Autobiography of Nilakantha Das - XII

This is the 12th in the series of recapitulation in my own words portions of Pandit Nilakantha Das's Biography in Odia. Enjoy...

PANDIT NILAKANTHA'S TRYST IN JAIL

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Nilakantha Das went to jail for the first time in 1923. The stint lasted 6 months. Those days political prisoners were treated with utmost respect. He told police sarcastically - "Don't request me to be handcuffed. Drag me on the street like a common criminal". The constable cried - "I can never do that to you". He was sent to the Railway station on a horse driven carriage, accompanied by a subinspector and two constables to be trasported to Hazaribagh Jail in Bihar.

Pandit Nilakantha boarded the 2nd class compartment (those days 3rd class was the lowest travelling class in Indian Railways). But bad news was awaiting him on the way. At the Sakhigopal station, his friend Acharya Harihara in a chocked voice conveyed the news - "Your 2nd daughter Basanti passed away".

Sad but not shocked in an era when child mortality was very high and chances were even for someone to cross the age of 5, he asked Acharye - "Were all the necessary and required treatments done" ? We tried our best", replied Acharya Harihara. 

As the train stopped at Jatani (Khurda Road) Station the two policemen accompanying him exclaimed - "Are you human or God. You are so calm and composed, even after receiving the news of your daughter's death !" Maintaining composure in the event of personal tragedy is the hallmark of public leadership. Sri Nilakantha Das had it in him.

In Hazaribagh Jail he found a companion in Dr. Rajendra Prasad (the first President of Independent India). During their stay , every night they engaged in tete a tete til 10 O'clock. Before sleeping Rajendra Prasad would eat ripened Papaya and share it with Pandit Das. 

During his would Nilakantha Das kept himself busy, transating RAGHUVANSAM into Odia. Another fellow prisoner was JB (Acharya) Kripalini. Whenever possible Sri Das would read him a passage or two from Raghuvansam. He also wrote a reference book of Odia BYAKARANA (Grammer) during his stay in Hazaribagh jail.

Sri Das has his 2nd and last stint in jail for a duration of 1 1/2 years during 1932-33. After his release, the long stint in jail had already taken its toll. He was diagnosed with stone in his Urine which caused him a lot of pain. Eventually he got cured due to the timely intervention by his doctors.

In Hazaribagh jail Nilakantha Das was the only Odia who was an 'A' class prisoner. His wife Mrs. Radhamani Devi who was already into Freedom movement was also an 'A' class prisoner, in Puri jail. When he heard about how she endures the pain of watching their young daughter Ramaa crying inconsolably during her visitation to her mother in jail, it brought tears to his eyes. 

The insecurity in the eyes of his daughter whose parents were in jail was forever imprinted in the mind of Pandit Nilakantha Das (On another note, the insecurity in the daughter of another Pandit, Jawaharlal Nehru who was often jailed stayed forever in her. Later as the Prime minister of India, she trusted none, never would allow anyone other than her children grow in Congress party. An insecure Indira imposed emergency and arrested opposition leaders when she saw an imminent loss of power).

(TO BE CONTINUED, AS I READ 📖 FURTHER)

RIP Radha Pisa - Passed away on 28th April, 2017

Sri (Mr.) Radha Krushna Mohapatra, an eminent person from Puri passed away yesterday morning due to cardiac arrrest. A practicing lawyer at the age of 74, he was getting ready to leave for another day in KACHERI (court) where he worked for more than half a century, when he complained of chest pain. At hospital he was declared brought dead, apparently passing away due to a sudden heart attack which came without any warning.

Commonly known as Radha Babu, our Radha PIUSA (husband of my father's sister), he was a role model for all of us in our extended family. An extremely rare, honest and upright person - he never compromised with his impeccable ethics in work and life. 

A tall, handsome man, a barrister with a deep barrititone voice earned my respect for couple of things - a straight shooter sans hypocrisy who harbored no ill will towards others and a gracious host, a spendthrift known to spend lavishly for his guests and family members with his well hard earned money.

He was not just my dad's Brother-in-Law, also a close buddy of him since the days they were classmates from college days in Puri. To my father, it will be a lacunae forever unfulfilled.

Born in Bira Harekrushnapur Village, one of the famous SOLA SASANA ( the 16 Brahmin dominated villages surrounding the temple town of Puri), he settled down in the temple town, practicing Law. He was also an eminent actor - acted in multiple movies, notably National Award winning 1977 Odia movie CHILIKA TEERE (On the banks of Chilka), not to mention in leading roles at ANNAPURNA Theater (now probably defunct) of Puri.

I stand by my cousins at this time of grief, especially his four children and hundreds of friends and relatives from in and around Puri who flooded the cremation ground of SWARGADWAR (Gateway to Heaven) on the Bay of Bengal to bid adieu to a man of spotless credentials who just stepped into heaven - a place belonging to likes him, persons of impeccable ethics who are rarely born, but earned the right to belong.

RIP Vinod Khanna

It was the Macho Man vs the Angry Young man in the late 70s Bollywood. The Macho Man was Vinod Khanna who gave some competition and run for money to the rising popularity of Angry Young man Amitabh Bachhan.

Both were tall handaome heroes of the time, though Vinod Khanna was more muscular and Amitabh the taller of the duo. But the later had the last laugh in the big hit MUKADDAR KA SIKANDAR (The master of fate) clinched his Superstardom in 1979, propelling towards being the "One Man Industry". 

The competition fizzles out as Vinod Khanna stunned Bollywood to leave for Oregon, US live in the ASHRAM (Commune) of the controversial Guru of Indian origin - Baba Rajnish, a lecturer in Philosophy from an obscure college in Gujarat and a skilled orator better known as OSHO with his famous motto of "Salvation through Sex".

But Karma caught of with Rajnish. The free sex doctrine by a man living with a fleet of 99 Rolls Royce Cars without paying a single penny from his pocket for them, was frowned upon by the officials.

 Reagan's administration tolerated Rajnish's cult culture for sometime before banishing him at a short notice in 1985. It forced Vinod Khanna back to his motherland.

