The drudgeries of life
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Grievance Letter to Ministry of Environment & Forests
To
Mr. Jairam Ramesh
Minister of State (Independent Charge)
Ministry of Environment and Forests
Dear sir,
This grievance is with respect to the untimely and tragic death of my dear friend, the late Mr. Naresh Kodithala on the 24th of April, 2011, at Lion's Point, Lonavala (for your reference: http://tinyurl.com/3u7j8cb).
I'm sure, sir, that this particular case might have been brought to your kind attention earlier, but kindly bear with me. I would not delve into how close I was to Naresh, one of my best friends, but I'd focus on the subtle negligence on the authorities' part that has led to the loss of not just one, but many young lives. And probably many more to come...
When I first heard this sad news of Naresh's demise on the morning of April 24th (Easter Sunday), I was taken aback and I convinced myself that it was a late April Fool joke. Naresh isn't an adventurous sort of person at all, not the type who'd walk over to the cliff's edge just to show off or to get clicked in a cool pose. Googling a bit, I felt temporarily relieved when the related news I got to read were of persons falling off Lion's Point much earlier (f.y.i. an example: http://tinyurl.com/3metgmc).
My relief was short-lived indeed. Within the hour, it was confirmed that Lion's Peak had claimed yet another victim. And sad though it is, only when the victim is someone close to you does the gravity of the situation hit you. Murderous rage coupled with helplessness and despair take over when you think of how young the victim was and what a promising life lay ahead of him, which he involuntarily gave up for no fault of his. You think of his family and what they'd be going through, no consolation for losing a young son, a wonderful brother. Your heart reaches out to the innocent bystanders who witnessed his fall first-hand, and have involuntarily become lifelong slaves to this horrifying nightmare of a memory. The list of stakeholders is huge, sir.
A person doesn't simply die - one death leaves behind lots of dead bodies.
Conversations with friends at the incident spot, and later on reading his sister's blog post (please read: http://sangeethakodithala.blogspot.com/2011/05/conservation-at-what-cost.html) revealed a shocking fact - the absence of railings at such a dangerous point, despite the toll it has taken till date and the huge footfall.
I might tend to be biased at this juncture, sir, but with all due respect I would tag this death (and many more of its kind) as Murder, and I'd justifiably label the Forest Department as Murderers. What kind of tradeoff is it between installing a measly fencing and the loss of umpteen number of lives?!
Even the most hardered murder convicts worldwide would be shocked at the little value we seem to bestow upon life. It's appalling. The worst part is that no one seems to be doing anything about it. Right as I type this out, another disaster in the waiting... it's just a matter of who's next.
I implore you, Mr. Jairam Ramesh, and your ministry to take this matter and many more of its kind into consideration, and to take measures to ensure that no more innocent people fall prey to such freak incidents and to inconsistencies in the system.
Thanks and best regards,
Steve Nipps
Labels: Death, Environment and Forests, Grievance, Jairam Ramesh, Letters, Life, Ministry, Naresh Kodithala
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Final Letters - 2010
Dearest M, D & S,
Happy now?! :)
Don't know about you folks, but I toh am! :)
Dear AC, SP, MP et al,
As promised, I'm coming! F-awesome!!! :D
Dear AS, PB and SR,
Thanks a bunch :)
Dear VK and VT,
Will miss our MT bakar :((
Hang in there!
Dear SG,
It's been what, over two years?! Must meet :)
Dear HK,
Sooo happy for you! No matter how busy you are, mademoiselle, one Sunday of yours in 2011 is mine ;)
Dear AS, TM and GJ,
So long, roomies... take care of Uncle :p
Dear Megz,
Life is cruel, kid... I know exactly what you're going through.
Wish I could explain it to you, but I've been lost for words for quite some time now...
You'll survive :)
Emotional Atyachar,
I have never seen a single episode of yours, but someone told me that people's lives are being prevented from heading towards eventual doom, courtesy your ilk...
Keep exposing!
Dear Dehli Winters,
You're way too cool *brrr*
Be it the bike rides on your chilly nights; the long walks at ungodly hours through the fog; those late night cuppa noodles and hot chocolate sessions; the early mornings spent inside the blanket refusing to wake up for either placement drills, classes or office; or that warm sunny afternoon spent on the lawns of one Heritage site... loved it all... :)
Packing,
I hate you!! Or make that 'doing you'?! :D
Dear JY and RY,
Sorry for thinking that you were wrong all along, and for typecasting you two as typical specimens of your clan. My bad. Can't blame you a bit for your mindset...
Loads of good luck!
Dear dc,
I know it's you all along (and you know that I know), but why do you have to Google search for me at all?!
Sighs.
Dearest Pune,
Here I come! :)))))
Dear 2010,
You shouldn't have ever happened... but you just did! Sighs
Dear 2011,
Come fast! And override your predecessor...
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Letters - Part 4
Dear dude in the gym,
Had you met me 4 years ago and made the same suggestion, I'd have seriously considered it... and probably would've given it a shot too! But yeah, thanks...
Dearest college life,
I miss you so... even though I'm reliving you in both the forms I've experienced you :)
Dear long conversations,
Why do I hate it when you end?! :)
Airtel,
I'm so gonna market the plethora of your deficiencies and bloopers... watch out :x
And yes, your services suck big time!
Dear Vodafone,
You've aptly named one service of yours "Apne minutes" :)
Dearest AC and AS,
I wonder how I manage to find such good friends whose tastes match mine, whose idea of fun is ditto like mine, who're ready to freak out even before I ask them to join me...
Cheers!
The weekend has just started, by the way ;)
Dear nostalgia,
What would I do without you?? :D
Dear Gurgaon-Delhi expressway,
Nothing like racing the bike on your surface in the dead of the night! Woohoo \m/
Dear scorpio,
You're truly my zodiac sign :|
GT,
You call that work?! Get real :x
Dear insomnia,
You're here to stay, aren't you?
Dear 'high',
Wish you were a constant companion...
