Modi could be the first ever Indian PM to visit Israel

If news reports are to be believed, Modi could be the first ever Indian PM to visit Israel. Not a bad strategy at all. Keeping Israel on its side and in good humor is not going to hurt at all. Whenever India buys weapons from America, it has to lobby hard to pass the perfunctory anti-India lobby who harp on India not signing NPT, CTBT etc. But India need not worry if it buys advance weapons from Israel (most of them are from US anyway). Hardly any objection would be raised by USA, and if any it will be taken care by the power Jewish lobby. India will not have to bother. Nevertheless, Modi's visit to Israel is an out of box thinking, a win-win situation for India.

CHA PAANA BIRATI

In 1979, as a 10 year old cricket fan, I was watching a match between the touring Australian team and India at Barabati Stadium, Cuttack, Odisha. The gallery was full of transistor wielding spectators. During the afternoon  tea break announced the Odia commentator the same as  "CHA PAANA BIRATI", meaning tea break. The person who was next to me gave me some unsolicited information, that the players will go outside for tea and chew a few betel leaves (PAAN) during this break, hence the name "CHA PAANA BIRATI". I believed him and imagined Alan Border along with Kim Hughes going out to a kiosk outside and ordering GOPAL ZARDA (scented tobacco0 PAAN), followed by a "Cutting Chai", brewed from a coal oven. However I took it for granted that Rabi Panda, a player representing Odisha those days probably have done so.

The Pandas of Puri

There's is this recent piece of news about a devotee harassed and manhandled by PANDAs (priests) inside the Puri Jagannath temple. Nothing new, it has been going on for a long time. The legendary Odia writer Pratibha Ray was once abused years back. I am sure, many would have been unfortunate to bear this ordeal. The inept and corrupt temple administration has hardly done anything worthwhile to alleviate this menace.

 

The famous BADA DANDA (The Broadway) towards the Jagannath temple is liberally strewn with Bulls and Beggars. It is sad that most of our sacred places of worship have turned into an abode of charlatans, pickpockets and beggars ( I have nothing against beggars who are needy but many I saw begging in Puri were healthy enough to work, taking the devotees for a ride). Chain snatching and molestations are rampant during the annual Rath Yatra or the Car Festival. As the population and the devotees expand exponentially, the administration barely able to cope up with it.

 

A typical Puri Panda is usually pot bellied, due to a diet primarily based on rice and CHUDA (parched rice) topped with a liberal dosage of GHEE (clarified butter), along with his evening BHANG (a paste of Cannabis locally popular) taken with KHEERA (sweetened condensed milk). He is a champion of delivering profanity with a high pitched voice, backed by a glib tongue and ready wit of concocting Odia idioms. Very territorial, his world hardly ventures beyond ATHARANALA (the outskirt of Puri which marks the begin or end of the city, depending on the way you see it). He is rumored to often travel miles to find a suitable SUJI MARKA BALI ( a bed of sand as fine as flour) to relieve himself and looking back at the mound to take pride upon the size of his dump.

My first memory of Pandas of Puri goes back to late 1970s. While inside the temple which was barely crowded those days, I fondly remember a PANDA delivering a couplet poking fun at a local politician named "Harihar Bahinipati" -

 

" AMA HARIHARA BAHINIPATI;
CHHELI KI DEKHILE MUTI PAKANTI"

"Our Harihar Bahinipati;
Upon sighting a goat comes out his pee".

 

I have been lucky never to be harassed by the Pandas, always preferring to maintain a safe distance from them. Few years back a PANDA mistook me as a Bengali tourist (Bengalis form the bulk of the tourists in Puri, I am sure if they decide to boycott Puri for a month the city's economy will collapse like a pack of cards), addressing me DADA ESON ESON (Bro, come with me). I switched to Puri accent, HAIYE AME PIRA BALI SAHI LOKA (faking the Puri accent to pretend as a local lad). The Panda, said "HAU, MAHAPURU 10 TA TANKA DIA", "OK, pay 10 rupee in the name of God". I replied back, " Bhaina ( my elder bro), I don't have a single penny in my pocket". As I moved on, I heard the frustrated Panda mouthing behind my back, KANGALA KAHASE AYAA or "where from this impoverished bankrupt guy has come" ! My experience was funny, but not so funny for many.

