Is Trump Putin's Agent Orange

There is accusation of US President Donald Trump being a Russian Secret Service KGB Agent codenamed "Kasnov" since 1987. He was supposedly involved in money laundering using Russian mafia to protect his floundering, bankruptcy driven business empire. The Russian Dictator Vladimir Putin probably got something BIG on Trump, enough to blackmail him and end his Presidency. The Comedian Bill Maher says Trump is Putin's "Agent Orange". Normally I would dismiss this talk as conspiracy theory and calumny raised by Trump's opponents, unless I could see the following telltale signs :

1. Trump who bullies every person has so far been conspicuously soft on Putin. He hasn't spoken a harsh word about the Russian Dictator, though he used the word Dictator against a democratic elected President Zelensky of Ukraine. That perplexes me. 

2. I am all for world peace and would like this Russian- Ukraine war of three years which has led to loss of life, money, property to stop right now. If Trump is doing this for World peace it's fine. But if he is doing this at the behest of Putin who is blackmailing him, it is not only dangerous, it's roblematic. What baffles me is Trump's peace plan which is totally skewed in favor of Russia. In any peace talk both parties need to make concession. It takes two to tango, two hands to clap. But Trump (and his hand pick lackeys in his government) want ONLY Ukraine to make all kinds concession and haven't spelt out yet on the Russian, aka Putin's side of bargain. Incorrigible isn't it ! 

3. We have seen the televised bashing of Zelensky by Trump and his obsequious VP. Would Trump ever behave with Putin 10% of the manner ? I doubt. During Trump's first term in one of his meetings with Putin the body language of a timid Trump before the Russian Dictator was a contrast to his bullying style of diplomacy. That makes me think Trump, once ascribed by Joe Biden as "Putin's puppy" is hiding something. 

Ronald Reagan famously described Russia as "the Evil Empire". He must be turning in his grave as the original Conservatives have turned to Trump, a man whom I believe can sell himself for a price. Hopefully he doesn't give Putin Alaska as gift. 

Unlike many who think in the lines of "My Fraand Dolaand", the geopolitical game is played cut throat where there is no permanent friends or enemy, where only permanent interest thrives. Not surprising under Trump, blackmailed or otherwise, USA and Russia are getting closer similar to what once USA and UK were, a relationship whom Churchill famously described as "Common people speaking common language". Regardless, this unusual, one sided crush of Trump on Putin is "Sochnevali Baat Hai" or "Something to think about".

Forty years of quality telecast

 The live telecast of ongoing Champions Trophy tournament brings back memories from down the lane, transporting me on a time machine back to this day exactly 40 years ago, to March 1 of the year 1985. Those were the days when TV was new to Bhubaneswar. I could barely sleep the night before excited to watch the first ever live telecast from Australia of a match between India and the home team playing Benson and Hedges World Series in Australia. 

When at sharp 5 AM I switched on to Doordarshan, the only Channel available on TV at that time, I heard the clear voice of the long nosed Richie Benaud with his typical cap wearing style hair on Channel 9 from the land Down Under (as Australia is known). Richie's typical Aussie accented punch lines "gid dye (good day) mite (mate) from MCG",  "in the air but saif (safe)", what a keitch (catch)" still reverbates in my mind and refuses to escape my memory. It was so genuinely Australian, like Kookaburra to Kangaroos. 

India was playing with host Australia in a crucial group league match in the series involving all test playing nations of that time. It was a do or die game for Australia as India was just starting to peak after defeating earlier its traditional opponent Pakistan and England. With blurry eyes minutes after the start, I watched Indian bowlers storming into the Aussies batting up. Before they realized they were reduced to 17 for 4 (oops 4 for 17 as they call it there). Kapil Dev and Jackie (as medium pacer Roger Binny was called by his teammates for his Jackfruit shaped round bottom) were in demolition mode. Australia could never recover from the shaky start and was all out for 160 odd runs. India easily won the game, knocking the home team out from the tournament. Alan Border, then Captain of Australia blamed the defeat on their team getting tired due to playing way too much cricket. The Aussie press howled sarcastically - "if we don't play too much we won't lose too often". India went on to win the tournament with Ravi Sastri gifted an Audi car being the Champion of the Champions. 

