मातृभूमि केलाई भानौ \

सारा रात प्रतिकार्मै बिताएका सपना हरु अंगालेर

बद्लापूर्ण आक्रोश्मा दांत किद्दै

हरेक बिहान रिश मई चुर्मुरियेरा बिउझिने मेरो बनी र म

आफैलाई आगो सल्काउंदै जलाउंदै निवाउँदै बाँची रहेछौ

यीनै दृश्यहरु संगै ...
http://jp.youtube.com/watch?v=4pWxHrvuaNo

HIGANBANA:7

HIGANBANA:6

HIGANBANA:5

HIGANBANA:4

HIGANBANA:3

HIGANBANA: 2

HIGANBANA AND SIX :PART1

HIGANBANA AND SIX

It is the third week of September; paddy field is golden with the rice nearing ripening. Very soon the farmers, if they have not already entered, will enter the field to reap the golden harvest. In the adjacent fields there are soybean in their full growth, the pods getting filled up at an alarming rate. Everywhere it is beautiful to see. The sky is clear and deep blue. There is no mark of cloud. The sunshine is bright and dear. That is not the end. At the border of the fields, there are red mysterious flowers called Higanbana.
Shoots arrow out of the land, there are no leaves, no branches, just succulent shoots. About a foot height the tip of the shoot buds for a day and the next day six buds appear. Each bud grow into a flower, thus six flowers make up an inflorescence. There are no sepals, besides the extension of thalamus, just petals (hanabira) six anthers and a pistil. The six flowers grow in a perfectly radial position. Six petals in each flower also form a radial symmetry. Thus the six anthers lie adjacent to each other. The pistil is in the middle with three anthers on each side. All the anthers of the inflorescence make a large circle. This may appears like a spider web to the first time viewers. Thus this flower is commonly known as Red Spider Lily.

The six days around the vernal equinox is named as higan in Japanese language, which is the period of transition of souls from the world of human to the hells. This flowers which blooms at this period is called higanbana( bana/hana means flower). This is the only flower that the dead can see on their way to hell. The bulbs, which were stored by the wild lily in the summer, which produce branchless, leafless green shoots, are attractive, beautiful tubers, which are fatally poisonous. Who grows these wild flowers? Nobody!!
But the flowers are in the borders of the field. They protect the field from pests and predators. Let me craft a legend, I am good at it.
More than a thousand years ago, the wave of Buddhism was so strong in japan as it was just entering into this new land, that violence against animals was punishable by law . As the new broom sweeps better, the new religion made obstruction in every way of life. The wild animals, insects, pests and predators were big problem in the fields. The farmers complained the emperors and sought permission to kill the predators. The Emperors sought help of the Priest. The priests were to decide either to let the farmers kill the predators of the crop or let the farmers die of hunger. They decided to send a team of scholars to China to find the solution to this vicious circle virtuously. There was no ready made answer in China. Further accompanied by the Chinese Scholars, they started for India, which was the fountain of Buddhism. On the way they had to cross Himalayan mountains. Tired of journey and lack of villages to offer alms to the traveling monks, as Buddhist monks did not carry stocked food those days, they resort to wild roots and water from the brooks. Some of the scholars died of the poisonous tubers. They up rooted the tubers and carried them to China and Japan. These tubers were grown at the buffer region between the cultivated fields and the forests through which the predators crept into the field. It was so beautiful, delicious and juicy to look at, several people at different place and time tried and lost their life. The tubers were uprooted and stored in the corners of graveyard as no body ate from graveyard. Either to frighten people or because they were grown in the graveyard these flowers got other deadly names like: Shi-bito-bana (dead people’s flower), Jigoku-bana ( hell’s flower). It’s story how it got its English name is no less interesting. It was from their appearance. Whether common English name or botanical names they are mostly based on their appearances. Red Spider Lily (Lycoris radiate), Golden Spide Lily (L. aurea), White Spider Lily ( L. albiflora), Salmon/ orange Lily ( L. sanguinea), surprised Lily or Naked lily (L. squamigera). Some love to call it naked lady, and some readers looking for naked lady might have reached here. Sorry Guys!!
Some wrote in their poems and called it Soshika or the flower and leaf long for each other.
In Himalayas, its original home, it is called as flower of nirvana. Unlike many fruits and vegetables which were introduced into India in post Vedic era do not have names in Sanskrit (eg. Potato) this flower has a Sanskrit name “Manjyushage”.
It has 20 species spread in China, Japan, Korea, Indochina and Nepal. Botanist classify in the family Amaryllidaceae. Cytogenetically, it is sterile triploid, yet, fertile diploid (Pumilo species) do exist. I could find some exceptions for you. If you see carefully there are inflorescence with Seven and eight flowers too.

FIND MORE PICTURES IN PART2.