Post Rajnish, he made couple of decent movies as far as I can remember. One of them SATYAMEVA JAYATE (Truth Always wins) where he played an upright policeman who thinks he is jilted by his lover. The second one was DAYAVAAN ( The Benevolent) where he donned himself as a rag to rich done (A remake of Kamal Hassan's iconic Tamil movie NAAYAKAN). Then he fizzled away from doing leading character roles, continuing to do smaller roles till date.

Vinod Khanna dabbled in politics and was a BJP MP from Gurdaspur, Punjab. Unlike most Members of Parliament from the Cine world who have scant regards for our legislative process and scant attendance in the houses, he did a decent role. (Bollywood actors have a poor history as members of legislative bodies. Notable was Govinda who was an MP was pelted with stones and rotten eggs by his constituents post the Mumbai floods of 2005).

He may not have got the following of the other Khanna, the romance king Rajesh, the status of the tragic hero Dillip Kumar or the Mega star status of Amitabh. But he did carve his niche, and more importantly and different from most of his Bollywood counterparts, did a decent service to the society. RIP Vinod Khanna.

Student suicide in IITs

Every person has a right to live. It hurts utmost when someone commits suicide. And it hurts more, if that person happens to be young. Because, like every young man and woman, they too have a dream. But unwisely they decide to procrastinate their unfilled dream by killing themselves. The recent suicide of a student in one of our premier most technical School IIT (Indian Institute of Technology), Kharagpur calls for some introspection.

When does a person decide to end his or her life ? It's not just the frustration with their life, it's more due to the lack of care or concern for the rest of the world, which includes their near and dear ones. If I feel suicidal for some reason, I may resist that thought for a moment, if I think of my family, if not me. Apparently they don't care about their loved ones, not to mention themselves and decide to end their life into their own hands. In the spurt of the moment they decide to leave, never getting a chance to regret it later.

Suicides in college campuses are not so uncommon, neither a recent phenomena. Surging teenage hormone can create havoc in hearts and minds, which can be due to failure in academics, love or bullying by others.

But it can't go unnoticed, there is an alarming increase in IITians committing suicide in recent years. I have a close friend from IIT, who during his trips to India visits his professors from Alma mater. They told him upfront - Gone are the days when intelligent, creative students, used to come to these premier institutes. many of them were from poor background, espousing upward social mobility. 

Now many mediocre students churned out of innumerable coaching institutes mange to clear the entrance exam. Once in, when left on their own they can't cope of the aggressive curriculum and choose end their lives. (The Usual disclaimers apply).

This particular suicide could be for a different reason, we may not know. But what we know, the above observation made by seasons academics can't be pooh poohed and swept under the carpet. The root cause must be addressed, before as we say in Odia NEDI GUDA KAHUNI KU BOHI JAI THIBA (Jaggery from the palm would have reached the elbow).

As long as the slushy jaggery stays on the palm, it can be put into mouth. Once it reaches the elbow, it wont be easy to lick it. (Try licking your elbow). Never this proverb has been so appropriate - it simply means act better it's too late.

Autobiography of Nilakantha Das - XI

This is the 11th in the series of recapitulation in my own words portions of Pandit Nilakantha Das's Biography in Odia. Enjoy...

THE DEATH OF GOPABANDHU DAS

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In 1924 Gopabandhu Das got out of jail to a heroic welcome by public. He was immediately received by P C Ray at the Provincial Congress Conference in Cuttack Town Hall, where the later proudly made an announcement - declararing Gopabandhu Das as UTKALA MANI or "The Jewel of Odisha".

Pandit Nilakantha Das smelt a rat. Not that he was jealous, he was both apprehensive and suspicious of the motives of P C Ray who once told him that Odias as cooks and Biharis as servants have corrupted the culture of Calcutta. Also he felt Gopabandhu Das deserved much better, a title of national stature in the lines of DESHABANDHU Chittaranjan Das, DESAPRIYA Jitendra Mohan Sengupta or LOKAMANYA Bal Gandadhar Tilak got. Gopabandhu already on the national stage was no less deserving than any of the above. Something like DESHA MANI or BHARAT MANI (Jewel of India) would have been more befitting.

In 1927, Lala Lajpat Rai came to Puri and impressed by Gopabandhu's leadership skill took him to Delhi, making the later the Vice President of Hindu Mahasabha (Conglomerate). At the same time Nilakantha Das was a member of Central Assembly in the nation's capital where he gave a passionate speech about the Separation of Odisha from Bengal. He also wrote a much a circulated article about the same on The Hindustan Times in Delhi, the most circulated English Newspaper in Capital of India, putting the demand for a separate Odisha at the center stage.

That was when Gopabandhu coined the idea of starting a pan Odisha daily paper "THE SAMAJA" (The Society). Though the idea came a little late, glad it came late than never - for our Utkalamani would die only a year later in June, 1928. His newspaper stands till date.

In 1928 Gopabandhu went to Calcutta to address a labor conference and likely contracted there the dreaded water born disease Typhoid from which he never recovered. Apprehending his death, Utkalamani summoned Nilakantha Das and others close to him, instructing them to write his final will. "I am dictating my last will and testament", he told as Radhanath Rath wrote it in front of teary eyed onlookers. After giving instructions to donate the Samaj printing press to Bharat Sevak Samaj, he passed away.

Next day was the eve of the auspucious Sri GUNDICHA Rath Yatra. Gopabandhu's dead body was taken around Satyavadi, where he dedicated most of his life in the service to mankind. Droves of mourning people massed around the funeral pyre as his remains were consigned to flame. It was end of an era, a chapter in the history of Odisha came to close.

Nilakantha Das attended the All India Congress Committee meet in Karachi (now part of Pakistan) in 1930, where he was declared as "The President of the Reception Committee of the upcoming Congress to be held in Puri, Odisha". Post Gopabandhu's death he was the de facto leader of Odisha Congress.

(TO BE CONTINUED, AS I READ 📖 FURTHER)

Rise and fall of Bill O'Reilly

Today evening's talking point memo - the rise and fall of Bill O'Reilly. I just quoted the phrase used by America's top most rated Cable News anchor, Bill O'Reilly of the Right leaning Fox News.

