Rohit Sharma

सुबह साढ़े पांच बजे होंगे की सुनील की नींद अपने आप ही खुल गयी थी. आँखें खुलते ही समझ में आया की आज कुछ और ही दिन है, की आज कोई त्योहार है. नहीं आज दीपावली नहीं है. आज होली, ईद या क्रिसमस भी नहीं है. आज गणतंत्र दिवस है. आज छब्बिस जनवरी है. हवा सर्द थी. सुबह ने अभी भी अँधेरे का आलिंगन नहीं छोड़ा था. रगों में जोश था. आज विद्यालय में सुबह सुबह हीं तैयार होकर जाना होगा. आज गणतंत्र दिवस का जश्न मनाया जायेगा. विद्यालय में सात बजे तिरंगा फेहरेगा! कुछ ही देर मे मासूम सी हवा में एक प्यारी सी आवाज़ हलचल करने लगी थी. घर के बगल में स्थित एक ग्रामीण विद्यालय में लाउडस्पीकर में से गीत सुनाई दें रहे थे. लता मंगेशकर जी के बोल थे, "ऐ मेरे वतन के लोगों, ज़रा आँख में भर लो पानी...". बोल सुनते ही मन में बॉर्डर और वहाँ तैनात सैनिकों की तस्वीरें सामने आने लगी. जोश दुगना हो गया. बदन में एक कपकपी दौड़ पड़ी. सुनील ने रात में हीं अपने कपड़े इस्त्री करके रख लिए थे. आज सभी लड़को को सफ़ेद शर्ट और पैंट पहन के विद्यालय जाना था. सफ़ेद रंग शांति और पवित्रता का प्रतीत होता है. सुनील ने अपनी कमीज़ में लगाने के...

It's his birthday tomorrow. Agar is studying in 8th standard in the school. He is going to be 14 years old. He has lived a 14 years life! He is excited about it. It would be the day that he really awaits for the whole year. This day, he would be treated special. He would get attention from the people and they would come to him to wish the birthday. His birthday would be celebrated in the evening. He would invite friends in his home. They would bring some gifts wrapped in the colorful packets & Agar could not wait enough to open them up! He would cut a cake while everyone would sing & clap standing around him. His mother would cook something tasty! This year Agar is also observing a change in his physiology. He is probably becoming a man and this is reflected from his face. He is having pimples! His cheek is full of them. He does not know much about it but these reddish marks have enveloped his soft cheeks. He is worried about it. On his birthday, he wanted to look the m...

It's post noon time. December has departed. On the cusp of the new year, the wind flows mild and cold. The sky is cloudy. Eagles are gliding the sky. Pigeons are fluttering at neighbourhood windows and the rooftops. Cats are, as always, alert to their tune. Raghav, an eight year boy has just eaten his lunch. It's sunday today. Schools are closed. There is no homework. Festivity is in the air. The small town that Raghav belongs to is still, calm and playing an unhearable music thru its various ways. Raghav lives across the playing ground which is lying empty at the moment. Staying inside the house feels cozy, so he came to the roof. There is a big black water tank sitting at the edge. The floor is dusty. His mother has planted Basil, roses, lily flower, marigold and vegetables on the roof. Raghav's eye caught the many new flowers and he approached them merrily. He then tries to find a clean place to sit, relax and dream with his open eyes. He hangs by the edge of...

Atri Baai belongs to a village near Waluj at the outskirts of the city of Aurangabad. She sells fishes at the highway, at a certain distance from her village. Everyday she procures fishes from the fisherman directly. The water that glitters behind her stall is none other than the one of Godavari, flowing all the way from the city of Nashik. It will further flow down towards the east for 1200 kms before drowning all in the Bay of Bengal.. Atri Baai keeps a bucket full of water with her. She also keeps a weighing pan, a dustbin & a knife to chop the fishes. The white light of LED bulb hangs over her post the darkness of the departed eve. Standing besides her is her husband. For a part of the day, he accompanies her in her work. Atri Bai gets a margin that varies from 60 to 80 rupees per fish that she sells. At the outbreak of the fake news in whatsapp that it is going to be a lockdown on weekend here in Maharashtra, she was already prepared for shutting the shop. But then...

At 30km from the Nashik city, River Godavari originates from Brahmagiri Hills at Trimbakeshwar. The hill is part of the long-running chain of the Western Ghats. I reached the city at 4:30 AM in the morning. It was cold and the streets were empty. The place where the ghats of Godavari are situated is called Panchvati. It is also considered as the old Nashik. Getting down from the bus, with the help of Google Maps, I walked towards it. At Pune, I have severally regretted to not have seen older wooden houses & the ones that I saw were in shambles. However, while I was heralding thru the streets of Nashik, I passed thru many such old houses in good conditions. Nashik is also a place where Kumbh Mela is celebrated every 12 years. Since I had a chance to visit Haridwar recently, I was contrasting my visit at Nashik with it. As soon as I reached the ghat, I wanted to take the holy dip at the river. At Nashik, Godavari is secondarily referred to as Gange ! So, I had my exciteme...