POVERTY AND CRIME

Every time I attend a symposium or a conference on planning or development related issues, I end up loosing friends and contacts. This time too, Conference in in Tokyo was another fresh example. Everything was going well, Veteran speaker were delivering their lectures in a progressive sequence. As always, I was filling up my thick note book with the inspiring sentences and quotes from the learned peoples’ speeches. All of a sudden, breaking the decorum of the ceremony I was standing, red face, ready to quarrel, without chairpersons’ permission. As per the rule read out in the beginning of this session, by the chairperson, four speakers would speak in turn and questions were allowed after all four speakers wind up their talks. Finding my behavior awkward, every eye was on me, and the chair person gestured me to sit down, many participants spoke in low voices to urge me to sit now and ask questions later. The veteran speaker realizing that he was controversial some where asked me to speak if I had anything related to him.

I wasn’t prepared for this moment. So my words must be crude and harsh. I don’t want to go to formalities as I am standing without following one. But I like to raise my concern on the words, sentences and their implication, you just raised. You mentioned that poverty is the root cause of crimes. Besides you said it with much emphasis. Do you mean people living under poverty are criminals? Do you mean poor people resort to crimes? Dear speaker sir, please collect your information from fact, unless you want to write a fiction. Look at the crime statistics. Do poor people resort to kidnapping, abduction, hijacking, theft, burglary etc.? If you have said poor people steal bread and rice, it would have given a sense of respect to the poor people. Look at the police report on crime of any state. The crimes are committed using means, bullets, knives and law. The poor people or people living under poverty are those who would buy bread instead of knives. My second concern is how can poor people involve in crimes when crimes involves a lot of money? Were the accused of 9/11 poor? Were Saddham and Hitler criminals when they were poor?
Dear speaker sir, the most rampant crime these days is corruption. How can people living under “no bread plight” get access to the place to corruption? If you are still convinced that poor people are criminals, those who live with less than $1 per day are criminals, either you or I must change the philosophy or change the place. If your further slides are to prove that poverty is the cause of crime, just tell me to get out of the hall now.

Later in the reception party organized to welcome the participants of the Tokyo international conference on Gender and development, I was avoided by the majority of the participants. A few who did speak with me had their attention focused elsewhere than our discussion. The people who claimed to be vocal for the empowerment of the un-represented choose to side with the higher authority who had lesser limitations that I had.

VISIT TO YASUKUNI

VISIT TO YASUKUNI TEMPLE

Visit to Yasukuni was not in my priority , but this visit made me realize, had i not, i would have missed the legal part of it. In the heart of Tokyo, surrounded by old uncared stone wall, the much controversial temples lives in gloom these days. Thousands of gllomy visitors visit with sad, smileless expression. The entire environment is mourning. The remple is colored black with little bright colored new establishments in between. Whether the martyrs of Japan or the world class criminals are remembered here, any visitor will not find either here.

What to expect there:
http://picasaweb.google.com/karkishanta/AVisitToYasukuni#

Much less is heard about Dr. Radha Binod Pal. There is a potrait in his remembrances

"
Eulogy.
Doctor Radha Binod Pal took up his post as the judge
representing India in the International Military
Tribunal for the Far East held in Tokyo in May 1946,
and until the conclusion and judgement devoted
himself to single-mindedly researching and analysing
a vast range of historical materials related to the
trial. Not only was Dr. Pal the only judge who
specialised in international law among the judges
from the 11 allied countries that carried out the
trials, but he was also a man who held deep insight
in the study of civilisation and had a passionate
sense of duty to protect legal justice.
Dr. Pal perceived the so-called "Tokyo Trials" as no
more than a barbaric ritual of revenge against the
then-powerless, defeated Japan by the arrogant,
victorious Allied Nations, and argued that the was
no legal grounds for the Allies' prosecution which
was full of factual errors. Thus, he made public his
expansive written opinion which judged that the entire
group of defendants were innocent.
Dr. Pal's ruling is now recognised as the generally-
accepted opinion of international law in the civilised
world, as the lust for revenge and historical prejudice
of the Allied nations is finally subsiding as in the
conclusion of his written opinion.
We honour here the passion and bravery of Dr. Pal, who
protected legal justice and historical reason, and erect
this monument to inscribe his great works and to forever
pass on his deeds for the Japanese people.
25 June, 2005
Head Priest, Yasukuni Shrine
NANBU Toshiaki

THE HELL

Then said the King to the servants , bind him hand and foot and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness, there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth (Mathew 22: 13)

In the congested huts, one cannot have a sound sleep; the elderly people in the adjacent huts grind their teeth louder than the grinding stones that a lady in the other hut uses to grind maize into flour. These are so loud and so long their sinister rhythm wake up the sleeping frightens the unsleeping and reminds the fear of death. There are teeth grinding, uncomfortable snoring to invoke the evil and sinister thought. The teeth grinds digests the revengeful emotions.

