हास्य व्यंग्य कविताएं : मांग, पक्षपात, दूरदर्शी, शादी

                                                                                                * मिलन सिन्हा 

मांग 

एक बार उसने 

उसकी 'मांग ' भरी 

और फिर, 

जीवनभर  उसकी  'मांगों' से 

उसे छुटकारा नहीं मिला !

पक्षपात 

नेताजी हर जगह 

हिन्दी के पक्ष में बोलते हैं .

पर, जब भी  बोलते हैं 

बस, अंग्रेजी में ही बोलते हैं !

दूरदर्शी 

  बड़ा होकर वह 

धावक बनेगा

तभी तो भविष्य में 

अपने पिता की तरह 

कुर्सी दौड़  में 

हमेशा आगे रहेगा !

शादी 

स्वतंत्रता  दिवस पर 

वे बहुत उदास रहते हैं। 

अपने कमरे में दिनभर 

चुपचाप पड़े रहते हैं .

लोग कहते हैं 

उस दिन उनकी 

छिन गई  थी  सारी  आजादी 

क्यों कि उसी दिन

 हुई  थी उनकी शादी ! 

 Did you enjoy the poems? Do comment. will meet again with Open Mind. All the Best.

WORLD HEART DAY: FOCUS ON PREVENTIVE CARDIOLOGY

                                                                                      - Milan K Sinha         

CVD (Cardiovascular Disease) is taking its toll  in our country in a big way. It is said that India has the infamous distinction of being the Heart Disease Capital of the world. Well known Cardiologist, Dr. Ajay Kr. Sinha, who was recently conferred the fellowship of European Society of Cardiology, says: 

"Heart diseases originate in human mind, seeds being negative thoughts like greed, jealousy, hatred, anger and depression due to frustration. When sown in genetically fertile soil, seeds grow into tree with ramification (disease), manure being tobacco, high blood pressure and high blood sugar in otherwise conducive atmosphere (obesity and physical inactivity).80% of cardiovascular disease are preventable and modifiable. He further says,"Heart disease is often avoidable. Following a heart-healthy lifestyle doesn't have to be complicated, and it doesn't mean you need to live a life of self-deprivation. Instead, find ways to incorporate heart-healthy habits into your lifestyle — and you may well enjoy a healthier life for years to come."

Some interesting & revealing facts are enumerated below for your perusal:

How Big is the Problem 

• India is the home of 60% of world's heart  patients -- Highest in the world.
• Every year more than 30 lac people die of CVD in India.
• About 32.8% of deaths in the age bracket of 25 to 69 years occur in urban areas whereas it is about 23% in rural areas. 
• Indians are more susceptible than any other ethnic groups-- 3.4 times more than Americans,6 times more than Chinese, 20 times more than Japanese.
• Ironically, large number of young people are joining the fold of heart patients  in India.

What are the symptoms of Coronary artery disease?

• No symptoms for long period.
• Chest pain for short period on exertion also known as Angina or minor heart attack.
• Myocardial Infarction or major heart attack-Severe chest pain, death of heart muscle, heart failure, irregular heart beats. 
• Sudden Death.

Why Should Indians be Worried? 

• Indians are more prone to CAD than other ethnic group.
• Get the disease at much younger age -- 5-10 years earlier than other communities.
• Disease follows more severe and malignant course -- 3 times higher rate of second heart attack and two times higher mortality than whites.

Why Me ?

• Poor handling of fats and metabolic syndrome -Diabetes, obesity, high BP, Coronary artery disease.
• Genetic predisposition.
• Environmental insults -  i.Urbanization & ii. Sudden change in lifestyle.

Preventing Heart Disease 

a) Look before your eat

• Eat a variety of fruits and vegetables every day. (5 servings - they are naturally low in fat and high in vitamins and minerals and anti oxidants). Eat colored vegetables and fruits.
• Eat a variety of grain products. 
• Choose nonfat or low-fat products.
• Use less fat meats- chicken, fish and lean cuts. 
• Switch to fat-free milk—toned/skimmed milk.

b)  Exercise, Exercise, Exercise

• Maintain a level of physical activity that keeps you fit & matches the  calories you eat. 
• Serves several functions in preventing and treating those at high risk.
• Reduces incidence of obesity.
• Lowers total cholesterol.
• Helps control diabetes and hypertension
• Mortality is halved in retired men who walk more than two miles every day.

