Tag Archives: trees

AUTHOR RUSKIN BOND

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WHEN ALL WARS ARE DONE, A BUTTERFLY WILL STILL BE BEAUTIFUL: RUSKIN BOND

    ONE OF INDIA’S MOST LOVED WRITERS RECENTLY CELEBRATED HIS 89TH BIRTHDAY IN THE BEST POSSIBLE WAY BY BRINGING OUT A NEW BOOK (‘THE GOLDEN YEARS – THE MANY JOYS OF LIVING A GOOD LONG LIFE’), PACKED WITH HIS TRADEMARK NUGGETS OF WISDOM. SHOBHA DE MEETS RUSKIN BOND FOR AN INTERVIEW AT HIS HOME IN LANDOUR, WHERE HE SPENDS HIS TIME READING, WRITING, AND TUNING INTO THE CHATTER OF BULBULS ON HIS WINDOWSILL

    During the course of the interview, she asked 10 questions. The gist of which is summarised below:

QUESTION 1: What does 89 really feel like? Do you sometimes wish you were 29?

    No, 89 does not feel too old. My writing does tire me sometimes, which didn’t happen when I was much younger. There is the occasional twinge of pain here and there. Of course, when I look in the mirror, I find a couple of teeth missing, and the double chin sagging, but mentally, I am very similar to what I was at 29, or 19 or even 9! Which is why people say I never grew up!

    QUESTION 2: In the foreword, you have written that the book is about growing old and liking it. Which is the key attribute to living a good life and how does one prepare for the golden years?

    Well, it’s a series of mini essays on growing old, and the things that make life worth living. Here I am at 89, a reasonably happy man, with no regrets, I work hard, and that’s important. Continue doing what you have been doing creatively. The day you stop working, you stop living. As for the future, life is full of uncertainties. I live with the attitude of ‘what can I do tomorrow’ rather than thinking too much about the distant future.

QUESTION 3: What role does spirituality play in maintaining emotional wellness?

    I am not a very spiritual person. I am a philosophical person. But I am spiritual in the sense that I am very close to nature, I believe in the sanctity of nature ie. — birds, trees, flowers, streams—and anything that grows. I am not the one to sit with my legs crossed every morning to meditate. I look at a flower and contemplate. The natural world is what made us. You can say I contemplate rather than meditate.

QUESTION 4: What are the small things and big things that make you happy?

    Books make me happy. Sweet notes of the whistling thrush make me happy. Human relationships make me happy. I don’t have too many friends, but a few that I have, make me happy and so does my family. Human relationships are important. One has to do a certain amount of writing every day, but reading makes me happy. Sometimes I don’t feel like putting a book down to start writing! I am a reader first and a writer second. People make me happy … I try to make people happy sometimes!

QUESTION 5: How does one keep the ‘child within’ alive?

    It’s a part of the nature you are born with … it’s not a deliberate thing. Look at the world as something that has just been created, and approach it with the freshness of spirit. There is so much to discover from a personal point of view, every single day.

QUESTION 6: What saddens you the most?

    The human inclination to go to war at the drop of a hat! It saddens me to see people often wanting to kill each other for trivial reasons. The human race has been doing that throughout history — aggrandisement and wanting what the other fellow has. Certain human traits sadden me such as maliciousness, intrigue, and backbiting– and these are human, not animal traits. The most dangerous weapon in the world is the tongue. The tongue can create enemies. It can lead to conflicts, it can bring about wars. So beware of the tongue. However, we need to remember that when all wars are done, a butterfly will still be beautiful.

QUESTION 7: Loneliness has been declared a global epidemic. Why are people lonely?

    Loneliness comes into your life unexpectedly. It happens when you least want it. It is different from solitude, which one sometimes looks for, to get away from the hurly-burly of life. Living alone can make you lonely. I was lonely as a shy young boy in London. Big cities make you lonely. They are hard to get to know. Even gregarious people feel lonely in a crowd.

QUESTION 8: What are you reading these days?

    I am a bookworm. I read three or four books a week. I enjoy detective novels, well-written autobiographies, and books on history. I don’t think a true writer would be the one who has not read a great deal as a young person.

QUESTION 9: What’s your relationship with technology?

    I am technology-illiterate. I have no mobile or laptop. I use that wonderful invention called the ballpoint pen to write. I am not against technology, but I’m not a slave to it.

QUESTION 10: What are your vanities and vulnerabilities?

