Wednesday, May 1, 2024
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Unlimited Knowledge by Deepa (Laji) Bhagnari

Ramesh Poplay
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Unlimited Knowledge by Deepa (Laji) Bhagnari

COVID 19 the most dreaded words of our lifetime…yes, there have been pandemics before this but most of us have neither witnessed them nor even maybe heard of them till now when comparisons are made between then and now. I am not someone who delves deep into politics. I know a few of my friends who know the A to Z of politics like Asha Poplay and Lata Gehani.😀. Unfortunately, I am a Piscean and I love to live in my little make-believe world. So, politics is just not my cup of tea. I randomly read the headlines and that is sufficient for my knowledge. But since Covid has invaded our lives, every morning I attack the newspaper with a vengeance to see some breakthrough coming up in our nightmarish lives. But alas, that is not yet happening.
 
Since the Covid era has started, I have started reading the virus-related news and my eyes first go to the number of global cases, then the alarmingly rising cases in India and then finally the UAE scenario.  It is sad for us Mumbaites to read about the rising cases there and we fear for our near and dear ones and regularly call them to know that they are safe. Fortunately, UAE government has effectively controlled the situation here and we are a little free to move around. Then the newspapers declared yesterday that around 43% of the Indian population is facing depression, which is such a sad thing as the economy has taken a beating. people are facing starvation and business shut-downs. All this is creating chaos in so many lives – a very sorry state of affairs.

Covid has infected the global tourism industry – the most thriving industry I would say. All the countries are facing economic downfall, as tourism contributes to a large percent of their revenue. Besides that, there is a forlorn look everywhere, as tourism creates a buzz in all the cities – makes everything come to life. Now everywhere there is an eerie silence, no bright lights, no parades and no clubs bustling with dance, music and laughter. It is said that passenger traffic will return to pre-Covid levels only in 2024. Now that is really far away, I would say. Hope all these predictions prove to be wrong and we see better times soon – miraculously.

I feel I have gathered enough knowledge of the pandemic and decide that I should stop reading the papers  the next day but the very  next morning my eyes again eagerly scan the papers to see if there is any new development in the progress of the vaccine which will bring back our world to normalcy. No one cares which country wins the race in making the first safe and effective vaccine as long as it is successful and in this fortunately all the countries are united. So, let us keep our fingers crossed and pray for that path breaking day. OMG!! the amount of knowledge I have amassed about this virus I think I could write a book.😂. Which of course no one would bother to read as the very word Covid would make people run to another planet.

Since this new lockdown time in our lives, we all wondered how we would stay at home with nothing to do and being social animals, how would we would cope with the situation. But now more than 4 months have passed and we have all settled into a routine. In fact I think all have become too busy with their household chores and if some have time on their hands then they have honed their talents in cooking, baking, etc.

The greatest quandary I face is, setting priorities. Suddenly now we have satsangs on Zoom. Then meditation on Zoom and other channels, live cookery learning, musical programmes on Facebook, Instagram, etc. Yoga too is online now. Then, we have talk shows and discourses by acknowledged gurus like Gaurdas, Sadguruji., Daaji of Heartfulness, Prof Prema Pandurang of Kshetropasna, Deepak Chopra, Luke Coutinho and many others. All good so far, as these keeps us both physically and mentally alert and at peace in these chaotic times, but sometimes we wonder whether we should do meditation or learn a good dish that we would like to cook or hear a discourse by one of the gurus or just relax and listen to some lovely forgotten melodies. Because unfortunately sometimes there is a clash of timings and then of course my husband gets restless sitting at home all day and would like to go for a drive at around the same time – though we just drive aimlessly to the same Meena Bazar and Karama lanes every day and in fact I think I could easily get a job as an inspecting officer as I could rattle off all the names of the eating joints and jewellery shops and textile shops which have unfortunately shut down and all the big hotels which are in total darkness hoping to reopen once business is back to normal. So, you see I have to prioritise and I am sure all must be facing this dilemma and yet we say we are bored though actually we have so much to do. It is because we are all social animals and miss the human contact. Sometimes I feel I am in an Exam Hall and I am given a multiple-choice question and I have to choose only one. I think I found that easier than here –  choosing what one thing I would like to do ..😀

But all this has made us more God loving (people say God fearing but why fear the Lord) more appreciative of our families, our friends and our household helpers. This is God’s way of teaching us new lessons in life, which hopefully we should always remember.

So, I think this Pandemic has really given me unlimited knowledge, but please God I think this much is sufficient for me. I have learnt sufficient about this Covid subject – now let us proceed to the next new chapter in our life called NORMAL LIFE.

TanMan Treats by Mansha Mehta

Siddharth Kataria
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TanMan Treats by Mansha Mehta

– A Sweet Gift Straight From The Heart

Mansha Mehta, a vibrant and tenacious Bhagnari residing in Dubai worked in the corporate sector for nearly fifteen years. During a difficult phase, she lost her job. While one’s heart can sink at the prospect of losing a job, Mansha looked at this obstacle with a positive attitude and the result was the founding of her own home baking business – TanMan Treats.

Since childhood, Mansha trailed her mom and dad to the kitchen and through a course of various lessons, instructions and experiments, it gradually sunk in her that she has a hidden talent for cooking. Over the years, she experimented with both sweet and savory dishes, and subconsciously gravitated towards the sweeter side of her taste buds. It all started with selling the Bhagnari favorite ‘‘Nankhatais’’ , and accelerated to specialty Indian fusion cakes, homemade cookies, mouth-melting mithais and crispy nut brittles.

How was TanMan Treats conceived? The idea to start her own home baking business came into being over a weekend, when she was browsing through a magazine and came across an ad about a home-based chef, Vandana Jain, who offered culinary courses. She decided to get in touch with her and enrolled in the classes through which she learnt to make a wide variety of dishes which she offered to people for trial. After receiving excellent feedback, she decided to launch her own brand and TanMan Treats was born.

Customization is the motto of TanMan Treats. Over the past 2 years, people have tried and tested a wide variety of sweets from TanMan Treats. Through several events and networking opportunities, customers have developed a level of trust towards TanMan’s products which are made from high-quality ingredients and adhere to rigid safety standards. All this has helped TanMan Treats achieve fame among home bakers in Dubai.

One of Mansha’s main challenges was the icing of cakes. Initially, she made only sponge cakes which didn’t require icing. After several failed attempts, investing time in watching videos and learning different techniques of icing and practicing them, she overcame her difficulties. Having become confident through practice, she has now iced over 150 cakes.

In addition, her love for Indian sweets inspired her to incorporate a fusion element in her dishes. Her signature cake – ‘The Rasbhari Rasmalai Cake’ integrates several Indian flavors such as saffron, rose petals, cardamom and dry fruits. Similarly, she has infused flavors of paan in chocolates – another one of her customers’ favorites. This makes her brand different since most of her dishes include hints of Indian sweets as opposed to regular chocolate and fruit cakes. In addition, her daughter’s lactose-intolerance pushed her to learn vegan desserts. As a mother and an entrepreneur, this makes her feel accomplished in both aspects of her life.