More than India's victory what stuck me was the excellent quality of the coverage and telecast of the match with the lucid voice of Richie Benaud (along with ziraffe sized Tony Greig who died years ago) as icing on cake. For the first time I saw the telecast from each ends of stumps, showing the front view of the batsman facing the ball as well as cameras on all ends of the field. Such excellent clarity of vision was conspicuous on our Konark TV (a popular government controlled local brand of that time which soon became defunct). The replays were shown like flipping pages on a glossy magazine. It was magical for us audience in India not accustomed to such quality telecast, not to mention the titillating moment to the early teen in me to view the summer milieu of scantily clad girls from the land down under wearing bare minimum and taking sunbath in the stadium, beamed live to the conservative middle class living rooms in Bhubaneswar. It was like a breath of fresh air. 

So far, I had mostly seen on the Doordarshan (only TV channel available) the so called slow motion replays during cricket telecast with unwelcome stoppages at the crucial moment of the game being quite common, with a drab message "RUKAWAT KE LIYE KHED HAI" or (Sorry for the interruption) message flashing on the screen. Too many grains, unwarranted ghost like pictures. Camera hardly followed or captured the movement of the ball. Indian Commentators suffered from verbal diarrhea. After a boundary, six or wicket would come a banner on TV proudly proclaiming ACTION REPLAY like a trailer announcing the release of a movie. Then would come the hazy replay in slow motion. Even the telecast from Pakistan was much better, which could be attributed to them possessing American telecast equipment those days. 

Often by the time the replay would finish, one more delivery would be over and you would miss a 4, 6 or a wicket. As a welcome change, the telecast and the voice of Richie Benaud was both mesmerizing and welcome respite from the past. That telecast from exactly 40 years ago brought the frog in me out of the well. Cricket telecast and Channel 9 have come a long way ever since, so also India and the quality of cricket telecast these days all over the world. 

Tea, Coffee or Pee

 This year 2025 is not a leap year. Once every 4 years, February being a leap year comes with an extra day of 29th attached to the fag end of it. Last year 2024 was no exception. Leap year calculation follows a complex logic. For being a leap year, it has to be evenly divided by 4 or 400. But if a year is evenly divided by 100, but not 400, it is not a Leap Year. Hence, year 2000 was a leap year. Year 1900 wasn't a leap year, 2100 isn't going to be one either. But year 2400 is going to be.

As per the Roman Calendar the month of February had initially 30 days. This poor month was chopped off couple of days. Julius Caesar after whom the month of July was named took a day out of February added it to July making the later a month of 31days. Same was done to the month of August by Emperor Augustus who snatched away another day from February and added it to August, the month named after him making it 31 days. So February was left with 28 days, making it a short month. Thanks to the Leap Year, every 4 years February enjoys an extra day as a consolation prize.

As we step into the last day in February, it reminds me about Morarjee Desai who in the year 1977 became India's Prime minister at the age of 84. When a reporter questioned him about his age, the witty PM said - "I am just 21 year old young man", alluding to his date of birth - his birthday occuring once every four years as he was a leap year child, born on 29th of February.

During his stint as Prime Minister of India, it was often heard in the power corriders of Delhi - When you visit the Prime minister's office you will be offered Coffee, Tea or Pee, alluding to Desai's habit of drinking his own pee first thing in the morning, which supposedly kept diseases away. Not sure if any of his visitors was offered to pee (as drinking is pronounced in Odia and Hindi) the Prime Minister's pee for better health.

But he had his share of escapades related to this early morning urine therapy, which was earlier reported in a leading Indian magazine. Once during his tenure as Prime Minister he visited Paris where he was invited to dinner by an official. After the esteemed guest left, the host's wife who had what we call in Odia "Suchibai" or excessive cleanliness tendency reportedly instructed her husband to throw away all the utensils used by Morarjee Desai rather than send it to the dishwasher. Imagine the plight of those sitting close to him, who were aware about his pee therapy ! How about a Good Morning kiss dear after a glass of pee !!! 

