

Fourth, to prioritise national vulnerabilities and set about protecting them.

Fifth, we need to admit failures and mistakes then go about correcting them. Spare no cost, upgrade intelligence capabilities; carry out the much delayed police reforms and arm our elite commandos with world-class gadgets to match their caliber regularly. Spare the Army from routine counter-terror activities and above all; re-establish the rule of law. Sharpen covert capabilities. And not let Pakistan, which is a nuisance, become a threat.

Lastly, media should have acted with greater responsibility since they influence the thoughts of the nation – their job is much more than just reporting.

If you forget everything from the talk until now – please do not forget that the overall desi mentality HAS to change drastically. Resilience to terrorist incidents may indicate that the people may have overcome fear which is a positive development. However, we have a problem because indifference to suffering is based on the hope that “I” shall not be the target and tragedies are only meant for “the other”. There is inadequate public response because it is generally assumed that prevention of terrorism is exclusively the task of the state. This attitude has to change and only the state can help this change. The average citizen must be encouraged and educated to help the state by providing clues, warnings and assistance in investigations.

The best and perhaps the only way to fight terrorism is to develop and sustain an effective intelligence system, not only at the centre but at every level down to the constable. Unless we have this; we will continue to be the soft target of terrorism.

There is loads of work yet to begin, if we want to win the war on terrorism. India must get ready to detect, deter and destroy this menace before it harms us even further. That the government has brought about few reforms in intelligence system post 26/11 is a positive development. We must rigorously follow upon these until we have a strong counter terror system in place.

With immense hope and expectations not only from the leadership but also from the common Indian person; I sincerely believe, if we all come together, “Yes, absolutely we can” win the war against terrorism.

Jai Hind!