Britain as America's Blind follower

During World War II facing incessant Nazi bombing British PM Churchill was desperate to get America involved. As a part of his please America diplomacy he famously said " We are common people separated by a common language (English). " He managed to convince Roosevelt but the American Congress refused to bulge. Americans wont get involved until Pearl harbor and the rest is history. The reverse is happening now. The British Parliament refused to toe American line against the wish of James Cameron seen as servitude to Obama. Britain has long since lost its world power status. In Odia there is saying "KARPURA UDIJAICHI, KHALI KANA PADICHI", the smell of camphor is gone only cloth remains. It means gone are those glory days. Britain has been desperately trying to piggyback on America to stay in limelight. Maggie Thatcher and John Major had some semblance of independence.Tony Blair started acting like a CHAMCHA (obsequious follower) of his American counterpart. He reminded me of RAM BHAKT HANUMAN (the famous obedient devotee of Ram who blindly followed the diktat of his Lord).  Britishers are learning to come out of what we call in Odia LANGUDA DHARI CHALIBA or in Hindi PUCHH PAKADKE CHAKANA (both meaning tailgating) mode. At last an independent British stand vis-a-vis USA after a long time.

American Whiskey getting more popular

Heard the other day on NPR news  that the American Whiskey is getting more popular world over.  Jack Daniel recently announced that for the first time in history its international sale exceeded its domestic counterpart. JD just announced to invest $100 millions to expand its Tennessee facilities to cater to this new demand. Americans are not big fans of Whiskey and those who drink they rarely look beyond the typical American varieties (Puritans find it strange that Americans mix coke rather than Club Soda in Whiskey,  Jack and Coke is a common order in a typical bar here). The smoky, Oaky taste of American Whiskies is unique catering to the local taste. Nice to know that it is expanding its horizon.

Labor Day weekend

Long weekend approaches with the upcoming Monday as the holiday due to Labor Day. Unlike most (probably the rest) of the world who celebrate May 1st as the Labor day, Americans mark it on the 1st Monday of September. And unlike most who will be travelling or vacationing I will be laboring at work this labor day. Have a great long weekend to my friends in American and a great weekend to the rest.

Common sense is not so common

The thing about commonsense is that it is not so common. This morning I was unable to operate the mouse of my laptop for a minute only to discover that the mouse was not connected to the device after all (it was not a wireless mouse). I salute the person who said IT folks lack commonsense. I stood vindicated this morning.

A tribute to His Maestro's voice. RIP the classic Odia singer of classical.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giyTMqWABEc

JUGAAD and DALAAL.

Arguably the reign of Emperor Harshvardhan's in North India and  Raja Krishnadev Ray's in South is regarded as the Golden era in our Indian History. There was hardly any hiatus between the rulers and the ruled. The kings mostly full filled their RAJDHARMA ( duty of a King) and their subjects were by and large satisfied. Legend goes that many kings notably Harshvardhan and Krishnadev took disguise and mingled incognito with local populace to have a first hand knowledge of their subject's plight. Then came the Afghans, Mughals and British. They were aliens from another land who came to India attracted by its wealth. Gradually they became the ruler of the territory they occupied and had least affinity to the natives. Since they were not familiar with the local culture and lingo they succinctly cultivated a class of DALAALs (middlemen-cum-touts) who became the conduit between the rulers and the ruled. The Persian concept of MANSABDARI system of appointing serfs who delegated the administration to more serfs further down the hierarchy came into existence. It became the perfect breeding ground for DALALs who like Dracula became the bloodsucking parasites to the commoners and boot licking servitude to their masters at the same breath. Unsurprisingly  it gave birth to the CHAMCHAGIRI (obsequiousness) culture. Even The Mughal emperor Akbar though a relatively benevolent ruler was not immune to this scourge.  Later on William Bentinck, the British Governor General credited with curbing evils like SATI (forcible burning of widow in with her husband's pyre), Child marriage and THUGEE (Highway robbers) tried to bridge the gap. But his successors did not follow his foot step. Britishers ruled us using this DALAL class who readily acted as informers which make the task of former a whole lot easier . The culture of JUGAAD (arrangement) slowly became well entrenched in the milieu and thrives till date.  Quoting a dialogue by Anupam Kher from HUM " We have three classes of people ATYACHAARI (the oppressor), KRANTIKAARI (the protestor) and INKE FAIDA LETE UTHATE HUE HAMARA JAISA VYAPARI(taking advantage of them are the DALALS like us)".  It is said that Mohammad Tughlaq, the eccentric ruler of Delhi left Delhi for Daulatabad after being sick and tired of these DALALs. It is no better today.