Come 8 PM every week night from Monday to Friday, the highly popular news anchor would chime in on Fox News - "Welcome to the Factor. Caution ! You are going to enter the No Spin Zone." Then he would introduce his main subject or object of discussion or dissection, ending with "This is going to be today evening's talking point memo".

Now, O'Reilly is the talking point of media as he was shown the exit door by Fox after several accusations of sexual harassment from his colleagues. The first one surfaced more than a decade ago when a woman accused him of his "phone fetish" with her which he settled out of court for an undisclosed amount. The last one was by a young woman who has accused the popular Anchor of addressing her as "Hot Chocolate".

In between these accusations over a period of a little over a decade, Fox news who recently extended his multi year contract with O'Reilly with an annual salary of $20 million, is rumored to have spent $13 million on settling several lawsuits on behalf of its most popular Anchor who helped in making the Conservative news network the numero uno in America. It still enjoys more than the ratings of CNN and MSNBC combinee, leaving its competitor behind.

But there is always an end to the infamy, without a happy ending. Fox news finally pulled the plug from Bill O'Reilly, as 50 advertisers threatened to boycott the show and women in large numbers, both inside and outside the network baying for his blood. 

Bill O'Reilly made the cardinal mistake that many successful persons make - having a aura of being indispensable. Once is coincidence, twice is happening and thrice is deliberate. To err multiple times may be human, but forgive is not Company's policy, certainly not in Murdock's territory.

Can't end my blog without a mention of India's most popular Prime time TV Anchor Arnab Goswami who per my observation apes Bill OReilly - his style of presentation modelling his program after the former's "The Factor", emulating his domineering style with an Indian touch, interrupting his guests to their chagrin but to the amusement of the audience and so on. Both are controversial. 

But similarities between them ends there. Forget about any aspersions to his character, Arnab Goswami is free from any innuendoes. O'Reilly is far from it.

Movie SHAAN and reminisce of the days

The other day I watched a portion of the Hindi movie SHAAN (Prestige) on TV. I couldn't watch it much longer, as my taste of movies have matured over a period of time - not to mention I saw it earlier.

The movie was from a different era, when the theme of 3 heroes (in many cases they are brothers), 3 heroines (their female lead counterparts) and a vicious, often comical villain (bad guy) with miltiple cronies, concocted with lively music was the instant formula for churning out such successful hits in the era of 70s and 80s.

It was the age of Amitabh's rule. He was the leading actor in the movie and already a Superstar on ascent on his way to be the one man Bollywood industry. His stature as mega star was powerful enough to successfully wrestle with a 20 feet Crocodile in a scene from the movie.

The other actors, Sashi Kapoor and Satrughan Sinha, the later an overrated actor who being jealous of Amitabh's success made himself a self proclaimed Superstar (his tendency to overrate himself still continues in politics).

Bindiya Goswami in the middle of the popular JAANU MERI JAAN song shoots her GULEL (Slingshot) from a moving bus with immaculate accuracy which would put any Olympics sharp shooter to shame. It miraculously finds its mark by toppling the tricycle used by Amitabh and Sashi Kapoor, chasing the duo of her and the ever effervescent and bubbly lady company Parveen Babi.

Parveen Babi was exquisitely pretty for her time, having a touch of modernity with flowing silky hair. Unfortunately later she committed suicide. Not long before killing herself she squarely blamed Big B, then the one man Bollywood industry for exploiting her. 

The Superstar was rumored to be a notorious philanderer who cheated on Jaya Bhaduri with several women. When Jaya was pregnant with Abhisek, he escaped with Zeenat Aman to Swiss mountains post a shooting session in Europe. Rekha had a long affair with him until she started cheating on him as well. Amitabh, himself a champion womanizer could not accept the insatiable Rekha going with other men younger and stronger than him. The Superstar was accused of physically abusing Rekha.

So with the popular, contriversial superhero on board, when the movie SHAAN was released during the summer of 1981 the demand for the tickets sky rocketed. It was also an unusual movie, carrying high expectations for a different reason, being the second movie produced by Ramesh P Shippy, 6 long years following his iconic movie SHOLAY which took the box office by storm.  

In Bhubaneswar it was showing at the Kalpnana Cinema, a movie hall known more for showing low quality movie with high quality CHAARAPOKA (Bed bugs) which can bite chunks of your ass off, (it's apparent from the back scratching of the viewers coming out of the hall).

My uncle was able to procure couple of tickets from his BARAGAIYA friends (inhabitants of a village close to the movie theater who by virtue of their sway in that area could obtain the tickets on high demand). 

People placed too much faith on this movie, expecting a blockbuster. But SHAAN ended in a damp squib. Yet the craze and crowd in anticipation of SHOLAY -II was enough for the producer to make a blockbuster of it. Though the scenes from Shaan now look funny to us, it stands the testimony of STHANA (place), KALA (time) and PATRA (place) - appropriate stuff for appropriate time.

Congressi Sikh Kabab

Congress party's recent accusation of BJP indulging in communal violence reminds me of this passage from Khushwant Singh's Autobiography. I am reproducing it in my own words based upon recollection from my memory.

On the morning of 31st October, 1984 Indira Gandhi, the Prime Minister of India was assassinated by her own Sikh body guards. Khushwant Singh who once used to be close to her family, especially to her younger son Sanjay Gandhi, but later fell out of her favor after Sanjay's death in an air crash, wanted to visit her place to pay his last respect, in spite of their estrangement.

When he was about to leave he got a call from a well wisher (I have forgotten the person's name) - "Sardarjee (as Sikhs are addressed), Have you lost your mind ? Don't ever dare going out now. The goons of Congress are dragging Sikhs out of vehicles, roasting them alive. They are going to make a Sikh Kabab (roast) out of you".

Needless to say, the hired goons of HKL Bhagat (An East Delhi Mafia) and goon troika of Lalit Maken, Jagdish Taylor and Sajjan Kumar - all HONORABLE MPs of the time, were directly accused of conniving and complicity in the riots against hapless Sikhs who have no connection with Indira's killers except sharing their religion.

Thousands of Sikhs were killed and maimed in the following days. Estimates vary - from the government issued figure of 2800 to the independently assessed number 8000. All said and done, many hardened criminals were released from jails in full police protection. Scores were armed with iron rods and Kerosene oil. 

