30th May

Completed morning program. Visited Center for sight for Angiography of Venita's eyes. In chambers from 1pm-3.15pm.Venita came and we drove back home.
Information about visa has come. I am likely to receive it today or tomorrow. We have to take medical cover also before we leave for UK to visit our son.
There is a good write-up in the India Today dated 6th June on Dawood Ibrahim. The statement of Sh.MN Singh,former Commissioner of Police, Mumbai, is interesting, "I fought two wars, one with Dawood's men and one with my moles." To deal with Dawood's business in India we don't need cooperation from Pakistan.
The following lines of Dilip Bob are interesting," Now a days, what you wear,gadgets you carry, where you live and the car you drive projects your personality, even if it has no connection to the kind of person you are." "The More India changes, the more it remains the same." "The Nalanda movement in Bihar should not be about creating new Harwards, but to create something India had."
Retired to sleep at 11pm.

27th to 29th May

On 27th completed morning program. Visited Center for Sight at 9.30am. Venita was prepared for Angiography of her eyes.But the machine became out of order & it could not be done.Informed Dr. Dinesh Talwar who said that it could be done on Monday & that he would see the result on Wednesday & give Avastin injection.Atul Chandra came for a conference. Sh.SS Sharma came, but as I was busy with Sh.Atul Chandra, he went back. On 28th visited Safdarjung hospital & obtained endorsement for permission for Avastin injection. Visited SBI on way back. Collected written permission from CGHS. Visited Sai temple to give the medicines not required by us for distribution to poor. On 29th attended a seminar where Sarva Sh.Shiv Shankar Menon,NSA, Dr.Raja Ram, noted journalist & columnist,& Syd Naqvi, also a journalist, participated on the subject of happenings in the middle-east. These happenings appeared to be due to a fight between Sunnis and Shias for political power, backed by Saudi Arabia and Iran.The western countries including USA,UK and France came into picture due to their requirement for energy. Interesting.
Retired to sleep at 11pm.

26th May

Completed morning program. Visited Chamber at 11am, collected letters to CMO CGHS, Pandara road. Went to Safdarjung hospital. Met Dr.Lalwani & took approval for Angiography of both the eyes and Avastin injection for Venita. Visited CGHS. I will get Avastin injection tomorrow. In chamber from 11-12am and later 1.15-3.30pm.
I was impressed with Obama, who visited his great great grand father's place in Ireland the other day. I have not yet visited even my grand father's place in Kothi,a former princely estate. I must visit it apart from visiting Panna,a former princely estate where my father worked as the district magistrate. The areas of both the erstwhile princely estates are now located in the state of MP. Retired to sleep at 11pm.

24th & 25th May

On 24th again completed only walk. In chamber from 11.30am-3pm. When I arrived chamber at 11.30am, I went to Sh.SS Sharma, IAS(Rtd), for a cup of tea. He had earlier invited me for it on 20th May but I could not make it that day. On way back home visited Hanuman temple in Chanakyapuri. On 25th after a good gap completed morning program. Visited center for sight for Venita's OCT of both the eyes. Dr.Dinesh Talwar told that the right eye was again full of fluid and in bad shape. He further said that Avastin injection had to be given in her right eye after Angiography of both the eyes. I have to get the approval for the same from the CGHS tomorrow so that the same can be done on Friday the 27th May. Dr.Talwar does not come to the Center for Sight, Safdarjung Enclave, on Saturday, Monday and Tuesday. It will be a long wait if we miss to show him on 27th May.As we have to go to London as soon as i get Visa, we cannot waite any more.Retired to sleep at 11pm.