Awesome Customer service at Chick Fillet

Yesterday I ordered a Grilled chicken sandwich at a local Chick Fillet ( a popular Chicken sandwich fast food restaurant prevalent in Southern USA). After I reached home and opened it was a different variety with bacon on top. We don't eat bacon. I went back to the restaurant with the receipt. The store manager heard me. Without even looking at the receipt he immediately handed me a sandwich which I intended to order and was inadvertently swapped with somebody Else's. He tendered his apology for the inconvenience caused and wished me "have a nice day Sir, please see us again". Hats off to the Store manager and the restaurant for the awesome customer service I got. It made my day.

Export Onions to India

Over the years I have managed to make bumper harvests of myriads of veggies, for my kitchen consumption and distribution among close friends. Now I think it is time for me to clear another section of my backyard and cultivate ONION as a cash crop (Georgia soil is fertile for this crop, known for its famous Vidalia onions) on commercial basis. I can export to India to earn valuable bucks as one dollar does not even buy 1 kg of Onion in India these days. Not a bad idea I guess. Now I have also figured it out that when it is the election season in India, plant more onions in advance as chances are quite high that price of this veggie will sky rocket. In Odia we say GACHARE TANKA FALUCHI (money grows on trees). I can make it happen with Onions as a cash crop.

Fickle vs Sickle

Heard on the local NPR News...when the economy is fickle people remember the hammer and sickle.

Current Ashes series in England

Cook fails.. England saved yet again by Rain and Bell (Did it rhyme) ?

Cell Phone - A historical prospective from my point

It is said that in 1960s Elvis Presley, the famous American singer possessed one of world's first mobile (cell) phones. The King of Rock 'n' Roll  carried it  with him in a suitcase so that he could make calls from his limousine. The cost of a call from it was so exorbitant that only a celebrity like Elvis could afford it. My first exposure to cell phone was in1996 in Calcutta when I was approached by a mobile salesman. I was just back from a stint in England and the guy thought I could afford the luxury of a cell phone. He showed me the phone which about the size of a foot long Subway sandwich. The thought of carrying a bulky item with me all the time was not quite appealing. With its protruding antenna carrying it in pocket would cause further embarrassment. I was initially tempted into buying one as standing in line at STD booths after 9 PM (for cheaper rates) was a real pain in you know where. Having a mobile with me would save me a trip to the dingy, sultry and stinky STD booths with the next guy behind the line frantically scratching the dirty windows making gorilla like gestures. But the price of the calls was what dissuaded me from purchasing one. Each incoming and outgoing call would cost me 8 rupee a minute. I was not very enthusiastic about paying per minute what Dosa or Chicken Roll would cost me at that time. A few of my friends who bought kept their mobile numbers the best kept secret. One guy reluctantly shared his number with me so that he can sneak in incognito to my place for weekend bachelor parties without his wife's knowledge. He strictly told me to call him sporadically and hang up soon after saying "Party is on". Juxtaposition of cell phones with internet was still a fantasy. Internet access at work in India was limited to office. During the regular hours at work it was surfing (the term has given way to browsing) time. During the day it was mostly viewing Hotmail and after hours hot females. No website was blocked, hardly any security measures were followed. I am sure anybody trying to access such sites now at work these days will pay a hefty price.

J B Patnaik's Latest Book

Saw a photo on yesterday's edition of Odia newspaper dharitri.com our President at Rastrapati Bhavan (Presidential House) accepting the first copy of the book " THE MARCH TO A MODERN ODISA" from its author J B Patnaik. Well...he has marched our state so much with a great leap forward during his several stints as CM of the state that perhaps he has put his experience at the twilight of his career. Not sure how much it contains from the old archives of Illustrated Weekly of India.