    Well, I’m proud of my work, but I don’t brag about it. I know writers have big egos, so I try to control mine. I tell myself, there are other writers too in the world. As regards vulnerabilities? I am sensitive and get hurt easily if someone says something overly critical of me. You have to know me to understand my vanities and vulnerabilities!

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Posted by Kamlesh Tripathi (Content TOI)

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Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life threatening diseases especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers that includes both children and adults and it has a huge variety in terms of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate for the cause. The bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

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Our Publications

GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

(The book is about a young cancer patient. Now archived in 8 prestigious libraries of the US that includes Harvard College Library; Harvard University Library; Library of Congress; University of Washington, Seattle; University of Minnesota, Minneapolis; Yale University, New Haven; University of Chicago; University of North Carolina, at Chapel Hill University Libraries. It can also be accessed in MIT through Worldcat.org. Besides, it is also available for reading in libraries and archives of Canada, Cancer Aid and Research Foundation Mumbai; Jaipuria Institute of Management, Noida; India. Shoolini University, Yogananda Knowledge Center, Himachal Pradesh and Azim Premzi University, Bangalore).  

ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

(Is a book on ‘singlehood’ about a Delhi girl now archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture, Delhi; Available for reading in Indian National Bibliography, March 2016, in the literature section, in Central Reference Library, Ministry of Culture, India, Belvedere, Kolkata-700022)

AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

(Is a fiction written around the great city of Nawabs—Lucknow. It describes Lucknow in great detail and also talks about its Hindu-Muslim amity. That happens to be the undying characteristic of Lucknow. The book was launched in the Lucknow International Literary Festival of 2014. It is included for reading in Askews and Holts Library Services, Lancashire, U.K; Herrick District Library, Holland and Charlotte-Mecklenburg Library, Mecklenburg County in North Carolina, USA; Black Gold Cooperative Library Administration, Arroyo Grande, California).

REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

(Co-published by Cankids–Kidscan, a pan India NGO and Shravan Charity Mission, that works for Child cancer in India. The book is endorsed by Ms Preetha Reddy, MD Apollo Hospitals Group. It was launched at Lucknow International Literary Festival in 2016)

TYPICAL TALE OF AN INDIAN SALESMAN

(Is a story of an Indian salesman who is, humbly qualified. Yet he fights his way through unceasing uncertainties to reach the top. A good read not only for salesmen. The book was launched on 10th February 2018 at Gorakhpur Lit-Fest. Now available on Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

RHYTHM … in poems

(Published in January 2019. The book contains 50 poems. The poems describe our day-to-day life. A few poems from the book have been published in Shillong Times, Bandra Times and Bhavan’s Journal. The book is available on Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

MIRAGE

(Published in February 2020. The book is a collection of eight short stories available in Amazon, Flipkart and Notion Press)

AWADH ASSAM AND DALAI LAMA … The Kalachakra

(The story of the man who received His Holiness The Dalai Lama and his retinue in 1959 as a GOI representative when he fled Tibet in 1959. The book was launched on 21st November 2022 by His Holiness The Dalai Lama at Dharmshala. The title is archived in the library of the Department of Information and International Relations (DIIR) Government of Tibet, Tibet Policy Institute (TPI) and the personal library of His Holiness. The title is also archived in The Ohio Digital Library, USA).

BHAVANS JOURNAL

Short stories, Book reviews and Articles published in Bhavan’s Journal: 1. Reality and Perception, 15.10.19; 2. Sending the Wrong Message, 31.5.20; 3. Eagle versus Scholars June, 15 & 20 2020; 4. Indica, 15.8.20; 5. The Story of King Chitraketu, August 31 2020; 6. Breaking Through the Chakravyuh, September 30 2020. 7. The Questioning Spouse, October 31, 2020; 8. Happy Days, November 15, 2020; 9. The Karma Cycle of Paddy and Wheat, December 15, 2020; 10. Power Vs Influence, January 31, 2021; 11. Three Refugees, March 15, 2021; 12. Rise and Fall of Ajatashatru, March 31, 2021; 13. Reformed Ruler, May 15, 2021; 14. A Lasting Name, May 31, 2021; 15. Are Animals Better Teachers? June 16, 2021; 16. Book Review: The Gram Swaraj, 1.7.21; 17. Right Age for Achievements, 15.7.21; 18. Big Things Have Small Beginnings, 15.8.21; 19. Where is Gangaridai?, 15.9.21; 20. Confront the Donkey Within You 30.9.21; 21. Know Your Strengths 15.10.21; 22. Poverty 15.11.21; 23. Top View 30.11.21; 24. The Bansuriwala 15.1.22; 25. Sale of Alaska 15.2.22; 26. The Dimasa Kingdom 28.2.22; 27. Buried Treasure 15.4.22; 28. The Kingdom of Pragjyotisha 30.4.22; 29. Who is more useful? 15.5.22; 30. The White Swan from Lake Mansarovar 30.6.22; 31. Bhool Bhulayya 15.9.22; 32. Good Karma 30.9.22; 33. Good Name vs Bad Name 15.10.22; 34. Uttarapath—The Grand Trunk Road 1.12.22; 35. When Gods Get Angry 1.1.23; 36. Holinshed’s Chronicles 15.1.23; 37. Theogony 15.2.23; 38. Poem: Mother 14.5.23; 39. THE NAG MANDIR;

