Joy it was to sit, chat and sip coffee in the 'Joy' restaurant, at leisure

                  Memories of those good, easy-paced 70's, I still greatly treasure

                  This week a short account of how it all felt, I write under my pen

                  As many thoughts crowd my mind of the time  spent at this lovely 'den'

                            Nostalgia

         When sipping coffee in ‘Joy’ was pure joy                

    

'Joy' in the late 80's. In the photo: Tim (Peter's friend), Hari Om and Surinder Vats

Way back in the 70’s, Palampur had a quiet, serene ambience. The pace of life was slow and easy. Vehicles were few and far between. Studded with plentiful deodars and pines, and the tea gardens all intact, it exuded the charm of a hill town uniquely its own. The Palampur bazaar was not so noisy, crowded and vehicle-choked as it is now. One could loiter around and shop at leisure without the fear and risk of being run over. And in this very bazaar there was – and still is – a nice and cosy hangout: Joy Restaurant manned by unassuming, polite and friendly Narang brothers: Harinder and the younger Hari Om.

Harinder Narang

Hari Om Narang

                                                         

                                                   

It used to be a favourite haunt for many of us Palampur-dwellers, and the visitors as well. After a round or two of the main bazaar, we would saunter into ‘Joy’. But before moving in, it was almost customary to first meet the ‘Joy’ brothers at the counter, shake hands, exchange greetings and share some quick town gossip. That would add an additional flavour to our ‘Joy experience’. Here then we would sit, sip coffee and give vent to our hopes, dreams and despairs. Being young and eligible bachelors, the topic that occupied center stage in our banter used to be the ‘suitable girls’ studying in local colleges and who was wooing whom! Vibrant music reverberated through the main sitting hall and a couple of small and dimly-lit ones at the rear. The resonant ABBA songs – then a big hit – still ring in my ears and send a pulse of excitement (‘Honey, Honey…I don’t wanna hurt you baby, I don’t wanna see you cry…’; ‘Mamma mia, here I go again’, still give me goose pimples of nostalgic delight). I loved Joy’s samosas, tikkis and chaat. The ras malai was another favourite of mine, as well as gulab jamuns and sizzling hot gajrela to counter the winter blues. And I am sure they still serve you the best and most delectable gajrela in town.

…And so much happened here for me. It was at the ‘Joy’ that I sat across my mentor and guide Dr Tony Gaston, a Canadian wildlife scientist of distinction to discuss about my participation in the proposed Himachal Wildlife Project, over sips of espresso coffee. And let me also make a confession. It was at the ‘Joy’ where I made a formal ‘proposal’ to my fiancée over coffee. It was here too that I came across a charming young couple: Peter Phillimore and Rachel from the UK.  Peter was then pursuing his doctorate and was in Palampur for his research work on Gaddis of Kanarthu- a small and remote village hamlet near Baijnath. They divided their time between stints at Kanarthu and a short stay in their hired accommodation at Palampur. ‘Joy’ – which they frequented often enough - brought us fortuitously together. And, since then, ours has been a rewarding, enduring friendship which is alive and vibrant even today. In fact it was Dr Peter Phillimore who suggested a week back that I write a post on ‘Joy’. And to lend a special flavour to my blog, he has, graciously enough, agreed to write his own  piece on his and Rachel’s tryst with ‘Joy’. Needless to say, they both still adore Palampur and worry about its degrading ecology.

                                            

Well, the Joy restaurant is still throbbing and thriving. The two brothers have of course greyed, as we all have- the young guys of the 70’s! But they are still their old charming selves. We now visit it but seldom. But the sweet old memories associated with this restaurant… memories of our loves and longings, meetings and rendezvousing, hopes and fears, aspirations and dreams and much else, are still vivid and alive.

PS: It seems that Dr Peter Phillimore's preoccupations have
prevented him to send his write-up for this post. I hope to receive
it soon and share it with you....maybe... next week.

                                                                      ***

                              Did you see forest fires on the Dhauladhar this  summer, or not?

                                            The scarcities of water in Shimla and our own villages dry and hot?