GARIBA MAIPI SABURI SALI

An Odia proverb goes by GARIBA MAIPI SABURI SAALI. Which transliterated means " A poor woman is every body's sister-in-law ( denotes wife's younger sister prone to teasing) . Metaphorically it stands " A weakling is poked fun by all". Intermittent intrusion by China into Indian territory has become a norm these days. "Tense but under control" is the typical government reaction. Since my childhood whenever there is a violent situation in India it used to be the SARKARI (government) line on Doordarshan (then only TV channel) and Newspapers. Nothing has changed over the years. China makes incursion and Pakistan makes excursion of India. Waiting to see the day when Nepal and Bhutan are going to have a field day at our cost. God bless my motherland.

Mosquito Menace is high this year in Georgia

Quoting from today's article in the local newspaper about the mosquito menace this summer due to the heavy rains " Humans have been fighting this blood drinking bug for thousands of years, snd despite man's huge advantages in technology and size, people are not getting the upper hand. Just lot of bites on the hand."

Odisa MP on TV explaining Food Security Bill

Yesterday I watched an MP, Bhakta Das from Odisa belonging to Congress party answering to Arnob's question about the Food Security Bill. Compared to many Odia politicians he spoke decent English. He said that we must feed every mouth in India. It is something everybody is in agreement with. No one wants to see someone go to bed hungry. But some one has to pay for it. When questioned about at the current state of the economy who is going to foot the bill, our honorable MP from Odisa was very evasive in his anwer. He started spinning like a top.

Rupee hitting a century vs Pound

With too much focus on the rate of rupee against US dollar it has gone unnoticed that we hit an economic century against England when the Rupee crossed 100 vis a vis Pound yesterday.

Arnob's verbal VALATKAAR forum

I get the guilty pleasure of watching the Verbal VALATKAAR forum of Arnam Goswami on Times Now Channel. You have to admit and admire the guy's awesome appetite for what he does best, using his verbal rants to rips off his guests on his panel from tip to toe. Yesterday he was back as usual after a weekend break full of energy to go after his victims with the " The entire nation watching him" at prime time. He looked fresh as the brief hiatus as enable him to recharge his battery and replenish his repertoire. His victims this time were some Congress supporters on his panel. After finishing with them he still had plenty of mojo left to pounce on couple of Pakistani retired Army guys who struggled hard to keep their pants up. I think the main reason behind my watching of the episode is the vicarious pleasure I get seeing those who I am not big fan of undergoing a thorough Verbal VALATKAAR. I have a feeling that most of the middle class Indians watching this program fall into my category. We criticize the program yet watch it on a regular basis. The reason is we find this program as an outlet for letting out our frustration on somebody we love to hate. After a tiring day at work and frustrations with the current state of affairs Arnob provides us that vent we are looking for right in our living rooms. Most of us have given up to the fact that we can hardly make a dent in the system. So we take the solace in watching somebody else taking on them as Arnob on his set. This is my take on the popularity of this show.

Dad called as BUDHA or Old Man

I have discovered a distinct similarity between Odias and Americans. In Odisa many refer to their bosses and fathers (often father-in-laws) as BUDHA meaning the Old man. For the boss and father-in-law the address is mostly critical and rarely affectionate. For father it is mostly other way round. A few Americans I have come across address their father as "My Old Man".   Never heard them  using the same term about father-in-law or boss. I was reminded of this when a friend of mine told me " You know, my dad was drafted to fight in Nam ( Nam stands for for Vietnam. The draft was their in America before 1970s when all able bodied young Americans had to serve in military. Many including Bill Clinton dodged the draft by going abroad). Not sure if in other states of India Dad or Boss is referred to as BUDHA.

A mild summer so far in Georgia

It is the middle of August. The summer should be on its last throes, peaking before it wanes. But today the highest temperature here was 78 which is generally the lowest temperature recorded at wee hours at this time of the year. It seems this year the summer has taken a summer vacation. It is said that one sparrow does not make a summer. Barring some late bursts of heat waves leading to an Indian summer we are looking at a mild, rainy summer of 2013 in the annals of Georgia history.