Desai lived until the ripe age of 99. Many attribute his longevity to his Urine Therapy. A strict vegetarian and self proclaimed Gandhian from Gujarat, he also shunned alcohol. His faddism prompted him to impose prohibition in the state of Maharastra when he was the Chief Minister of the state. It failed there, as prohibition has failed in Gujarat, other states and everywhere in world. Our politicians espouse Mahatma Gandhi's name for political purposes, but hardly practise any of what Bapu stood for, including non-violence. The champion hypocrites, most Indian politicians drink alcohol while in public they advocate  puritanism.

Morarjee Desai had his share of controversies surrounding him. His son Kanti Desai was accused of smuggling while travelling abroad accompanying his father during his tenure as Prime Minister. The allegation was never proved. He said that Indira Gandhi did not spank her son Sanjay during childhood, making the later a spoilt brat. Yet Morarjee was accused of turning blind eyes to his son's illegal activities. Talk about double standards.

Desai's partisan behavior can be best explained by the episodes from our epic MAHABHARAT. The PUTRAMOH (attachment to son) of King Dhritarastra made him turn a blind eye to the activities of his son Duryodhan. The same was apparent in Guru Dronacharya. No sooner the legendary teacher-figter-archer was mischievously told the half truth about Ashosthama's death (elephant bearing the same name as his son) than he lost his zeal to fight and leading the Kaurava Army and stepped down. Dhrustadyumna finished the rest.

Guru Dronacharya also refused to take warrior Karna as his disciple - telling the his Charioteer dad in front of Karna that he only teaches children of Kings and KHYATRIYAs (Warriors). Seeing Drona teaching his son Ashwasthama Karna asked the Guru - "Who is this boy" ? "My child Aswasthama"- replied Dronacharya. "He is neither a Khatriya nor a Prince" - was Karna's punchline as he exposed the Brahmin's hypocrisy. Drona never liked Karna, though they fought in the same camp.

Turning a blind eye to son wasn't the only shortcoming Desai had. Though he  remained a fit person all his life, many attribute certain fiascos made by him to his old age senility. Couple of things I remember vindicated that. One, he was accused of divulging some of our national secrets to General Zia, the military dictator of Pakistan, when the later would call him and flatter him by asking about the benefits of drinking urine. No sane, but senile person at the helm of affairs of a country would divulge nation's secret service assets to the leader of a hostile neighbor. No wonder Desai was conferred with "Nishan-e-Pakistan", the highest civilian award of Pakistan.

Two, when Jimmy Carter visited India in 1978, the US President told to his official sitting next to him that he didn't get a good impression of Desai, whom he found blabbering incoherently during their meeting. The man who drank his own piss, pissed off the Americans. It was an embarrassing diplomatic moment, as the microphone in front of Carter was not switched off and many could hear the conversation. 

Yet Mr. Desai will go down in history in creating history in many counts. He was the first person not from Congress party and not from the politically vital state of UP to be the Prime Minister of India. He was also the first person from the state of Gujarat to be the PM, not to mention the first person outside of the Gandhi clan to remain in power for a sizable duration of time (2 and 1/2 years). 

During his time the nation was relatively calm with no crisis in Punjab, Assam and Kashmir where terrorism raised its ugly head soon after Indira Gandhi regained power in 1980. The man left his mark in Indian politics in spite of being accused by the controversial American Author Seymour Hersh as a "Paid CIA Agent". He was riled to no end, threatening to file a defamation case against the writer in United States. It didn't happen, as he passed away not long the American made this revelation in his book. When I encounter a leap year, it is Morarjee Desai who comes to my mind, for he was born on February 29, which can only happen in a leap year.

RIP Uttam Mohanty

He was a prominent actor who delivered several hits to the Odia movie goers of our generation. Ever since the man from the small, nondescript North Odisha township of Baripada made it big with his first hit in the 1977 Odia movie Abhiman, he never looked back. Uttam Mohanty, arguably the first ever Odia superstar of Ollywood Industry died earlier today at a young age of 66.

I remember watching his first movie "Abhiman" inside a cold, dingy theater named "Ravi Talkies" on a winter night in 1977 hardly a mile from BJB Flats where we lived in Bhubaneswar. Barely 9 year old then I mostly slept through this black and white movie. But I still remember a beautiful song by the leading Odia singer of the time Akshay Mohanty "BHASA MEGHA MUJE BHASI JAE DURE" from that movie. When our family returned home that night after the evening show clinging to each other packed in a cycle rickshaw like sardines, the Ravi talkies Chhaka (Chowk) and Lewis Road now bustling with traffic looked like dark and dingy streets of a Ghost town. Now it could take you 10-15 minutes to cross the same junction with current traffic on a lucky day.