Excited with the handouts of 100 rupee notes (had a decent purchase value then) and fueled by bottles of liquors alleged supplied by Sajjan Kumar and Lalit Maken (Father of the present Congress politician Ajay Maken who was a baby when his parents were mowed down by Sikh gunmen months later for his dad's involvement in anti-Sikh riots in Delhi), they went on rampage, destroying life and property of Sikhs they came across.

This is not the sole example. Our great Congress party, espousing soft Hindutva has a history of involvement in several large scale killing of Muslims. The following ones come on top of my mind, though I am sure of many more such incidents taking place under the auspices of our Grand Old Party who gave us freedom.

1983 - Nellie massacre in Assam (3000 killed)

1987 - Maliana near Meerut (50 Muslim youths picked up from their homes and killed by the UP police)

1989 - Bhagalpur in Bihar (1000 killed).

Congress was in power in both at the Center and the above states during these pogroms of Muslims.

BJP is no lily white, but it sounds utterly hypocrite when Congies like Digvijaya Singh and Ajay Maken whose father incidentally handed out 100 rupee notes and liquor bottles as prize to teach the Sikhs a lesson, are accusing BJP of resorting to Communalism. This is nothing but a classic case of Kettle calling the pot black.

Autobiography of Nilakantha Das - IX

This is the 9th in series of recapitulation in my own words portions of Pandit Nilakantha Das's Biography in Odia. Enjoy...

Following World War I, the fight for freedom started gathering momentum. Mahatma Gandhi was the talk of villages, towns, cities - taking the entire country by storm. Inspired by him, Nilakantha Das joined Gandhi's non cooperation movement when the Father of the nation visited Odisha in the later part of 1919.

Post leaving Satyavadi School, after a long time Pandit Das had some time to spare. He started focusing on writing and on literature. He completed his translation of Tennyson's poem "The Princess" to Odia, titling it as PRANAYINI, published in February 1919.

While studying literature he came in contact with KEDARA-GAURI, the epic love story based upon the legendary Odia lovers Kedara and Gauri. It was written by our poet KABIBARA (The top poet) Radhanath Ray, in the lines of the famous ill fated love story "Pyramus and Thysbe" of the ancient Roman poet Ovid's Metamorphosis. Kedar and Gauri were our Odia counterparts of Romeo and Juliet, Heer and Ranjha - purely fictional characters, any similarities with any lovers dead or alive is purely coincidental.

But as witnessed by Nilakantha Das (I have observed too), the local Pandas (priests) of Bhubaneswar's Kedar-Gouri temple sell this fictional story to the gullible tourists. Pointing to the locations near the bubbling Spring, they would narrrate their fantasy to the pack of visitors - through this peep hole the romantic Kedar and Gauri used to share their sweet nothings. At this exact spot Kedar held Gauri's Saree (Indian ladies attire) as the lovelorn girl with desire to stay longer in Kedar's company tried to flee, lest the locals find out their love affair. 

"Down there at the dark, deep end their bodies were discovered, as the young love birds ended their life to be reunited in their next lives" - would narrate the Pandas. The smart priests recounted their own version, juxtaposing the fictional account of Radhanath Ray to the name of Kedar Gauri temple, making a successful living out of it.

It was one of the myths peddled by the Pandas which was exposed by Sri Das. Kedar-Gouri are nothing but Siva & Parvati, and the temple close to the water fountain is a vacation home, one of the several abodes of the duo in the temple city of Bhubaneswar. No humans named Kedar and Gauri ever met in secrecy and killed themselves at that location. But the myth lives on till date.

Soon Sir Nilakantha completed his better known poem RAMACHANDI RE RAATI (Night at Ramachandi). It took him seven days writing and rewriting the text, spending couple of sleepless nights dreaming for the right words. This poem was greatly appreciated in literary circuits, inspiring him to pen more.

Pandit Das has vividly described the draught of 1919 in an era where draught and flood were common occurrences due to the vagaries of erratic monsoons. He along with Sri Gopabandhu Das would go far and wide, distributing food, mostly CHUDA (parched rice) during the flood and MUDHI (puffed rice) to the draughts stricken people. 

There was a farmer named Siddhi Baral near Puri who had acres of fertile land lying fallow for 3 long years due to insufficient rains, driving him to penury. His hungry brother begged Nilakantha Das for some food. No sooner he was served, than after imbibing a few GUNDA (handfuls of rice) he collapsed dead. 

It was one of several malnutrition deaths he witnessed from close quarters, bringing tears to his eyes. One day when he arrived at a village to carry on his social work, he counted 22 dead bodies at the GAAN MUNDA (Village entrance). Its weak, malnourished inhabitants were not in a position to give them a decent funeral. Nilakantha and his friends would gather woods and twigs, piling one dead body over another on pyre, giving as decent a funeral possible under the present circumstances.

TO BE CONTINUED, AS I READ 📖 FURTHER

America to gain the most from the escalation of Indo-Pak tension

The recent offer by Trump administration to mediate between India and Pakistan over Kadhmir issue raises some eyebrows. Fully knowing India's known sensitivity to any 3rd party mediation, the State Department used Nikki Haley to issue the statement. Another aspect of it is, interestingly the US Ambassador to UN is a person of India origin.

This offer by international leaders to mediate between India and Pakistan regarding Kashmir issue is nothing new. It includes the Egyptian military ruler Hosni Mubarak and Nelson Mandela of South Africa.  

The least said about the Egyptian dictator is better. But Nelson Mandela always had a special relationship with India, with the later backing him to hilt at the peak of South Africa's racist Apartheid regime. A rare overseas recipient of BHARAT RATNA, the highest civilian award of India, Mandela reciprocated India's generosity by offering to mediate the Kashmir issue between the traditional rivals, with full prior knowledge of Indian sensitivity.

Mandela's act was a classic case of the Odia adage - JOU THALI RE KHAIBA, SEI THALIA RE HAGIBA (Shitting on the same plate which feeds you, simply meaning backstabbing the person who once backed you). A miffed India politely refused this generous offer from it's precious jewel from the overseas.