Mansha has inspiring words for our Bhagnari youth – ‘Follow your passion. Although you may require several attempts to be good at something, be patient and stay motivated. In my opinion, this is the key to success in anything you want to achieve in life.’

Take a look at this video for the easiest rceipe of Tiramisu cups that you can make for your family and friends. Click on the link to view the video>>>>>>https://drive.google.com/file/d/1k0j08FqyzhHoFQ0xQ38O1-T0fekx3i8O/view

TanMan Treats by Mansha Mehta

Contact number: +971 50 226 5268, Instagram: @tanmantreats

Recollections from my father Issardas Vishindas Popley’s life and times

Ramesh Poplay
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Recollections from my father Issardas Vishindas Popley’s life and times

Yes, my father was a Popley with ‘e’, though I became Poplay with ‘a’, due to mistake in my school leaving certificate, which I realised only when I got my passport in 1972.

There has been a welcome revival of our Bhagnari boli and I feel it has come at the right time. The emphasis so far has been to assimilate all Bhagnaris spread across the globe, under one roof – a huge roof enabled by the IT advancements – Facebook, Whatsapp groups, Bhagnari Dictionary, Excel database, re-launched registrations, our website, email groups and several new and forthcoming initiatives that are in pipeline to get all Bhagnaris under one umbrella. And to top it, all this is being led by a group of youngsters, who are proud to contribute their time.

Our elders though had tended to be associated with Sindhi community, right from the time they came to Karachi. They merged themselves with the group named Old Town, mainly comprising of Bhagnari, Nasarpuri, Chapru, Serai, Saata, Khatri and Wawa. The children studied in Sindhi medium schools and that too in Arabic script. My father carried this attachment with him to the extent that even in 1958 when I was to be admitted to a school and in 1964 when my sister Neena was to start schooling, we were admitted to Sindhi schools with Arabic script. This, at a time when majority of my friends went to English medium schools. In the end though I do not find myself anywhere behind those who studied in English medium. A lesson that my father taught me to strengthen my English, was one that he had received from Late Shri Hiranand Gehi. He would pick up the first page of the daily English newspaper, underline all those words, whose meaning he did not know, get their meaning from dictionary, come back to the newspaper and re-read these sentences. This way he ensured that the meaning of the word was never lost on him. This exercise held me in good stead during my school days.

My father used to make it a point to attend the annual Sindhi Samelans, which were held all over India. Over the years, differences started simmering between the supporters of Arabic script and Devnagri script. By this time, several Sindhi schools had introduced Devnagri script divisions too. Being the editor of Hindustan Sindhi Daily, my father, supported Arabic script. But the rift had deepened and it finally led to fights at one of the samelan, leading to a split between the two rival groups. It also led to the supporters of Devnagri script, starting their own newspaper, which was named Sindhudhara. During this period prominent Sindhi writers in and around Mahim and Mumbai too started taking a stand on this matter, though I don’t recall which writer supported which script. I do, however, remember some of the writers with whom my father had close association – Moti Prakash, Sundri Uttamchandani, A J Uttam, Popti Hiranandani, Kirat Babani, Mohan Gehani, to name a few.

As Sindhi philanthropists had opened colleges in Mumbai, which continue to function till today, they started offering seats under Sindhi quota. Even now, Panchayat issues certificates to Bhagnari students who wish to apply for seats under Sindhi quota in these colleges.

In conclusion on this subject, before I take a further trip down the memory lane, it must be said that the current push to own up Bhagnari boli, must continue. What I have said above, was ‘then’ and our ‘past’.

My father had maintained and adopted socialist ideas all through his studies and life. He was a staunch supporter of Karl Max’s theory of economics and used to openly support it even in the college lectures. It’s a wonder how during British rule, the students would stage walk-out whenever the professor propagated capitalist theories. During the second world war, when the Britishers banned all news articles from abroad, a group which included my father, would distribute leaflets covering news from across the borders. For this they were punished several times. I was recently told by our Mukhi Shri Lachmandas Gehi that in Karachi my father was called Daily Gazette Popley due to his association with this paper. He also used to teach English and Maths to Bhagnari students during night, free of charge.

For his LLB studies he came down to Bombay, though he did not complete it due to the partition of the country. The college where he studied used to arrange occasional visits to the court, so that the students could get first-hand knowledge of the proceedings. My father used to cite the cases fought by Mohd Ali Jinnah, who was considered a prominent lawyer in Bombay. His reputation was that he would study the case so well that he would be in a position to sum-up the case with all its pros and cons in his first briefing and leave no quarters for the opposition lawyer.

His socialist ideology brought him close to personalities like A K Hangal, Balraj Sahni, S A Dange. According to him, even Raj Kapoor was a part of this group until he became a successful film-maker. RK’s socialist ideas are clearly evident in most of the movies made by him. My father possessed several trunk-full of books written by and on Karl Marx, Lenin, Stalin, etc. He was warned to get rid of them, as the government imposed a clamp-down on such material during the war with China in 1962. I was just 10 and remember having gone and hidden the books on terrace. I too acquired some of his socialist leanings, as I led a trade union of 500 India-wide employees of Blaze Advertising Pvt Ltd, where I worked during 1969/73. It was quite a task dealing with President of All India Trade Union Congress, H N Trivedi who was a very tricky character. We had to leave him and join a trade union leader named Khanolkar, who had defended Datta Samant in a murder case. We finally realised that an out of court settlement would be the best way out to settle the fight between the management and the workers.

My father had worked in Blaze, when I was about to be born, however, as they were not doing well, he had left them and started a film publication called The Magazine. It lasted till 1954 and could not continue in the face of competition from Filmfare. I got my job with Blaze as my father had kept in touch with the owners Mohan Bijlani and Freni Variava. In fact, I recall that when I joined them, I was still 17 and the minimum age required to join a private limited company was 18 during those days. The HR manager ‘increased’ my age by a year.

Times were tough for us then. My mother, Daya, was one of the few Bhagnari ladies who had taken up a job. She worked as a salesperson in a saree shop, Apsara, in Prathna Samaj. Some years earlier we had been granted a personal loan of Rs. 5,000 (a princely sum at that time), by Late Mukhi Shri Takandas Kataria to enable us to take up a flat in Kataria Colony. He was very fond of my Aayee, Sadoribhai. I recall that our society’s loan was paid off only just before I went to Dubai in 1973. My higher secondary education in 1968 was completed with dreams of joining Science and becoming a Civil Engineer. I passed the Elementary and Intermediate Drawing grade exams of Maharashtra Board, in preparation for this dream. However, on the day when my SSC results came, these dreams were shattered. To support the family, it was necessary to earn and learn. During those days one could do that only in Arts and Commerce streams, as these had morning classes. During the first year of the college I worked with my father, getting exposure to the world of advertising and meeting people like Amin Sayani and R K Laxman. Our Colaba depot of Times of India’s classified advertisements was in Cecil Court, where Amin Sayani worked in the office of Radio Ceylon. During our visits to Times of India at VT, we used to meet R K Laxman very often and get to see the cartoon that he was going to publish in the next day’s newspaper.     