23rd May

Could go only for walk and did not do other exercises. Got up early morning at 1am. Felt quiet fresh after sleep for about 2 & half hours. Read the Bhagwad Gita written by saint Ram Sukh Dasji, given to me by Venita. It is a very detailed commentary on each sloka of the book. I remembered the Bhagwad Gita which I got from my late father and read by me quite a few times since my student days. I find it is concise & serves the purpose for me. I would rather read it than read the commentary of saint Ram Sukh Dasji, which is in great details. By writing this I am not undermining the commentary written by saint Ram Sukh Dasji. He was a great saint and we had the privilege of listening to his discourses at Rishikesh when he was alive. His voice still hovers in our mind and we have a great respect for him. Also read the favorite prayers from the Ramayana,the book which my late father read,now with me.I have flagged these & recite them whenever I get an opportunity.They give me great solace & tranquility of mind. Slept at 3am and later got up at 6am.Visited Safdarjung hospital and showed the ECG and Blood reports to Dr.Madhusudan of Cardiology department.He said that everything was in order. I had to get these reports for medical insurance for Shenegen countries.
VLDL(Bad cholesterol) at 29 was slightly high. I was advised to avoid oils and ghee. FBS, at 112, is just 2 points above the reference range. It could also be taken care of by diet control.ESR at 19 was also slightly high. Dr.Khanna,our personal physician in the society, told it could be ignored. Urin report is normal. Now I will get the same tests done after 3 months,i.e, on 23rd August. Retired to sleep at 10.45pm.

20th to 22nd May

On 28th visited Safdarjung hospital. Took approval for tests for medical insurance for travel to Schengen countries. In chamber from 11.30-3pm. On 21st completed full morning program after a big gap, though I have been walking daily for four and half kilometers. Munna came from Ganganagar with his family and spent the day with us . He left for Kanpur in the evening by the Shatabdi train which is recently introduced for journey upto Kanpur on 6 days of the week. We felt quite happy with his visit. Venita prepared breakfast and lunch for them. Talking to his son who is little over 5 was a great fun.He is just like his mother but has the complexion of Munna. On 22nd went for blood tests and ECG, necessary for Schengen Visa. Venita went to Greater Noida to her brother along with Sunita to jointly observe death anniversary of her mother.Met Sh.Dutt, former Director CBI. He had met with an accident about a fortnight back in course of which he broke his left leg badly. He is recovering fast.
In an article in the Indian Express today Shomit writes about MSD for entrepreneurship. M stands for management skills to lead people and administer work. S stands for salesmanship from the basic to sophisticated approach and D means domain knowledge from nitty gritty to the top end of the spectrum of the subject.His article is informative.
Ratan Tata is critical of Antilla, a 27 storey residential building of Mukesh Ambani in his interview in Times London on 21rst{satarday}.Retired to sleep at about 10.45 pm.

18th & 19th May

Went for a walk. Could not do exercises/pranayam/asans. In chamber from 11.30am-3.15pm.Sent Thapa to collect medicines from CGHS. Visited British high Commission for UK Visa. I had opted for facility of Premium category Visa which took me to an Air conditioned lounge, tea and completion of submission of Visa forms within 45 minutes. I could not get Fast Track Visa category as it was fully booked. In premium category you have to pay an additional amount of about Rs.1700/- & in Fast Track category it is about Rs.5000/-. Once you get appointment in one of these categories, you don't have to stand in long queues. I hope to get Visa stamped in my Passport within a week's time.In Fast Track category you get it next day of your application. On 19th I felt adverse impact of doing exercises/asans/pranayam not on a regular basis. The stomach has started swelling and the breathing is also not normal. I must start doing all these regularly from tomorrow.Visited Gita's place and was there from 12.45-3.45pm. It was Yash's birthday. Gita had hawan and the other puja in the morning. She cooked lunch for us and we combined it with our tiffin. The medical condition of Yash is stable. He completes 3 months on 28th May after ATG injections. His condition should improve within 3 months. I see little improvement till date. But we have to keep patience and try further more for his cure. Retired to sleep at 11pm.