SUNDAY SHILLONG TIMES

ARTICLES & POEMS: 1. POEM: HAPPY NEW YEAR 8.1.23; 2. POEM: SPRING 12.3.23; 3. POEM: RIGHT AND WRONG 20.3.23; 4. THE GUSH OF EMOTION—WRITING, 26.3.23; 5. THE NAG MANDIR, 7.5.23; 6. POEM: MOTHER 7.5.23; 7. POEM: RAIN RAIN;

BANDRA TIMES, MUMBAI

ARTICLES & POEMS: 1. POEM SPRING, 1.4.23; POEM MOTHER, 1.6.23;

(ALL THE ABOVE BOOK TITLES ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE ON AMAZON, FLIPKART AND OTHER ONLINE STORES OR YOU COULD EVEN WRITE TO US FOR A COPY)

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SHORT STORY: THE CHAKRAVYUH OF THE CRIME WORLD

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    There was once a young thief who stole some mango seeds of a good variety and sowed it in his backyard and started nourishing them with water and manure. Thereafter, he started making plans, that after some years, when the trees grow up, he’ll sell the mangoes every season, and stop his deceitful business of thievery, and along with that he will also do something respectable. But in the meantime he thought, he’ll continue with his thievery as he had no other option for the present.

    Happy with his plans, every now and then when he came home at odd hours he made it a point to measure the height of the plants in the backyard by standing next to them. The increase in the height of the plants gave him joy. He felt days are not far, when he’ll be out of this treacherous and risky business of thievery. One day when he returned home after a long gap he figured out that the plants had turned into mini trees and had attained his height. He was exuberant at this feeling and the breath taking sight of his mango trees equalling his height.

    Time flew as it would. The thief was now making a lot of money. He soon developed contacts with many politicians and government officials.  He became rich and powerful by committing crimes for them, who in turn, protected him, from getting caught. During this period, the mango trees, had also grown and the backyard had turned into, a small mango orchard. One day when the trees delivered their first crop it reminded the thief of his promise that the time had come to give up thievery but the thief felt it was now impossible for him to return to an honest life.

    With the passage of time the thief only grew taller and taller in the world of crime, and didn’t remain a mere thief.  He had by now become an extortionist, and even a murderer. He now had the political patronage of many politicians and government officers. But then, there remained that strong sense of guilt in him, whenever, he saw the mango orchard—that kept reminding him of his crimes, as he had promised the trees, that he’ll give up thievery as and when the first mango fruit, sprouted out of them. The trees on the other hand were happy, that the time had come, to return favours, to their master. Once or twice, the thief, did have the mangoes from his trees but then he was always loaded with a sense of guilt, that he had not kept up to his promise of leaving thievery. The thief on the contrary, now had, no intention of leaving his dirty business for he was now rolling in power and pelf.

    There came a time when the powerful thief no more enjoyed the sight of the mango trees. They reminded him of his broken promise. They started irritating him. Guiltily, one day he called a wood cutter, and got, all the trees cut, so that they don’t remind him of his guilt anymore, and he dumped the wood in the same backyard that had turned into an orchard.

    Though, the thief had cut the trees and dumped the wood in the backyard he could never forget the sweet mangoes. They kept returning to him in his dreams like a child, reminding him yet about his unfulfilled promise, but unfortunately, the thief by now, was riding a tiger. Finally, one day when the thief had all the money and power to himself he decided to leave the world of crime in the endeavour, to fulfil his promise, but by then, the world of crime was not prepared to leave him and the same politicians and officials who were earlier his friends got him eliminated so that he doesn’t let out, the dark secrets, of the crime world, and the discarded wood of the mango trees lying in his backyard alone, cremated his, crime laden mortal remains.