                                            I write to voice my lament and rage at the ongoing destruction of all that is green

                                           And urge you to read and share my post: be you young, old or even a bubbly teen

Can we still save Palampur?    

Lucky we are. While the plains sizzle with searing heat in these days of climate change, we, Palampurwallas, still have some few deodars and the pines left to keep the air cool. We have the Neugal, the Awa, the Binwa and the Baner khuds fed by the melting snows of the Dhauladhar for a refreshing dip in this insane heat. We have the beautiful Jacarandas with their dainty, purple blossoms to keep our spirits upbeat and happy. We have the tea-gardens canopied by shady trees to soothe our summer-weary eyes. We have the Neugal café to walk or drive up to for swigs of beer perched relaxingly on its breezy lawns for a refreshing evening with friends or family. And so on...  

                          

But for how long?

Reckless, unregulated, unplanned construction activity goes on at a frantic pace. Even pristine, pine-clad forest hills are being cut up right through the middle (see photo) to make way for link roads to provide access to swathes of land bought by the filthy rich where they would build colonies and sell them at hefty rates and get richer still. Big commercial buildings – which look like ghastly monstrosities in concrete – have come up, and more are coming up right on the banks of our khuds blocking view, defying law and regulations. The MC sleeps; so does the PWD; so does the CTP; so do the local administration and other government departments whose job it is to not let this happen. Have they been bribed or compromised by the powerful builders’ lobby that has strong ties with the politician? Or the politicians and/or their kin have their own stakes and shares in this money-raking construction activity? Is that why the law and regulation enforcing agencies are under pressure to keep mum, look the other way and stay impotent? …I leave these questions that trouble me for you too to mull over.  At times it seems that what to speak of good governance, there is no government at all. How else otherwise could Shimla, Kasauli, Manali and McLeodganj have become so ugly, eye-jarring jungles of concrete with thousands of illegal constructions?

Imagine the horror. Shimla has been without water for 8 days. (And finally, it is the High Court that had to step in and do what was essentially the government’s job. It acted tough, prevented the VIPs from enjoying special favour of assured water supply while the general public suffered and set an example by excluding the jugdes too from any undue favour in water supply. The Chief Justice was walking the streets late in the night calling up the officials and personally monitoring the situation. Why can’t our ministers, MLAs and secretaries act in such exemplary ways in public interest?)

Forest fires are raging everywhere causing immense loss of our invaluable green cover, our dwindling wildlife, our biodiversity. Almost all hill slopes of the Dhauladhar as we look around in the north present a depressing sight: plumes of smoke everywhere rising up and clouding the sky.  And as I woke up this last Wednesday morning, I could feel the stifling smoke and soot having drifted right inside my own home. At this rate, the day is not far off when such fires will spread right in our own neighbourhoods and homesteads as Palampur changes from green to grey. Loud announcements are made before every summer that all due arrangements have been made to control and fight forest fires. Yet every year all plans, all arrangements go kaput. Sadly, these wild fires have already claimed 8 lives including that of a forest official- all because of inadequate fire-fighting infrastructure.

The present government is new. I have faith and trust in our new CM. He needs time to come to grips with the nitty gritty of administration and bureaucratic tangles that clog good governance. But what the hell his predecessors have been doing about combating this massive destruction that visits our lovely forests every summer? Why have they not been able to put in place effective short and long-term measures  despite being in power for term after term? Why have they let thousands of illegal constructions come up and have been making amendments to regularize them- without shame, without regret, without fear of being held accountable?

Well, my worry is: Will Palampur go the way these cities/towns have gone?...Another congested town of concrete with Shimla/Solan-like scarcities of water and other essential civic amenities? It sure will. And sooner than we think. Therefore, dear friends heed the groans and cries of Mother Nature…our degrading local ecology and environment. Let’s ensure a cool, green, clean Palampur for our posterity. Let’s protest and prevent. Let’s call a halt to further erosion, destruction and loss. Days of paying obeisance to our lawmakers are now past. No need to garland them…no more colonial hangover please. They are public servants enjoying huge perks, privileges and life of luxury at our cost. Let’s hold them accountable. Let’s ask them tough questions. Let’s get together and join hands. Let’s do it now…otherwise it will be too late. Let’s save our beloved Palampur.