       Today is WORLD HEART DAY. So, its an occasion to pause & ponder over this serious issue to keep our Heart Healthy. And lastly, please enjoy what Nelson Mandela says: A good head and a good heart are always a formidable combination. 
            Shall await your comments on the subject. 

                                       will meet again with Open Mind. All the Best.

*I shall continue to be on the subject in my next posts. 

SCHOOL DROPOUTS IS A REAL CAUSE OF CONCERN

                                                                                      - By Milan K Sinha

• Once you learn to read, you will be forever free. ― Frederick Douglass
• Literacy is a bridge from misery to hope. It is a tool for daily life in modern society. It is a bulwark against poverty, and a building block of development, an essential complement to investments in roads, dams, clinics and factories. Literacy is a platform for democratization, and a vehicle for the promotion of cultural and national identity. Especially for girls and women, it is an agent of family health and nutrition. For everyone, everywhere, literacy is, along with education in general, a basic human right.... Literacy is, finally, the road to human progress and the means through which every man, woman and child can realize his or her full potential.”― Kofi Annan, Former U.N. Secretary General

       Education has been on the cetre stage of  our national politics for some years now and there has been claims & counter claims about the Govt. performance vis-a-vis its planning & consequent promises. India is 65 year old Sovereign Democratic Republic with a quotable/better economic growth story compared to many nations of the world. Nevertheless, when we take a re-look on this vital input of human development, we encounter with following facts: 

• Our literacy percentage is only 74% . Kerala being highest with 94% and Bihar being lowest with 63%
• School dropout percentage is still more than 40%
• The drop out percentage is even worse than that of Bangladesh & Vietnam - countries which got independence more than two decades later.
• We spend  less than 2% of our national budget on education for the children who constitute 25% of our total population.
• The dropout percentage is higher  among tribals, economically weaker sections of society etc.

      There is no denying the fact that education is very necessary for cultural, social & economic development of diverse sections of society like ours. But, despite the constitutional provisions regarding Right to Education & Govt. declaration for providing basic education to all its citizens, our performance is still dismally poor. The high percentage of school dropouts is more disturbing. 

           

        The following are some of the reasons of school dropouts besides serious flaws in Govt. implementation mechanism:

• Poverty related  issues such as sporadic and low income, malnutrition, ill health etc.
• Inadequate infrastructural facilities in schools.
• Poor management of Mid-Day Meal Scheme.
• Poor quality of teaching staff and their erratic presence in schools.
• No toilet &  urinal facilities in many schools, particularly in rural areas - one of the major cause of dropouts among  girls.
• Prevalence of child labour as means to supplement parents' income.
• Poor communication between the school authorities with the children & their parents regarding dropout reasons
• Little effort to track & persuade the dropout children for re-enrollment.
• Irregular supply of free text books.
• Rural parents pull out girls for taking care of domestic works & to look after their siblings for social & economic reasons..
• Parents from disadvantaged communities especially  living in urban slums & rural areas pull out girls to get married at an early age due to social & security factors.

        All said & done, if our country is to qualify to be known as a  developed country in true sense of the term, the dropout cases are to be looked into very seriously and concerted & time bound action must be  taken to bring it down to bare minimum level. And, if we all, including the Govt. resolve to do it, it can happen before long.

                                        will meet again with Open Mind. All the Best.

कविता : कुछ बात बने                                    

                                                                                      * मिलन  सिन्हा 

दुःख में भी सुख  से रह सको तो कुछ बात बने।

पहले खुद को पहचान सको  तो कुछ बात बने।

जानता हूँ , तुम वो नहीं जो तुम हो 

जो तुम हो, वही रह सको तो कुछ बात बने।

माना की दुनिया बड़ी जालिम है फिर भी 

जालिम को भी तालीम दे सको तो कुछ बात बने।

आसपास देखोगे तो बहुत कुछ सीखोगे 

आपने पड़ोसी को भाई मान सको तो कुछ बात बने।

ऐसा नहीं है कि जो कुछ  है  यहाँ सब कुछ बेवजह है 

बेवजह जो है उसकी वजह जान सको तो कुछ बात बने।

न जाने क्या - क्या बन रहें हैं  आजकल लोग  

तुम आदमी बनकर रह सको तो कुछ बात बने।

   Did you enjoy the poem? will meet again with Open Mind. All the Best.