Creativity not necessarily related to University degrees

Creativity and ingenuity, are not necessarily related to University degrees. The great writers Khushwant Singh and R K Narayan were hardly academically brilliant. The witty Sardar has mentioned in his autobiography that Exams (tests) gave him nightmares. One of dreams which hunted him well into his 90s was him not able to answer questions inside an exam hall. . There are numerous such examples, well beyond this blog.

 

Yet I can't but resist mentioning the story of the famous Wright brothers, who are credited with the invention of the modern day airplane (some who believe Ravan's PUSHPAK BIMAN was his private jet, might disagree). In 1903, Wilber and Orville Wrights on a test flight, made history by managing to fly their light aircraft for 12 seconds. The Wright brothers ran a bicycle shop, and hardly qualified, neither had a formal Engineering training.

The idea of a man flying was strictly fantasy those days and the news of this event was pooh-poohed as some body's wildest fantasy. Both American government and Press were apathetic. For 5 years the brothers failed to sell their invention in their own nation. But fortunately for them, the Europeans showed some interest. The brothers now got their 2 minutes of fame by flying their light aircraft for exactly the same time. 

Nothing succeeds like success. It did not take long for the American government and media to realize their folly. The Wright brothers who left the American soil as with sceptics behind them, came back home to the cheer and admiration of their countrymen. By 1909, they were celebrities, flying their plane around The Statue Of Liberty. By 1910 they were already flying 2700 feet high. The aviation industry has never looked back since.

Geniuses are born, can rarely be made. But they need to be nurtured, motivated and amply rewarded by the system to flourish further. America has exactly done that, its Creative Engine churning out myriads of innovations, from Wright brothers to iWhatevers. I devote this day to the memories of those who made this nation, what it is today. HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY to all.

Bandidos vs Cossacks

The recent killings at Waco, Texas was the result of a turf battle between the Biker Gangs "Bandidos" and "Cossacks". The Bandidos are the pioneers in their field, having a long time presence in the state Texas known for its Cowboys, with the upcoming tyros Cossacks challenging the former's supremacy. On that fateful weekend, members of both the gangs happened to be together in a restaurant.

The environment was highly surcharged. The presence of plenty of liquors and guns had their own effects, adding fuel to fire. The fact that a tragedy was imminent was as clear as the bright lone star in a clear sky, ironically in a state also known as"Lone Star state". The bikers were sitting on a keg of gunpowder, in room full of inflammable gas. All it needed to take was for someone to light a match. It happened when one member of the gang stepped on the toe of another, no one knows whether it was deliberate or an inadvertent Bacchanalian tip. Whatever, it soon led to a trip of 9 of them to heavenly abode. Wild Wild West was enacted again.

 

This incident yet reminded me of my often quoted lines delivered by Anupam Kher from the movie HUM in early 1990s. The great actor playing he role of a crooked cop says "BAGAVAT MEIN TEEN KISAM KE AADMI HOTE HAIN. ATYACHAARI, KRANTIKARI AUR UNKA FAIDA UTHATA HUA HAMARA JAISA VYAPARI. Fit that into this scenario "There are 3 kinds of people during a crisis. They are the tormentors (gang members in this case), protector (police who have arrested scores of them) and taking advantage of the situation are some traders". I am sure Hollywood will come up with a movie based upon this this incident. It will be soon cloned by " Ram Gopal Vermas" of Bollywood, with a few item dances strewn in between. Traders will have their profit and a field day.

First Anniversary of Modi's government

We are into the 2nd year after the Modi juggernaut rolled in an Indian summer, handing BJP lead NDA an emphatic win. Though India has a Parliamentary system, it was Modi's election all the way. He did spectacularly well in the politically important cow belt, belying most predictions. But it came with huge expectations of promised ACHHE DIN or good days. Sweet public memory can be short lived, turning sour quickly like milk during a hot summer. Our voters who love Bollywood and Rajni movies often expect magical solutions to their problems when roads are filled with potholers. If expectations are not met, they can extract their pound of flesh with compound interest before our leaders realize.

 

As the din and bustle of his victory has settled down, time for some reality check. Modi has certainly began well, compared to when India was looking rudderless during the UPA government. He has managed to put India back on the right track, making its "policy paralytic" limb making some promising move. I wish he would have made his first budget more reforms oriented with some bold steps, when he was in his so called "honeymoon phase", often referred as time when the lure and lustre has not faded yet. India is seen as a "Caged Tiger", who has tremendous potential to be unleashed. All it needs is right leadership to make it cage free, free roamer. Modi with his energy and enthusiasm has grabbed the World's attention. That's a positive sign.