Hell is a place of physical agony, mental suffering, loneliness and emotional sorrow. (Jude 6)

Hell is a place of insecurity and fear (Revelation 20:1)


Hell is a place of instability, a lake of fire, where every moment is lived in uncertainty


There is nothing to distract people from their suffering, sorrow, fears, insecurities and instability.

Place of dissatisfaction that gives physical sensation of burning or just an overwhelming yearning for God, for love, for joy, for peace, for life that will never be.

Hell is in the belly of the earth. It is both fiery as said by Christ or Muhamad or cold and gloomy as said by other prophets.

Whether Chinese call it ‘diyu”, Japanese call it “ jigoku’, muslims call it ‘jahannam’, Mayafaiths call it “ metnal’, Buddhist and Hindus call it naraka, christains call it “ gehenna” and who ever used to call with whatever names, these days it is called the “refugee camp”. It is a hell by all the definition of all the religion and beliefs. The citizens of hell or the selected people are confined within the boundary, people cramped in limited space under unventilated plastic huts in the hot summer where the outside temperature crosses 40 degrees everyday. The inside of the huts has the situation of an unventilated green house. There is always an expectation as cool breeze is never comes in. There is no breeze to move the leaves of a few trees around. The old and dying people lie down as if enjoying a sleep, crawling on floor twisting and turning all through the day through week through years to decades. Some lie on floor, some on bamboo beds, on dusty floor. The intense heat bakes the body “sun-roasted human flesh”, drenching the cloths, if any, with fountain of sweat. Streams of sweat flow down the frowned faces. There is no way to challenge the heat, no way to escape from it, any still more it is not that easy to succumb to it. The radiation penetrates the head, belly and the knees. Acute headache, severe stomach aches and unable to stand on weak knees, are the earliest of the symptoms. The disease cumulatively increases. Any attempts to leave the hut, leave the camp is a crime punishable by law of the hell keepers. A few successful to cross the border, at times, go outside, either return by the pull of the beloved’s love, or finding no place to hide and no ways to disguise, their guise are distinct, or are caught and brought back.

The old and dying cannot choose death; they are fed some quality-free food just to extend their suffering for on and on. In the fiery hell, the sufferers grumble a slight protest, but the uncoordinated individual voices are easily stifled by the hell keepers and the fellow inmates chosen to assist the latter maintain the law of hell.

There are sponsors of hell keepers, who must be honored with the title of donor. The donors feed them, in agony and grief they take away as much back as they can. The generous donors distribute the suffer sustaining food to the people in the hell, dwell in the byngye overnight pouring the imported wines into them, penetrate their sinister eyes at the damsels of the hell who are captivated by various laws and wits to work for them in their house chores. There are slaughter houses around the hell where old sick, diseased and paralyzed animals are slaughtered in open and the flies attacked and maggot filled flesh spread over the camp, the hell.

In winter

Early in the morning, the sleep is shattered by the jingling of the old empty jerry-cans and the women and children’s sheer expression of shiver. There are hardly any warm cloths on their back. Besides the hope for the rising sun, there is virtually no hope, no expectation of any second source of heat. They cook food in the “bricate” made from sawdust and dung. Wonder, it burns with little flame lacking je ne sais quoi and a lot of smoke. A few bricates are allotted each meal; failing to cook with it means eat the uncooked or half cooked.

Each denizen struggles to find a path out, a way to religion, a way to worship, a friendly union, family tradition, to peace to friend ship. But more, the family bear the consequences, they are segmented, fragmented based on the artifacts of religion, caste, race, surnames, race names, camps, sectors, huts.
One religion hates or must hate the other, the hatred is expressed through worship, union turns to quarrels between the member friends, the family divides on divided moral cultures. There is conflict within a family, within and between, huts, sectors, camps, races, castes, religions. Yet everything is fine to the hell keepers, or to anybody from outside. The United Nations bring out reports that this is the best managed hell, refugee camp in their term, in the belly of the Earth. What could be the plight of other worse hells? Yet by the duty, demand and situation, hells are necessary. They have the honorary names “refugee camps”. The names are so repeated that the original name “the Hell” is almost forgotten.

But who are the people here and why are they here?

There are people who send them here; there are people who keep them here. Those who send them here call them terrorists; those who keep them here call them refugees, the denizens call themselves freedom fighters. There are freedom fighters among the terrorists and terrorists among the in the freedom fighters. It is not just a man’s freedom fighter is other man’s terrorist, for there are both the groups here. People are killed in the broad day light alike undercover of darkness. Teenagers are shot dead in public, in front of their parents. Old mothers are bashed up, octogenarian fathers are kicked, young children are snatched off their loaf, minors are rapped, and fetuses are aborted. What ever defines a hell, the definition exists here.