Egypt and Iraq - History repeats

The current imbroglio in Egypt reminds me very much of the chaos in Iraq after the fall of Saddam Hussain. The ditto is happening in Egypt after Hosni Mubarak was removed from the helm of affairs. After a long time of rule under the iron fists of dictators a vacuum is created when they fall. It takes time for that vacuum to be filled. No wondet history repeats itself and those who forget history are condemned to repeat it.

Happy Independence Day 2013

The 50th Anniversary of " I have a dream" speech given by Martin Luther King, iconic Civil Rights leader of American is fast approaching. He gave his famous speech " I have a Dream when a man will be judged not by the color of his skin but by content of his character." He went on further " I have a dream when on the Red Hills of Georgia the sons of former slaves and former slave owners will be able to seat down together in tables of brotherhood". Martin Luther King never saw his dream come true during his life time but a few decades down the road most of them were. His idol Mahatma Gandhi who incidentally like him fell to an assassin's bullets dreamt of RAM RAJYA ( the mythical golden age eons ago) in India. Since our "Tryst with Destiny" moment lots of water has flowed down river Ganga. Not sure how far are we from his RAM RAJYA it wont be an exaggeration to say we now live in ROME RAJYA (The kingdom of Rome). Though a great nation by basics things of late have turned acidic, too sour for our comfort. The current affairs of our nation can aptly be described by these few lines lifted from the Odia song LE NAVEENA from 1981. (Naveena here depicts the typical down to earth Odia. No relationship to the person bearing the same name at the helm of affairs today as he was nowhere in the picture). A stanza from that popular song goes as 

 LE NAVEENA TIKE PACHAKU ANA,
HATHE BAADI DHARI THIA BAPUJI NANA,
BAPUHI BUDHA RA AAKHI RE LUHA,
TA RAMA JAIJE AAJI YAMA RA BHAYA
( O Naveena, just look behind.
Bapuji, the poor old man is standing with stick in his hand.
The old man's eyes are filled with tears.
Yama, the God of death has filled his dream land with fear.

Incidentally these lyrics were penned in 1981 during my childhood days when lot of things were arguably a lot better. Since then we have seen sea changes but these words still stand vindicated. 32 years later I am not so young  but I too have a dream. The dream of a strong, united and free India, free from all our present maladies. Though a die hard optimist I realize that this dream might never come true in my lifetime. Similar to Dr. King's dream coming true in a substantial and tangible way in America I do hope my dreams come true, even years down the road. Happy Birthday to my motherland.

it's Raining freebies in Orissa

With raining of freebies like umbrella, mobiles, laptop in Orissa it is Soap Opera time in the state.

Boss Vs Horse

Some one once told me never stand in front of your Boss or Horse. You run the risk of getting kicked or perhaps worse.