 

Now is the crucial time for agenda implementation, which wont be easy. Here he has myriads of challenges ahead of him. There is a serious nexus of politicians-bureaucrats-crony capitalists, who have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. (One great example would be the state of Odisha, where such status quo is already maintained via distribution of freebies, will stay the same for at least another decade to come).

 

At macro level, Modi has began well and well begun is half done  how far his growth agenda will percolate at micro level, only time will tell. State elections in every 6 months do no good. A below par performance in UP or Bihar, where voting takes place more on caste and communal lines rather than developmental agenda, will put Modi and his reforms on back foot. Couple of bad monsoons can play spoil sports in a country where still majority of farming is fully dependent on seasonal rainfall. So keep your fingers crossed and hope for the best for his next four years. Good luck to him.

Chinese way of handling Trash

Read it on a recent issue of "The Economist". China being a nation of 1.35 billion plus people, the handling of trash is a major problem, especially in the urban centers. When they are people, they will produce trash. The city of Sanghai itself produces 22000 tons of trash every day, a gargantuan amount. All this cannot be handled by filling up the landfills, many were stacked outside. So the pragmatic Chinese authorities came with the idea of using incinerators, especially imported from Japan.

But the use of incinerators was not free from its side effects. In the affluent Lake side city of Shangzhu, the foul smell emanated from the burning trash at 850 degrees became as burning issue for the local populace, who protested by burning a few government vehicles. As usual the retaliation by the Chinese authorities was swift and effective. The state immediately poured in law enforcement officials into the city, both in uniform and in civilian cloth. They ruthlessly suppressed the protest and continued implementing their agenda, still incinerating the trash.

Once, Deng Xiao Ping told the Americans who love to lecture about democracy, that the "Jeffersonian Democracy is not applicable to every nation. We don't care about the cat being black and white as long as it catches mice". There is no magic bullet to handle trash of 22000 tons per day. It has to go somewhere. Obviously landfill and recycling can't handle everything. It cannot be left decomposing in open environment. If incineration takes care of part it, let it be so. No cure to a solution is free from side effects, as no medicinal drug is. When the Bull is in the China shop, the nation knows how to take it by horn, collateral damages not withstanding.

Recent experience teaching Math at the local High school

While volunteering for tutoring, once the regular Math teacher let me watch her explaining circles and tangents to the students. Upon observing many of them busy with their cell phones, she took them away, putting in a rack to be picked up after her lecture. One of the students did not like it, threw some temper tantrum by flailing his folder right in front of the teacher. Then shaking off his shoulders, he muttered "Well, whatever" and walked away.

 

The teacher hardly cared, continued on, nonchalantly. I was flabbergasted. Such kind of behavior during our time would be unthinkable, at least in my school. It was a stark reminder of living in a different "STHANA, KALA, PATRA", i.e. place, time and association. A professor in my Engg college used to say " for coming in no permission is necessary, but for going out a definite permission is needed". One of my friends would deliberately utter "May I come in Sir, to make the professor repeat himself". Needless to say, walking away from the class could invite trouble. This generation simply doesn't fear or respect its teachers. In America they do fear and respect the law, the same needs to be sustained towards the teachers.

 

Reminds me of a few funny anecdotes involving lectures from my college days. The same professor while lecturing would say "you are living in the river and quarrelling with the crocodile", transliterating the Odia proverb "NAEE RE RAHI KUMBHIRA SANGE KALI KARIBA", roughly meaning "People who live in glass houses should not throw stones" stones". Chewing gum, wearing dark glasses or cap (unless you have shaved off your head) in front of teachers or superiors ( an IAS officer is being reprimanded these days for shaking hands with Modi, wearing sunglasses) was considered outright bad manners. Once a student entered the class wearing dark glasses, as he had conjunctivitis (pink eyes). The teacher promptly asked "you caught your eyes", which was a direct transliteration from AAKHI DHARICHI in Odia or getting a pink eye.

 

Pink or otherwise, many more such colorful episodes are associated to our student days. Once a teacher said " If you go DAALE DAALE (covering branches of tree), then I will go PATRE PATRE (covering leaves). It's a  blend of Odia and English, suggesting that I will be monitoring you. Came another request from the same teacher, sing a song so that GAGAN PABAN (sky and air) will be MUKHARIT (become musical). Meaning is self explanatory.