                                                       ***

                 Between religion and superstition we need to discriminate well and proper

                 That’s what makes individuals, societies and nations grow and prosper

                 My post for you this weekend my friends is a brief note about it all  

                 While this hot summer day what we need is a burst of good rainfall

                                          

                                             Religion yes; superstition no                 

“Religion is the opiate of the people,” Karl Max famously said.  And Lenin added, “It is spiritual booze.” I don’t know how well these expressions fit in the Indian context. Perhaps we will have to look for stronger and different vocabulary for the good, the bad and the ugly that is unleashed by religion in India. Yes, religion is a great unifying force that binds people together. Yes, it serves as an anchor for hope and faith and provides succour and relief to the suffering humanity. Yet this same religion has also bred wars and killed millions. It has also bred superstition which clogs the minds of millions across this big wide world. Sadly, India too is one of its worst victims. Even the most highly educated, with awesome academic degrees to flaunt, are ensnared in the cobwebs of basest kinds of superstition. That’s why fake babas adept at exploiting religious sentiments of gullible masses have a field day. They use their glib tongues and felicity of expression to perfection in hoodwinking people- Indian woman being particularly vulnerable to their guiles and religious chicanery. No wonder such dubious babas make millions and lead a life of luxurious splendour at our cost… and those of the women devotees who arouse these babas’ lust, end up in their ‘gufas’ and beds.

 

Well, all of us nurse superstitions of various kinds. It runs in our veins and has been so since the times of our ancestors- the Neanderthals. But the degree varies. I see nothing wrong with being innocuously superstitious: A cat crossing the path is a bad omen for most of us; so is a sneeze by someone while setting off from home or on the launch of a new project. Sounds absurd; but no problem with nursing such irrational notions. But problems do arise when superstition becomes the guiding mantra of life often leading to disastrous consequences. Driven by blind faith, a lot many people rush to the babas, tantrics and other kinds of self-proclaimed healers for miracle cures for several fatal or chronic ailments and mental disorders. And more often than not, treatment administered by the ‘godman’ proves worse than the disease. Even the snakebite incidents which should make us run fast to the nearest hospital for anti-snake venom treatment, we often end up iat the door of some such fake healer. Vital time thus lost, sad and tragic death is the result when the bite is venomous.

Well, I don’t want to preach or pontificate too much on this. But I believe that the extent and degree of superstition that afflicts a society or the nation is a crucial index of its health, progress and development. And when even the highly educated and highly placed people practice and perpetuate superstitious practices, it not only speaks of the quality of our education system but also bodes ill for the nation. We need not only study science and get good scores but also need to make it integral to our day-to-day living.

My ex-students - including the lively, exuberant batch I taught at a private university in my brief post retirement stint recently - are my best blog readers. I do expect them to well and truly develop and propagate scientific temper and keep off (fake) babas, their charms, spells, miracles and mantras for cures.

                               

                                                                                ***

           Not just Kasauli but the entire state is turning into a concrete jungle

           The politician has a lot to answer for, for this shocking bungle

           Read what have I to say on this, this week, and tell what you make of it

           And to save the 'green' of our greying towns, let's contribute our little bit

         Act tough on illegal constructions, Mr CM please

                            

The Tribune, 05 May 201

Excuse me if it is a boast. But I think my voice represents all the sane and sober Himachalwallas who are a silent but shocked and angry witness to the rapid decline of all that is beautiful and pristine that Himachal is proud of. Needless to say, the biggest cause for this steep erosion is reckless, unplanned, unsustainable, unauthorized construction…construction that is unscientific, unaesthetic and in direct conflict with hill ecology and hill architecture. And therefore this small, seismically sensitive hill state groans under the weight of 25000 illegal structures of concrete– a mindboggling number by any standards. It is a virtual time bomb awaiting a temblor or some kind of natural disaster to trigger a major catastrophe. Imagine the tragedy – tragedy which could have been avoided – that would be unleashed.

