Squadron Chief Anil SehgalThose of you born after the sixties is not going to know who’s Yog Rahi Gupta ; these born earlier than the 60s, might know him. Due to this fact, let me let you know who he’s. Properly, he’s a Dogra. He’s a Jammuite. Gupta is his surname and Rahi is his “takhallus” that poets often undertake as a nickname. Yog is a poet and a journalist.I met Yog someday in 1967. He was a good friend of my cousin Suminder Anand who was extra of a good friend to me than a relation. We three had been keen on gathering postal stamps from completely different nations. That’s what introduced us collectively.These days, I used to be writing a weekly column known as faculty notes in The Kashmir Instances, an English day by day newspaper. Yog too was fascinated by journalism and contributed to a number of journals. Urdu was his forte.
Jammu Jotting
I’ll name him a fearless youth who noticed the world round him very minutely, with the sensitivity of a poet who cries on the sight of a flower being trampled underfoot on the street. He aspired to banish the inequalities within the society. He did have the braveness to place his needs into motion.Yog Gupta was born right into a household the place each sibling and relative was not like him. Everybody accepted the world round him because it had been, with none questioning. They won’t react even when an injustice was performed to them. Acceptance was writ massive on their faces.Yog, however, was a born insurgent. He’ll settle for no injustice. He had the braveness to register his protest. Additionally, he’ll try exhausting to seek out methods to make the wrongs proper.He discovered two routes to protest in opposition to inequality and injustice. One was poetry and the opposite was journalism.He began writing poems and shortly shared the dias with poets of nice renown. He additionally began off as an affiliate editor of Humjoli journal adopted by a full fledged editorship of Vadi-e-gulnar, which was printed concurrently in Dogri, Gojri, Hindi and Urdu. Solely the Urdu model was a weekly, the remaining had been month-to-month. Yog edited this Urdu weekly.Within the early 70s, a love-jihad type of scandal surfaced in Jammu, which grew to become the speak of the city. An higher caste boy named Ram was in love with a decrease caste lady known as Seeta. Her father was an indication board painter. known as Ami Chand.This relationship was not a suitable alliance for the caste-ridden orthodox society of Jammu. Quickly, the boy ran away with the lady leaving all the metropolis in social and spiritual turmoil.Yog printed the story in his Urdu weekly. He ran the story below the heading : Rxx Sxxxx Ko Lekar Faraar !The heading of the information created a furore. The Hindus and the native our bodies like Hindu Mahasabha, rose in unison in opposition to the weekly. Complaints had been lodged with the police and warrants of arrest had been issued in opposition to the writer, printer and the editor.Yog Rahi tasted the primary morsel of his inadvertent journey in journalism. He was detained within the Metropolis Chowk police station of Jammu for 2 weeks to guard him from threatened assaults by the non secular teams. I’ll name this incident the primary blunder of Yog Rahi Gupta.His second blunder was extra critical than the primary. In one other incident, a sure Professor Sahni caught a Sikh boy copying in an examination. He was so livid with the boy that he abused him calling : Sxxxxx hote hello Hain ullu ke patthe. Properly, not less than, that was the allegation made by the errant scholar caught copying within the examination.Yog Rahi Gupta printed this unlucky incident within the type of a poster and gave it the headline : kya sxxxxx ullu ke patthe hote hain ? This poster, in Urdu, was plastered in all outstanding locations throughout town. It was printed below the aegis of Jammu & Kashmir College students Welfare Affiliation. Yog Gupta was the president of this group.As they are saying, the poster put town on fireplace. The sikhs’ associations had been livid. In a swift motion, the police arrested the writer and the printer. As soon as once more, Yog Rahi was behind the bars. This time, the arrest was below Defence of India Guidelines.Senior journalists and thinkers like Balraj Puri and Om Saraf intervened to safe hus launch from the police custody. They approached the authorities and guaranteed them that it was an inadvertent act of an inexperienced youth who by no means meant to harm any group. They succeeded in securing his launch from the custody.The third blunder was dedicated when Yog printed a narrative of an indulgent IAS officer who was the deputy commissioner of town. His alleged shut liaison with a younger and exquisite lady from Akhnoor was being talked about within the social and political circles within the subdued tones.Yog printed the story in his paper below the headline : Log Kehte Hain To Sach Hee Hoga. The deputy commissioner was greater than livid. As soon as once more, he was behind the bars and was later launched on bail. He was out and in of the jails fairly usually in a brief span of time. Fifty years later, sipping his sugarless espresso with me, not too long ago in Jammu, Yog Gupta at present regrets all of the three misadventures : I used to be younger, blunt, fearless and clueless too. I did not foresee the reactions from the non secular teams.” I didn’t realise that the sensational headlines may harm sentiments of the non secular communities. You might name it immaturity arising out of inexperience. So far as the case of the deputy commissioner is anxious, I did not cross test my information and rushed to publish what others