BETTER AVOID SLEEP DEPRIVATION

                                                                                 - By Milan K Sinha

Each night when I go to sleep, I die. And the next morning when I wake up, I am reborn -- Mahatma Gandhi

       The age old saying of "Early to Bed & Early to Rise Makes a Man, Healthy, Wealthy & Wise"  is not considered worth practising by many. The reasons may also be many, but the ultimate sufferer in the whole process of this so-called modern life style is our greatest tranquilizer: Sleep. Undoubtedly, 24x7 our life is shaped in consonance with mother earth's movement round the Energy God, Sun. Morning to noon to evening to finally night, our daily routine is positioned accordingly. But with the changing world and with the entry of economic liberalisation  in our country too, the natural character of our daily routine underwent changes for the worse, particularly for our urban population. 

I hope,revisiting & enjoying a few lines from the hearts of our great thinkers would be interesting & enlightening at this point.

• A good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor's book. -- Irish Proverb
• "Sleep that knits up the raveled sleeve of care.The death of each day's life, sore labour's bath.Balm of hurt minds, great nature's second course,Chief nourisher in life's feast." -- William Shakespeare in Macbeth
• Think in the morning. Act in the noon. Eat in the evening. Sleep in the night. -- William Blake
• Sleep is the best meditation. -- Dalai Lama, Nobel Prize Winner 
• Leisure time is that five or six hours when you sleep at night. -- George Allen
• Being the richest man in the cemetery doesn't matter to me. Going to bed at night saying we've done something wonderful, that's what matters to me.-- Steve Jobs
• Not being able to sleep is terrible.You have the misery of having partied all night... without the satisfaction. -- Lynn Johnston
• The worst thing in the world is to try to sleep and not to. -- F. Scott Fitzgerald
• It is a common experience that a problem difficult at night is resolved in the morning after the committee of sleep has worked on it. -- John Steinbeck

           Doctors opine that changing the natural course of life at will  affects not only our health but also the health of our family since it has multi-dimensional impact on our life. Sleep deprivation is one  such casualty of today's fast life which has great negative physiological and neurobehavioral consequences. 

              Several medical research findings too have proved beyond any doubt that much of our body's regeneration processes take place during those sleeping hours. So, it is very incorrect to think (and worse even to practise) that night sleep is a luxury and not a necessity.

                Will meet again with Open Mind. All the Best.

POEMS OF LOVE FOR EVERYONE

THREE POEMS                                       -By Milan K Sinha


1. POEMS OF LOVE

I took out
some poems
from within. 
Decorated them artistically.
Gave them natural fragrance.
And then,
gifted them to everybody I met.
As a result, 
my whole life
got flooded with poems of love!


2. HAPPY LIVING

Life is like a boat.
Death is like an ocean.
When  the tides would
gulp the boat,
no one can foretell.
So,why not live happily
and let others also live happily?

3. NIGHT LOST HER WAY

Once, 
night lost her way
in darkness.
She started weeping in terror.
She kept on weeping and screaming.
But no one rescued her!

                          will meet again with Open Mind. All the Best.

PROBLEM OF SANITATION- WHAT'S THE SOLUTION ?

                                                                               - By Milan K Sinha

"By improving the lives of slum dwellers, we are also combating malnutrition and diseases, many of which are directly linked to overcrowding and to the lack of clean water and improved sanitation. By the same token, slum improvement helps improve environmental sustainability and addresses gender inequality in the most efficient manner." - Anna Tibaijuka, Former Under Secretary General of U.N.

         In my earlier post  of 22nd Sep'12, the poor state of sanitation & lack of toilet facilities  in our country were discussed. We take up the issue of its wide ranging impact on our heath and also the possible remedies, in the current post. 

       The profound impact would include the following:

• 80% of 75% of polluted water resource of the country is due to sewage itself.
• Inadequate  supply of clean & drinkable water together with lack of toilet & urinal facilities in schools are major cause of poor attendance & heath problems of the children.
• Adolescent girls tend to drop out of the school due to above said reasons.
• Women & girls , particularly in villages find it very embarrassing  & insulting  because of lack of toilet at home as they have no other option but to defecate only after sunset, that too at the cost of health & personal safety.
• Defecation in open is fraught with high risk of microbial contamination of water which is a major cause of diarrhoea and other intestinal infections among the children.
• Health problems pertaining to  a large section of population due to the aforesaid reasons has a multidimensional impact on our economy in terms of productivity losses, increased expenses  in the name of  providing medical treatment by the government besides having damaging effect on the Shining/Rising India Image internationally.