Those were the days. After Abhiman, Uttam Mohanty continued to produce hits, several of them first with actress Maheswata Ray as his opposite, followed by Aparajita whom he later married. This was when his contemporary challenger, the tall, handsome, smiling actor, the Rajesh Khanna of Odia movies Sriram Panda's life suddenly took a spiritual turn as he turned into some kind of a Baba (Mendicant). The other contender Prashant Nanda getting older with his rapidly receding hair and growing paunch slowly became misfit to be a hero when that generation preferred fitter, younger looking lads.

In these changing time the long nosed, backbrush hair styled Uttam Mohanty fitted perfectly to the expectation of the audience in a milieu whose preference shifted to angry young man image. Soon he became the darling of the masses, catapulted into superstardom of Ollywood, as Odia Film Industry is commonly known as. The popular couple of Uttam and Aparajita in reel and real life had a son named Babusan, presently an actor who was in news not long ago with controversies surrounding his extra marital affair with another actress.

It is rumored that Uttam Mohanty's wayward lifestyle and his alcohol ways led him to lead a reckless life which probably was the cause to his early demise. 66 is too young an age to go. As Rajesh Khanna has said in the movie Anand - "ZINDAGI BADI HONI CHAHIYE, LAMBI NAHI" (The life has to be lived big, not long). The man certainly carved in niche in Odia cinema leaving his indelible mark. May he RIP. Om 🕉 Shanti.

The unfortunate incident in KIIT

 Love it or hate it, social media is a great leveler. Gone are those days when high placed authorities with contacts use to manhandle folks in public and get away with impunity. Nowadays such a person will think hundred times before enacting misuse of power in public - lest some one records it on smartphone and takes it to the next level by making it viral. Beware, now anyone with a smartphone on hand is a citizen reporter. Now we have a classic case of manhandling or you can say woman - handling video surfacing on social media related to sad demise of a Nepali girl in the Republic of KIIT (not an overstatement) in the Patia area of Bhubaneswar. 

Every person has the right to live. It hurts utmost when someone commits suicide. And it hurts more, if that person happens to be young. Like every boy or girl of their age, they too have a dream, but unwisely decide to procrastinate their unfulfilled dream by killing themselves. When does a person decide to end his or her life ? It is not just because of the frustration with life, it's more due to their lack of care or concern for rest of the world, which includes their near and dear ones. If I ever feel suicidal for some reason, I may resist that thought for a moment, if I think about my family, if not me. Apparently they don't care about their loved ones and decide to end their life at spurt of the moment, never getting a second chance to regret it.

Suicides in college campuses are not uncommon. Surging teenage hormone gone wild can create havoc in heart and mind, which can be due to failure in romance, academics or bullying by others. It reminds me of the iconic movie 3 IDIOTS where a student kills himself due to his frustration at his project being pooh poohed by the Principal of the College. The student Rancho played by actor Aamir Khan complains about the mental stress the students undergo, leading to such avoidable tragedies. As the Principal gets defensive and refuses to take the blame, Aamir Khan replies - "I am rather blaming the entire system".

Now the King of Republic of KIIT, his henchmen and women are not only in a defensive mode, they have completely mishandled this issue. Well, mishandling would be an understatement, they have royally screwed up, caught with their pants or panties down. It takes me back down the memory lane to April, 1988 during my REC (Now in NIT) days. One fine morning there was some skirmishes between students in front of our hostel. A professor nicknamed DADA for his habit of bullying students perpetuated by a servile and kowtowing staff, was known to act more like a Sadak Chhap (street) goon than academic those days.

Our Dada suddenly barged into the hostel to take the situation into control. He was greeted with a volley of expletives by the students, provoking him by alleging him of having not so healthy relationship with his mother and sister. It was akin to showing a red flag to the Bull. The loud mouthed professor got mad and went around the hostel corridor, returning the compliments by immensely praising the mothers and sisters of the students. Standing barely 20 feet away I could clearly hear him - "Kaun MC Mujhe MC Bola. Arre Mein kiski Maa ko Ch**a Hoon. (Which MF told me I am a MF. Tell me whose mother I fcuked." If there were smartphones those days a student could have easily recorded the professor's act and put it live on the YouTube. That would have been sufficient to turn our DADA into a KHUDI (Feminine Dada) irreversibly from that day, defanging him forever. Now a professor will think a dozen times before doing such utterance in public.