My F.Y. Com went off very well, as I was still working with my father. From Inter Commerce (as it used to be known then), I joined Blaze Advertising. I found the experience of studying and working very tough and fared badly in the terminal exams. Just before Prelims, I told my father that I wanted to leave studies and go away to Dubai. He first agreed, but after a week or so he told me to go back to the college and that he had spoken to the head clerk Sadarangani to let me appear in the final exams, even though I had failed in 3 subjects in Prelims. With Sadarangani’s influence I was given permission to appear in the final Inter Commerce exams and barely managed to passed with 37% marks. Junior B. Com and final B. Com did not pose much problem. In fact, my Dubai visa came on the day when I got my result of post-graduation in Marketing and Advertising. Till today, I thank my father for the day when he asked me to go back to my studies. During my job in Dubai, I undertook a lot of recruitment of programmers for my department. For recruiting programmers to handle the Y2K crisis during 1997/99, there used to be days, when I would go through 50+ job applications in a day. Every time I would discard an applicant for not being a technical post-graduate, I would thank my father for ensuring that I did not remain an under-graduate.

My father was a good sports person and used to represent his teams in Cricket and Table Tennis. He kept doing Yoga, just until a few months before he died. For a brief period, he was also in the Youth Committee of the Panchayat. His death came as a result of brain tumour. He spent his last days at Shanti Avedna Sadan, where only terminally ill patients are admitted. We still visit this place, which is located near Mount Mary Church, Bandra. It’s an oasis of tranquility in Mumbai.

16th July is his 31st death anniversary. Om Shanti, Daddy. Thank you for making me, what I am today.

There is learning in everything – Deepa (Laji) Bhagnari

Ramesh Poplay
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There is learning in everything – Deepa (Laji) Bhagnari

Since my childhood I have always loved to read. I think I started reading fairy tales and then graduated to reading comics..short stories in magazines and then novels of the fabulous five by Enid Blyton ..and from then my romance with books started..and being a Pisces I always became so involved with the characters of the stories I read that I practically used to think I am a part of them just like Alice in Wonderland.

The other day as I was surfing the net I happened to read all about different species of animals and birds and the aquatic mammals. Really I had never in my wildest dreams dreamt that we humans could learn from them some very valuable lessons of life. I realised that animals all have some distinct quality which is very unique. We all know that Dogs are mans best companion as their loyalty is unmatchable..I wonder if any human can match their love and devotion to their masters. Then there are cats who teach us cleanliness, as they are very particular about their hygiene…Horses teach us confidence. Elephants are strong but meek they teach us forgiveness.. Turtles say slow down and enjoy the moment. Honey bees say work hard and dream big,as nothing worth having comes easy. Lion the king of the jungle teaches us bravery..Spiders teach us determination they never make their web in one attempt but they try and try till they succeed. I think I love this quality as today with all the modern technology and the social media etc there is so much to learn everyday…I keep on learning and sometimes I fail but again like the spider restart till I complete my task…as I always tell myself “I am not a quitter” Leopards stalks its prey with patience..and patience is the greatest virtue we can learn in this fast forward life. Rhinoceros are the second largest mammals ..they are strong but herbivores ..they feed on grass so now we know that one can be strong and healthy even by only eating greens. Orangutans and apes are the most intelligent..they imitate everything that they see new..they are a curious lot. And the smallest little ant teaches us the biggest lesson of life …they teach us teamwork..you will always find them together. And here we humans are so selfish that we want to walk the path alone so that we alone reach the top..but they say work together you will only reach your goals faster. Really fascinating isn’t it ?

Learning is always an ongoing and never ending process. I personally think that we are all students till our last breath. As we are always learning something new everyday..from everyone around us. When we are young our parents are our gurus who teach us valuable lessons of love and sacrifice. Our siblings teach us love..companionship..helping one another and so much more. Then comes school time where we have wonderful teachers who have so much knowledge to impart that I don’t think we can repay their debt in any way thru out our life. I still remember my beloved Canossa Convent and my wonderful and loving teachers like Miss Millicent..Miss Ophelia..Miss Vasanti Patil..Miss Kamla ..Mrs.Disa.. Miss Mira..Mother Edna ..Mother Trexi and so many more. Love them all as they have shaped and moulded our personality. Today we are what we are because of them.

Then comes college and a little bit of independence but it is here that we learn to hone our skills to perfection …of course ably guided by our learned professors. I was in Jaihind College where we had the best four years of our life as my dear friend Geeta Kanar always says. I remember our professors there like Mr. Rao..Mr. Mistry both my English and Advanced English professors..they always read my essays and Referce to Context answers in the staff room near all the other professors and that was indeed a proud moment for me when I got to know about it. Then Professor Balaporiya my French professor who had a soft spot for me as I always excelled in French..Mr. Hitler as we called him..was our history professor and history was a subject I loved. Anyways College taught us that we can be independent but never step out of line as there are always boundaries which we should never cross. And I am sure we never did it.

Then comes marriage and different responsibilities…but learning doesn’t stop as I told you it is an ongoing process. Now here you learn adjustment with your new family as you go to live in a new house where maybe the rules and way of life..their thinking is different..but one learns…..all do. Here I had an excellent guru …my loving mother in law Sita Bhagnari who taught me everything from scratch..cooking..cleaning everything as I was a complete novice too busy with my studies so never really learnt anything else. 😁 Moreover she taught me how to adjust in a joint family..that is the best lesson I have learnt from her…maybe many may find it strange but I think I am old fashioned enough so I love joint families where you all stay together in one big house..never lonely..never short of company..never scared..always someone there to help you ..advice you and of course to love you. Nowadays it is Hum Do aur humare do.. well times have changed so has thinking. There are always advantages and disadvantages in both. The key tool here is adjustment. A valuable lesson I learnt and I am sure all do.

And I cannot forget unforgettable real life stories of courage and determination which I myself have experienced in my life. The first being my beloved mother Lila Mehta..at the age of 70 she was diagnosed with cancer. We were all devastated ..our world was shattered…I remember asking the Doctor if my mother would be cured and his reply was she has around six months to live. I just collapsed right there. But my mom did not even give any importance to her disease ..she was only worried about my Dad being taken care of..getting his food in time etc etc…her world revolved round taking care of my dad..she knew she had to fight the battle for my dads sake..and she did it with her positivity and proved all the doctors wrong. That is her courage and determination . Then comes my mother in law Sita Bhagnari who was unable to walk without crutches or a walker and that too with great difficulty but that didn’t deter her zest for life…she never said no for anything..would accompany us to all family functions ..weddings..celebrations even though it meant her sitting on the stairs and going up backwards ..painstakingly she did it..she must be in pain but there was always a smile on her lips..and I am glad she had that spirit as we loved having her with us and she loved being social. How can I forget my friend Geeta Kanar who has been handicapped since years and walks with great difficulty but still comes down for her kirtans and goes to kitty parties. How can I forget that after coming down her three floors she has the gumption to climb two floors up to meet my mom who is bed ridden..she went there gave my mother company ..revoked memories of our childhood days and bought a smile on her lips..something so considerate only a true friend can do..Love you Geeta till eternity. Proud to have you as my friend. My dear sister Lata Kataria (Seema Mehta) who battled a traumatic disease bravely with a smile on her lips..never asking the question “why me”? Courage ..Grit and Determination three qualities that all four of them possess.. indeed they are Women of Substance. We all can learn from them.