11th to 17th May

On 11th could complete only walk.Visited the Supreme court and participated in the SCBA elections. Digvijay Singh & Agnihotri,Advocates from Fatehpur met in the Supreme court.Digvijay Singh brought some vinegar & gur from my village.In chamber from 1.15-4pm.On 12th visited Mumbai by AirIndia flight no.865,reaching there at 12am.Curiously the girl at the Air India counter did not book my Samsonite suitcase. I came to know of it at Mumbai Airport. It had been deposited with GMR as unclaimed bag. Later Sh.Sanjay Narayen who was coming to Mumbai from Delhi,brought with him.I had to email him with a request to the Manager, Delhi Airport, along with a copy of the boarding pass and my driving licence in proof of my identity. It cost me Rs.700/- to send the mail to him from business center of Trident hotel,Mumbai.I think confusion took place because of my query at the Air India counter Delhi whether I could take the suitcase as cabin luggage. But then I requested for booking it which perhaps it did not take note of and the suitcase remained unbooked.I also failed to note absence of baggage sticker on my boarding pass. As I contributed to the failure of booking of my suitcase, I dint lodge a complaint with the Air India. Sambharya came & we discussed the case in our hand. In the evening I watched the sun setting in the west from my room overlooking the bay of Arabian sea. It left a magnificent trail of colors on the sea water.I continued watching it till it disappeared.On 13th Sambharya came and we met the DIG CBI, Mumbai together. The Joint Director CBI talked to me from Bangalore, where he had gone for some personal work. I left for Delhi by Air India 888. It was 2 hours 15 minutes late and landed at Palam Airport at 11.15pm. After receiving the luggage and driving back home, I reached there at 0100 hours of 14th May. On 14th kept fast due to Ekadashi.The OG Acs were checked. BSES line man also checked the electrical line. As the Ac was tripping I had complained to BSES. The line man told that it was a matter concerning maintenance section and that he would pass over the information to them. I asked him to check the voltage but he did not. Later it came to my knowledge that due to mishandling of the remote of the Acs, tripping was taking place.On 15th spent the day at home, it being Sunday. Completed Visa form for UK.On 16th completed full morning program after a big gap. Visited photo studio for a photo for Visa form, CGHS for the medicines and SBI for updating the passbook. The Visa form is complete with all the documents. Pilku's papers have already come. On 17th in chamber from 12-3.45pm. Had a conference with Sh.Sanjay Narayen at 4pm in Gym Khana club. Retired to sleep 10.35pm.

5th to 10th May

Completed morning program minus some exercises. Visited CGHS Pandara Road & North Avenue. In chambers from 1-3pm. Sh.SS Sharma insisted for a cup of tea at 3pm, which I could not make.On 6th visited IIPA & participated in a discussion on a book by Sh.Sen, "Enforcing Accountability in Police through Civil check". In chambers from 1.15-4pm. On 7th visited Sainik Farms for a conference with KTS attended by RTPS and Sh.Prageet Mathur, Chief Finance officer, Frigoglass. Visited Green Nursery Jorbagh. At Sainik Farms met Addl Commissioner of Police President house. He had come to KTS for some advice. On 8th bought a cooler for the driver and looked up pillows for Venita. She is having acute spondelytis, which I think is due mainly to use of improper pillows. Will get a couple of them made of semal cotton.Filled up Visa form for UK. On 9th left Delhi for Chandigarh by Kingfisher Airlines along with Prageet Mathur. On 10th Appeared in Frigoglass case along with KTS and Atiar. The court has directed high level screening committee of the Govt. of Haryana to take a decision on giving the benefit of rule 28B/28C to Frigoglass company.Returned Delhi at 4.30pm.The following lines from Dilip Bob were noted by me,
"Experience suggests that the individual is often greater than terror organisation." "Other Islamic militant groups, most notably Laskar-e-Toiba will survive mainly because of the state sponsorship they receive, but Al-quaeda without Osama, even as figurehead may not." Dilip Bob. "Hume reminded her that in so far as it never creates our desires, reason is passion's slave. But it is most useful slave. For it helps us understand guide our competing passions." Robert Zaretsay. Retired to sleep at 11pm.

3rd & 4th May

On 3rd could go only for walk.Venita accompanied me on way to chamber to do some of her work in South Delhi.In chamber from 12.15-3.30pm.Had a cup of Darjeeling tea with Sh.SS Sharma in the basement of the chambers which houses the LPO.Venita picked me up at 3.30pm.On way back visited Hanuman Temple.On 4th it was quite hot.Attended a conference on security issues in Le Meridian, chaired by Sh.DR Karthikeyan. The Home Secretary who was to chair the conference could not make it due to urgent work. Met S/Sh.BL Ohri,Anil Choudhury, Katna,another IPS offier whose name I could not remember apart from DR Karthikeyan. I could not attend afternoon session. In chamber from 2.15-5pm. A new case is taken up by Sh.Maheen Pradhan,Advocate under my supervision.Planned out conference & visit to Chandigarh in connection with the court hearing of Frigoglass case on 10th May. Retired to sleep at 10.45pm.