    We all know, where there is will, there is a way. So, the remedy of this most urgent problem can very well be in place by initiating and/or accelerating  following actions:

• State Governments must  incorporate it on their top agenda item for  implementation and Central government must lend all support in this regard.
• Mass awareness campaign to be undertaken  effectively & frequently by all Panchayats  & other elected bodies  among the affected masses particularly the poor & illiterates.
• All Panchayats of the country must ensure provision of toilets to all families within a time bound period of max.two years by availing the provision of central Govt. assistance of Rs.10000/- for construction of one toilet.
• Media must focus its full attention on this vital issue of sanitation  and report the progress  and also the anomaly being adopted by local implementing machinery, if any regularly.
• The civil society at large should also come forward to act as an enabler & also an informal  monitoring entity  of the whole issue of sanitation in the country on an on going basis.   

      After all, sanitation issues are being faced daily by all citizens of the country, whether living in cities or villages. So, besides performing our duties as a responsible citizen in this direction, we must also raise  our  demand for ensuring proper sanitation, as it is our constitutional right. 

                                        will meet again with Open Mind. All the Best.

दो हास्य व्यंग्य कविताएं : जानकारी,  दर्शन               
                                                                                    * मिलन सिन्हा 
 जानकारी 
नेताजी के भाषण के बीच ही 
जब कुछ लोगों ने लगाया 
महंगाई विरोधी नारा 
तो नेताजी  को 
गुस्सा आ गया थोड़ा .
कहा उन्होंने कुछ जोर से,
जो कुछ हो रहा है सरेआम 
उससे भी आप 
क्यों रहते हैं बिल्कुल अनजान?
सब जानते हैं,
जहाँ कुछ चीजों की कीमत बढ़ी है 
वहीं कुछ चीजों की घटी भी है.
मनुष्य की जान,
उसका ईमान 
हो गया है कितना सस्ता,
क्या आपको 
यह भी नहीं है पता ?

 दर्शन 
नेताजी भगवान के 
बहुत बड़े भक्त हैं 
और गरीब जनता में 
भगवान  का दर्शन करते हैं .
इसी कारण वे 
गरीबों की संख्या 
कम करने के बजाए,
बढ़ाने में रूचि रखते हैं . 

   Enjoy Your Sunday. will meet again with Open Mind. All the Best.

TAKE ACTION TO LET EVERY HOUSEHOLD HAVE A TOILET

                                                                                    - By Milan K. Sinha

            There has been widespread protests through out the country against the hike in diesel prices &  the question of entry of FDI in retail. The PM in his broadcast to the nation tries to convince the countrymen that all these steps taken by the central government is to push the  economic reforms process for ultimate benefit of we all. The common man who has been  bearing the brunt of these decisions in the name of reforms is still living in an age which every policy maker/planner and the ruling political class should be thoroghly ashmed of. Please spare  only five minutes to go through the sordid & revealing facts  about the basic sanitation scenario still prevailing in the country despite more than six decades of five year plan:

• 638 million (more than 50% ) of Indian population of 1200 million plus  lack sanitation facilities.
• 60% people of India defecate in the open.
• This  is only 7%  in case of Bangladesh & Brazil
• India is termed as the world's capital of open defecation.
• More than 60% of households in Uttrakhand, Orissa, Bihar, Chhatisgarh, Madhya Pradesh,Jharkhand & Rajasthan are without toilets.
• Out of 2,40,000 Gram Panchayats in the country, only 28,000 Panchayats are declared as "Nirmal Gram" under the  programme named "Nirmal Bharat Abhiyaan."
• Sikkim has the honour of becoming the first state in the country which is Open-Defecation Free. Kerala & Himachal Pradesh will soon be in that bracket. 
• Many of the states fail to utilise the  money allocated/earmarked for providing the toilet facilities to its deprived masses.

        By any scale of analysis & judgement, this is absolutely disgraceful & completely unacceptable. Even Jairam Ramesh, Union Minister did term it as a matter of shame & sorrow, anguish & anger. The impact of this unfortunate state of affairs are many & multi-dimensional on our health & hygiene and also on our economic prosperity - an issue  about which the ruling alliance at the centre talks time & again while advocating FDI entry in retail. No doubt, state governments have the prime role to play  in this direction which we all should demand as our Basic Human Right. 

                        Will meet again with Open Mind. All the Best.

  *We shall continue to be on the subject in our next post.