Fast forward to present. The video of the goon looking fat bimbos of KIIT Republic badmouthing their Nepali students with condescending remarks has gone viral, even getting the notice of Prime Minister of Nepal, all thanks to the social media. Stories galore of goons of the infamous institute (many say the KIIT Adminstrative staffs are goons and/or pimps) who tried to burn the girl's Dupatta, a rope and erase her laptop and destroy her mobile, like a criminal tries to destroy evidences from the crime scene, scrambling to cover up the screw up of enormous magnitude.

Regardless the fiasco which is currently the hot news in my home state back home, Social media has become the real game changer, a double edged sword. Love it or hate it, better learn to live with it - for it is real and going to stick around. It may not have stopped all nuisance makers go scott free, certainly has acted as a huge deterrent.

Shivaji the great Maratha warrior

 On the birthday of Chhatrapati Shivaji let me present you a fascinating story about the life and time of the great Maratha warrior. It's a rare success story of a Hindu Chiftain who built the Maratha empire of his own and was christened as CHHATRAPATI (Emperor) in an age when Muslim rulers dominated most of India. Showing uncanny guile and leadership, he was one of few Hindu Kings in a thousand year span who successfully survived the onslaught of his enemies, including Badshah of Bijapur and Nizam of Hyderabad surrounding him, not to mention the mighty Mughals under Aurangzeb in North.

Shivaji was tactical in his approach and a master strategist. He was prudent enough to use these three elements - "Flattery, Bravery and Bribery" to win over his rivals, as and when needed. He was not a foolhardy like the Rajputs, who though brave lacked guile and strategy, perennially facing defeat. Shivaji was unmatched, for he used bravery along with classic guerilla warfare tactics, pre-emptive strikes - explosive combination for success. 

He attacked Shayast Khan, the Mughal General inside the later's own den in the middle of night. The burly Mughal was lucky, as he barely escaped alive with a few fingers chopped off by non other than Shivaji himself. After almost killing Shayast Khan he planned his escape well in advance, letting loose Bullock carts carrying flames he brought along with him. As the faltering Mughals took time to recuperate, they ended up chasing the Bullock carts only to find that they have been duped and misled by Shivaji, giving him and his band of merry men precious enough time to to escape in darkness.

But non of his several escape escapades matched his breaking free from his house arrest by the Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb in Agra. Shivaji was invited to The Emperor's birthday-cum-coronation ceremony. The Mughal Emperor was sitting on his peacock throne when the Maratha King along with his young son Sambhaji arrived at the Diwan-e-Khas (The gathering of the Elites). Badshah Aurangzeb was fanned by his attendants who sprayed cool mist around him on a hot day in mid May, right in the middle of North Indian summer.

It was the only occasion they ever met. The day was very special for Aurangzeb - his birthday and the day of coronation to the crown which he had earned by successfully eliminating his own blood brothers. Though there were many eminent personalities present at Court to grace the occasion, Aurangzeb's Cobra like piercing eyes (as described by Shivaji himself) were prying on the Maratha icon laced with suspicion and apprehension at the man he named as "MOUNTAIN RAT". He knew about Shivaji from the days when his father sent him to Deccan to deal with him. The man who had frustrated him time and again, had a history of making spectacular escapes when surrounded with all escape routes closed only to resurface again earning this sobriquet. Now same man was standing right in front of him, so his look was fixated on Shivaji.

Ignored and feeling humiliated being made to seat behind those whom he once defeated, Shivaji lost his cool on that hot summer day in the Mughal capital city of Agra. Exhibiting flaired temper he protested his humiliation at top of his voice. Shivaji's protest in front of Aurangzeb was tantamount to sacrilege, never heard of in the history of Mughal rule. The standard protocol in front of a Mughal Emperor was to keep the head down, speak softly with handkerchief on face, that too only when asked to do so, never out of turn. A person in front of the Emperor was not supposed to return back showing his back to the "Badshah" - he must bend and walk backwards until out of sight of the Alamgir (the Lord of the World). But what Shivaji Raje did was unthinkable. He turned his back to Aurangzeb and went out of the Durbar (Gathering of the Elites) in haste. 