High court case about education

Per a recent news report on the oldest and ubiquitous Odia Newspaper SAMAJA, a 'Fact Finding Committee' has been set up by the government, to evaluate the failure of Odia students in major all India entrance exams. Commissions and omissions go hand in hand. It's a matter of any body's guess to anticipate any positive outcome from these commissions, so keep your fingers crossed.  

 

It has been noticed by many, that of late, the performance of the candidates from Odisha in all Indian competitive exams has gone down. Fewer Odias now Qualify for civil Services, IITs, IIMs and AIIMS etc. It's said that the courses taught in educational institutes in Odisha are not up to the standards, they lag behind their national counterparts. Over the years, due to domino effect that hiatus is widening. Unless something is done drastically, the students churned out en mass may not get up to speed to catch to catch up with the latest and greatest curriculum, ending up being in 2nd rate colleges.

The government controlled education system in many places is now rotten beyond redemption. My uncle topped his High School Board exam in the state of Odisha in 1971 from our Village High school. He later qualified for Civil Services, the most coveted job of his times. And he wasn't alone, many brilliant chaps from his generations completed their schooling in villages or small towns. Such a feat now could be some ones midsummer day dream. Those with options, move to cities to buy better education for their children. Though it has become fashionable to enroll in mushrooming Private English medium schools, not all of them are up to standard. No wonder, my own state of origin is further sliding into the educational abyss. It would need a herculean effort to drag it out of the morass.

Rattle Snake and Lord Siva

When I spoke to my mother in India, I told her the recent heavy rains here has filled the creek behind my home. I see a lot of frogs in my backyard and very soon I might see some Rattle Snakes to complete the food chain. As usual in a concerned voice she advised me to be careful  and pray Lord Siva to keep this slithery beast away.

Teasing her mildly (as we  often take liberty with our mothers though we can't take the same with dad) I said "Mummy, we all know Lord Siva has a stranglehold over Cobra, not sure if he has the same control over Rattlesnakes of America. Sanskrit SLOKAS (hymns) wont work here. Southern American accent filled sermons from the local Methodist church might help in keeping it away."

 

She chastised me as usual "Stop teasing and take my advise seriously. I will pray for you to Lord Siva to keep you safe from "Rattle SAAPA(snake)". No matter how far I am, her concern for me never ever wavers a bit. I have complete faith on her devotion. Now that I have outsourced my well being to her I can roam freely in my backyard. HAPPY MOTHERS DAY to all.

Salman Khan Verdict

The media, social or otherwise is hell bent on judging the judgment delivered by the lower court on Salman Khan's drunk driving case. Scandals involving celebrities make headlines and it's a global phenomena. Reminds me of the  O J Simpson's case in 1994. It's trial was at it's peak,around the same time the World Cup soccer was hosted by USA. More Americans were aware about the OJ case, than the maga soccer event going on in their own nation. The American media made a huge coverage of it, it's public clearly divided among racial lines regarding it's verdict.

I have asked many Whites as well as Blacks about  OJ's case. All whites were anguished that OJ killed his wife, should have been punished but escaped. Blacks feel, though OJ possibly killed his wife, he did so in a spurt of rage as he caught his wife red handed cheating on him, inside his own house. It was an involuntary manslaughter, so if he escaped conviction, the rule of law has to be respected. I have not heard a single cross-racial difference of opinion on that subject as of yet.

In Salman's case the sympathy towards him hardly extends beyond some of his hardcore fans and CHAMCHAs (obsequious fellas who survive due to doles from the big screen guy). Justice delayed in justice denied. The lower court decision came after a decade of the incident. Some say he escaped with minimal punishment, 5 year being too few. A joke is going around that Madhuri's both SAAJANs (beloveds) are now convicted. It took Sanjay Dutt more than 2 decades to get the final conviction in a TADA case. It could take at least the same, if not more for Salman, who would be 60+ then, having lived most of his life.

A stay in jail is often termed in Odia as GHANA PELA or in Hindi CHAKKI PISNA, both meaning churning the wheel. As part of their daily chore during British days, which continued years post independence, jail inmates were kept busy churn mammoth wheels inside the prison to produce oil out of the sebaceous oilseeds. Now a days the wheels of fortune has turned full circle for the convicts. I doubt anybody is churning wheels inside the prisons in India, but the terms GHANA PELA or in Hindi CHAKKI PISNA have stuck around. I am sure Salman, if finally convicted in 2025, his wife (if he marries, I bet that will be another mega media event) or someone close could fall sick, enabling to "to and fro" from the jail like a pendulum on regular basis, emulating the co-SAAJAN Sanjay Dutt.

