Lost opportunities

What we get in life is just according to our prarabhad  ( प्रारभ्ध ) ! several opportunities come in the life but we get what is reserved for us. At this stage of life, in retirement when I go back to the life journey, I find that I lost many very good opportunities , here I would like to give a few important ones which have changed the direction and the situation ( दिशा तथा दशा ) of my life .
1. ACADEMIC opportunity with BHU:
I was a very favourite student of Prof. Rathor , who was my guide also for my M.Sc. Thesis. I was his  most trusted student ( He gave me even an examination  Question Paper to set for final examination on his behalf) .Prof Rathor wanted me to join the Department as Assistant Professor and simultaneously register for the Ph.D research. He even discussed the topic for Ph.D. work and the whole process of completing the work and also the future academic program and career. I would have been certainly benefitted  under his  care  and my future would have been safe and successful under his  guidance. I would have been a faculty of a very prestigious University not only of India but of the world. A house on the campus, academic environment and an institution with full of  activities. etc etc. I missed the opportunity. DESTINY never wanted me to go that way.

2. HIGHER EDUCATION in Canada :

My external examiner for my M.Sc. Thesis was Prof A.E. Beck, Professor and Head of the Department of Geophysics, University of Western Ontario, London, Canada. He was very much impressed with my thesis work and invited me to work with him for a Ph.D. program. He was quite keen and interested  that I should join his Department. I missed the great opportunity by declining his offer as  my own priorities and responsibilities at that time were different and forced me to take that action. When I think about that opportunity now living in Canada as what could have been my life and career if I would have come to Canada in 1961 ( almost 60 years ago). Unthinkable and unimaginable . Lost the opportunity . DESTINY never wanted my life to be that way.


3. ONGC:
I joined ONGC in 1961 with my first attempt of interview. Dr. Hari Narain, One of the Superintending Geophysicist ( SG) , next to the Director, Mr. B.S.Negi in seniority was the Chairman of the interview Board, Mr. Sengupta, and Prof. Amlendu Roy were the other members of the Board. During the interview process , Dr. Hari Narain asked me to show the copy of  my M.Sc. Thesis to him and all the members of the board, complimenting my work that this report has given the idea of the Offshore prospecting  about which even ONGC did not know so far. He further told that he was the examiner of this thesis work and he was very much impressed with it and thinking to write to the Department of Geophysics, BHU that he wanted to see me.
I was selected and enjoyed working with ONGC till December 1976 in different positions, different kinds of responsibilities , doing different kinds of work; Obtained very rich experience . Describing my work and experience will take very long space here, hence some other time and in another context. ONGC is and was the best organization in India to work. . My Director, Shri S.N. Talukdar was not happy that I was leaving ONGC and even mentioned that if I wish he could get the whole process reversed for me to join back. Any way, now when I see my friends and colleagues who retired from ONGC, nicely settled with all the facilities one could think of, I feel I committed a mistake. I came later in 1980 to visit India and went to see Mr Talukdar . In fact he really helped me out of way  to get my Visa for Nigeria. He invited me for the breakfast at his home, though I was little shy to be with such a high ranking person, I visited him at his home; He was then Member Exploration and told me that if I was still interested to come back to ONGC. He will fix me with proper rank and salary etc. Also mentioned the concept of Voltage and Amperage  (Power and Income); He gave me time to think about it. I declined the offer and certainly lost the opportunity to work for ONGC and enjoy the life in my retirement like my friends.  DESTINY never wanted me to live that kind of life.