So basically one is always learning..from colleagues..bosses…peers.. but the best lessons of life you sometimes learn from young children who have no hidden agendas or motives..who know nothing of selfishness etc. I myself have been fascinated with my own granddaughter Amara..sometimes whilst I speak to her she suddenly comes up with such a deep and meaningful reply which astonishes me. Really incredible that you can learn from such young and innocent children. So that shows us that we have teachers all around us .

And last but not the least our spiritual Gurus who teach us to be good human beings and teach us to walk the right path in life. We owe a lot to them for our spiritual growth.

So to sum it all up we have to remember that there are lessons to be learned everyday of our life…we can never quit being students… but the huge campus of life has now replaced our schools and colleges. And so let’s continue learning and growing everyday.

One valuable lesson I learnt from Mother Teresa is that helpings hands are better than praying lips. So try and help as many as you can . You will only get blessings in return and one cannot but want more of that..

Biography Of Late Mukhi Shri Harkishindas D Gehani – By Niranjan H Gehani and family

Ramesh Poplay
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Biography Of Late Mukhi Shri Harkishindas D Gehani – By Niranjan H Gehani and family

1948 -1951

Shri Harkishindas D Gehani was born to Deepchand Asandas and Kimatbai Gehani on 28.10.1915 in Karachi. Late (Prof) Shri Hargobindas was his younger brother.

After completing matriculation, he acquired a diploma in Accountancy and Business Law from London Chambers of Commerce (LCC), now LCCI.

Married to Smt. Prabhavatii (Bato), the family consists of Sarvashri Niranjan, Indu, Kamla, Manik, Prakash and Sunita. He lost his father at a very young age.

He was employed at Ganesh Khopra Mill and was looking after accounts of the firm initially. His dedication and talent were recognised and appreciated by the partners of Ganesh Khopra Mill. He grew with the firm and he was handling bigger assignments which made him a coveted employee. He couldn’t be held back, as he never had static ideas. This quality was utilised by his employers and they threw challenges at him to bail out a loss-making venture in Bombay which they owned. This time something extraordinary was to be achieved by him. A man with infinite capacity and capabilities, he zeroed all his energy to resolve a challenging target and accepted every hurdle and toiled to conquer the win. This act earned him respect and recognition. The loss-making unit was turned around and became one of the Jewels in the kitty of Balani and Israni families. As a reward for achieving extraordinary feat, Balani and Israni offered partnership to Shri Harkishindas D Gehani.

In the later years the unit was expanded and shifted to Saki Naka in Mumbai, which was under the charge of Shree Niranjan H Gehani.

1951 – 1968

Mukhi Late Shri Harkshindas Deepachand Gehani

Shri Harkishindas was son-in-law of Late Mukhi Shri Takandas Kataria. He was inducted in the Panchayat activities by him from his early years. On migration to Bombay, our community winnowed to Mahim, Kings Circle Camp, Sion Camp, Kurla, Chembur Camp, Kopri in Thane, Kalyan, Ulhasnagar and Bombay Central.

As Late Shri Takandas H Kataria had many larger issues to look after, the charge of running the Panchayat was given to Shri Harkishidas D Gehani and his team. They were being guided by Shri Takandas H Kataria from time to time. Many urgent and serious matters relating to Bhagnari community had to be resolved in shortest possible time. The blank was so large that it demanded “today’s work to be finished yesterday.”

Fortunately, the records of Shree Bhagnari Panchayat had the details of it’s members. All of our people were identified and were kept in constant contact. The needy were provided with financial help from time to time. With timeless engagements the knots were eased and the dust settled by 1951.

New Challenges

Kataria Colony was conceptualised in 1950. The first building was marked as “A” building. “A” was the lone standing building and despite being the only one, it was marked as “A”. This indicates that our leaders already had a plan chalked out to grow further to weave our brothers in the project from A to H and make another Bhagnari Pada in Mumbai. The dream was fulfilled when the foundation stone of B to E buildings was laid by Mukhi Shri Takandas Kartaria in 1959.

This time again the Panchayat members selected Shri Harkishindas D Gehani to be in charge of the project. The man with fire in his belly created a history of completing the buildings in 30 months.

Removal of encroachment of the bootleggers from the plot and development of our society in record time, makes one feel as if they are watching a live movie. These achievements would not have been possible without active support of all Bhaganaris.

By this time many of our scattered Bhagnaris came back to a new Bhagnari Pada – KATARIA COLONY.

YATRA – PILGRIMAGE

To taste the waters, a 500 km/s trial yatra to Pandharpur was planned by road. This trip was undertaken to give an idea as to how a longer journey can be endeavoured by our senior family elders. The Pandharpur experiment exposed many shortcomings. The learning from it readied the team with all precautions which were accounted for and a long return trip from Bombay to Haridwar and Badrinath by bus from Kataria Colony was planned.

The Yatris were from every Bhagnari family. The involvement was so universal that departure turned into a festival of happiness. I have never witnessed the amount of enthusiasm generated on any celebration as on the commencement of the Yatra of Haridwar and Badrinath. The 3 weeks long trip concluded. The excitement to see the satiated Yatris back home was an emotional bonanza. Reaching back with satiated expressions, each and every Yatri had only words of praise for Mukhi Harkishindas and his team.

Our family cherishes the blessings endowed by Bhagnaris, due to the efforts of Mukhi Shri Harkishindas

Bhagnari Co-operative Society Limited, Chunabhatti

Several Bhagnari families were still unsettled and something had to be done for them – they needed decent homes. The requirement was computed and a plan to house deserving Bhagnaris was prepared.

A plot at Chunabhatti was acquired, where 2 buildings were erected. One of them was a commercial project and second was reserved for Bhagnaris. They were given flats on subsidised rate and the profit from the high-rise building was used as the subsidy. The society is in existence and is registered as Bhagnari CHS Ltd.

Deolali Sanitorium

The sanatorium at Deolali was one of his pet projects which made our people enjoy outings in our own place. 

LEGACY

His sincerity and devotion gave him growth in life and he received whatever a human being aspires during his lifetime. More than receiving, he gave back to the society whatever he had in him.

His health took away all his energies, though the will to do something was still alive. He desired to be of use to the society.

On 16.10.1983 he was admitted to National Hospital (Now Hinduja Hospital’s old building). The family rushed to the hospital. We saw him in the ward where he was being examined by his doctor, After the doctor left he called us closer and placed his palm of perpetual blessings on our heads to say that it is a matter of only 5 days.