had been scared to even point out”, he says.His misadventures might have earned him the tag of being a fearless journalist in Jammu, however, nonetheless, they had been his misadventures solely. These days, this 22 years outdated younger man actually had fireplace in his stomach. He wielded a pen that sprayed solely vitriol at any time when he determined to make use of it.He upset many social and spiritual sentiments even when he didn’t imply it. Complaints had been lodged in opposition to him, which resulted in police motion. He was put behind bars a number of occasions.It dearly price him his mom’s love. She didn’t comprehend what was occurring to her pricey son. Arrests of her son had been nice psychological tormentations to this straightforward girl who by no means completed her education. She was not able to differentiating a political arrest from prison custody. For her, it was a bolt from the blue that her son was arrested. That too, not as soon as, however a number of occasions !Yog liked her mom dearly. He understood she was nervous concerning the security of her son who was out and in of jails like he was out and in of their dwelling ! What’s going to ever be the way forward for such a son, was her important concern.He couldn’t see struggling in her eyes and determined to alleviate her of her psychological agonies. He acquired a suggestion to work as a public relations officer for the Zambian authorities. Zambia was at conflict these days. Mom refused him permission to go to a rustic, which was at conflict.Two elder brothers of Yog had been already working in Canada. Mom informed him to go to Canada in order that he may very well be away from dealing with the courtroom instances for his journalistic misadventures.Lastly, to place an finish to the agony suffered by his darling mom and to keep away from additional arrests, he did one thing he by no means needed to do. He went over to Canada to his elder brother, a mathematician of nice reputation.It was altogether a distinct life in Canada. He needed to carry out many roles within the new nation to earn a decent dwelling. It included working for a reputed firm, operating a small enterprise , doing group service, journalism, and so forth.Within the recession of 1986, he began the primary of its variety East Indian Ethnic speciality meals enterprise in Winnipeg, Canada. This created a possibility to deliver Indian tradition and roots again to the group in Canada and unfold range consciousness to the better Canadian Neighborhood.He served as a radio host for 23 years with Radio CKJS-810 AM in Winnipeg. Final 12 months, together with different like minded companions, he launched a radio and tv channel known as Associates Of India to advertise unity and variety via the media.At present, he’s serving as a President of Winnipeg’s Multicultural Useful resource Centre. This group was constructed by and for immigrants and refugee households who dared to dream of inclusive , equitable and intercultural Manitoba.His grasp’s diploma in journalism, a protracted journalistic profession, and energetic involvement in the neighborhood service, offered him nice alternatives to work together with a number of outstanding figures. He makes use of his shut contacts with celebrities to safeguard group welfare and promote inter religion goodwill.Yog Rahi not too long ago spent 5 months in India, his longest spell in India, within the final 5 many years. He spent most of this time in Jammu. He interacted with good outdated friends from the fifties, sixties and the seventies.He deeply regrets lacking his Jammu of the yore : like the opposite locations on the planet, Jammu too has turned materialistic. By hook or criminal, folks right here have amassed massive quantities of cash, which they like to point out off. Culturally and morally it’s nearly a defunct metropolis.They purchase massive vehicles, which choke the slim lanes of town. They stay in palatial properties that may accommodate 20 folks, however the place simply two or three individuals reside. A good friend paid 23 thousand rupees to host a small dinner for six of us in a well-known restaurant. He stored boasting about it for a number of days thereafter, Yog laughs it off !Inter private relations have suffered the worst stroke. Social gatherings are merely booze periods with non vegetarian fare, so he laments.In olden days, folks met usually over a easy platter of meals with no strings connected. Now, folks meet only for enterprise or within the organized kitties that’s an all consuming fashionable city fad, he provides.Throughout his latest keep, Yog Rahi launched his e book of poetry titled Shikast-e-arzoo on the press membership of Jammu. The effectively attended launch ceremony was effectively organised by Qalamkar group of Udhampur below the in a position management of poetess Anu Atri Yaad. It was a dream come true for Yog when internationally famend ghazal exponent of the nation, Seema Anil Sehgal, sang one in all his ghazals on the e book launch ceremony.Likewise, Yog moved to Canada about 45 years in the past. However, Jammu, Dogri and every thing Duggar proceed to stay near his coronary heart. He’s so filled with Jammu and the recollections related to town ; his education within the metropolis, his outdated friends, and the locations that dwell in his reminiscence.He usually speaks to me over the telephone, recollects his days in Jammu, his associates and acquaintances alike. Below the uncontrollable torrents of feelings, he repeats the identical factor many occasions over. And, every time, he begins crying, as he speaks of his motherland Jammu, her folks and the Dogra tradition.
