This collaboration transformed four rooms and one hall way of a rented duplex flat into a lived experience.
The first community-led museum of the country gives voice to survivors of the deadly gas leak and offers lessons in preservation
AT ‘REMEMBER Bhopal’, the first community-led museum of India, voices of survivors lead you through the biggest industrial disaster of the world that killed over 5,000 people, maimed hundreds of thousands and continues to contaminate land and water even after 33 years. The leakage of methyl isocyanate gas on December 3, 1984, from the chemical plant of Union Carbide India Limited in Bhopal made it to the history textbooks but it’s here that one confronts the enormity of this man-made tragedy. The personal stories can be heard from the receivers put next to the objects and images, making it a good experiment in preserving oral histories led by people. Listening to a personal account in the 'Black Room' can transport you to the night of tragedy.
An aluminium pot from Nafeesa Bi's kitchen reflecting the impact of polluted water
Savitri bai remembers her son Vinod through his pencil box.
Jameela Bi's son, who was born with physical disability, used this gaiter to walk
In ‘Anderson Room’ are accounts of journalists and activists about how the tragedy was waiting to happen and the ease with which company owner Warren Anderson flew back to America within 24 hours of his arrest.
From the pits of tragedy and despair, a flight of stairs takes you to skies of hope and determination.
The upper level of the building has walls decked with torches, loudspeakers, banners, brooms and various other art forms used by protesters over the years to jolt the society out of its business-as-usual approach.
Women activists have been the core strength of this struggle which is why they also get greater representation here. Songs of protest can be heard from the receivers as also the strong voices of those who are willing to give a fitting reply.
Activists, both from the affected and unaffected communities, become part of the narrative.A lawyer’s handbook comes with voice of advocate Santosh Kumar who used it to fight cases of compensation for survivors.
This stethoscope helped Dr H H Trivedi diagnose many who were condemned to live a slow death.
“You are misquoting us,” we threw back the most frequently used alibi against media persons and triggered laughter. Four of us journalists had switched roles with a group of scientists at a mock press conference on the campus of Trans Disciplinary University (TDU), Bengaluru.
The session, a part of the orientation workshop forTDU-Nature India media fellowship, was meant to dispel the misgivings between two groups on either side of science communication, and as senior journalist and fellowship coordinator S Gopikrishna Warrier said, to show ‘how the shoe fits’.
The day before, we had selected an alreadypublished studythat said women can read emotions through eyes better than men. The plan was simple: Give them a taste of their own medicine. Throw a lot of jargon and let the scientists come up with a news story that will sell. As we took our seats in front of the gathering of around 60 science professionals, however, all that confidence petered out.
We started on a faux pas as Sahana, yet to shed her journalistic strength, tried to simplify research results for the audience. A quick intervention helped and we were soon using mobile screens to prattle terms like single nucleotide polymorphism and genomic inflation. There was high hope that the scientists, dealing with pure botanical science at TDU, would have little understanding of psychology. The gathering, to our dismay, was trans disciplinary in true sense. They rejected the study as a farce.
At one point, one of the senior scientists, asked us to demonstrate the validity of our research, “Tell me how am I feeling right now by looking into my eyes,” he challenged.
“A bit skeptical,” teased Amrita evoking mirth.
Despite all the camaraderie, however, our assumed scholarship was of no match to the inquisitiveness of the scientists who said they don’t trust the researchers and threatened not to publish anything.
Our handling of queries about conflict of interest, funding, and practical applications of the results incited more laughter than confidence. Mr Warrier came to our rescue when he asked students to put questions as well, saving us from the seniors. When they came up with headlines like, ‘Cognition is still a mystery’, our job was done.
By the end of the exercise, all of us had learnt new lessons in communication.
“We realised that it’s easier to ask questions,” said one of the scientists.
“It’s essential to simplify science for everyone to understand and make use of it,” said another.
As journalists, we realised the importance of asking the right questions to retrieve the useful information buried in exhaustive methodologies and tedious equations.
We went on to discuss the instances of scientists who are good communicators and journalists who can be trusted for authentic presentation of most technical subjects. Such interactions can ensure that scientists trust journalists and latter remain faithful to science.
I attended a week-long Vipassana retreat recently at the beautiful Thai Monastery in Sarnath. Yes, the same Vipassana you might have heard people boast about a lot including stories of hardships.
Thankfully, my experience was neither hard, nor something to boast about. I didn’t get any great revelations of how the outer or inner world works. And it was not difficult to keep mum. Partly, it was because of the flexible format of this retreat which was very unlike the famous Goenka-style Vipassana. The latter, I am told, involves silence sitting for 10 days and is a very strict practice involving need to focus on your body sensations.