    Moral of the story: It is very easy to enter the chakravyuh, of the world of crime but extremely difficult to come out of it safe and sound. Nature keeps reminding us of our deeds and misdeeds in the form of ‘mangoes’ and the ‘wood’ in very subtle manners but we only need to catch the subtle signals.

Written by Kamlesh Tripathi

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https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

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Share it if you like it

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Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life threatening diseases especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers that includes both children and adults and it has a huge variety in terms of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate for the cause. The bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

*

Our publications

GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

(The book is about a young cancer patient. Now archived in 7 prestigious libraries of the US, including, Harvard University and Library of Congress. It can also be accessed in MIT through Worldcat.org. Besides, it is also available for reading in Libraries and archives of Canada and Cancer Aid and Research Foundation Mumbai)  

ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

(Is a book on ‘singlehood’ about a Delhi girl now archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture, Delhi)

AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

(Is a fiction written around the great city of Nawabs—Lucknow. It describes Lucknow in great detail and also talks about its Hindu-Muslim amity. That happens to be the undying characteristics of Lucknow. The book was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival of 2014. It is included for reading in Askews and Holts Library Services, Lancashire, U.K.)

REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

(Co-published by Cankids–Kidscan, a pan India NGO and Shravan Charity Mission, that works for Child cancer in India. The book is endorsed by Ms Preetha Reddy, MD Apollo Hospitals Group. It was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival 2016)

TYPICAL TALE OF AN INDIAN SALESMAN

(Is a story of an Indian Salesman who is, humbly qualified. Yet he fights his ways through unceasing uncertainties to reach the top. A good read not only for salesmen. The book was launched on 10th February, 2018 in Gorakhpur Lit-Fest. Now available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

RHYTHM … in poems

(Published in January 2019. The book contains 50 poems. The poems describe our day to day life. The book is available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

MIRAGE

(Published in February 2020. The book is a collection of eight short stories. It is available in Amazon, Flipkart and Notion Press)

(ALL THE ABOVE TITLES ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE IN AMAZON, FLIPKART AND OTHER ONLINE STORES OR YOU COULD EVEN WRITE TO US FOR A COPY)

*****

INTERESTING FACTS FIGURES AND QUOTES-44

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Trees are 75% water. Apple is 80% water and human body is 70% water. Most of us believe that there is an infinite supply of water on earth whereas the earth’s water circulation is fixed and works in a closed loop. The total water in earth is 1.1 quadrillion acre feet. 97% of this is salt water in oceans and seas. Fresh water is 2.5% (28 trillion acre feet) in which 69.5% exists as glaciers, snow and permafrost. Another 30.1% is underground in deep aquifers and only 0.4% is available in the form of lakes, rivers, soil moisture, air humidity, marshes and wetlands. Thus, there is only 7 billion acre feet of water, ie 1.4 million litres per person per year to drink and perform their daily chores. Moreover rivers are drying up, underground reservoirs are becoming deeper and inaccessible. So water needs to be conserved.

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WHAT ARE INDICATORS OF GLOBAL WARMING? Watch out—the temperature in the Arctic permafrost zone has risen by about 5.5 degree Fahreinheit since 1980. Climatic conditions remain relatively constant when seen from the human perspective, but they have changed many times over the life of the planet. A warming trend in the last century raises the urgent question of whether human activity is now changing the climate. The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize for its work on climate change.     The panel studied the net change in heat entering or leaving the climate system and concluded that due to increased greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide–up from 280 parts per million in pre-industrial society to 379 parts per million in 2005—and heat exchange had increased about 2.3 watts per square meter since 1750. That increase—unprecedented over the last 10,000 years—is leading to warmer ocean temperatures, higher sea levels, increased humidity and shrinking snow pack and ice at the Poles. These climate changes could influence the weather worldwide.