2nd May

Completed morning program. Visited SBI to sort out matters relating to driver's SBI Life policy. Visited Meghalaya House. Met Resident Commissioner, Krofa, Mishra and some others. I visit Assam and Meghalaya houses once every 6 months to keep track of developments in my cadre. In chamber 1.20-3.30 pm. KTS invited me to join him in lunch in the dining hall. Had lunch with him and others. Watched BBC TV to update on Osama Bin Laden's death. Retired to sleep at 11pm.

Travelogues of April & June 2007

I had written the following two travelogues in 2007 for my grandchildren. As I did not have a blog then I could not place them in the blog. Now I am placing the same for their perusal when they grow old.


Holiday in Spice Village,
Thekeddy, Periar Tiger Sanctuary,
Kerala from 07.04.2007 to 10.04.2007
Travelogue

07.04.07 : Left Delhi by Sahara Airlines for Cochin at 0730 hours. Arrived Cochin at 10.45 hours. Left for Thekeddy by road. On way we had lunch at Ajay International hotel in Cochin. Further, on way we had coffee at one and later tea at another place. We reached Thekeddy Spice Village at 6.30pm. It became an over 5 hours drive. At Spice Village Hotel we were greeted jasmine garlands and shown our rooms. Rooms were spacious. The hotel has a number of rooms which have thatch as roof. The weather is pleasant. There is a swimming pool. After settling ourselves in the rooms, we went for the dinner in the hotel restaurant. It was mix of continental and South Indian cuisine.
Kosi had joined us at Cochin. He is a good friend of Pilku. Ruchi, Abhishree, Amolikaa were missing Pilku. For me and Venita it was a good retreat from the polluted Delhi. There is a smell of cardimum in the village. We retired to sleep at about 11pm.


08.04.2007: We went for breakfast at 9.15 am. The children and all of us had good sleep in the night. Breakfast was continental as well as South Indian. After breakfast we went for elephant ride. The elephant was quite fatty, young and about 25 year old. We sat on it but found legs overstretched and could not ride. Children and Ruchi had a ride. All of us visited and had a look at Spice plantation before the elephant ride. The guide showed us plants of Elaichi, Badam , Pepper, Dalchini, Coffee, Coco, Cashew nuts etc. Venita collected leaves of most of the plants. We gave melon, bananas and pineapple to the elephant. Her name was Badra, after the name of the Italian lady who had donated it to the company.
We returned hotel around 12.30pm. Amolikaa and Abhishree had a good swim and around 2.15pm we had lunch, 3.30 pm we left for the boat ride point. It is about 10 Km from the hotel inside the Periar Tiger Reserve. The boat ride on the lake was for over 1.45 hours. We saw herds of bison, deer, wild pigs and a number of birds, kingfisher being one of them. We returned hotel around 7pm. Abhishree remembered Pilku very much. Somehow Venita and Ruchi cajoled her, diverted her attention. She went to sleep. We had dinner and retired to sleep.

09.04.07: We got up early. Had a round of the Spice Village hotel in about 10 acres. It has all variety of flora mainly local and well kept 68 rooms. I heard the chirping of birds of different kind. I had Pranayam and some asans. We went for breakfast at 9.20 am. We visited Ayurved center. After breakfast we went about 10 kms by car to another elephant safari. We saw a baby elephant sucking milk from the udders of mother elephant. Ruchi, Abhishree, and Amolikaa had elephant ride. Thomas, a common friend of Kosi and Pilku brought Easter eggs. Children were excited to break them. These were full of small chocolates. They enjoyed it. Children also fed elephant named Maria with fruits. Abhishree and Amolikaa had a swim in the pool. We had lunch and thereafter relaxed. Ruchi went to curo shop and I was told to do baby sitting. I enjoyed it. After she returned I went for a walk inside the village. At 7pm Venita and I joined in watching a demonstration of cooking fish and vegetables, Kerala way. Venita talked to Ayurvedic doctor Mrs. Rekha about certain boil-type eruptions on the legs/hands/forehead of Amolikaa and requested her to look up the child. She saw her and said that the same were due to heat. Our suspicion of chicken pox was ruled out. As she had no chicken pox so far we thought it could be that. I went to billiards room and had a game of billiards. We had dinner and retired thereafter to sleep.