The retreat I went for is conducted by Christopher Titmuss, a 72-year-old spiritual teacher from UK who used to be a Buddhist monk for good many years, living in forests and caves of India, Thailand and other Asian countries. But most notable of his personality is the great sense of humour which makes the whole experience so much fun.
We had silent sittings, but the day also had time for walking meditation, which were refreshing; discourses on Buddha’s teachings, and we could as well have one-to-one interviews with the teachers, if needed (besides Christopher we had Zohar, who has been on the Buddhist Dharma path for last 20 years).
Sarnath is a satellite town of Varanasi but thankfully not as crowded and noisy. The wide roads are adorned with big neem and peepal trees while the ancient Buddhist stupas and beautiful monasteries add to the landscape.
Sitting on the gardens of the Thai Monastery before entering its secluded Vipassana grounds, I was wondering why am I here, what do I need from this? No answer came except the desire to explore the unknown, within and without.
The dread to be cut off from the world for a whole week rushed in and remained there for a couple of days. The organisers recommend we give in our gadgets at the start of the retreat to be kept in a trunk, which Christopher called “The Coffin”. Many still didn’t surrender. My roommate, a teacher from the US, kept his Kindle. This, he said, was for the days he has to be confined to the room due to chest congestion and read something, instead of brooding over the level of phlegm.
Our days would start at 05.45 with a very energetic yoga session that made me fall in love with my body. A sitting followed by breakfast and some ‘Karma Work’ time and we would fall into the rhythm of the day. The most enchanting view was of so many people (around 40) together in one small campus and eating, walking, doing the chores without sharing a word with each other. It might have left the birds wondering.
I started getting into “the mode” only on the third day. Increasing focus on the present, away from happy memories and fearful future, there was the live moment to experience, for far longer time than in the outside world.
Not engaged with any gadget or entertainment source, I went within and despite the effort to remain in the present, certain things came rushing in with a great force. This is how I guess Vipassana works. During daily instructions in the morning, teachers told us not to reject anything that comes by. The time of intense love and loss, identity crisis and need to indulge in frivolous means came and went by.
Self-pity was a major emotion that overwhelmed me. In routine life, I seldom experience the “victim mode” but it was surely lying deep there waiting for space; else it would not have put me so off balance for so long. Finally, it was a walk in the thriving gardens of the monastery that made me get over it. The trees, sparrows and the sky made me realise the web I had woven around myself, forgetting the small identity I have in this big, beautiful world. The need for supremacy, to dominate through acquisitions of wealth and relations is bane of human society.
Things got better soon after. Zohar introduced us to the states of ‘Chitta’ or ‘Chit’ (heart-mind) as we call it in Hindi. She listed the unwholesome states and how we need to move from those to wholesome states. I had a specific problem to ‘Desire’ being listed in the unwholesome state. Zohar explained this later that desire can lead to love but only if we know how to play with it. For instance, the desire to do good may get harmful for us if overdone or we may get too attached to the act to get pride from it. So, always watching yourself and achieving that balance is important.
Another useful tip was to recognise the contraction in body or heart when doing something or being with someone. Our nature is to expand as I experienced in the gardens earlier. Being limited to your space or feeling suffocated/contracted means you need to move out or work on it through patience, empathy and other positive acts or wholesome ‘Chit’.
This was the first time I was on a silent retreat. The meditation retreats earlier were mostly to the Osho centres. I always came back with a not-so-good feeling due to commercialisation of these places and snooty people who arrive there. Last time, an old spiritual teacher told me and a friend that we should attend a workshop he is coming up with on how to plant paid news in media.
In contrast, one of the basic tenets of Dharma path is ‘Right Livelihood’. This is not to degrade the teachings of Osho whose work has been very important for me; especially his reading of ‘Nirvan Upanishad’ was of immense help at the time I decided to leave my job. But the way those on spiritual paths tend to behave sometimes make me question their practice of ‘detachment’.
Thankfully, the energy at Sarnath was more comforting. It was not a peaceful time though. And I got to know later that everyone was on a similar roller coaster. But all of us were glad to have touched those raw nerves. As it happened, I was reading Jiddu Krishnamurti’s ‘The World in Crisis’ on the train to and from Varanasi and his talks somehow helped put together all pieces of the jigsaw puzzle.
Christopher comes to India around this time every year. The man is very political and I loved it. He has campaigned against land mines, environment destruction and also GM food. During one of the sessions, we sent ‘Meta’ (goodwill) to the Muslims from middle east and African countries facing war at home and hate abroad (at that time, thousands were stranded on US airports). "May they be safe," is all we could wish.