BAH BAH RE CAPITOL - Akshaya Mohanty's song form 1970s

The other day I remember the Odia song by Akshay Mohanty in late 1970s referring to the New Capital BHUBANESWAR. The song goes like this "AAGE THILA BAGHA BHALU BHARA E JANGALA..TU DEKHLO SUKUTA BOU..GHAIN GHAIN BULE BINCHNA NALA ..BAH BAH RE CAPITOL" roughly transliterated ' Earlier it was a jungle filled with Tigers and Bears, now you see O The  Mother of SUKUTA..The hand fan rotates superfast, hail  to Our New Capital Bhubaneswar."  Not sure about Tigers and bears but when we moved to the newly constructed BJB Flats in 1976 howling of jackals were not uncommon coming out of some of today's poshest neighborhoods. SUKUTA which in colloquial Odia means "the lanky lad" is referred here as the typical down to earth Odia guy from a village or small city lost in the din and bustle of Bhubaneswar. GHAAIN  GHAAIN BULE BINCHANA NALA was a slang from late 70s. I was too young to comprehend what it meant. It probably meant nothing. Whatever it meant the weather in Bhubaneswar most part of the year needs AC these days, BINCHANA NALA (hand fans) are now restricted to villages. The song goes on further " MATHAA RU ODHANA TEKI DEKHE LO TIKIYE..NUA JAJADHANI KHALI HUKU HUKU DIYE..DEKH KETE BADA BADA SARAKARI GHARA again transliterated.. " O mother of SUKUTA, lift your head cover and take a  peek. Our new capital totally rocks. Look at those huge government bungalows". Bhubaneswar was a sleepy township of salaried employees who lived in Government Quarters. There were few private houses those days.  The song goes further..NUMBER NA JAANI TUTA PAI BUNI GHARA.. SUKUTA TA JANICHI TA MAMUNKA NUMBER..  TU DEKHELO SUKUTA BOU RAASTA GHATE PAACHE BELA..meaning " You see O Mother of SUKUTA..You can't get you house without knowing its number, SUKUTA (our Odia commoner) knows the number of his maternal Uncle who lives in our New Capital. On the roads you can see Bael fruits( Stone Apples) ripening" Those quarters in different Units (from Unit 1 to Unit 9) had all unique numbers at a time when numbering of houses was an alien concept in Odisha (except few industrial cities like Rourkela). The better known cities at that time, i.e., Cuttack and Puri ( A well known shuttle train connected those two cities)  had a SAHI (lane) culture where the houses were not numbered. All you need to know the name of the person living in so and so lane in so an so SAHI (MOHALLA in Hindi meaning locality). This was enough for the Post office to deliver a letter. The city those days was far from today's  concrete jungle, the streets were filled with Bael (BEL in Odia) fruit, KRUSHNACHUDA (A tree bearing crimson colored flowers in spring) trees. An interesting features about the Government quarters was most of them had at least one Jack fruit, Papaya, SAJNA (Drumstic) or a BARAKOLI (small sweet & sour berries) tree or combinations of those. At trunks of many of these trees were surrounded by termite molehills which were prone to become free quarters for snakes. While playing in the yards my friends most of whom like me lived in Govt quarters were told to stay away from those molehills. BAH BAH RE CAPITOL, BAH BAH RE Akshaya Mohanty for correctly capturing the ethos of Bhubaneswar of those days.

facebook Joy and KAKHARU PHOOLA Fry

Facebook RA MAZA AAU KAKHARU PHOOLA BHAJA..roughly transliterated from Odia to English "Facebook Joy and Pumpkin Flower Fry" (Hopefully it rhymed). Well some flowers of labor to savor (rhymed again!) from my backyard garden.

Chinese Vs Indian Restaurants

One other thing I observed during my last cruise trip was the popularity of Chinese food aboard the ship. Every day they rotated with Italian, American, Caribbean (close to Indian taste), French etc. Yet the Chinese food was a constant feature on the menu. There were invariably long lines in front of the Chinese with more non-Orientals queuing up for food. Chinese know the business doing business. In America every strip Mall has a Chinese restaurant. They run successfully as they have managed to attract the local customer with quality and professionalism. This is exactly which we Indians lack in Restaurant business. Barring a few most of our restaurants serve stale, low quality food. Many put soda in the food at the buffets so that the eaters will soon feel filled up and can't intake more so that the left overs can roll over to the next day. Have a hearty lunch buffet in most Indian restaurants in America you will feel so bloated that you feel like a balloon ready to take off due to SODA KA KAMAAL (the magic of Baking Soda) in your stomach. Your entire evening would be spoiled munching antacids. On the customer service front  the least said is better. In 2007 I planned to celebrate my son's Birthday at the local Indian Restaurant for a change though I was aware it would be more expensive. I walked in one evening to negotiate with the owner about the menu, pricing etc. The owner stubbornly refused to give me any discount and accept credit card as a method of payment. We were still in the process of negotiation when he suddenly got up from his seat without excusing himself and walked out for a smoke. It was my foolishness to follow him and continue talking to him further. Outside he lit a cigarette, took a drag and puffed the smoke close to my face muttering "Why all want to pay by f***ing credit cards ?". That was the last straw. I felt like landing an instant punch on his face. I walked away saying "You don't know anything about doing a f***ing business. This deal is cancelled". He called me next morning and apologized. But it was too late for me to change my mind. I booked the party in a Chinese restaurant which was a whole lot better. On top of everything he gave me a 15% discount, accepted my credit card. As there were many vegetarians among the guests whenever ordered they promptly served veggie stir fries, Pizzas with no question asked and no additional fee charged. Cheaper quality product with an excellent customer service, What else does a customer want ? Not surprisingly Chinese restaurants are doing brisk business in America where as many Indian counterparts are going out of business ( Unsurprisingly this Indian restaurant was sold not long after the above incident). I marvel at the business acumen of the Chinese. India is still not there, not yet. It has a long way to catch up with its Asian neighbor. Mumbai will never be Shanghai, certainly not in our generation.