As I have said before, Shimla has become virtually unlivable. Kasauli, Manali, Dalhousie and Mcleodganj are no more the pristine wonders of ‘green’ but ugly concrete jungles. Other small towns (including my own beautiful Palampur) are not far behind in this race towards uglification with illegal constructions and encroachments on government lands, PWD roads, link roads in its suburbs (including Aima-Sughar area where I reside) and highways, a common sight. Even those lands which can neither be sold, nor their use altered under the law, are being exploited with glee by cunning manipulation and by conniving with the powers that be.

And I hold both the Virbhadhra Singh-led Congress and the PK Dhumal-led BJP governments squarely responsible for this mess, chaos and the potential danger of enormous proportions they have landed us in. Shockingly, they have been brazen enough to  try and  circumvent the NGT’s orders and High Court/Apex court rulings even, to appease and oblige the builder/contractor/hotel lobby. The death of an upright TCP officer and lately of a PWD worker at Kasauli is a sad reminder of how deep the rot is.

The Tribune, 05 May 2018

                                                    *
                                                      
And let’s not gloss over another point. How many of such illegal constructions –the hotels, the offices and even residences belong to the worthy lawmakers or their kin? The Supreme Court has rightly taken a serious view of the whole issue and asked the government to take action against the conniving officials of TCP/PWD and other related departments who didn’t stick to the rules. But my point is: why no one talks about action against the politicians at whose behest the officials worked? Beyond doubt, our venal politicians are the main culprits as well as the beneficiaries (directly or indirectly) in this plunder, loot and destruction of our green hills by facilitating and promoting illegal constructions. It is they who should also be hauled up by the courts and held personally accountable together with the complicit officials.

The Tribune, 05 May 2018

Amar Ujala, 05 May 2018

                                                     

                                                    

                                             

                                                     *

                  Keep it up, Mr L S Guleria; we are with you

A similar view has been expressed by an enlightened and intrepid soul from Mandi: Mr Lakshmendra Singh Guleria, Chairman of ‘Mandi Bachao Sangharsh Morcha’ and I fully appreciate and endorse all that he has said. No one is or should be above the law, he contends, and wants the tainted politicians to be punished too. Well,  in case he decides to take the case to the Supreme Court – as he says he will - we all need to stand by him and lend our support. I certainly do. Guleria ji, I laud your initiative and would be glad to join you and contribute my bit- any which way. Please carry on.                                     

                                                    * 
We would also want the present government to bring out in the public domain full information on how many of these illegal structures belong to political parties, the politicians, the high and mighty bureaucrats, or their kin.

The Aam Aadmi of Himachal Pradesh holds our present CM Shri Jai Ram Thakur in high esteem for his clean image. Therefore, we expect him to act tough. The pressure on him will be momentous. But unlike his predecessors, he has to save Himachal from further slide towards the dark abyss of ecological disaster. Let the entire state be rid of all illegal constructions/encroachments (including those in small towns too) once for all – to restore its original beauty and spaciousness once for all.  That done, he will have delivered as a CM. And he will also have earned the eternal gratitude of the ‘common man’, as also of the Mother Nature. And undoubtedly this will be good politics as well, for such saner, law-abiding Himachalis far outnumber the greedy, unscrupulous and manipulative flouters of law.
                                                          ***

   Rapes  have become daily news, strict though may be the law,

  The  malady is deeper and begs a question: where lies the real flaw?

  Worse, even holy sites are becoming the haunts for crime

  A rape near Palampur was one such near a place- holy and sublime

  I vent my spleen on this, this week in a post just short and brief

  We all need to address the evil rather than sitting idle in plain grief

                  Rape in Palampur's backyard

                 

The Kathua and Unnao incidents stunned and singed us. The (as yet unresolved) Gudiya rape-murder incident in Kotkhai continues to fester as a sad, haunting memory. And now there is a rape case right in our backyard. In April, this horrific incident occurred at a breathing distance from our own town Palampur: a forest wilderness around ‘Garh Mata’ near Paraur. When bad things start happenings closer home, obviously, the shock and horror feel sharper…as this one does.

