A holiday
for Raj
These days
people are on the move all the time. My Mamaji Shri R.K.Sadhu has just returned
from Stockholm. My sister Asha and her husband Dev are currently in Singapore.
My cousin Usha and her husband Rattan Lal Raina are visiting their son in the
States.
Why am I
saying all this? Today, this is ghar ghar ki kahani. Children are
settling abroad and parents visit them.
Raj is
special. She is bound to her hearth and home with hoops of steel and is not one
of those gallivanting grahasthins who hanker after holidays and hotels. She is happiest looking after her own
brood like a mother hen.
Sathya Sai Baba told her once in a personal interview
that she would have to spend most of her time looking after the welfare of many generations. Raj replied promptly, trying to display her
knowledge of arithmetic, “ Yes, Baba I have to look after four generations.”
Baba smiled
mischievously and looked obliquely at Urvashi, our daughter-in-law. “No, five, “he
said.
Baba was right! For many years now she has had
to cater to five
generations of Kaws ranging from my mother who is ninety to
Amrit who is nine. With my son’s family moving recently to Cleveland, her
attention span has come down to three.
So when I
recently went to Panchagani in Maharashtra, she sneaked in a holiday for more
than a week.
I have been
going to Panchagani now and then to participate in training programmes run for
senior officers of the Government in collaboration with the Department of
Personnel, Govt. of India.I have been waxing eloquent about the ambience of the
place, its plateaus and valleys, strawberries and silence, trips to nearby villages and temples, mild climate and flowers, tips for
inner governance and changing life’s agenda.
As it turned
out, she got a rude introduction to the place. The flight from Delhi was
delayed by half an hour and heavy rainfall and traffic Increased the time taken
to get out of Pune town by another hour. It rained all the way to Panchagani
and it was quarter past ten when we finally reached our destination.
Luckily the
management had taken care to keep a hot case in our room with a delightful fare
of dishes. The room was warm and welcoming. We had a leisurely meal and then
fell into deep sleep.
Raj attended
our training sittings in the next few
days and found them quite absorbing. The major theme of our sessions on inner
governance proceeds to expound the central thesis advocated by Buchman, the
founder of MRA. It is simply put thus: “Be the change you want to see in the
world.”
The teachers
at Panchagani are all volunteers, trying to transform the world as per their
heart’s desire. The training methodology is quite different, replete with
incidents from their own lives, songs by large groups of international interns,
short video films, interesting management games and so on.
There was a
short visit to Grampari, a village development project, where the Director’s
wife Jaishree runs various programmes of rural arts and crafts, teaching the
villagers to take clean drinking water, give up drinking and to respect their
womenfolk. I have been there quite often, so I let Raj go to the village, along
with the other ladies who had accompanied their spouses.
She showed
me the knickknacks she had bought at the craft centre, mostly bags and purses
to be distributed as gifts to her many nieces.
That evening
we had a talent nite of the trainees where they presented a variety
entertainment programme. At dinner we had met Asma, a Kashmiri Muslim girl who
has married a Gujarati boy. I asked her whether she could sing a Kashmiri song.
One thing led to another and the result of this casual conversation was the
presentation of a duet by Raj and Asma. Later I sang a Ghazal by Ghalib “Dil-e-nadaan
tujhe hua kya hai” . And on a special request Raj and I sang on old duet “Mohe
bhool gaye sanwariya “, which is a favourite of ours from our Himachal days.
Next day, we
had a lecture by Anil Swarup, the Secretary (Coal) who explained how he had
successfully handled the coal auctions. It was an electrifying presentation.
Anil is a powerful speaker and brings both personalities and problems alive to
his audience.
There was a
trip to Mahabaleshwar temple on the programme. The trainees went separately and
we had a car for two members of the faculty and their wives. Although it stated
to rain we did not pay much attention to it, this being the season for rain.
But when we reached the temple, there was a sudden and sustained downpour which
made the ascent to the temple impossible. We waited for half an hour ,but Lord
Shiva not showing any indication of relenting, we had to reluctantly withdraw.
On the way
back we paid a visit to Maypore, an enterprise run by a Vohra, where
strawberries are grown on a large scale and then converted into numerous
products. In their restaurant we had a pizza and strawberry ice cream and
coffee. It was yummy.
Thus the
programme progressed as per schedule. We had a brain storming session with the
Secretary Personnel, who had brought all his senior officers. The discussions
centred mainly on two issues—performance assessment and citizen-centric system
of governance. The discussions were very instructive and satisfying, with some
novel suggestions coming up. Only time will tell whether any of the ideas would
see the light of the day.
Soon it was
time to leave. We left Panchagani with some regret in our hearts. But one thing
was for sure. The holiday was a good break for Raj. Let us see when we can
leave our Kaw Aul (Crows’ Nest) at Pamposh next.
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