J N Dixit's experience in Pakistan

Current killing of Indian soldiers at LOC reminded me of an interesting episode I read a while back. When J N (Mani) Dixit was Ambassador to Pakistan his telephone connection at home would mysteriously go dead frequently. Those were pre-cell phone days and this was an avoidable irritant. His complaint to the authorities went unheeded. He then met somebody higher in the echelon and told sternly " If this will happens to me again I will make sure the same happens with my counterparts in India". From then onwards his landline worked fine. Sometimes sending the right message works rather than a drastic action. Silence is not an option in such cases, certainly not with someone who already perceives as weak.

Ship Cruise as a business model in India

I was wondering why can't we have large Cruise liners in India operating the same way we have in America and Europe. We probably have a few but it seems they don't operate in a large scale compared to their North American and European counterparts (please correct me if I am wrong). In that case why doesn't someone start this business model as there are plenty of moneyed folks in India who are eager to spend a fortune on vacations. My entrepreneur friends can take a cue, it is something for them to ponder about.

Being Good all the time can be taken as weakness

The Vice President of the first company I worked for once told me "In life one has to be both fair and square. If you will be goody goody all the times you will be considered weak and will be taken advantage of".  Twenty years since I have seen this vindicated time and again, in both private and public life.  I love my child but I also reprimand him as needed. If I don't tomorrow he will seat over my head (as they say in Oriya MUNDARE BASIBA and in Hindi SAR PE BAITHEGA).  Blow hot and cold should be the motto. Same can be extended to nations. Pakistan and China thumb their nose regularly at us, latest example being the killing of Indian soldiers at LOC. In 2008 when I was in India soon after 26-11 Mumbai attacks a cartoon on Times of India drew my attention. Our PM is warning his Pakistani counterpart that next time you do something like this we will condemn you more severely. Hopefully we can do more than just condemn and stop playing cricket. With due respect to the Armed Forces our chink in the armor has been exposed time and again and our preparedness has left lot to be desired. In early 2000 in a Global Summit in New Zealand the then Chinese President made a mockery at our forces. He went on telling the delegates how once the Chinese were testing the preparedness of our forces and our forces readily surrendered when caught off guard. Reminds me of a story from PANCHATANTRA. Once a sage told snake to stop attacking people. One day the badly beaten snake came back to the sage blaming the later for his contemporary HAALAT (plight). The sage said " I told you to stop biting, did not tell you to stop hissing or raising your fang". The snake followed the sage's advise and was never attacked again. Hopefully we take a cue from CHANAKYA and Ancient texts.

Ba Ba black sheep

After done bagging my 3rd bag of grass following lawn mowing  I suddenly remembered the old nursery rhyme from our school days..

"Ba Ba Black sheep have you any wool". Then I followed with mine,
"Yes Sir Yes Sir just mowed 3 bags full.
After all the rains gone down the drain.
Looking for some late evening Vodka to sooth my brawn and brain."

land of mafia

Land mafia, now Sand mafia. Now that we are a nation of grand mafia Mafiosi in Italy are now an endangered species.

sandhan and Sanket - A great book by Manoj Das

I am now reading an Oriya book  SANDHAN and SANKET (Search and Indication) by the legendary Oriya columnist and short story writer MANOJ DAS. For those who dont know him, he is an eminent but much appreciated writer in both Oriya and English language. He can be an excellent story teller for the a layman tyro (like me) as well as write philosophical stuff which can only be understood and appreciated by folks at an higher level of intellect (not me). Anyway..he had a nice anecdote about Albert Einstein who is arguably the greatest scientist of 20th century. Once Einstein was attending a seminar. He came out during the lunch break to grab some food and entered into a restaurant. The waiter brought him the menu. Einstein suddenly realized that he left his glasses at the seminar. So he requested the waiter to read the menu for him. Sorry..Sir..the waiter politely replied, I am also illiterate like you.

Just read the news that the name of the Conservative party in Japan is known as Liberal Democratic Party. Call this oxymoron.