Not being a great idol worshipper, I have not been to this popular shrine. But I have driven through the link road and am aware of the point from where a track leads to this pilgrim spot. The landscape along this entire stretch is lovely beyond words. How sad that such idyllic sites and places of worship and faith should also become the scenes of ugly, ghastly crimes.

Well, rapes now are a daily headline- an inescapable morsel of our news feed as if to ensure that we start off the day on a note of anxiety, pain and depression. What is most alarming is that it is not just the cities, big towns or the badlands of Haryana, UP, Bihar and Rajasthan notorious for gender bias and misogynist mindsets, but even the peaceful states like ours too are succumbing to this virus, this scourge, at a rapid rate. And then these are not merely plain rapes emanating from some pathological sexual frustration or insane lust. But the violence and brutality of the worst kind, leading to murder, is becoming increasingly frequent and integral part - a 'new normal', as the popular expression goes - of such crimes. It is this aspect that sends a chill of horror and shock down one’s spine.

How can any human being - even if totally depraved, perverted and deranged - can turn so beastly and cruel is simply beyond my comprehension. Then another disturbing aspect is the increasing involvement of teens in such heinous crimes: both the victims as well as the perpetrators. The Kathua girl was a minor (her innocent, bewitching smile haunts me still); and the ‘Garh Mata’ rape victim was a minor too and so were two of the accused who have already been arrested. Equally worrisome is the fact of 'gang' rapes becoming more frequent than ever before. Is it the poor law enforcement or something else that despite making new and more stringent laws, there is still no let up or abatement of violence against women and the girl child?  Why has the fear of punishment not been able to deter the criminal minds from such dreadful acts? There are no easy or simple answers. Laws howsoever deterrent alone cannot prevent crimes. In fact  the malady lies in the general  rot in our society, faulty grooming of our children, eroding value system, the mess that our school education has become,  and the caste, gender and other such prejudices and biases that run deep in our psyches and are fostered by the politicians for grabbing votes.

We need to adopt holistic, multi-pronged strategies with proactive participation of the enlightened and committed do-gooders in our midst to make our society healthy, happy and vibrant where every woman and  girl child can walk free, play, smile, laugh, dream, and grow and live without fear.

                                   

*

              

 ...The malady is 12000 years old and deep

 The gender bias which is the root cause of crimes against women is old and has been flowing in our veins right from the era of ‘Agricultural Revolution’ 12000 years ago. It afflicts all societies and all nations in varying degrees. A  book  'Sapiens: A brief History of Humankind’ that I am reading these days says  that as of 2006, there were still fifty-three countries where a husband could not be prosecuted for the rape of his wife. Even in the developed Germany, rape laws were amended only in 1997 to create a legal category of marital rape.

I reproduce below a para from the book to give you an idea about how bad the gender discrimination has been in human society:

In many societies women were simply the property of men, most often their fathers, husbands or brothers. Rape, in many legal systems, falls under property violation- in other words, the victim is not the woman who was raped but the male who owns her… The Bible decrees that ‘If a man meets a virgin who is not betrothed, and seizes her and lies with her, and they are found, then the man who lay with her shall give to the father of the young woman fifty shekels of silver, and she shall be his wife’ (Deuteronomy 22:28-9).

Hmmm… Shocking...isn't it?

                                                   ***

             देव आनन्द की जीवन गाथा पढ़ी है मैंने अभी अभी,

             चाहता हूँ पढ़ कर इसको, आनंद उठायें आप भी सभी I

             सच्च मानो वह तो जीवन में भी था एक अद्भुत प्रेम पुजारी,

             इस उम्दा पुस्तक पर ही लिखा है मैंने ब्लॉग अबकी बारी I 

          

                                      Dev Anand

                  A romantic's journey through life            

It  took me a month to finish reading 'Romancing With Life'- the aptly titled memoir of one of the most romantic and ‘evergreen’ actors who took Bollywood by storm: Dev Anand. 