SMILE TO FEEL ITS MAGICAL IMPACT

                                                                              - By Milan K Sinha      

If you happened to visit a dentist, you might have noticed the picture of a beautiful girl smiling to show her teeth, with this caption below – "Smile enhances your face value. Isn’t it?"
And rightly so. Smile is a magic band on our face which is a sure shot way to spread the message of friendship and brotherhood. In all negotiations this instrument has made distinctive difference towards happy ending.

It is a known fact that animals can't smile. It’s a priceless gift of God only to us mankind. But, are we able to use this natural and effective tool for the well-being of ourselves, individually and collectively? In the name of being too busy or for some other hackneyed reasons, most of us have slowly forgotten to look for and enjoy an opportunity to smile.

Lee Giblin puts it this way: "If you are not using your smile, you are like a man with a million dollar in the bank and having no cheque book."

Nobody can dispute and deny what has been reiterated by many, known for their extraordinary wisdom including the anonymous writer in these lines: A smile costs nothing but gives back disproportionately. It enriches those who receive without making poorer those who give. It takes but a moment, but the memory of it sometimes lasts forever. None is so rich or mighty that can get along without it and none is so poor but that can be made rich by it. It creates sunshine in the home, fosters goodwill in business. And it is the best antidote for trouble and yet can't be begged, borrowed or stolen, for it is of no value, unless it is freely given away. Some people are too busy to give you a smile, give them one of yours - for the God knows that no one needs a smile so badly, as he or she who has no more smiles left to give.

To say it precisely in Denis Waitley's words, "A smile is the light in your window that tells others that there is a caring, sharing person inside."

Genuine smile, not a fake one, has a definite de-stressing impact during a taxing time which in turn, as researchers have found out, is very good for keeping the heart healthy. Studies do corroborate this view that smile acts as a natural medicine because smiling releases endorphins, serotonin etc.; the effect of which makes us feel better.

It is a common saying that it takes 17 muscles to smile but 43 to frown. Truly, one smile can let you run a mile. The more you smile the more you look young and charming. People like to have friends who can smile and let others provide the opportunity to smile. It makes both the giver and receiver feel the beauty of being a true human being, not in terms of money but surely in terms of lots of joy. Mother Teresa thus tells, "Let us always meet each other with smile, for the smile is the beginning of love."

Finally, smile and enjoy my two-liner:

जिंदगी के झमेलों में भी जो मुस्कुराते रहे

वही इस कलयुग में भी आदमी बने रहे । 

# Published in Patna Daily.com

         So, keep smiling. Will meet again with Open Mind.  All the Best. 

URGENT NEED TO ADDRESS MALNUTRITION & UNDER NUTRITION

                                                                                  -By Milan K Sinha

           We know how important it is for the country's real development to have a healthy popoulation, more particularly  of women & children.We talk and promise so much on the issue of child & woman welfare and roll out so many plans and strategies. But, malnutrition & under-nutrition have not stopped taking its toll in our country and as per a report of UNICEF, one in every three malnourished children in the world live in India. In January this year, the our Prime Minister said, despite impressive GDP growth, the level of under-nutrition was unacceptably high which he termed as a "National Shame."

    Let us consider some more facts:

• About 50% of all childhood deaths are attributed to malnutrition.
• Over two million under- 5 deaths take place due to under-nutrition.To say,6000 deaths every day. 250 deaths per hour on an average.
• The under-nutrition cases are the highest in MP,Orissa, Bihar, UP & Rajasthan
• 74% children under three & 52% of women in India are Anaemic.
• As high as 44% chidren under 5 years are underweight.

    It is also observed during various surveys that:

• Malnutrition in early childhood has serious long term consequences, because it impedes development of vital human organs. As such,it has a lasting impact on the child's overall physical & mental development.
• Malnourished children will struggle at school  and are more prone to infectious diseases including HIV.
• Most of these children come from socially deprived & poorest communities-tribals and lower castes where illiteracy is poor  and poverty relatively very high.
• Adequate nourishment of the pregnant women was found to be very crucial not only for good health of the mother but also for the child's birth  and thereafter. 

         Thus, the question is: who will address these issues which is a blot on our economic growth theory and more impotantly why it continues to be a national shame even after 65 years of independence?  

जानता हूँ , शोषण-कुपोषण का रिश्ता है पुराना 

पर अब तो लोग नए हैं, नया है जमाना 

फिर, कब तक  मिटेगा यह अंधकार,
 कब तक रहेंगे हम यूँ  ही शर्मसार ?

                                         Will meet again with Open Mind. All the Best.