ORANGE CITY LITERATURE FESTIVAL

This book is a testing of life. I have gone through many up-downs. As an Officer, a warrior, in the Air Force, you’re tasked with upholding the constitution and protecting India’s freedom. The responsibility is enormous, but its not only about work its also about living well. Quality of life is an important attribute of Air Force life and has no parallel in the civil sector. The life offers you challenge, adventure, excitement, honor, prestige, self-respect, content family life, safety and security for self and family and not to forget the social status, respect and esteem of your countrymen. Besides being a noble service to the motherland and an honorable profession to be proud of, life in the IAF gives variety, adventure and challenge. It provides best of facilities be it recreation, sports, medical, education or clubs and institutes. The lifestyle imbibes in us a healthy wellbeing and a regime for life. The quality time we are able to spend with our family, social bonding with our counterparts, lifetime relations we nurture and the all willing, all time support from the extended family have boundless value. Everyone must know the life of air force officers in varied perspective. This book is perfect for everyone who wants to have mental adventure.

When I started travelling around the country, with my husband, who being in the army was posted at different places that I started learning more about the history and culture of our country. And to my great good fortune, I got to live in places that had a glorious history and important events marked in their historical calendar. One such place was Jhansi. And, if you are in Jhansi, you can’t escape the imposing Jhansi fort or the stories of Maharani Lakshmibai. You can feel her presence all around.

This is so true so I wouldn’t say Rani Lakshmibai has not been documented enough. There is a lot of academic study based on her life and reign. But, it is also true that she has not been represented much in Indian popular culture or Indian fiction. In fact, more films have been made on her in the last one decade than in the last one century. And, this is the case with most female historical characters in India. They have hardly been represented, especially if they have in some manner deviated from the regular image of women that our patriarchal society so loves to convey.

It’s a story that brings alive a lesser-known historical event which has been overshadowed by a much more significant historical event, the Revolt of 1857, that occurred at the time. Also, the story is partly set in Orchha that was once a mighty and glorious kingdom but lay forgotten for a long time. Despite such a rich legacy, it is only recently that the place is once again being promoted as a tourist destination and now figures on the international tourist circuit. It is as much a novel about historical events as it is about the places themselves. Most historical fiction revolves around famous dynasties, focusing on the major events of the time.

I was born into conservative Muslim family where girls have specific boundaries. I was the youngest child in all and had many dreams. I also had many question about treatment I was getting. Why only me? I never understand logic behind it. I used to cook, make tea for being younger. There was a stereotype and everybody has to conceal within it. Gender difference was high and I thought woman must get heard. I didn’t want to live in a particular box but intended to explore out of it. I thought why we can’t do something instead of hiding. Many biases exist among society. When we speak for people they feel connected to us. I think adversity brings best of virtues. Initially my brothers resisted but then it was ok. I was activist within. Corruption was prevailing then. Sitting in studio and asking question seems good but face the same wasn’t easy. Nirbhaya Case or Triple Talaq I tried to help people who need help. Women were in need after their husbands abandoned them, they were crying seeking help. Men don’t tolerate how a woman was confronting them in debate. Country always comes first and we can’t separate ourselves from nation.

n all the negative qualities associated with Shakuni, a very important quality of his has been overlooked. Shakuni was a very good judge of human nature and character. He knew well about Dhritarashtra’s lust for monarchy and his inability to hold on to it due to his lack of vision, both literally as well as figuratively. He was aware of his nephew, Duryodhan’s hatred for his cousins and his ambition to become the King and continued to fan the flame of hatred in his heart and mind. He was also aware of Yudhishtira’s weakness for gambling and knew that Yudhishtira would give in to the slightest provocation and that is what he ensured during the dice-game. He was also well aware of Krishna’s love and support for the Pandava’s and also recognized the fact that Krishna was the only match to his guile and intelligence in the Pandava camp, and ensured that all the wrong meted out to the Pandavas occurred in Krishna’s absence. One can see these examples as evil intentions, or as smart strategist who moved towards his personal objective in a slow, but steady pace.