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GEOGRAPHY INFLUENCES CLIMATE: Coastal areas are refreshed when cooler air moves ashore. South and east of the Great Lakes, “lake effect” (meteorological phenomena) snow falls when cold air sweeps over warmer waters. Spring and summer thunderstorms build where three types of air mass converge: Cold and dry from the north, warm and dry from the southwest, and warm and moist from the Gulf of Mexico. Born to a distinguished academic family in imperial Russia, Wladmir Koppen (1846-1940) noticed during trips to his family’s coastal estate on the Black Sea how the plant life changed as he traversed plains, mountains, and the seaside landscape. His study of how flora was related to climate led him in 1884 to produce a map of global temperature bands ranging from the Poles to the equator. Sixteen years later he refined that map into a mathematical formula, which defined five major climate types based on temperature and rainfall—ranging from the intense humidity of the tropics to the cold, dry polar caps. The system, still in use today, corresponds roughly to the classification system of biomes (biological communities) that describes the world’s regions based on plant and animal life.

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The global water situation is very scary. Every year 1.8 million children die of water-borne diseases; 30,000 deaths happen due to unsafe water and diarrhea. More than 783 million people do not have access to clean water and this will rise to 5.3 billion by 2025.

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Can an individual’s action help? “You cannot get through a single day without having an impact on the world around you. What you do makes a difference and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.” –says English anthropologist Jane Goodall

***

By Kamlesh Tripathi

*

https://kamleshsujata.wordpress.com

*

Share it if you like it

*

Shravan Charity Mission is an NGO that works for poor children suffering from life threatening diseases especially cancer. Our posts are meant for our readers that includes both children and adults and it has a huge variety in terms of content. We also accept donations for our mission. Should you wish to donate for the cause. The bank details are given below:

NAME OF ACCOUNT: SHRAVAN CHARITY MISSION

Account no: 680510110004635 (BANK OF INDIA)

IFSC code: BKID0006805

*

Our publications

GLOOM BEHIND THE SMILE

(The book is about a young cancer patient. Now archived in 7 prestigious libraries of the US, including, Harvard University and Library of Congress. It can also be accessed in MIT through Worldcat.org. Besides, it is also available for reading in Libraries and archives of Canada and Cancer Aid and Research Foundation Mumbai)  

ONE TO TANGO … RIA’S ODYSSEY

(Is a book on ‘singlehood’ about a Delhi girl now archived in Connemara Library, Chennai and Delhi Public Library, GOI, Ministry of Culture, Delhi)

AADAB LUCKNOW … FOND MEMORIES

(Is a fiction written around the great city of Nawabs—Lucknow. It describes Lucknow in great detail and also talks about its Hindu-Muslim amity. That happens to be its undying characteristic. The book was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival of 2014)

REFRACTIONS … FROM THE PRISM OF GOD

(Co-published by Cankids–Kidscan, a pan India NGO and Shravan Charity Mission, that works for Child cancer in India. The book is endorsed by Ms Preetha Reddy, MD Apollo Hospitals Group. It was launched in Lucknow International Literary Festival 2016)

TYPICAL TALE OF AN INDIAN SALESMAN

(Is a story of an Indian salesman who is, humbly qualified. Yet he fights his ways through unceasing uncertainties to reach the top. A good read not only for salesmen. The book was launched on 10th February, 2018 in Gorakhpur Lit-Fest. Now available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

RHYTHM … in poems

(Published in January 2019. The book contains 50 poems. The poems describe our day to day life. The book is available in Amazon, Flipkart and Onlinegatha)

(ALL THE ABOVE TITLES ARE AVAILABLE FOR SALE IN AMAZON, FLIPKART AND OTHER ONLINE STORES OR YOU COULD EVEN WRITE TO US FOR A COPY)

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Short story: THE KING AND THE GARDENER

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By Kamlesh Tripathi

 

Nausherwan the king of Faras was famous for his judicial acumen. He was a big philanthropist too. One day he set out with his ministers to go around the city to ascertain what all was happening. While going around he saw an old gardener in an orchard busy planting walnut saplings. The king entered the orchard and went up to him. He asked—‘are you a servant here or this is your own orchard?’

The gardener replied—‘My Lord I don’t serve anymore. This orchard was planted by my forefathers, so it belongs to me.’

The king said—‘you are planting these walnut saplings. But do you even know it takes twenty years for it to flower and bear fruits. Do you think you’ll live for twenty years to eat the fruits?’

The gardener heard the king dutifully and then politely said–‘My Lord, till now I had so many fruits from trees planted by others. Now it is my duty to plant trees for others. It will be extremely selfish on my part if I plant trees that only bear fruits for me.’

The king was extremely happy with the reply the old gardener had given and as a reward he gave him two asharfees (gold coins).

Moral of the story: One must continuously think of others as others have thought about us.

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