Pakistan has nothing to lose here. Any kind of international attention to Kashmir sounds music to its ears. But why this latest offer from Uncle Sam to get involved in Kashmir, which neither has hydrocarbon reserves nor any where near the Middle East, being fully aware of India's sensitivity to the issue ?

It's testing the water time for US. Every time a new administration takes over, America throws it's hat into Kashmir ring like a red flag for the India Bull in order to measure the extent of its response. Both Bill Clinton and Barack Obama did during the initial days of their administration. George Bush Jr would most probably have done so, but for the 911 attack.

Also Republican administrations with ties to the military - industrial compex (Democrats have to a lesser extent) see an opening by jacking up Indo-Pak tension to sell some arms. Though it has indigenous nuclear weapon and missiles, India is one of the highest buyers of arms from international market, a huge market for any arms seller. Like a ripe fart, the new American administration smells an opportunity here.

Call me a conspiracy theorist, I see a link between Nikki Haley's call to mediate, soon followed by hanging order given by Pakistani court to an alleged RAW agent. Don't be surprised if an excited Pakistan follows up by staging another spectacular attack on Indian soil. Any increase in tension is a win win situation, directly propertional to weapos sale. 

No prize for guessing who will be the one to gain the most out of it. As we say in Odia DUI JANA KA KALI RU TRUTIYA RA LABHA (A third person always gains from the quarrel of two). It has always been applicable to any person or nation.

The Bhadrakh Riots

Bhadrakh is a place associated with my childhood memories. I spent solid 5 years in that small town before migrating permanently to Bhubaneswar in the year 1976 after finishing Class III at BANKA lower primary school in that city which then was part of the old Balasore district.

I still remember living close to the dusty embarkment of river Shalandi, high enough to protect the neighborhood from being marooned during monsoon floods, snaking its way through the sleepy city. One of my first memories is the images of bared thatched roofs on the aftermaths of the deadly cyclone of 1971 when I was barely 3 years old. 

We were housed in a predominantly Bengali neighborhood with multiple Muslim households scattered around, forming a sizable part of the community and my friend circle in school. I still remember my school friends from class III with nick names SAIBA (A local variation of Sahib), RAZA PATHANA (Rezamuddin Khan), PECHA (the Owl), CHHELI (the Goat) who was a fast climber of KARAMANGA (Star fruit) trees and so on. 

All these memories came floating by when I heard the news of riots in the city, same as an old song over radio waves wafting in memories associated with the time. I was saddened to see pictures of burning pyres on the streets in what once used to be a peaceful city, a symbol of communal harmony.

As usual, the blame game has well begun, before anything but half is done. All political parties are now accusing each other of complicity in the imbroglio. BJP known to practice hard Hindutva is seen as the usual culprit in the eyes of the minorities. BJD and Congress party of Odisha are known for espousing soft Hindutva - as Muslims forming hardly 4% of the state's electorates are in a position to make a significant political dent. In this murky world of alternate truth and fake news, the truth behind this riot is only known to Ram and Allah and may never be known to us mere mortals.

But what is known is the reaction of the mortals at the helm of affairs. Official reaction so far has been quite typically bureaucratic, more gesture and rhetoric driven inactions than substance and result oriented endeavors. Here are a few examples.

An official statement of "the situation is tense but under control" is immediately given - a standard practice from Doordarshan (the solitary government controlled TV channel) era since 35 years ago as far as I can remember.

The Collector (the man in charge of administrator of the district) has been transferred, another standard official protocol dilligently followed since 18th century. The joke is - the transferred Collector had already retired. (Sounds confusing ? But not so uncommon in the world of bureaucracy where plum postings in sensitive coastal districts of Odisha are pocketed by Babus with zero administrative skills with license to loot. With a knack of collecting revenues less for the state and more for BADA BADIAs (bigwigs) of Bhubaneswar, they are invariably tardy in retiring with blessings from the top. This looks like a classic case study of such scenario)

Nero fiddled as Rome burned - the inept government in Bhubaneswar is caught napping while taking its summer siesta post an afternoon bout of PAKHALA as Bhadrakh burns. Few believe the new collector will come as the Knight in Shining Armor and fix everything using a magic wand. 

Banning social media for 48 hours also hardly makes sense, same as Trump's plan to build a 20 feet fence across Mexico's border. As there is always a 21 feet ladder for a 20 feet wall, there is always a 49th hour miscreant ready to create nuisance as the pass of the 48th hour deadline.

More than any administrative magic, let's keep faith in time being the best healer. Let's keep our fingers crossed, hoping for the best - for unlike many other Indian states communal violence is not the forte of Odisha. Let's keep it that way.

Autobiography of Nilakantha Das -VIII

This is the 8th in series of recapitulation in my own words portions of Pandit Nilakantha Das's Biography in Odia. Enjoy...

Pandit Nilakantha Das has vividly described the huge hiatus between the rich and poor of the time. Once he took out the students of Satyavadi School to the famous Nilamadhab temple at Kantilo, near Nayagarh. It is located near river Mahanadi, surrounded by twin hills and dense foliage.

The local king (Vassal) of Khandapada made massive BANDOBAST (arrangements) for the entourage. He sent luxurious bullock carts with soft beds to seat on to fetch the guests from Satyavadi, personally receiving them and supervising the JALAJOGA (light refreshments) being served upon their arrival. The new comers were pleasantly surprised at excellent accomodations provided - every room furnished with gas lights, accompanied by high quality food which included varieties of dishes made out of freshly caught fish from flowing MAHANADI and a huge conference hall at their disposal.

They were baffled by such opulence in a state where the overwhelming majority were poor, yet reinforcing the notion of huge gap between few "haves" and the vast "have nots". The Bidyarthees of Satyavadi by virtue of their education earned a reputation impressive enough to be pampered by the rich and famous of the time. However, Nilakantha Das strictly informed the hosts not to serve any tobacco products to the students.

The excited, inquisitive folks of Satyavadi went around the Royal Palace. Later they visited the surrounding twin hills and enclosing forest, where Nilakantha Das remembers hearing roar of Tiger from a distance around twilight. Everyone had a great time before bidding audieu from Kantilo, richer with experience and parting gifts from the local King.

