Tuesday, September 2, 2008

Brave The Floods

I met Mr. Prakash Jha lately. We talked about the happenings in Bihar and inferred that we, through TV and other means, can request people to join NGOs and help the victims. I’ve been talking to various TV channels which are present there and are working for this noble cause.

I think it's important that every individual should make efforts at all the possible levels in this direction. People can contribute for this cause in all the ways they can think of. Also, the catastrophe which has occurred in Bihar shouldn’t be taken as a state crisis but as a national calamity. A place where more than 25 lakh masses are suffering the disaster and many have already died, it’s not sensitive to look it as a regional crisis.

Unfortunately, I have been witnessing the disaster caused by Kosi, Bagpati or any other Northern river entering Bihar, since my childhood. And worse is that that nothing has happened about it. The dams are still in shambles and Bihar has faced the aftermath. When will this agony come to an end? That’s the whole question.

Nevertheless, the Army and the Air Force has reached Bihar now. Also, relief camps have been stalled there. But surprisingly the Govt. still hasn’t declared the crisis as a national calamity.

Tsunami was so painful that it made me cry. I also feel very distressed when I look at what people are suffering there in Bihar. Is human life of no value? I kindly request people to help Bihar in whichever way they feel like, though without exposing it. I’m doing the same and I request everyone to join together and work.

Sharing sensitivity with my readers and fans on my blog, giving my views through TV and newspaper and hence encouraging people to come up with more and more help for Bihar, is something that appeals to me. This is something that can actually help a lot. This is how we can inspire people at our levels, to help the victims. If each and every individual does that, a significant change will surely happen.

In Bihar, the effected area should be evacuated first and now that the Air Force has reached there already and is doing its job efficiently, people will be benefited. However, I would want to appeal to the higher authorities to do something more significant. Not only should the dams be repaired, but our relations with Nepal should also be strengthened. An alternative system should be developed to cope with such a calamity. A proper disaster management system is required at this point, so that the people of this nation feel safer. This way they'll know that they are out of harm's way.

There is a man who writes ill about me on his blog. The man holds an important position in my life and I would want to write about him next time. His name is Ram Gopal Verma. I’ll sign off now.

Love
Yours,

Manoj Vajpayee

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Hi Manoj,

This is what Mr Amitabh Bachchan has written on his Blog... "Natural calamities take space in all the TV news reports. Bihar. Hurricane Gustav. Such misery. And so painful to witness the suffering. A channel CNN/IBN asks me to give a quote in sympathy of the situation. They will flash it on their reports. It will create awareness, they say. I send it to them. But not just sympathy. I offer whatever is desired of my family and me to do to alleviate the suffering of our brothers and sisters in Bihar. Let somebody take charge, take decision, draw a plan, whatever; collecting funds or material for existence, I shall contribute. But how and where ? Somebody tell me. I will do it."

May I request you to rope in Mr Bachchan and all the like-minded people and do something substantial to help people in Bihar.

Thankig you,
Amitabh Anand.

G Vishwanath said...

I read with interest your writeup on the Bihar floods. I am willing to help in any way I can but sitting here in Bangalore, all I can do is to make a donation towards any relief fund that is initiated by any organisation that I trust and hope that it is well and properly used and that it reaches the right people at the right time.

But your concluding paragraph intrigued me.

You are referring to what Ram Gopal Verma wrote about you in his blog and your desire to give a fitting reply.

I have heard that RGV has a blog of his own but had not visited his web site so far. Out our sheer curiosity, I decided to find out what it was that he wrote about you that provoked you to conclude this blog posting in the way you did.

I spent a good hour going through RGV's recent writings and also his answers to questions from his fans .
To my mind he comes across as a person who is only pretending to be arrogant.
I don't think he really is. It's all good fun. You or any one needn't take him too seriously except when he is making films. That he does in style. Flop or hit, I respect his film making abilities.


The only reference to you in particular that I could find was the following:
=============================
At an Awards function post Satya release when Manoj Bajpai came on stage people were screaming out Bhikku Bhai inspite of Sharukh’s presence which obviously thrilled Manoj. I cautioned Manoj after the event not to get carried away as he should realize that they are calling him by his character’s name and not his personal name. Sharukh by that time might have given 25 super hits but nobody remembers what his character’s name was in any of those films. That is the power of a star. Actors die along with their characters and stars live on.
================================

I am not sure if this is what you are also referring to.
One may perhaps agree or disagree with RGV but I found nothing objectionable in the above remarks.
Have I missed something?
Do enlighten me.

In any case, I hope that your blog will be an outlet for some creative writing and for intimate interaction with your fans.
I hope it won't become an "Akhaada" for indulging in wrestling matches with other personalities from Bollywood.

If I were you, I would simply ignore any malicious gossip indulged in about you by others in their blogs. It is of course your privilege to reply to any negative comments made about you by others but I hope you will never make any negative comments about others on your blog.

Let not the Cine Blog world become another Stardust Magazine. If I want to read that kind of stuff, I will vote for roping in Shoba De and letting her loose here in the world of Cine Blogs. When it comes to malicious/salacious/spicy gossip about film personalities none of you can write like her.
I used to read her stuff back in the late sixties and seventies but only in a barber's shop while waiting patiently for my turn for a hair cut.

Keep writing.
Best wishes
G Vishwanath, JP Nagar, Bangalore

Unknown said...

Lasting solution to Bihar floods:
I request you to use your influence to bring lasting solution to the yearly flooding of Bihar. One difficult but feasible solution could be to inter-link few rivers. Gujarat is the best example. Modi (future PM of India) connected river Narmada with two drying rivers Saraswati and Sabarmati, and also diverted some water into the desert part of the state.

I'm sure something similar can be done in Bihar as well. This will have two main benefits: a) Floods will become a distant history in Bihar and b) Security - China (in future) cannot use the river (I believe B'putra) to flood India in case of war.

In my experience, Biharis individually are doing very good, but because most of them have confined themselves to their family only the situation is Bihar is not changing.

Mahendra