Can India ever get Dawood

Just now I watched for a few minutes, the usually cacophonous debate on Arnab's program about Dawood Ibrahim and his whereabouts. There was hardly anything new or novelty in their discussion. One may not be knowing his exact coordinates, but no prize for guessing who protects him. Air was thick with innuendos, hardly anything substantial coming from the esteemed panel, except forcing Pakistan to hand him over. Per latest developments, as if our western neighbor gloating under the prospect of getting arms and alms from China (their all weather friend), Russia (India's all weather friend) and America (nobody's friend), would handcuff Dawood and pack him in the next flight from Karachi to New Delhi.

A few months ago on Arnab's panel, a Paki guy was boasting "Our ISI is far superior than your RAW, you can't do anything more than shouting". He had a point. Pakistan perceives India as soft and not swift. It can't retaliate beyond token official condemnations, our economy and nuclear technology not withstanding. It's sad, but true.

Dawood, arguably India's most wanted fugitive not only lives happily, many of our cricketers and movie stars have a history of entertaining him. (Hard to imagine Michael Jordan or Angelina Jolie entertaining Bin Laden). It's said half of Bombay is in his pocket. ISI spreads fake currency liberally inside our nation using D-Company's vast network, spreading its tentacles further. We have hardly done anything noteworthy to hit them back.

It's just not limited to Pakistan. The leader of LTTE, said to be our own creation, killed our own Prime minister, on our own soil. A elephant poacher named Veerappan with an explosive Walrus mustache, planted explosives on regular basis to kill our policemen with impunity, for close to two decades  eluding our law enforcement. In August 1992, a Karnataka SP, T. Harikrishna and his deputy Shakeel Ahmed posed as sandalwood smugglers to catch him. But they were caught off guard as by some of miracle psychic power Veerappan knew about their arrival before hand, shot both police officers.

With such a history no wonder the proverb "one should command respect, can't demand it" immediately comes to mind. If Veerappan inside our heartland had powers to get prior information to nab him, Dawood who lives outside and much more resourceful, has 10 times more psychic power to get prior information. Though I sincerely hope, it will take a miracle for India to get him during our lifeime, dead or alive. Discussions in Parliament or Panels would hardly help.

Drinking water and immunity from it

Tired after mowing 3 bags of grass, I wiped off sweat from my forehead. Feeling thirsty, rushed to the closest faucet, washed of dirt from my hands and bent over to drink the cool, tap water. No sooner than I was done, my son promptly reminded me what I always tell him, to wash his hands with soap and warm water for at least 20 seconds before eating or drinking out of it. I did not do any of it.

 

In our school days, during our recess and after HPER (Health Physical Education and Recreation) class, we used to drink using our folded palm from the rusty faucet under a huge water tank inside the school premises. There was hardly any soap available to wash our hands before hand. It was rumored that many mice, lizards and cockroaches had taken water burial inside that tank. Yet nothing wrong ever happened to me. The immunity I got from drinking that water over years, has probably given my stomach a protective coating. I still have the confidence to drink straight from tap water using my palms. My son doesn't. The tap water here is safe anyway

 

Soon I moved to the hostel in REC (now NIT) Rourkela. During the monsoon the brown, muddy water from the tap was exactly the same as it's source Brahmani river flowing nearby. It could rival the yellow water served in our dining hall, (as the DAL was sarcastically referred to, you need to churn and scoop for minutes inside the container before you can find traces of the legume). The inept and corrupt authority hardly did anything to fix the water supply problem. No wonder typhoid, jaundice and water borne diseases were common, though I was lucky to escape any major ailment. The campus doctor, nicknamed as GHODA (horse) was a curse on the "Hippocratic Oath". He would give substandard medication to the poor students, while rumored to siphon off the more effective ones to grease his Superior's palms.

 

The same can't be said about my son. He can't boast of having the similar kind of immunity. During my last trip to India he picked up some bug, threw up and had loose motion for an entire day. Fortunately he recovered on time. I am sure, he is immune to that particular kind of stomach bug. Staying outside, over the years, I have started losing the immunity to loose motions, if I eat street food. One thing I have learnt the hard way. It's always best to eat the street food steaming hot and careful with the water you drink. Prevention is always better than cure.