Satyavadi school contiued functioning fine until internal contradictions, debts and scarcity of money due to chronic back to back draughts led to its downfall. Beginning October, 1918 it was never the same. The friends went their own way, with Pandit Nilakantha leaving on a teaching assignment in Calcutta, followed by a stint in Sambalpur serving the locals. When he returned back to Satyavadi, he noticed that during his long absence, absent was the discipline which used to be the backbone of the institution.

Gopabandhu, another pillar of Satyavadi School was getting frequently sick and increasingly dependent on Nilakantha Das, both physically and emotionally. Godabarisha, inspired by Gopabandhu went to Chakradharpur to campaign on including the separatist Singhabhum into Odisha's fold. Krupasindhu Mishra went to Midnapore to build a High School there. 

As the founders went ahead above and beyond the perimeter of Satyavadi just for the larger goal to establish a greater Odisha, it shook the foundation of the school. The Gang of Five were now gearing up for another phase of life - a new front called politics.

TO BE CONTINUED, AS I READ 📖 FURTHER

A Syria imbroglio is best avoidable

With their man in the White house and a majority in the Congressional House, the Republicans are back to their business in Washington - the business of conducting meaningless wars, so also Cowboy diplomacy and "Wham Bam, Thank you ma'am" attitude.

For starting a war, all they need is a fall guy. As our Grandmothers narrated the BUDHI ASURUNI GAPA (Old demoness tells) during bedtime every night, slowly inculcating a fiendish notion towards the poor old demoness in our mind, the Republicans in cohort with their Right wing media are feeding the image of demons to the gullible Americans.

Prominent of them are Kim Jung Un of North Korea and Assad of Syria. The former in possession of nuclear weapons and nuclear capable missiles with a penchant for unpredictability in a volatile commercial region surrounded by China, Japan, South Korea and Singapore is a difficult nut to crack. 

It puts too much at stake to take the risk of attacking North Korea, which can lead to a crazy response from a still crazier despot leading to put the economy of the region vital to world economy decades back, taking it into doldrums.

The other guy Assad neither has oil, nor nuclear weapons. He is the enemy of the Sunni powerhouses lead by the House of Saud and America's pampered child and the unofficial 51st State of Israel. So, he can easily be the fall guy, inviting the Fall of Tomahawk missiles from the sky, courtesy US.

Reminds me of once a Blue eyed boy of America, a man named Saddam Hussain whom the US State Department molly coddled, described him - "Saddam is a bast*rd, but our bast*rd". There are pictures of Rumsfeld, one of the chief architects of 2003 Iraq war shaking hands with him. 

Saddam Hussain was fine as long as he kept the Jihadi elements as well as the Iranians under check, especially the later with whom he fought a decade long war. America remained conspicuously silent when the Iraqi dictator equalled Persians as vermins and the worst thing that happen to mankind apart from Sand and mosquitoes. He waged a decade long war with its Shia majority neighbor. Americans, who are world champion businessmen, made profit out of that war, selling weapon to Iraq.

They removed Saddam only to create a power vacuum, making the Jihadists and Iranians more powerful in that region. They removed Gaddafi and invited Benghazi on them. Assad may be a basta*d, but he has kept other fellow basta*ds in that region at bay. If he gases his own people, his counterpart Al Baghdadi, the self proclaimed Chief of ISIS Caliphate burns people in cages. 

We don't know what will happen if Syria falls into the hands of ISIS after the fall of Assad. But what we know, it's better to live with a known devil rather than an unknown one, whose devilish incarnation can't be fathomed. Americans who are great at bombing the hell out of their opponents, are inherently creatures of comfort and lack stomach for long term war, as vindicated in Vietnam and Iraq. Trump must realize that the era of Cowboy diplomacy is long over and he is inviting a big mess if he repeats Dubya Bush's mustake.

American vs Indian (British) format

I am sure those who travel to India from USA, must have encountered these situations. Foremost is the driving on the left side and driving wheel on right side of the vehicles always baffles my son, so also the electrical switches working reversely.

During my India trip, especially on the initial days after my arrival, I have opened the door on the driver's side of car by mistake to invite a hearty laughter, sometimes a muffled giggle if the person observing my plight doesn't want to be impolite. 

Using mobile instead of cell phone is another one. I always feel the mobile sounds more appropriate as you are immobile without a mobile phone these days. Once I left my house without a mobile and felt that as I have left my liver behind. It was akin to the wise monkey (of PANCHATANTRA fame) who faked to his Crocodile friend that he left his liver behind. In was a sweet relief when I got my cellphone (oops Mobile) back, no less sweeter than the sweet liver promised by the monkey which the Croc cherished. 

Writing dates is another area I stumble upon. June 12th I write as 06-14 (which would be rather 6th December in India). That is because dates are written in DD-MM-YYYY format over there while in America it is MM-DD- YYYY format. Inadvertently I have wasted several checks for writing wrong dates on them. A simple mistake like this in a bank can cost you an additional unwarranted trip to go back to the line (oops it is Queue over there). 

I had to mentally convert from Centigrade to Fahrenheit to get a hang of the heat, similarly convert kilometers to miles to make out the distance. Several years ago I was on a flight to Las Vegas. An American couple in front of me were struggling to convert from Centigrade to Fahrenheit. I did it for them in seconds using the classic formula C/5 = (F-32)/9. "Oh, you are a genius" - out poured their impromptu compliment. As if they encountered a Math wizard. I cherished my two minutes of fame.

You call Rose by any different name it's perfume remains the same. You call it 100 degree Fahrenheit, or 38 degree centigrade the heat feels the same. 100 miles is no less than 160 km. If what's in a name, what's in a Unit ?

Autobiography of Nilakantha Das - VII

This is the 7th in series of recapitulation in my own words portions of Pandit Nilakantha Das's Biography in Odia. Enjoy...

Pandit Nilakantha Das was a strict disciplinarian, a martinet in school though he advocated democracy in decision making. All teachers were consulted before taking any important decision. Similarly the character and academic proficiency of a student was given utmost importance before he was made a monitor of his class (it was a boys only school). The class monitors were monitored, lest they misuse the powet bestowed upon them.