Poetic in tone and tenor, pacy and free-flowing in style, Dev Anand’s autobiography describes his dream-filled journey from Gurdaspur to Bombay and meteoric rise as a film star. His dream was to not settle for a life of mediocrity. He didn’t want to be a stereotype as most of us end up being, under pressure from our ‘ever-wise’ parents, the elders and the society inflicting their ‘how-to-do-well-in-life’ ideas on the young impressionable minds. To my mind, this  wiser-than-thou-attitude, quite often, does more harm than good. But Dev Anand was cast in a different mould. Looking at himself in the mirror he found himself handsome; his inner voice told him that he was not meant to lead a mundane, ghisi-piti life in some mofussil town. Therefore, defying conventional wisdom and parents’ protective embrace, he slipped out of home and boarded the train to the city of dreams. He had a rough ride initially but with his undying passion, verve and self-belief, nothing could have stood in his way to finally touch the dizzy heights of success and celebrity-hood. Of his hard days when he was still on the roads and penniless, he poignantly recounts one incident of how he had to sell his prized, carefully kept stamps album to a vendor on a Bombay street to quell his pangs of thirst and hunger.

Bollywood is a world unto itself. It is a world of glamour and glitz; beauty, aura and mystique…(and much more, not altogether wholesome). The film stars are celebrities adored and adulated by the millions. The enchanting heroines rule many young hearts and tiptoe in their dreams. And handsome heroes are wooed by women. Dev Anand, perhaps the handsomest of all in his days, was no exception. In gripping narrative he describes his ‘loves’ and encounters with the best and the most beautiful in the film world and how women young or old, married or unmarried in and  outside Bollywood fell under his spell and drooled over him. And being a romantic at heart with nothing but ‘love-for-all' the guiding mantra of his life, he loved and lived it all.

From the book he comes out to be a man of passion and childlike curiosity. He is restlessly energetic and always bubbling with new and novel, unthought-of, unexplored and bold ideas for his films. He is seen eagerly scouting the whole globe, forever looking to scale new heights and enlarge his horizons; feverishly in quest of fresh new talent (not just from India but from any corner of the world) and the best locations for film shoots so as to present something special and unique to the world as a film maker. Jeenat Aman was one such ‘find’ of his; also Kalpana Kartik (a product of St Bedes College Shimla who, as we all know, he subsequently married); and so was the fabulous Tina Munim (who later married one of the Ambani brothers), who he brought into the world of films. He also writes about his unrequited love for Jeenat and his date with her when he was all set to make his 'pre-planned' confession-  only to step back in a sad but dignified and quiet manner on sensing that perhaps something (on her side) was amiss.
He describes his association with various luminaries in the film world and the top stars like Dilip Kumar (who he speaks very highly of), Raj Kapoor, Sunil Dutt and others; his creative highs with SD Burman and Kishore Kumar, his launching of own studio Navketan along with his equally talented and gifted brother Chetan Anand and later his joint film ventures with Goldie. He meets and rubs shoulders with the big and great in various walks of life including the politicians. His love and passion for the country and its great people propels him to even plunge into the world of politics with undiminished zeal and enthusiasm but the political party that he and his friends conceive of doesn’t take off- mainly because of lack of will on the part of some. This happens post the fall of Morarji Desai-led Janata Party government soon after the Emergency.

                    

Dev Anand's autobiography reflects his flamboyant spirit and his limiltless love for all things beautiful. At the same time he also strikes you as a man sensitive to the core, a man of integrity, vision, professional competence and idealism who would never buckle under any pressure and sell his soul at any cost – unlike some other stars and film makers - then and now.

I read this memoir  after Naseeruddin Shah’s. They both have style and flavour uniquely their own- as indeed how it should be. They both recount their own stories of struggles, highs and lows, tears and smiles, success and fame to regale us with, in their journey of life. But one common thread runs through  both: self-belief, 'chin- up' and ‘never-say-die’ attitude; the courage to defy conventions and bear the adversities when they come  with a grin…but always keeping the inner flame burning brightly, come what may.