10.04.07: We left for Delhi at 9am after breakfast. This time we took a different route, though we had to travel a little over 10km more, say in all 185 kms. But the route was picturesque. We passed through a row of tea gardens, pineapple, spice, cultivation besides rubber plantation. The entire road side had a number of mosques and churches and few temples. On way Abhishree and Amolikaa vomited. The route was circular on a hilly track. We had to stop a couple of times to give them some fresh air and walking. We reached Airport at about 2pm. The flight was late by about an hour. Venita and Ruchi shopped around in the shopping arcade in the Airport. Our plane took off at 4.10 pm. We landed at Hyderabad at about 5.15pm. Left Hyderabad at 6.30pm. During the flight we saw sun setting with all its glory. Will our sun get that glory when it finally sets? We landed at Delhi at about 8.30pm and reached home at 9.15 pm.


Visit to Amarnath
Travelogue

During our visit to Kashmir valley we remembered our Grandchildren wherever we saw a big span of ground, springs , rivers and lakes. They are fond of running and playing in water. We give them a travelogue of our visit to the valley.

30.06.07, Saturday: We left Delhi by air for Srinagar, capital of Jammu & Kashmir, at 12.15pm. The IA flight no.825 was late by one hour. The DGP J&K had made the arrangements for accommodation and journey in J&K. We stayed in Police officers mess, an exclusive abode of touring Police and other senior officers in the 2nd floor. The floor had 2 rooms. We were accompanied by Subhash and Sunita. Venita was of course there. We stayed in the room, meant exclusively for the officers of DGP rank and the other room was occupied by Subhash and Sunita. After a cup of tea we went to Sh.Shankar temple, which is at a height of over 100 feet at Srinagar. Srinagar itself is about 5500 feet above mean sea level (MSL). Road to Shankar Dev temple is along the world famous Dal lake. On top of Shankar Dev temple is famous Shiva temple, which is said to have been constructed by the Pandavas about 5000 years back. Sh. Shankar came here in 8th century AD and did penance. There is a cave like structure where he meditated. Sh. Shankar was a great Vedic philosopher and has written a number of books, mainly commentaries and Vedas and Upnishads. He established 4 dhams, which are considered pious by Hindus. These are located at Badrinath, Dwarkadhish, Puri and Rameshwaram. You have to climb 120 steps to reach the Sh.Shankar temple.
We went to chasme shahi, a beautiful garden constructed during Mughal times in mediaeval India, with water flowing down from the mountains. The flowers were beautiful. Particularly we liked yellow lilies and small roses of the size a flower known as 6 O’clock. The valley looked magnificent, surrounded by green hills and lakes. We took dinner at 8.30pm and retired to sleep.


01.07.2007, Sunday: We got up at 4am and drove to Baltal, for about 90 kilometers from Srinagar to take a helicopter flight to Amarnath, the Holi Cave, where Shiva narrated a story to his consort, Parvati, to make her immortal. But she slept when Shiva was narrating it and could not become immortal. A baby parrot heard it and it became immortal. Although we reached helipad by 8am, but could get the flight at about 5pm only. We reached Amarnath in 10 minutes. It is at a height of about 14000 feet. The temperature was about 5-6 degree centigrade, very cold. We visited the Holi Shrine at about 6pm. Here we saw Shiva Lingam in ice form. It was about 4 feet high. We prayed and did Puja. As Parvati had slept during the Amarkatha, she is seen in the form of a big slab of ice. The entire surroundings are rocky with no vegetation. There were a good number of pigeons who stay there throughout the year. We felt a bit giddy for lack of adequate oxygen. But later we got used to it. There are ice idlos of Sh.Ganesha and Nandi also. As we could not get return helicopter flight to Baltal, we stayed at Amarnath in improvised accommodation. There are no permanent structures at Amarnath. From September to May the whole area is covered with ice. It is approachable just for 2 months. The foot journey (14Kms) from Baltal is covered by Pilgrims in about 7-8 hours. It is difficult trek. Hundreds and thousands of Pilgrims visit the Shrine on foot from Baltal. Many cannot afford helicopter ride. There are a number of free service kitchens which provide you free food, tea, snacks and drinking water. We had food at about 7pm. I had not taken any food during the day, took Prasad first and thereafter some food. We retired to sleep at 7.30 pm. At about 3 am I got up as I had some headache, probably due to lack of adequate oxygen. Subhash gave me a disprin tablet. Thereafter I could sleep for a couple of hours and got up at 5am. We slept putting on clothes which we had put on at Srinagar.