On 21rd October 1983 (Friday) at 7.30 A.M we lost him forever. This was the fifth day. The oracle of gold was gone from our life and we all felt abandoned. But while leaving he left particles of gold in all of us for eternity.

Late Smt Prabhavati H Gehani

Our Mother Late Smt Prabhavati (Bato)

Prabhavati Harkishindas Gehani – these three words mean life to our family. Without our mother, our father Harkishindas wouldn’t have achieved the heights. Her role was to make him feel confident that he had lioness at home to take care of her kids. The lion conquered for us, our comfortable future with her devotion.

She was the first lady driver in our community. Independent, fierce and protective of her family – we always had a lovely and safe abode with her loving care. All of us were raised by her and our family stands united due to the thoughtful efforts of our mother. She kept us connected to our maternal uncles and their families and we mingled regularly with them on all festivals.

Thadri was the festival where Shri Takandas’s entire family with daughters, son-in-laws and children would meet and spend a whole day as “agtaa”.Same efforts were put in to preserve the oneness and to mingle with our paternal uncle’s family and their daughters. These pleasant family meetings can never be forgotten. These small and tiny memories of happy events, keep the families together and the love and affection are nurtured for eternity.

Our mother took care of our emotional upbringing and inculcated several values in us. The nourishment of the body and mind of all her children was her prime concern.

Mother – Mannu Ayee – Goddess for us.

Angels Bake by Vidhi Kamra

Siddharth Kataria
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2
Angels Bake by Vidhi Kamra

Angels Bake, a venture founded by Vidhi Kamra is a home baking business that offers custom cakes, bakes and hampers for corporate gifting and personal use. Vidhi who is just 21 years old loved to bake cakes as a hobby. She started baking when she was a teenager in school and a complete amateur. She has perfected this art through her dedication, ingenuity and practice. Her love for the aroma of a freshly baked cake made her realize that a career in baking is what she would like to pursue.

She had plans of starting her own venture earlier, but this thought can be unnerving and Vidhi wanted things to be perfect. Gradually, she realized that; ‘There is no perfect time – you hav to create it’. Being a home baker and lacking a professional setup makes it difficult when working on bulk orders. However, this did not deter Vidhi from pursuing her dreams. She took the lunge, managed to stay afloat and is now happily swimming through. Her family has been extremely supportive, and her little sister has been her biggest cheerleader.

Her prime motto is to give you what you like – a cake baked with utmost care and without compromising on quality. Angels bake provides relevant customization for bulk orders and festive packaging and delivers all around Mumbai. Angel’s bake also offers vegan cakes and other healthier varieties of cakes. 

Angel’s bake has bestowed upon Vidhi much more than she ever imagined, instilled in her a sense of responsibility, independence and most importantly, has helped her improve in managerial skills. Since its inception in April 2019, in just a year, Angels bake has delivered over 100 cakes and done 3 corporate orders.

‘Asaan Bhagnaris’ must do our best to promote such businesses. Her message for Bhagnaris and Bhagnari youth is relevant in this regard – ‘Since we are all in the same boat, let us influence each other through our works to do better and rise together’, rather than consider one another as a competition. 

To place an order for your next Birthday or Anniversary cake, do contact Angel’s bake at +91 9821825559.

Bhagnari Migrations and our Saraiki Boli…

Ramesh Poplay
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7
Bhagnari Migrations and our Saraiki Boli…

BHAGNARI HISTORY

Realize:

·         That our parents and Grand Parents have endeavored 3 migration/ settlements during the period of no transportation and no communication facility, each transition made them more determined to save our generations.

·         Their tolerance can be realised by comparing their plight with the present migration of the migrant labour from metro towns, almost all of us had moist eyes seeing the plight of migrants during modern times when best of transport and communication are available.

·         That our elders have sacrificed almost everything for our comforts.

·         That in case the Shree Bhagnari Panchayat was not existing, we all would have been scattered like the dry leaves to be trampled and dusted.

Sabhi Bhagnaryen ku venti hey ke wo sab hi lekh ku ant tai padan.

Ya aakhani apne niyat di itihas hive.  

Bhagnari in Baluchistan

Indian State Baluchistan became part of Pakistan post-independence.

As per the available information, our traces are found from the Aryans of the Indus valley civilization. Based on this it is estimated our race is more than forty thousand years in existence.

Apart from being ruled by Mughals, Marathas and Durrani Dynasty, the British Company ruled Baluchistan till 1947.

The Kalat Division in Sibi District, was ruled by the Sewa Dynasty, a Hindu Suzerainty till the 7th century.

Kalat is still known as Kalat-I-Sewa, the Name is derived from the Hindu Royalty Sewi, the queen of Sewa dynasty

It’s interesting that the Nari River is in the Sibi district and the popular Bovine breed is known as Bhagnari breed. It is one of the finest breeds in the world and is in great demand.

Bhag and Nari River are separated by distance of 165 km. Nari River is existing, but there is no village known as Nari in the nearby surroundings of the river.

BHAG – NARI

We Bhagnaris belong to Quetta. We are not from Multan as many Saraikis,

Bhag is a Tehsil city in Quetta. It is very vibrant and is a very inclusive city.

Quetta is 960 km from Sindh and Punjab Divisions. The train travels through Sukhur, Jacobabad and Chaman to reach Quetta. It is said that the travel to Baluchistan by rail from Sindh and Punjab is amazingly beautiful.

Many Hindus are settled peacefully in Quetta. Most of them are in trading activities.

Hindu Temples are well preserved and large numbers of Hindus gather to pray and celebrate Hindu as well the local festivals. The Jhulelal temple is frequently visited by Sindhi population in Quetta.

Saraiki Spoken Language

Saraiki People

As per the records around 3 million people speak Saraiki boli.

Pakistan has maximum number of people who speak Saraiki.

Many Saraiki speaking Hindus migrated to India from Punjab, Multan, Sindh and Baluchistan – they are mostly spread across Delhi, Haryana, Punjab, Rajasthan and some in Gujarat and Uttarakhand too. A few are found in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana states as per the recent revelation.

Saraiki Muslims of Gujarat believe in the Gotra System, which is believed by all Hindus.

Internationally Saraiki speaking families are found in UK, Canada, USA, Iraq, Iran and a small population is in Russia too.

In London alone, 4 lakh people speak Saraiki language.

To know who are Saraiki people, click on the following link to see the documentary video:

https://youtu.be/B-TspZjnK6E

Migration from Quetta to Karachi

Many stories are heard by us about the migration of our community from Quetta to Karachi; some say that we moved out of Quetta due to the earthquake which devastated the region and our community.

The earthquake happened on 31st May 1935, by the logic of 1935 it may mean that we lived in Karachi only for 12 years till 1947.

The British Company took over Baluchistan from the Durrani Dynasty in 1855. The forced conversions, Muslims persecution and desire for betterment made us migrate to Karachi in and around 1855 to 1870.

The time frame of 1855 to 1870 is suggested based on the assumption that a Bhagnari person was born in Karachi in and around 1870 and lived for 75 years thereafter till 1947.