In case you are also interested in attending a retreat with Christopher next year, check out his website- http://www.christophertitmuss.net/
This works on donation basis.
Do write in your experiences with meditation or any thoughts that come to mind after reading this.
Update (March 7, 2017)- I guess the real impact of Vipassana manifests after some time. It's almost a month now and I am feeling so positive and 'in the moment' these days. Taking it slow, still. Less of fear, more of life :)
इन सब बड़े कामों के बावजूद जाम साहब का व्यक्तित्व सरल है. फोटो: फरहाद कांट्रेक्टर
कम बरसात के बावजूद चतर सिंह जाम ने परंपरागत जल व्यवस्थाओं को पुनर्जीवित कर जैसलमेर के कई गांवों को आत्मनिर्भर बनाया है
“क्या तुम्हे भी आसमान में सफ़ेद और काली पट्टियाँ दिख रही हैं,” चतर सिंह ने मुझसे पूछा. मेरे हाँ कहने पर वह बोले, “यह मोघ है. अभी जहाँ सूरज छिप रहा है वहां बादल हैं. अगर इस तरफ की हवा चले तो यह रात तक यहाँ पहुंच कर बरस सकते हैं. रेगिस्तान में लोग इनकी प्राकृतिक चिन्हों पर निर्भर रहते हैं.”
हम रामगढ में थे, जैसलमेर से 60 कि.मी दूर भारत-पाक सीमा की तरफ. इस क्षेत्र की सालाना औसतन बारिश 100 मी.मी है और वह भी हर साल नहीं. दस साल में तीन बार सूखे का सामना करना पड़ता हैं. पर थार रेगिस्तान के इंन गाँवों में पानी है, पलायन नहीं. इस उपलब्धी का बहुत बढ़ा श्रेय 55 साल के चतर सिंह जी को जाता है. उन्हें लोग उनके पारिवारिक पदवी ‘जाम साहब’ से भी बुलाते हैं.
मेरा नहीं समाज का काम
जाम साहब समभाव नाम की एक संस्था से जुड़े हैं जो लोगों के साथ मिल कर जल व्यवस्थाओं को मजबूत करने का काम करती है. पिछले 10 सालों में इन्होने काफी लोगों को उन परंपरागत जल संरचनाओं को पुनर्जीवित करने के लिए प्रेरित किया जो कठिन परिवेश के बावजूद खेती और पशुधन को पालती हैं. यहाँ दो सतही व्यवस्था काम करती है: उपर अच्छी बरसात में तालाब और जोहड़ भर जाते हैं और 15-20 फीट नीचे खडिया मिटटी या जिप्सम की एक पट्टी जमीन में रिस कर आने वाले पानी को संजो कर रखती है, मुश्किल दिनों के लिए. यह पानी उस भूजल से बिलकुल अलग है जो जमीन में काफी गहरा और खारा है. जब तालाब सूख जाते हैं तब यही मीठा पानी कुईं या बेरियों द्वारा निकाला जाता है.
यहाँ खेत अपना मूल नाम छोड़ कर खड़ींन बन जाता है. एक धनुष या कोहनी की शक्ल का बाँध लम्बे चौड़े आगोर से आते बरसाती पानी में ठहराव लाता है और जिप्सम की पट्टी इसे नीचे जाने से रोकती है. इस तरह जमीन को उतनी नमी मिल जाती है जिससे राबी की फसल फल-फूल सके. सदियों से कितने ही सामूहिक खड़ींन इस क्षेत्र में साम्यिक तौर पर अन्न उपलब्ध करवा रहे हैं.
परन्तु सरकारी योजनाओं पर बढती निर्भरता के कारण यह संरचनाएं और सामाजिक जुडाव टूट सा गया था. जब सरकारी सहायता देर तक न टिक सकी तो गाँव वालों के पास पलायन के सिवाय कोई चारा न बचा. उस समय चतर सिंह जी ने सामूहिक कार्य की रीत को फिर से सजीव किया और लोगों ने मिल कर न सिर्फ अपने पुरखों के खड़ींन, बेरियाँ और तालाबों को सुधारा बल्कि नयी संरचनाएं भी रची.