4. LAND in DehraDun:

I have been looking for a small piece of land to construct a house. I got a very good deal and arranged the land for my friends and well wishers; The plots were taken by Mr. Talukdar, Mr Mathur, Mr.MC Agarwal, Mr. MP. Agarwal, Mr Chaudhry and me; it was a great location on EC Road , very near to MKP College ; I decided to go to Nigeria hence returned all the papers for buying the land , deciding not to buy the land. Others constructed nice houses and enjoyed living in DehraDun: The cost of land appreciated not hundreds of time but thousands of time because of Uttrakhand and its capital as DehraDun , Lost opportunity;

Another land piece just by the side of my younger brother , Mohan was available to me through Pradeep Gupta : Mohan took half the land for Rs.20,000/- and the double of it on the corner side ( roads on three sides while Mohan had only on one side) was offered to me for Rs.40,000/- not grabbed , recently sold for Rs. 10 Lakhs. Lost opportunity; 

Thus, lost academic opportunities to get better qualifications and career  ( Twice) ; Lost my wonderful career with ONGC; ( Twice ); also lost financial gain opportunities by not having land in DehraDun ( twice); Well, I very strongly believe in  DESTINEY which carried me along as it was decided.

RAVEN: Raven kee Lok Kathayein : : रैवन: रैवन की लोक कथाएँ

रैवन की लोक कथाएँ1
रैवन काले रंग का कौए की तरह का एक पक्षी होता है जो दुनिया में बहुत जगह पाया जाता है पर यह अमेरिका और कैनेडा के उत्तर पश्चिमी हिस्से में रहने वाले मूल निवासियों की लोक कथाओं का हीरो है। अमेरिका और कैनेडा की खोज से पहले अमेरिका और कैनेडा दो देश नहीं थे इसलिये रैवन की कथाओं को अमेरिका के मूल निवासियों की लोक कथा कहना ही ज़्यादा उचित होगा।
अमेरिका के मूल निवासियों में बहुत सारी जनजातियाँ थीं और इन सब में अलग अलग लोक कथाएँ थीं। रैवन की लोक कथाएँ कई जनजातियों में अपने अपने तरीके से कही सुनी जाती थीं और लोकप्रिय थीं।
आजकल रैवन कैनेडा देश के यूकोन प्रान्त और भूटान देश का राष्ट्रीय पक्षी है और भूटान देश की तो यह शाही टोपी में भी लगा हुआ है।
यह अपने काले रंग, सड़े हुए माँस खाने की आदत और कठोर आवाज की वजह से बहुत अपशकुनी माना जाता है पर फिर भी लोग इसको मारते नहीं है। अमेरिका के मूल निवासी इन्डियन्स के कायोटी की तरह से यह भी उनकी लोक कथाओं का एक मुख्य हीरो है। इसकी दुनिया बनाने वाली कहानियाँ बहुत मशहूर हैं।
इसको लोग जन्म और मौत के बीच का बिचौलिया मानते हैं क्योंकि यह सड़ा हुआ माँस खाता है इसलिये इस का रिश्ता मरे हुए लोगों और भूतों से है और क्योंकि इसने दुनिया बनाने में बहुत मदद की है इसलिये इसका रिश्ता ज़िन्दगी से भी है।
रैवन का जिक्र केवल अमेरिका और कैनेडा की लोक कथाओं में ही नहीं है बल्कि ग्रीस और रोम की दंत कथाओं में भी है। रोम की दंत कथाओं में अपोलो जो भविष्यवाणी करता है यह उनसे जुड़ा हुआ है। स्वीडन में इसको कत्ल हुए लोगों का भूत मानते हैं। इंगलैंड में कुछ ऐसा विश्वास है कि यदि रैवन "टावर औफ लंदन" से हटा दिये जायें तो इंगलैंड का राज्य ही खत्म हो जायेगा।
बाइबिल में भी इसका जिक्र कई जगहों पर आया है। टालमुड में रैवन नोआ की नाव के उन तीन जानवरों में से एक है जिन्होंने बाढ़ के समय में लैंगिक सम्बन्ध स्थापित किये थे और इसी लिये नोआ ने उसको सजा दी थी। कुरान में रैवन ने ऐडम के दो बेटे केन और एबिल में से केन को उसके कत्ल किये हुए भाई को दफनाना सिखाया। हिन्दुओं की तुलसीदास जी की लिखी हुई "रामचरित मानस" में यह कागभुशुण्डि जी के रूप में आता है और 27 प्रलय देख चुका है। उसमें यह गरुड़ जी को राम कथा सुनाता है।
प्रशान्त महासागर के उत्तर पूर्व के लोगों में रैवन की जो लोक कथाएँ कही सुनी जाती हैं उनसे पता चलता है कि वे लोग अपने वातावरण के कितने आधीन थे और उसकी कितनी इज़्ज़त करते थे। रैवन मिंक और कायोटी की तरह से कोई भी रूप ले सकता है, जानवर का या आदमी का। वह कहीं भी आ जा सकता है और उसके बारे में यह पहले से कोई भी नहीं बता सकता कि वह क्या करने वाला है। वैसे तो वह बहुत ही चालाक है लेकिन एक बार उसने एक बड़ी सीप में बन्द नंगे लोगों के ऊपर दया दिखायी थी। फिर वह अपनी चालबाजी से उनके लिये शिकार, मछली, आग, कपड़े और ऐसी ऐसी रस्में लेकर आया जो उनको भूतों और आत्माओं के असर से बचा सकती थीं। उसने प्रकृति से लड़ कर उन लोगों को काम के लायक बनाया।
रैवन की भूख बहुत ज़्यादा है और वह अपनी भूख कोई भी चाल खेल कर ही मिटाया करता है पर अक्सर वह चाल उसी पर उलटी पड़ जाती है।