Last word: You ought to have fire in your belly to become great. 

                                                       ***



                                                   

When arrogance, greed and lust for power become the  name of the game

 When even the apex court and the CJI are humiliated and called many a name

Then we must all wake up to save our values and tweak the politician’s ear

For, our great institutions are under threat; so let’s now act without any fear

In my blog this week, about it all I have given vent to my anger- loud and clear

Please read/share it, and remember:  I love you all and hold you close and dear

                     The CJI impeachment case

            Have our politicians gone berserk?                   

I am no BJP chamcha. Nor does my heart weep for the Congress.  Both the parties are packed with criminals who are shamelessly fielded election after election. The ongoing Karnataka election tamasha shows the ugly face of our politics well enough. Thankfully, we are a little better off in Himachal though. Yes, the AAP did entrance me when it was just a baby that we felt was born to give India a fresh new start with neat, clean politics. But my love affair ended soon in bitter heart break. Having said this, I want to draw your attention to the raging debate the shocked and bewildered country has been witness to: debate on the impeachment of the Hon’ble Chief Justice of India led by the Congress. Last Friday, the 20^th of April, I sat glued to the TV switching one news channel after another watching the proceedings with horror, pain, disbelief and disgust. Knowing full well how credible our news channels are, I don’t buy their stuff. Nor the dialectic or logic proffered by the squabbling and shouting party spokesmen who we all know unabashedly blow their party’s trumpet howsoever weak, stupid, hollow or twisted their arguments may be. In the present case I wanted to grasp what the country’s topmost, independent-minded legal luminaries had to say on this momentous issue of far-reaching implications and consequences. From the esteemed Fali Nariman to Harish Salve (who successfully argued for India in the Kulbhushan Yadav case in the International Court of Justice) to Ram Jethmalani -  and even many retired judges of outstanding merit - have been unequivocal in condemning this misguided move inspired by the Congress. This is what Fali Nariman – a lawyer the whole country respects for his neutrality and integrity – had to say: “This is a horribly black day…The blackest day. I‘ve never seen a day like this. In my 67 years, I’ve never seen a day like this.” Harish Salve said that it was unprecedented and undesirable and just by initiating the move, “damage to the image of the judiciary has already been done.” And  another jurist Soli Sorabjee finds the impeachment of CJI simply  "nonsensical".

I don’t know friends what is your take on this…how you feel about it, but believe me, after switching off the TV, I went to bed a broken, worried man. Our politics stinks, we know, but could it be brought to sink to such nether depths by the politicians? – I wondered as I shuffled uneasily in the bed. One crucial pillar of our democracy, the press, is already under siege with big corporate houses guided by vested interests having usurped it- the electronic media in particular. Judiciary is the last bastion which has stood firm and not let itself be cowed down by the nefarious and sinister designs of the politicians to buckle under or dance to their tunes. It has had issues and questions of propriety...as also an odd bad fish here and there. But such things are best left to its internal mechanisms to deal with. Politicians, of all, are the least qualified to meddle into its affairs. The judiciary’s umbrella of justice is the last refuge for the common man to take shelter against the scorching heat of injustices of the society and the hubris of the various organs of the government. It is sacrosanct. It inspires hope and confidence amongst the weak and the downtrodden. And when even its supreme edifice is now being jolted, the CJI being humiliated, abused and intimidated by the politicians, what message does it send to the common man? Can you imagine some Congressmen allegedly calling the CJI who is held in highest esteem by the very nature of his exalted position by you and me, “a rat in the trap”, “a fixer”? Is this the Congress of Nehrus and Patels? Has it gone intellectually bankrupt? Has it gone berserk? Where are the saner, suave, sober minds- the Jai Ram Rameshes? Where is Rahul leading this oldest party of great leaders to? Thank God, Dr Manmohan Singh held his own and so did Chidambram and Salman Khurshid, and refused to be a party to this sinister move. I salute them.

But dear friends, as Harish Salve voiced his lament: damage has been done.

History will not forgive the Congress for this grave misadventure…nor I think will the great people of our country.