Meanwhile Gopabandhu made a trip to Shantiniketan, an innovative, model school founded by Rabindranath Tagore in Calcutta, to get a first hand view of its operations and cloned a few of its modus Operandi. Satyavadi now was a School with 400 boarders. Big or small, rich or poor, the students or teachers were asked to do self help, doing all menial jobs themselves - a la the concept implemented in Shantiniketan.

Mr. Macombe, the British Inspector of Schools was very impressed with the Satyavadi, especially by its famed library which post destruction by arson rose from its fumes like Phoenix, so much so that he instructed to all schools under his jurisdiction to extend similar facilities.

Sri Nilakantha Das was tough on his teachers. Once he overheard an English teacher - "Any word ending with 'ly' is an adverb". A smart student questioned back - " Are Italy and Cicily adverbs too" ? Pandit Nilakantha called this new teacher out from his class, asking him to look for a job elsewhere.

The founding fathers of the School knew the adage - "All work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy". They took the staff along with all 400 students went to Konark on a study tour cum picnic trip. They began their walking journey along with an army of 11 bullock carts loaded with logistics.

It was the time of World War I. The students marching in an orderly manner to left - right command of group monitors were mistaken for soldiers by the villagers they passed by. The battalion of Satyavadi camped at BALANGA HATA, then took a break at NIMAPADA before reaching GOP in evening.

The locals excited by this sight of the long caravan welcomed them with lantern lights and music of drum beats. They were served a sumptuous dinner, feeling greatly obliged for the BIDYARTHIs or students, the prospective future of the society at a time a few educated folks adorned the masses. After thanking their hosts, the caravan left early next morning for Konark to reach their by noon. They all spent a fabulous days there, before walking back to Satyavadi - a week well spent from the monotonous drudgery of school life.

Many eminent personalites came as Chief Guests during the Annual Function held in the school every winter. One of them was UTKALA GOURABA (The pride of Odisha) Madhusudan Das. SLOKANTA (Antakhyari of hymns), BAKRUTA (Speech) competitions were regular features, along with DOO DOO (Kabaddi) game. 

Impressed, when Utkal Gouraba credited Utkala Mani (Gopabandhu Das) for building a Nalanda in Odisha, a humble Gopabandhu said - "Not me. It is our Nilakantha who deserves this credit due to his tireless work and dedication". Such unselfish attitude of giving credit where credit is due is unimaginable these days.

TO BE CONTINUED, AS I READ 📖 FURTHER

Trump says US might act unilaterally against North Korea

Trump has upped the ante against North Korea by threatening to go alone if necessary against the increasing the belligerent, reclusive Northern Hermit Kingdom. The time is important - as the leaders of the two most powerful nations on earth, i.e. US and China are going to meet this weekend when Trump hosts Xi Xingping at the Presidential retreat of Mar-A-Lago in Florida.

North Korea's Kim Jung Un might be a megalomaniac crazy despot, but he is far from suicidal. In fact, for some one who cherishes good things of life - expensive Swiss Cheese, a new bottle of wine costing $1000 and a new girl every day. It is hard to imagine such a person contemplating suicide anytime soon - especially post consolidating power after taking out his potential rivals, including the recent assassination of his half brother in Kuala Lumpur airport.

Then why this porky, overweight young leader is creating one nuisance after another ? It's the same age old tactics of firing a missile or conducting a crude nuclear test as a bargaining chip for extorting more western aid to sustain its elites - a classic blackmailing tactics. This has been going on since time immemorial. But the fact remains that history bears the testimony of Chamberlain kind of appeasement policy failing miserably (the ex British Prime minister whose policy of appeasement failed miserably to defeat Hitler and Nazism), time for further appeasement is now passe.

But Trump's administration is talking tough this time, keeping up to its promise made to the electorates not to let any one take US for granted any more. And the Chinese President arriving on US soil on in a few days, the timing can't be more appropriate.

The key is in the hands of China. It is the lifeline of sustenance to its Southern Neighbor, providing 90% of the later's energy needs. So far he has used North Korea to checkmate its regional rivals South Korea and Japan. But the cat is already out of the bag, with the North Korean dictator's unpredictability is causing more and more headache to the Middle Kingdom - the last thing it wants is a refusee problem at his border.

So China has a dilemma - damn if it acts tough against North Korea, damn if it doesn't. In that context, the much self touted deal making skill of Trump will be tested against the pragmatic Chinese, known to hardly bend their back while diligently pursuing their national interest, making them harder nut to crack. An interesting diplomatic weekend ahead.

Autobiography of Nilakantha Das - VI

This is the 6th in series of recapitulation in my own words portions of Pandit Nilakantha Das's Biography in Odia. Enjoy...

The SATYAVADI school, the brainchild of PANCHA SAKHA (The Famous Five) slowly started to flourish, so also its fame spreading far and wide. Students from remote palces, as far as Sambalpur and Kalahandi came pouring in to study in the residential school.

Feeling the need of a periodical to supplement the education given via books, the brain children of the School published a magazine named NILACHAL SAMACHAR (News of Puri), shifting the printing press from Puri to Sakhigopal. The purpose was to enhance the poor reading habits of the Odias at that time.

It was that period when Nilakantha Das started NISA ANDOLANA (Moustache agitation). Those days the Brahmins of Odisha were prohibited from keeping a moustache. Either they were clean shaven or kept an unkempt combo of moustache and beard. But the luxury of a stand alone moustache was a strict no no for the upper caste Brahmins.

So Pandit Das did the unthinkable, he shaved off his beard and kept a moustache, a style he procured while studying MA (Masters in Arts) in Calcutta. He started writing sarcastic articles in "NILACHAL SAMACHAR", being critical of numerous superstitions and dumb norms prevalent at the time.

The Gang of Five fought relentlessly against the social evils, especially untouchability, promoting different castes to share meals at the same location, opposed child marriage and so on. Folks from Southern part of Odisha Ganjam to Midnapore Bengal heard his name as a crusader against evil customs and a social reformer, coming with a rising number of his supporters as well as a fair share of detractors.