By above details we can safely assume Bhagnaris lived in Karachi for 75 to 90 years before we came to Bombay.

(One of our youngsters Sahil  Mehta is researching the origin of our community professionally as such the dates calculated by him will be accepted by me.)

Migration to India

Most of Bhagnaris moved from Karachi in 1947 – 48 period, a few remained in Karachi till 1953 – 55 period and moved to India later.

Fortunately, Bhagnaris were not scattered in Karachi, most of us were in the identifiable distances and the contact within the community was very strong and our Shree Bhagnari Panchayat was fully operational from 1930 onwards.

The active and dynamic Panchayat was a very strong and cohesive body.

Mukhi Takandas Kataria was in constant communication with the Indian Government for seeking relief and help on arrival in India. The appeals were never replied, hence the community leaders decided to move on their own strength to India

(I had received the copies of Shri Takandas Kataria’s communication with the Government of India and also with PM Jawaharlal Nehru from Late Shri Sobhraj Gehi while I was engaged with him during the times of being office bearer of Kataria Colony. The copies were handed over to Sarvashree Vinod S Jham and Ramesh I Poplay sometimes during 2014-15)

As Shri Takandas Kataria had his business in Bombay prior to 1947 his family was settled in Kataria Niwas in Mahim.

Most of the migration of the community concluded in 1947-1948.

Kataria colony was conceived in 1950 and by 1974 a large number of Bhagnaris were residing in Kataria colony.

Kataria Colony has been a very lucky abode for us, from where our people have grown and spread across the world. Most of the families were growing well and were on upward trajectory.

Suggestive ways to remain together for ever

We Bhagnaris are not Sindhis. We need to be recognised as Saraiki Bhagnaris.

By all the information gathered, I can be sure in stating that we are Saraiki speaking sect- known as BHAGNARIS. 

We have decided to be called Sindhis during our stay in Karachi to avoid isolation. There may have been many other valid reasons for doing so.

Now from the day we realise that we have unique identity of our own we should correct the wrong notion by energising Bhagnaris to adopt our heritage and be counted as Saraiki Bhagnari.

This part of prose is suggestive where we are discussing the ways and means to get ourselves recognized as Saraiki Bhagnari the world over.

Harnessing our people internationally will culminate in preserving our heritage, which will become a landmark achievement of all of us.

There are 6 lakh Saraiki speaking people in India. Bhagnaris are not included in the count as we offer ourselves as Sindhis during the census.

We should prepare our folks all over the world to be specifically recognized as Saraiki Bhagnari by the authorities, during the process of the CENSUS.

Collective Identity

Every religion is identified by a) Their Attire b) Their language c) Their food d) Their History and e) Their folk Dance and Music

For example Sikhs, Muslims, Gujarati, Parsi, Bori and many others are recognised instantly due to the virtues of the above factors. The uniqueness creates the individual or collective identity.

Fortunately, Bhagnari history has the record of many of the above elements which gives us identity, just as it has given to many communities described above.

Our community has been able to preserve the language, food species and history but has missed out on the attire and the dance and music which play a very vital role in bonding our people.

Bhangra, Gharba, Ghoomar, Kaththak, Odissi and many other forms of dance instantly connect us to the communities who perform these art forms.

Resurrect the Attire and the Dance–Music form

Saraiki Ajrak

The Saraiki AJRAK is kind of a unisex scarf / Chunni which is worn by the Saraikis all over the world, in fact a Saraiki Association in California uses the print style of the Saraiki Ajrak on their logo.

We should adopt the Ajrak and adorn ourselves during the occasions and travel to be recognised by  the attire.

Saraiki dance and music form is alive, which can be easily practised and adopted by Bhagnaris to be performed during the celebrations internationally.

Once the initial mobilisation commences the destiny walks half the distance of success, leaving us to tread the rest to preserve our culture and identity.

Prakash Harkishindas Gehani

The Author

Letters from Karachi

Ramesh Poplay
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5
Letters from Karachi

Migration from Karachi to Mumbai and various parts of India was painful to say the least. This pain is clearly reflected in the correspondence that our elder leaders Mukhi Takandas Kataria and Shri Sobhraj Gehi, took up with the authorities in 1948. Most of our community members had left Karachi by then but there was still a sizable number of approx. 500 who had held themselves back to sale their properties and close down their businesses. The events of 6th January 1948 when wide-spread arson, looting and killing took place in Karachi, however, shook up everyone. Following these events the community’s elders ensured that the remaining members of the community were migrated without much problem.

These letters have been preserved by the community through the generations and are being reproduced here for everyone to get an idea about the pains of migration that our community endured. Shree Bhagnari Panchayat would like to thank Prakash Gehani who handed over these priceless gems to the Panchayat after obtaining them from Shri Sobhraj Gehi.

PS: The letters have been reproduced without making any changes.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

PETITION FROM SHRI TAKANDAS KATARIA, PRESIDENT, BHAGNARI PANCHAYAT, KARACHI TO THE HIGH COMMISSIONER OF INDIA IN PAKISTAN

Illaco Building

Elphinston Street, Camp,

Karachi,

15th January 1948

To,

THE HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR INDIA IN PAKISTAN

KARACHI

The humble Petition of Takandas Hemraj Kataria, President of the Bhagnari Panchayat, Karachi.

Sheweth:-

1. Your petitioner is the President of the Bhagnari Panchayat of Karachi. The said community had about 2500 persons who all resided in Karachi since some generations.

2. After the fateful events of the partition of India into two independent Dominions of ‘Pakistan’ and ‘Hindustan’, on 15th of August 1947, a large number of persons of your petitioner’s community, who were otherwise residing and owning properties and had their occupations in Karachi, did not consider it worthwhile to continue to remain here. Most of them therefore left for Bombay and some are still there.

3. The remaining members of the community of your petitioner, who for reasons beyond their control and as a result of diverse business and other engagements, could not leave the dominion of Pakistan, intended to remain here for some short time, till it became convenient for them to go out of it. They, however, at no time intended to make Pakistan as their permanent home. They have all along been anxious to leave as soon as the circumstances permitted them to do so.

4. The only persons who are now in Karachi are about 500. Of them about 300 are adults and about 200 are children between the ages of 3 and all years. It is not necessary to mention the number of children under the age of 3 years.

5. you are well aware the sudden and serious catastrophe which took place on 6th of January 1948 when lawlessness was prevalent in the whole City of Karachi. Some members of your petitioner’s community have also become victims of the looting, etc.

6. These incidents, the details of which are better known to you, and have been appearing in the local vernacular newspapers, have made it impossible for the members of your Petitioner’s community who have so long remained in Karachi, to continue to remain any longer here. They are extremely anxious to leave Karachi at the earliest possible opportunity. They have already suffered at the hands of the hooligans and apprehending serious danger to their life, property and honour. They have been passing extremely anxious times, particularly so, when most of them are residing and owning properties in Bhagnari Street, a part of Napier Quarter, which is considered to be the worst dangerous zone in whole of the City of Karachi, having been surrounded on all sides by such quarters from which at any unforeseen moment a catastrophe in a more virulent form may suddenly emerge and revive. Their apprehensions are aggravated by the general impressions which day by day has been gaining ground in the public mind that such lawlessness is bound to take place again in the near future.

