Manju, you live in our hearts

It was a nice interview in "Radio City" today morning with Dharmendra. It is the Mumbai Marathon 2006 which made Dharmendra known to the public. He has gone to Mumbai to run the Marathon for Manjunath, his friend and IIM-Lucknow batchmate. Dharma had the long run with the bandanna written "Remembering Manju" which got hefty attention in the run.

I think everyone still bear in mind, Manjunath - who was brutally murdered for doing his job honestly in Lakhimpur-Kheri district of Uttar Pradesh on November 19th 2005.

Manjunath (27), an IIM-L graduate worked as a Sales Manager with Indian Oil Corporation (IOC). He refused to accept bribe and sealed the pumps that sold adulterated petrol. This irked the pump owners who eventually got rid of him by cruelly murdering him.

It is poignant to see a person paying his life for resisting corruption and adultery. His martyrdom lays emphasis on the rising need for a combat against corruption. May this tragic happening change the outlook of our society. Let the incident herald the Indian youth to strike against the infidelity among the society.

Manju, I have never seen you. And I didn't know you. But you are a friend of mine now. Only because, you were brave enough to shell out your own life.

RIP

The lament of a 12 year old Kazakh girl

Last time when I went church, there was a visitor. He is Tippu Raj, born and brought up in a Tamil Muslim family, later accepted Christianity in his life. He got thrown out from his family and community after he had taken the Bachelor of Divinity (B.D.). He became a missionary and spent the days worked among the school/college students. Once he heard about Kazakhstan and the insipid life of people there, he wished to go there only because he deeply wanted to go to a Muslim country. After one year, he got the door opened.

Kazakhstan is a republic in Central Asia, bounded on the north by Russia. It was the second largest republic of the former Soviet Union, after Russia.

Although high mountain ranges fringe the republic’s eastern and southeastern borders, the terrain of Kazakhstan consists mostly of deserts, steppes and hilly upland areas. Deserts and semi deserts cover more than two-thirds of Kazakhstan’s surface area.

The climate of Kazakhstan is extremely continental, with hot summers and cold winters. Extreme summer temperatures can reach 45°C (113°F), and extreme winter temperatures can fall below -45°C (-49°F). During winter, most of the country is covered in snow and the summer thunderstorms often produce flash floods.

Between 1949 and 1991 the Soviet government conducted about 70 percent of all of its nuclear testing in Kazakhstan. Nearly 500 nuclear explosions occurred near Semipalatinsk, while more than 40 nuclear detonations occurred in western Kazakhstan. More than 1 million of Kazakhstan’s inhabitants were exposed to dangerous levels of radiation because the Soviet government did not evacuate or even warn nearby populations.

Living standards deteriorated for most people in Kazakhstan after the republic became independent in 1991. Many people could not afford food and other essential commodities. Unemployment and underemployment remain high, and many people continue to live in poverty.

But for Tippu Raj there were things more than all of these. The Kazakh people detested him for; he made a bunch of people to rise against a community or a government. He was beaten and intimidated several times, and was in prison for several months. At last, he got exiled from the country itself.

When he was sharing the insipid happenings, the whole mass in the church was wholeheartedly listening to his words. I was a kind of heartfelt on hearing the whole story. Deep from my soul, it felt like something sensed my whole body. And my mind went to some somber state when he read a poem written by a 12 year old Kazakh girl.

I don’t remember the lyrics wholly. See some of the lines below….

I was in some agony; you didn't come to see me
I was in great pain; you didn’t come to me as a relief
I was thirsty; no one had given me anything to quench off
I was hungry; no one had given me anything to eat
I was bankrupt, fallen, sad and ill.

Come and lend your kind hand towards me.
You please come lest I have sleepless nights and dreary thoughts

Now I ponder for any good days to come
Please come near to me. I wanna see you....