Popular notion sees Shakuni as the villain, but was he really one? Wouldn’t any individual with slightest of self-respect feel insulted if a matrimonial proposal was sent for his daughter/sister from a person who is not only ineligible but also handicapped? Who would not feel insulted if such a proposal was given to them, just because it was not in their power to decline? Was this not exploitation of one’s superiority? Did Bhishmapitamah not know the inadequacies of Dhritarashtra, who though elder of the family was not eligible to be the King? Was the matrimonial alliance not being sought after more for physical and political reasons rather than simple matrimony? With all this and more, what else can a relatively weaker person do, if not act like a termite and eat into the system, to avenge his insult? This is exactly how rebels are created due to acts of insult, injury and oppression. The case of Shakuni was no different. In the light of such acts by the mighty stalwarts and guardians of Hastinapur, was Shakuni really a villain?

Old age can be a time of selffulfillment and happiness. But it must be lived properly. Most people have the possibility to live themselves the first time in their lives. But they misunderstand self-realization as the way of acting out the external needs. Living the external needs is for a short time of interest, but in the long run, it's rather unsatisfactory. It does not really make you happy in the depths of your soul. At old age, inner happiness must be cultivated.

There is a strange phenomenon of Hindu temple as they are place of experimentation. We do darshana. The Sanskrit word for philosophy is darsana, which means direct vision. The words symbolize the difference between modern Western philosophy, which mainly relies on an intellectual pursuit and Indian philosophy that relies on a direct vision of truth and pure Buddhi (reasoning). All systems of Indian philosophy claim to be derived from the Veda but the Veda itself is a record of the sages who realized the truth within. To solve life’s questions related to nature of life, death, birth, and cosmic or individual existence, they started making rational inquiries and observations. Unable to find satisfactory answers, they discovered various methods of meditation that help one attain higher levels of consciousness in which one may directly experience the truth.

Each school originated with an enlightened teacher who described his experiences of the truth and method of attaining it. Indian philosophy started with simple levels of human understanding, incorporated the direct experiences of sages down the centuries to become a vast and thorough body of knowledge. Tradition, respect for ancient sages, and infinite quest for knowledge make Indian philosophy so vast that it is difficult for people of other countries to fathom how a group of men could have delved so deep into human nature.

When Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated, it was decided at the highest levels that CBI must take up the investigation and I was requested to head the Special Investigation Team. They themselves told that unlike the investigation of Mahatma Gandhi and Indira Gandhi assassinations where the killers were caught red-handed, the investigation was to pursue the matter further as to who all were involved and why they did it. But in this case the government said that they had no idea at all and even the Intelligence agencies had no clue. You may never able to find who killed Rajiv; the government wants us to still go ahead, do our best and hence we are requesting you to head the team.

Discrimination against women and girls is a pervasive and long-running phenomenon that characterizes Indian society at every level. India’s progress towards gender equality, measured by its position on rankings such as the Gender Development Index has been disappointing, despite fairly rapid rates of economic growth. Crimes against women show an upward trend, in particular brutal crimes such as rapes, dowry deaths, and honor killings. Behavioral studies find that while in the short run there is backlash by men as traditional gender roles are being challenged, the negative stereotype eventually disappears. This underscores the importance of sustained affirmative action as a way to reduce gender bias.

This is a time of serious environmental catastrophes. Every year we lose thousands of species, even as others slip deeper into danger. The extinction crisis is well known; what is not are stories of people trying to turn the tide. In Rewilding, environmental journalist I documents stories of hope for India's natural world. I met people who are trying to conserve species not just by replenishing their dwindling numbers, but also by restoring their habitats in the wild. This means going to great lengths, from airlifting corals from coast to coast, to going undercover as a spy to check the availability of toxic drugs that wiped out a bird. In the process l earns that though it may not offer easy answers, rewilding can offer great rewards. And that news about the environment doesn't always have to be bad. We need to reach out not just to the environment activist but the ordinary citizen who crave green spaces, blue skies, clean water and air. It's time to create hope that by having some simple changes in daily life we can put pressure on Government.

Talk About Business with Ajay Chaturvedi, N Raghuraman in Conversation with Kartik Borikar