By this act of defiance Shivaji blatantly broke every protocol of the Mughal book of etiquette in front of "Jahapanah" (Emperor) considered a sacrilege. The Scion of Mughal Empire, Aurangzeb the ruthless, observed this, but didn't show his reaction in public. He sent his faithfuls, one of his trusted Hindu Rajput lieutenants to pacify Shivaji and bring him back to his court. But to his chagrin the Maratha Chieftain refused to oblige. This became the much talked about incident on a day the third son of Sah Jahan after ruthlessly killing all his brothers waited for six long for his imprisoned father to die to ascend the throne. Aurangzeb asked those present around him about their opinion on how to deal with Shivaji. The fact that a Hindu provincial Chief misbehaved and refused Aurangzeb didn't go well with his queens and the courtiers. All opined in unison that Shivaji should be severely punished.

It was a long day. A tired Aurangzeb was seen twitching his moustache using his left hand as he scrolled a string of pearl beads which he religiously carried with him chanting "Bismillah Rahim" (O God, the Benevolent, the Merciful). He announced to the Court - "Allah has given us this beautiful gift called sleep". Saying this he called it a day, needing some rest. The very next morning, Shivaji was put under house arrest in Agra on Emperor's order.

Kingship is better than kinship. Aurangzeb had no qualms about killing his own brothers. Though the de facto Emperor, he couldn't be crowned until Sah Jahan was dead. So Aurangzeb had no patience to wait any longer as the old man was still alive in the Agra fort more than 6 years after he sent his brothers to heaven. It was rumored that he poisoned his father as the old man Shah Jahan took too long to die. Shivaji expected no mercy from such a man. In fact the day Shivaji escaped, Aurangzeb had plans to send him to a Haveli and kill him there.

Many were surprised by Shivaji's cool, nonchalant behavior even if he was imprisoned by no other than the ruthless Aurangzeb. But the wily Maratha was not sitting idle. He was silently plotting his next move. Successfully feigning illness, he ordered crates of sweets to be sent out to the mendicants of Agra as gift as a charity in leau of blessings for his early recovery from the illness he feigned. This continued every day and night.

One night he changed his dress with one of his trusted attendants, shaved off his well trimmed beard and moustache, put his son in one of the sweet crates and carried it disguised as one of the bearers on his way out. Next morning the attendant sent out a message to the guard that Shivaji Raje had trouble sleeping last night and catching up with his missed sleep, hence he shouldn't be disturbed. It was well past noon when the guards got suspicious only to find that Shivaji had already made his escape the previous night.

Aurangzeb was immersed in his royal duties when he got the news of Shivaji's escape. He was furious and aghast that the "Mountain Rat" didn't escape from one of his forts in Marathwada area, but right under his nose in the capital city of Agra - the seat of Mughal Supremacy. A la a man possessed, the ruthless yet religious man, he threw his string of pearl beads to the ground. As the courtiers were shivering, speculating the next head to roll, the infuriated Emporer ordered them out. As he often did at  times of crisis, alone he knelt down praying facing West towards Mecca -" Ya Allah, what just happened. The infidel has escaped right under my nose" !

Meanwhile in the outskirts of Agra, the fastest horses of the Maratha cavalry fanned by six of Shivaji's most trusted lieutenants, all burly, strapping six feeters were waiting for their diminutive Raje to take him towards safety. (Shivaji was a short height man). He was smart enough not to immediately ride the horse out of Agra as he expected tight scrutiny on the surrounding roads. He waited few days for things to cool down a bit, took a circuitous route North-East towards Mathura and Kashi, as he knew that surveillance would be tight Southbound to Deccan which he needed to cross before getting into his familiar territory of Marathwada region. His small but devoted entourage travelled in night, resting in dense forests during the day to avoid undue suspicion. 