हालाँकि जाम साहब ने काफी संस्थायों के साथ काम कि
एक बेरी से पानी भरती महिलाएं
या है पर वह मानते हैं कि समभाव से जुड़ने के बाद ही उनमें समाज की ज्यादा समझ बनी: “पहले मैं सामान्य कर्मचारी की तरह प्रोजेक्ट के हिसाब से काम करता था. लोगों से जुडाव कम था. समभाव के साथ मैंने जाना कि समाज का काम समाज के साथ मिल कर कैसे किया जाये.”
यह बात मुझे तब ज्यादा स्पष्ट हुई जब 2014 में मेरा जाम साहब के साथ मीरवाला जाना हुआ. मीरवाला रामगढ़ से दक्षिण में रेत के टीलों के बीच एक छोटा सा गाँव जो अपने ढह चुके कुँए को फिर से सजीव करना चाहता था. यथास्थिति जानने के बाद चतर सिंह मुझसे मुखातिब हुए: “यह कुआँ 252 फीट तक जाता है. यहाँ पर कुआँ खोदना सबसे मुश्किल काम है क्योंकि रेत कभी भी खिसक सकती है. पर इनके पास पानी ज़रूर होना चाहिए.” जब तक हम वहां से रवाना हुए बाड़मेर जिले के कुँए के कारीगरों से बात कर उनका मीरवाला आने का प्रबंध हो चुका था. समभाव ने सिर्फ इस प्रक्रिया को सुगम बनाया जबकि काम का सारा खर्चा गाँव वालो ने दिया. ऐसे काम ज्यादा समय तक टिके रहते हैं क्योंकि उनमें लोगों का स्वामित्व का भाव ज्यादा रहता है.
चतर सिंह जी ने इसी सोच को आगे बढ़ाने के लिए तीन साल पहले 50 हेक्टेयर के एक सामूहिक खड़ींन पर व्यक्तिगत तौर से काम शुरू किया है. आठ गाँव की सांझी सम्पति होने के बावजूद यह खड़ींन उपेक्षाकृत और जंगली बबूल से अटा पड़ा था. अभी तक यह एक मिला जुला अनुभव रहा है. पहले साल बरसात नहीं हुई, दूसरा साल भरपूर रहा पर अब फिर सूखा है. जाम साहब कहते हैं: “लोगों की नजर में यह काम आ चूका है. अगली बरसात तक मुझे उम्मीद है वह सम्मलित हो जायेंगे.”
चतर सिंह कई बार अच्छे कार्य का साथ देने के लिए प्रभावशाली लोगों से भी भिड चुके हैं. रामगढ में भू माफिया के खिलाफ उनकी अर्जी के बाद उन पर हमला भी हुआ पर फिर भी वह डटे रहे और आरटीआई एक्टिविस्ट बाबू राम चौहान का साथ भी दिया.
एक कहानीकार भी
जाम साहब के व्यक्तित्व का एक और गुण है उनका अंदाज़े ब्यान. वह राजस्थान की मौखिक कथा वाचन की प्रथा को आगे बढाते हैं. चाहे वह पालीवाल ब्राह्मणों के रातोंरात पलायन का दुःख हो या फिर लहास के जरिये पूरे समाज का तालाब बनाने की ख़ुशी, उनकी आवाज़ की तान हमेशा दिल पर कायम हो जाती है.
रेगिस्तान की वनस्पतियों की जानकारी से ले कर तारों के जरिये दिशा अनुमान, जाम साहब का ज्ञान भंडार विलक्षण है. यही वजह है कि कई ग्रामीण और शहरी लोग इन्हें अपना गुरु मानते हैं. गंभीर हास्य के ज़रिये किसी बात को समझाना भी यह बखूबी जानते हैं. यह सुनिए: “मैंने कभी मच्छर नहीं देखा था. जब एक स्कूल की परीक्षा के लिए जयपुर जाना था तो बुजुर्गों ने पूछा जब मच्छर काटने आयेगा तो क्या करेगा? मैंने कहा: “आने दो. मेरे पास मेरा लट्ठ होगा न.” तब रेगिस्तान में मच्छर नहीं थे, आज इंदिरा गाँधी नहर की बदौलत हर दूसरे साल मलेरिया फैलता है.”
आजकल वह फेसबुक जैसे माध्यमों से जुड़ कर अपने शहरी शागिर्दों के और समीप आ गए है. पिछले साल के इस लेख में उन्होंने लातूर के अकाल की तुलना रामगढ की जल दक्षता से कर एक महत्वपूर्ण संदेश जिस सरल ढंग से दिया उसकी हर जगह तारीफ हुई. इन सब बड़े कामों के बावजूद जाम साहब का सरल व्यक्तित्व यह आश्वासन देता है कि दुनिया में अच्छे लोगों की कमी नहीं.