7. It may be mentioned here that had it not been for the neighbourly spirit displayed by some of the newly migrated Muslims from outside who have bought properties in this part of the City and had it not been for their timely help and co-operation to afford protection to the members of your Petitioner’s community, there would have been many instances of murders as well.

8. The members of your Petitioner’s community desire under the circumstances to leave for Bombay where most of their relatives are now residing.

9. Your Petitioner under the circumstances suggests that out of the persons of this community now in Karachi a batch of about 400 persons may be arranged to be transported by the earliest Steamer sailing for Bombay and rest of them may be sent after a fortnight.

10. Your Petitioner begs to approach you with a request that you will be pleased to make the necessary arrangement for the transport of the members of his community and will secure them the necessary passage from the steamship company, and permits, if any, required for their going out, to enable them to leave Pakistan. Of course, your Petitioner undertakes to pay for the passage of such persons.

11. Your Petitioner also requests that in order to protect the members of his community from unnecessary harassment, by unduly harsh, improper and unreasonable searches, you will be pleased to make such arrangements for them as you consider proper and if necessary, have the searches conducted in your presence or in the presence of the Deputy High Commissioner of India in Pakistan.

12. And your Petitioner and the members of the community shall ever pray.

Your Petitioner subscribes

himself to be,

Your most obedient servant

President,

The Bhagnari Panchayat, Karachi.

TELEGRAM FROM SHRI SOBRAJ GEHI, HON SECRETARY OF BHAGNARI PANCHAYAT, KARACHI TO PANDIT JAVAHARLAL NEHRU

EXPRESS TELEGRAM

20TH JANUARY 1948

PANDIT JAVAHARLAL NEHRU

NEW DELHI

Copies to:

1. SARDAR VALLABH BHAI PATEL, NEW DELHI

2. BABU RAJENDRA PRASAD, NEW DELHI

3. JAIRAMDAS DOULATRAM, NEW DELHI

4. ACHARYA KIRPALANI, NEW DELHI (India)

PRESIDENT                         BHAGNARI

PANCHAYAT                       MADE

REPRESENTATION            ON

FIFTEENTH                         JANUARY

TO                                        HIGH

COMMISSIONER               FOR

IMMEDIATE                       EVACUATION

MEMBERS                          BHAGNARI

COMMUNITY                    RESIDING

QUARTERS                         APPREHENDING

DANGER                             STOP

SOME                                  LOOTED

IN                                         RECENT

RIOTS                                  STOP

EXTREMELY                       ANXIOUS

LEAVE                                  KARACHI

STOP                                    HIGH

COMMISSIONER               OFFICE

PAYING                               NO

ATTENTION                       STOP

PRAY                                    INSTRUCT

HIGH                                    COMMISSIONER

FOR                                      FREE

TICKETS                              AND

IMMEDIATE                       ARRANGEMENT

EVACUATION                    STOP

REPLY                                  TELEGRAPHICALLY

SECRETARY                        BHAGNARI

PANCHAYAT

BHAGNARI                         STREET

KARACHI

Signature

and

Address of

Sender

From the Secretary

Bhagnari Panchayat,

Bhagnari Street, Karachi

20.1.1948

LETTER FROM SHRI SOBRAJ GEHI, HON JOINT SECRETARY OF BHAGNARI PANCHAYAT, KARACHI TO NEW DELHI

From,

Bhagnari Street

Napier Quarter

Karachi.

22nd January 1948

To,

(No address mentioned)

New Delhi (India)

Jai Hind,

On behalf of the Bhagnari Panchayat of Karachi, I venture to submit as under:-

On 15th of January 1948, the President of the Bhagnari Panchayat of Karachi, submitted in writing, a memorial to the High Commissioner for India in Pakistan, describing the various circumstances necessitating an arrangement for early and immediate evacuation from Karachi, of the members of the said community. A copy of the said memorial is hereto annexed marked “A” for your perusal.

The causes, inter alia, which led to the making of the said memorial, were that certain members of this community had become victims of the recent disturbances which broke out at Karachi and that they were residing in a quarter which was not considered to be a place of safety for them, and that they were apprehending grave danger to their life, property and honour.

Between the 15th and 19th of January 1948, the representatives of this community, several times called at the office of the High Commissioner to know what had become of their memorial. They, however, met with no better reply than that no orders had been passed on it.

On 19th January 1948, when the President and some members of my community called at the office of the High Commissioner, they were asked to see Mr. Masand, an attaché to the Deputy High Commissioner. They were given to understand that their papers were lying on the table of Masand without any orders having been passed on them. They then saw Mr Masand, who unceremoniously dismissed them by saying that the High Commissioner had laid down definite policy of giving preference to the persons in refugee camps. Mr Masand refused to consider the circumstances narrated in the memorial submitted on behalf of my community. In other words, he said that that no reasons howsoever strong would weigh with the High Commissioner to deviate from the policy laid down by him.

In this connection, I respectfully submit that this reply from the office of the High Commissioner for India in Pakistan was not proper. In fairness to my community, the papers should have been put up before the High Commissioner and his attention drawn to the various matters contained in it.

I have no doubt that it could not be the policy of the High Commissioner not to consider the merits and demerits of the matter. Nor could it be the policy of the High Commissioner not to arrange for immediate evacuation of people who may be apprehending genuine serious danger to their life, property and honour and to make them lie in the constant danger and make no arrangement for them until they are actually murdered, and looted if the lawlessness happened to revive again.

My community has however received no reply from the High Commissioner except that its representatives were told by Mr Masand that they should see him again on 28th instant.

I am directed by my community to lay a special stress on the fact that most of them are at present residing in a quarter here in which they consider their life, property and honour may be endangered if the lawlessness reives again.

My community therefore sent telegrams to you. A copy of the said telegram is hereto annexed marked “B’. To this no reply has been received.

I therefore request that you will please direct by a telegram the High Commissioner for India in Pakistan to make immediate arrangement for evacuation of the members of my community whose apprehension of constant danger is causing serious strain on their nerves and it is apprehended that some of them might die of this fear, a sudden and premature death.

Jai Hind.

Your humble servant

Honorary Joint Secretary

Bhagnari Panchayat

Bhagnari Street

Napier Quarter

Karachi

Enclosures:

  1. Copy of memorial
  2. Copy of telegram

LETTER FROM SHRI SOBRAJ GEHI, HON JOINT SECRETARY OF BHAGNARI PANCHAYAT, KARACHI TO THE MEMBER OF THE EXODUC COMMITTEE

Karachi

22nd January 1948

To,

Chandrasen S Jetley Esquire

Member of the Exodus Committee

Karachi

Dear Sir,

I enclose herewith copies of the memorial submitted to the High Commissioner for India in Pakistan and of the telegrams sent to various prominent persons at Delhi.