Shivaji was disguised as a mendicant. He still had days to reach his Fort, but sent out instructions to his folks to fire cannon from the Fort to keep his pursuants at tenterhooks. The news of the celebratory cannons shots reached the Mughals which they construed as Shivaji's safe arrival at his fort, thus lessening the intensity of search. Shivaji outsmarted them yet again, but this time no other than Aurangzeb, the Emperor of India who fumed for a long time on the aftermath of Shivaji's Houdini act.

A great lesson for those who love history, that a battle isn't won by strength or number of soldiers alone, not by emotions but by using shrewd strategies and smart moves. Shivaji had the acumen to read it well and it was his secret sauce for survival and success. But sadly the man who made some of the incredible escapes in history couldn't escape communicable diseases and died in 1680 when he was only 50 years old, succumbing to Typhoid as per the symptoms recorded by the historians, a water born disease he contracted during the marriage ceremony of his second son Rajaram. He never recovered from it.

Wish the man who frustrated Aurangzeb to no end lived longer. The Mughal King who was at least a decade older than Shivaji, lived much longer, at least more than a quarter century after Shivaji's death and died in 1707. He was the harbinger of the end of Mughal empire. It was followed by  rise of the Marathas and then the British who were still trading in India but watching the political developments with great interest. Shivaji once said about the British - "The Englishmen aren't mere traders. They are very shrewd and can steal from right under your nose without you even knowing it". He was so prophetic.

Change of habits after coming to the United States

 Here is a list of my change in habits after coming to the United States. I am sure most of my contemporary NRIs are on same boat.

1. It has been a long time I have taken a shower in cold water. During my growing up days back in India, I used to take bath in normal tap water stored in tanks, even during the coldest of winters in Rourkela, Odisha where the temperature dips to single digit (in centigrade) during winters. I can't do that now. Read that the prisoners in the famous Alcatraz Island are given shower in warm water jets, so that they can't escape swimming in the cold waters off the San Francisco bay. They have a point.

2. Putting ice in drinking water. Water in Room temperature tastes so bland, iced water tastes so crispy and fresh ! Bad habit.

3. Washing hands after peeing. Never did that when I was India and didn't regret shaking hands with others after shaking  the residue off immediately after peeing. I have watched some of them with trepidation when they rolled their hand over their chin and nose after shaking hands with me just after I took a leak. Converted many tree trunks and walls as urinals, not anymore.

4. Catching up with the Hollywood movies I missed earlier and became extremely selective on Bollywood ones, the later lacking ingenuity as years progress. No wonder a junk movie like Pathaan has become a blockbuster.

5. At work, Coffee has taken over Tea. Never liked the tea made out of tea bags. Love the brewed Tea which is restricted to home and developed a taste over cold, sweet tea - a specialty in the Dixie land of the Southern United States.

6. No more looking for News inside the Newspapers. I scan them for Coupons and Sale items in my neighborhood stores. Mostly get news from the Internet and Social media these days, followed by TV.

7. While stepping in or stepping out of doors or Elevators (called Lifts in India), I let the other person go first. Never cared to do that before, no one cared for me either. Rarely I get a thank you when I do the same back in India.

8. Never had the feeling of driving a car with steering wheel on the right hand side of the vehicle, as I never drove a 4 - wheeler in India. Now I won't dare. Used to lane driving, if I drive in Bhubaneswar, you can bet that either I will either hit some one or some one will hit me within a mile of me driving.

9. Developed gardening and blogging as hobby. Never thought in my wildest of my dreams I will cultivate these hobbies, but now I am addicted to those.

And few old habits die hard.

1. My flashback to days in India. Unless I am using a restroom (toilet) outside my home, old fashion flashing off cold water to wash my bottom feels soothing. The softest of toilet papers is to Subways Sandwitch, as a Mug of Cold water is to hot chilli chicken.

2. Never could develop a passion for American Sports - Football, Baseball and Basketball. Still love Cricket, Soccer and Field Hockey (Hockey in US defaults to Ice Hockey which I find fast, furious and boring).

3. Wasn't able to develope a taste in English music. When the rockstar "Prince" died I got curious and asked others - "Prince, who" ? I googled about Rihanna when she twitted something controversial sometime back. Still stuck in the old Hindi music of Kishore Kumar, Mohd Rafi, Mukesh, Lata, Asha, Akshay Mohanty, Pranab Patnaik, Chitta Jena era whom I find soothing to my soul and don't mind.