The Rainbow

There is no parallel to mother nature's beauty. What am I talking about? Take a look at the picture.

When I was driving to work on a Friday morning last week, it was sunny and raining at the same time and voila I was lucky enough to spot the rainbow. It was very beautiful and this was not a partial rainbow which sometimes disappears in the clouds. You could clearly see where it begins and where it ends. The challenge here was being on a freeway, I couldn't stop and take a picture. So I took this picture with my cellphone camera in one hand and the steering in another.

The end result was not that bad. It was a decent picture. This stretch of drive on CA-4 is very scenic and there is never a dull moment. On the hillsides, you can sees cows grazing. During Spring, the slopes are covered with yellow flowers which are in full bloom. In Winter, it can be very foggy and one needs to be very careful while driving but still it's a mesmerizing experience driving through the fog.

I can still vividly remember one day it so happened that a deer came down from the hill and was about to cross the road, the cars in front of us came to a screeching halt and the poor deer was almost killed. Now the deer very quickly regained its composure and did manage to cross the road, incredibly in just 3 hops spanning both sides of the freeway. I and my colleagues were left staring in disbelief. We were relieved that the deer was not harmed :)

(Image courtesy: CA4- Fog (Prashant Shetty))

A ray of hope

Bureaucrat is a much maligned word especially if you're in India. From an outsider's perspective, it symbolizes everything that's wrong with India. Red tape, anachronistic regulations and from an Indian's perspective it symbolizes corruption, greed and a part of the rotting system.

When I passed out of college, my dream was to join the civil services. Nope, it wasn't the Indian Administrative Service or IAS as is popularly known but the Indian Police Service (IPS). The ambassador car with a revolving beacon light on the top and the uniform used to set my pulse racing. I wanted to be an idealist officer who has sworn to protect the constitution and serve the interests of the public.

Those days there used to a television series titled "Udaan". The plot revolves around a woman IPS officer. It was aired once a week on our national broadcaster known by its popular name "Doordarshan". I didn't want even to miss one episode of that series. I found it riveting and it used to further fan my desire.

But then life has its own twists and turns. I fell in love with writing code and now that has become my means of earning bread and butter.

When I read about the abduction of District Collector of Malkangiri district bordering Andhra and Orissa along with an Engineer by the maoists, one would have tended to ignore it as a routine news item. No one would have even heard about Malkangiri.

What captured my imagination was that Mr.Vineel Krishna, the District Collector used to go around the village supervising works on a motorcycle. Now in a status conscious society where everyone wants to show their power here is someone who went about his job without a fuss just like a common man. He didn't move around with security.

When some officials pointed out that it was a Maoist infested village his answer was to forget that it was "Maoist affected" and carry on with your work. He was instrumental in helping tribals and expediting the works under the flagship programmes like NREGA. No wonder he found a lot of support from the local population who knew that they have to stand up for someone who was not afraid of carrying out his job under adverse circumstances.

It's sad that the Maoists have abducted someone who worked for the welfare of the people. At the time of writing this article, Mr.Krishna hasn't still been released. I fervently hope and pray that he is released unharmed along with the engineer.

Vineel Krishna is just like the revolving light on the ambassador car, a beacon of hope for the steel structure of India (to quote sardar vallabhbhai patel) which has been badly corroded. People like Vineel Krishna and Dr.Binayak Sen who work for the poorest and downtrodden sections of society are the real heroes of India. May their tribe increase :)

(References: thehindu.com)
(Image courtesy: http://www.tribuneindia.com/2006/20060830/jal2.jpg)