CANADA, immigration and citizenship etc

It was after our auto accident in 1998 (16th December), Sushma lost her job with AIAG and hence lost our H1B status to work or live in USA. Later we got H1B status through USTI ( Recruiting and Consulting Company of Sanjay Prasad and Rama Kant Singh and Niraj Kumar) but we then decided to immigrate to Canada ( we should have done it much earlier if we would have known the benefits ). Sushma applied for Employment visa as a librarian as she had adequate experience and appropriate qualifications. We had certain advantage of some points to add by getting a letter of employment from Anand Kishore , then a would be relation through our daughter's marriage to his younger brother, Raj Kishore. We got our immigration cleared very fast in a year or less by the end of 1999 except a little problem of health condition of Sushma due to that auto accident but Great person, Dr Shea ( who performed the prosthesis of shoulder surgery ) certified her fitness. Thus a letter of employment from Anand Kishore and a Certificate of fitness from Dr Shae were very useful for this immigration. We must express our gratitude to them. Finally we took our immigration through USA/Canada (Windsor/Detroit) Border in Windsor on March 11, 2000. The process was simple but for our bad luck the concerned officer- the angry girl made it difficult for us by writing a remark on our IM1000 - the immigration document which troubled later at various other processes in Canada.To start with, we had problem at US border and were sent back to Windsor refusing our entry to USA and cancelling our H1B visa.We had to come back and stay in a hotel for that night. Thank God that Sameer and Sapna were around to help us in this uncertain terrible situation. Next day, we moved to Toronto to stay with Suneeta and Akhilesh ji.Who helped us opening our bank account, getting Driving License and applying for SIN ( Social Insurance Number) etc. We finished all the initial and essential formalities.
With time, we managed to get back to USA to wind up from South Field and to live in Windsor in May 2000. Sameer arranged a wonderful apartment; 711-8787 Riverside Drive. We lived at this very comfortable and scenic view location for about two and half years. 2455 Rivard Avenue: Apartment # 523:( October 2002-sept.2009 ): In October , 2002, we moved to this subsidized accommodation for seniors by Essex Windsor County Housing Corporation. We lived on Riverside Drive for $1000/- + apartment because of ignorance and lack of information about it and many other things about the facilities and privileges in Canada. This was for only $234.00 per month , could have been even cheaper if known before.There are several such facilities for seniors in Windsor. But it has sufficient parking space which is not available in other locations.It was a comfortable place and convenient location to live.We had nice company of some Indian families living at this location. 3015 Temple Drive, apartment # 212: ( October 2009.....) It is again with the incidental interaction with Dr. Jwanda who lived in a two bed rooms apartment in a neighbourhood similar kind of facilities.He told me that  there are about three or four such facilities with two bed rooms for the seniors with the same rent but with a certificate of medical conditions. With a medical certificate from Dr. Joshi, our family physician, we applied for this facility and we got it very soon. this is known as accessible facility with two bed rooms and specially designed facilities for handicapped persons.It is a small facility with 64 apartments, most of them single bed room and perhaps only two accessible.Very neat, clean and well maintained building by the Church which constructed and maintains it. It certainly needs personal transport facility as shopping facilities are at least two miles away from here . We like this place for nice and quiet living.We could have got this spacious apartment much earlier but for information. One of the reason could be our very limited social network in Canada. We do not have colleagues or friends here as we are very late comers and due to our limitation for age also.