02.07.07, Monday: In the morning Venita and Sunita again visited the cave and did Puja. It was a Monday, a day devoted to the worship of Shiva. The ice Lingam had increased by about a feet. The Lingam in ice form increased and decreased with the warmth and coldness in the weather. We left Amarnath by helicopter at about 10 am. And arrived Baltal after 10mins. As the free kitchens are setup with the devotion and a feeling of charity of the providers, the food there is quite clean and delicious.
We left for Srinagar by road at about 10.30 am. As during inward journey, we passed through Sona Marg. On way you see snow clad glaciers, dense forest and rows of pine trees. You have pine trees at high altitudes. In Srinagar you have Chinar, Poplar, Willow trees adorning the landscape. Chinar is respected by the local people. Its cutting is prohibited. It gives immense shade and cools you enough removing fatigue. Poplar wood is used for packing purpose, Willow for making Cricket bats. Apart from these trees you see Apple, Badam, Pears trees also. People grow different kinds of vegetables. Paddy is grown in abundance. In the Dense forest you have enough fauna too, such as bears, deer, leopards etc.
At Srinagar Venita and Sunita went shopping. Venita bought suit pieces, sarees and a shawl. In the evening we had dinner at Ahdoo’s restaurant ordering only Kashmiri cuisine. We retired to sleep at 10pm.

03.07.07, Tuesday: Venita and Sunita went shopping again. We also called on the DGP J&k, Sh. Gopal Sharma. He informed us that 2 persons had died near Amarnath cave due to accidental falling of a big stone from the mountain. Another 4 persons had been injured. Earlier one boy had died as he slipped when he was treking on foot from Baltal to Amarnath cave. Three others were also injured. Venita bought some dry fruits.
We also had boat ride on the Dal lake. Some persons were surfing. Venita bought some local jewelry from a floating shop. The floating shop travelled along with our boat. While Venita was preoccupied buying local jewelry, we were enjoying boating and beautiful landscape with green mountains. We reached Srinagar Aerodrome at 12.30pm. Our flight IA 826 was late by 45 mins. We arrived Palam at about 3.15 pm & home at about 5 pm.

29th April to 1st May

On 29th visited CGHS and collected medicines. In chamber from 12.45-3.15pm. Watched recorded telecast of wedding of Prince William & Kate Middleton from BBC, Star News, Times Now,India TV etc. On 30th attended CBI function for the inauguration of their new building by the PM of India. The PM said that CBI should investigate cases without fear and favor. Met Sarvashree Rajendra Shekhar,Raja Vijay Karan, Vijay Shankar, Rama Rao,PC Sharma, RC Sharma, US Mishra, DR Karthikeyan, all retired Directors CBI, ML Sharma, Information Commissioner, Bhatia,DG ITBP, AP Singh,Director CBI, Gupta,Addl. Director etc. Attended dinner hosted by Sh.AP Singh. On 1st May spent the day at home reading news papers and magazines. Venita went for haircut and shopping.I sent a message to Atiar that unless our bills for work in the matter of Sanjaya Narayen were paid, I would not like to go to Mumbai for further follow-up action. Sanjay Narayen offered to pay rupees 2 lacs of the pending amount. I said that I would not accept any payment from him. I would like his company to pay, which had agreed to our schedule of fees. I would rather work for free for him. Retired to sleep at 11pm.