From the perusal of the said copies, it will be obvious to you that the members of my community are passing time in Pakistan dominion in restlessness and apprehension. It will not be exaggeration to say that every hour they are passing here, is full of anxiety and worry causing great strain on their nerves. They apprehend that this may bring about sudden and premature death of some members of my community, particularly when most of them are residing in a quarter where danger to their life, property and honour is imminent.

I am therefore directed to request that you will be good enough to persuade your committee to make an early arrangement for the members of my community going out of Karachi and for this purpose will give preference to them over other communities in the matter of issuing tickets, etc.

I hope you will realise the reasonableness of this request. Thanking you.

Yours faithfully

Honorary Joint Secretary

Bhagnari Panchayat, Karachi

Promise God, your Earth’s resources will not be misused

Ramesh Poplay
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0
Promise God, your Earth’s resources will not be misused

Nowadays the only news we hear and read is about the virus and the impact it has on our lives both emotionally and economically.  And the conclusion is that we humans are responsible for this pandemic because I read in an article that The world is heading for an “ecological credit crunch” far worse than the current financial crisis because humans are over-using the natural resources of the planet Earth.

The Living Planet report calculates that humans are using 30% more resources than the Earth can replenish each year, which is leading to deforestation, degraded soils, polluted air and water, and etc etc. That is the sorry state of affairs at the moment. Since we are to blame for this pandemic..whom can we blame ?

They say this is Gods way of showing us that we are responsible for our own actions..so we have to find a way out of this predicament. Absolutely true and we are trying. 

 God created this beautiful masterpiece called “EARTH” on a largest canvas that none can even imagine. Even the most famous painters like Leonardo Da Vinci.. Pablo Picasso.. Vincent Van Gogh….Rembrandt.. can not equal Gods creation which he lovingly painted for us HUMANS.. the beautiful snow peaked mountains.. the sea ..the rivers..greenery…forests.. the beautiful Sun which is like a huge ball of fire shining in all its glory and heralding a new day every day..the beautiful picturesque sunset..and then  the pitch black velvety nite with the silvery moon which is like a huge chandelier surrounded by the twinkling stars which are like small lanterns in the sky. The sheer beauty of this planet is so awe inspiring that no painter can do justice to it.  Unfortunately God created this beautiful world but he also created humans…and as we all know humans are bound to err.   We have been selfish and destroyed and tarnished this beautiful masterpiece created by God. Now it is our turn to make amends.

We all have expectations..infact that is our greatest flaw ..we expect too much . When we are young we expect our parents to provide us with all the luxuries  that others have and maybe our parents cannot fulfill all our demands due to lack of resources,that annoys us and many even rebel.  Then we have expectations from our friends and colleagues.. expectations from our siblings.the list goes on and on. We humans always have expectations which when not fulfilled leaves us dissatisfied with life ..eventually leading us sometimes into depression and mental trauma and serious health issues. Why can’t we learn Acceptance ?   Expectation they say is the greatest  heartache whereas acceptance is mental peace and joy. So we should lower our expectations  and the day we do that we will all be in a happier place.

Even now in this grave situation our expectations are from God  the Almighty ..but that I think is absolutely fine as God is the only one whom we can turn to when we feel that nothing else can work for us and then only the Almighty can save us.  So now we once again turn to God for help and I am sure He will help us provided we all do our bit to rectify our mistakes and make Earth a better place to live in.

So please God wave your magic wand and with one swish just make everything normal again…let us get up one fine day and  see the world in all it’s glorious beauty and think that we have seen a nightmare which we never would like to see again.

Meanwhile we should all take utmost care of this great creation of God and never be greedy and misuse its resources…I am sure with all our unified prayers and the entire world coming together as one force God will definetly listen to our pleas.And soon we will wake up in the morning to a new dawn.

Till then just pray and  know that God is there for us.

The Common Cons and Don’t s to keep yourself safe in the cyber World

Lokesh Budhrani
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2
The Common Cons and Don’t s to keep yourself safe in the cyber World

the online era brought with itself a lot of benefits and advantages to this world and gave this a biggest shift in the realm of technology.

The developments in this world of technology took us one step closer to the online world with the help of platforms such as Facebook, twitter and instagram and the introduction of smartphones acted like an icing on the cake.

With so many boons came in the dark fear of online viruses in the form of scamsters, fraudsters, hackers who target our personal virtual profiles to deplete us of all the possible online information we possess.

So the larger question is do we stop using the services? is that a permanent solution? Or do we need to learn the precautions to keep ourselves safe?

The answer would be that with every pro there comes a con and thereby is a a list of cons whose causes and solutions are explained further :

  1. Easy Security : it is a general trend to keep passwords or security related answers related to one’s own personal information i.e date of birth, name of children, parents or a combination of both which is the first and easy target of any hacker
  2. Phishing : in this method the hacker sends a link and a website address which looks identically similar to an actual website which is used to capture all the real information and then target the source system of the user
  3. Cloning : the victim usually get calls and sms wherein the hacker tries to falsify the victim into a conversation and try to extract Information from a person to loot the victim
  4. Malware and Ransomware : victims in this scenario usually get a link or an update prompt on their phone or the computer which is a program built to give all the information to the hacker entered by us into the sites or portals we access
  5. Fake SMSes : this is the source of fake links which go back to point 2 and 4, the messages received are so genuine where the victim cannot make the difference and gets trapped in the web of the hacker
  6. The latest Bitcoin Email scam : Lately Bitcoin has been the trend in the market because of its appreciating value and this has become a new tool for cheating people, the hacker in this case sends a mail to the victim reflecting a password which was used by the victim several years ago and falsifying facts about possessing some intimate videos of the victim which in reality doesn’t even exist, the victim thereby is asked to pay the amount via bitcoin which is not backed by any regulatory and no laws governing bitcoin, which can never be recovered if paid.

Let us now look at the solutions to the above problems :

  1. Keep strong passwords with random characters which should not be related in any form
  2. Use an antivirus or a spam checker in your mobile and computer
  3. Do not click links from unknown sender’s verify the facts by searching on google and contacting your financial service provider
  4. Never share your details with anyone, including family members
  5. Do not panic when you receive such messages, emails and calls be calm and verify the authenticity of such communications
  6. Use incongnito mode on your web browser to perform your financial transactions
  7. Do not use public wifi networks for any transaction or financial management.
  8. Do not leave any account dormant or unchecked for a long time.

so in a conclusion the online world has its own pros and cons and thereby the safety lies in our hands, I.e. wise, ethical and smart use of technology

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ABOUT US

Bhagnari Welfare Society is a NGO/Charitable Organisation that was established in 1974 in the Mahim vicinity of the Mumbai City located in the state of Maharashtra, India with the prime objectives of helping needy persons in the areas of education, medicine and several other social upliftment causes.
This Website also caters & thrives to connect all Bhagnaris around the world, with Archives and all topics of interest within the Community.

Contact us: [email protected]

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