We have been living here as permanent residents and later as Canadian Citizen since we moved here. We always had our proper permanent residence with Telephone, TV and internet cable facilities, bank accounts, maintaining an Ontario registered car and a valid driving license , working as the secretary of SASCO a non-profit organization, volunteering for annual tax preparation for CRA , visiting our Clinic regularly as I am a patient for High Blood pressure for long time and my wife for Arthritis etc, But we had always problem with Canadian authorities at every stage of getting citizenship, OHIP card, Old Age Security pension and lastly even with my driving license. I wonder why We ? At every stage, we have to explain our situation: Ontario Disability Support Program:ODSP: We never knew about social assistance program in Canada , its entitlement and eligibility etc. For the first time, Mrs Aggarwal ( wife of Prof. A.K.Aggarwal, University of Windsor) mentioned about it and asked us to apply for the same.It is again  an example of social networking and social capital benefits. We had very good social contact with Prof Aggarwal during our early years in Windsor. In fact, they were also quite new in Windsor. Well, we got it which continued till we started getting our OASP. This was very good help to us for our survival in Canada.  
OHIP: Ontario Health Insurance Program: Wonderful program to look after the health of Ontario residents. At one point of time, our OHIP cards were cancelled with the allegations that we do not live here. We have to visit the office of the Ministry of health to explain our situation of residency here. With all the documentation required, we had to go through a lengthy interview to convince the authorities to get our OHIP cards back to us. But could not understand as why they bothered us and wasted our and their own time?
Citizenship: Normally, most people get their citizenship just after completing three years of residency but we got it almost after six years with lot of queries and lengthy questionnaire. All about doubting that we were not residents of Canada; Even an hearing with an immigration judge, Mr walker who grilled us thoroughly doubting about our residency but with all the evidence and documentation, we convinced about our residency in Canada. Mr. Walker was nice person , understood our situation and cleared our case. In fact, we have to request our MP, Mr.JOE CoMartin. who intervened and asked the immigration department to look into our case. But, here again I have to say as why we should have gone through this tedious process and unnecessary grilling ?.  
Old Age Security Pension: In most of the cases, approval of OASP is the straight forward case but in our case, this also took lot of time and explaining many unnecessary things. Doubting our status and period of our residency etc.It took long time through tedious process and explaining several things.Perhaps,the note on our IM1000 documentation by the immigration officer, created the doublt at every stage.The pension  amount is very good for our survival in Canada.  
Driving License: Lastly in 2012, I had the problem about my driving license; Unfortunately, I had an auto accident in Windsor in August 2011 which caused me to take driving test again as it happens for the seniors after the age of 70 years. It was a terrible experience to take my test, driving lessons etc after I failed my tests and my driving license was cancelled. I have written a separate blog about it.
 Though we  had some rough time over here ; we never got any kind of employment; not even some satisfying volunteering work over here; Canada is a wonderful country to live especially for the retired people where seniors get lot of benefits. Good medical and housing facilities and very friendly environment.