Being a born agnostic, he challenged multiple customs prevalent at that time. One of them was the tradition of the Brahmin bridegroom chanting a mandatory SLOKA (hymn) on the night of their marriage in front of FUL SABHA (Assembly of the Brahmin only elites). When requested, the newly wed Nilakantha refused to quote any Sloka, though he remembered many of them from Gita (Sacred Hindu scripture).

He felt it was a meaningless and avoidable tradition. One of his less educated fellow Brahmin who got married couldn't muster any Sloka, but was witty enough to coin his own.

GARJANTE MEGHAM, BARSANTE PANI,

UTHANTI CHENGA, BELA KALA JANI.

Roughly transliterated,

Roar the clouds, pouring in Water,

Tadpoles rise, From their Quarters.

Success creates jealously and rivalry. It came mostly from the MUKTI MANDAP PANDITS (his fellow eminent Brahmins who have a seat of citadel of Knowledge inside the Puri Jagannath temple) from the SHOLA SHASANA (the 16 Brahmin dominated villages surrounding Puri), invariably GODARAs and KURUNDAs (men with thick ankles and Supersize Balls due to Fileria infection). 

We Odias are champions of leg pulling and harboring jealousy towards our fellow brethren who are successful. As expected the success of the BAKULA BANA VIDYALAYA (Fragrant Woods School) at SATYAVADI (Sakhigopal) and the liberal views of its teachers had its consequnces, making the conservative pundits insecure and vying for retaliation. Burning with jealousy, they literally burnt down the School Library in an apparent of arson in middle of night.

This incident obviously shook the founding fathers, but rather than putting them on the backfoot it further hardened their commitment. The teachers and student started rebuilding the library overnight, starting with building a makeshift floor using CHAANCHA or carpets strewn from coconut leaves, locally available aplenty, followed by a thatched roof on top.

Upon receiving the news, Gopabandhu Das who was in Baripada at that time, dashed back to school. Rather than being remorses, he looked calm and composed, with a steely resolve. When asked about his odd behavior at this sad news, the Inspiration-In-Chief proudly proclaimed - "We are going to rebuilt our new school as a Concrete building". Now motivated by no other than charismatic Gopabandhu, the students and teachers went back to class.

But the misery wasn't going to end any time soon. High winds from a tropical cyclone blew away the makeshift walls and rooftops. It reminded them the urgency of building a concrete building for school on a war footing.

It accelerated the friends' strategy to solicit donations from the biggies of the time, as a concrete building would cost a substantial amount of money. They included but not limited to MAHNTHA (Monk in Chief) of EMARA MATH (monastery) of Puri, Zamindars (feudal lords) and Kings of GADAJATA (vassals with sizable kitty at their disposal). 

Sympathizing to the ordeals that Nilakantha Das and his team had gone through and exited by their unique philathropic endeavor, these haves (rich) with unfathomable wealth comparable to their "have not" counterparts, contributed liberally, all pitching in for a good cause. This jealous act of arson by their detractors came as a blessing in disguise - in form of a School building built in concrete, mostly fire and cyclone proof compared to their previous mud, thatched roof houses, a major development those days.

TO BE CONTINUED, AS I READ 📖 FURTHER

Autobiography of Nilakantha Das - V

This is the 5th in series of recapitulation in my own words portions of Pandit Nilakantha Das's Biography in Odia. Today being the UTKAL DIVAS (Odisha Day), I am highlighting his contributions towards carving out a separate state of Odisha from its earlier bondage from Bengal....

Pandit Das has mentioned about the immense efforts of Madhusudan Das, an eminent lawyer and patriot and his close friend Gopabandhu Das towards the building of modern Odisha. Madhu babu was more the more educated and elitist of the duo, used to address the public in a mode equivalent to today's Power point presentations - sharp and articulate but hardly arousing enthusiasm in general public.

In contrast, Gopabandhu Das was the younger, charismatic one with an epic sense of humor - who could connect better with the commoners with his amazing oratory skills and convincing capability. The duo formed a formidable proposition, propelling their cause towards their common goal of a unique, separate state of Odisha by inculcating the idea into the minds of the masses.

Both fought tooth and nail against the powerful Bengali lobby which was deadly against the formation of an independent Odisha. Dominating the power corridors of the major cities of Cuttack and Puri, a powerful section of Bengali elites proclaimed - ODIA EKTA SWATANTRA BHASA NAYE (Odia is not a language of its own). They instantly pooh-poohed the idea of a separate state, still well ensconced with this vague, ill conceived notion that as a race without distinct language, lacks an identity of their own and hence not entitled for a separate state.

When Madhu Barister (as Madhusudan Das, a lawyer by profession was addressed as) proposed a new state of Odisha carved out of the Greater Bengal at the Congress conference in Murshidabad, the Bengali dominated top brass vetoed against it. Disgusted, Madhu babu left Congress and started a front UTKALA SAMMILANI (Odisha Conference) to promote the goal towards separate statehood. 

Soon the demand for independent Odisha gained traction as more and more prominent intelligentsia from different parts of the proposed State joined the movement. One day, as the leaders of UTKALA SAMMILANI huddled together to plan their next move, they heard a knock on the door. Standing with his characteristic smirk was a well attired man with sharp nose and moustache. He was no other than Mr. Gangadhar Meher, an intellect and towering figure from Sambalpur, known to pen powerful, inspirational poems. The leaders embraced the poet revolutionary, and Sri Meher embraced the separate Statehood Movement.

Pandit Nilakantha Das has narrated an interesting episode during the peak of the demand for a separate statehood of Odisha. A huge gathering of Utkal SAMMILANI (conference). was held at Cuttack. A telegram was sent to Pandit Nilakanta Das, who arrived at the venue with an army of 60 students from SATYAVADI school as volunteers needed for crowd control. Trained as strict disciplinarians under a martinet Nilakanta Das, the volunteers religiously enforce discipline, ensuring no one would be allowed to enter the conference podium without a valid Pass.  

Suddenly there was a melee at the entrance to the venue. Madhu Babu inquired - what's the commotion was about. The volunteers from Satyavadi won't let Gangadhar Meher in, as he did not possess a pass. Madhu Babu told them to let Sri Meher in. Still the volunteers won't relent. Gopabandhu Das, apt at handling situations intervened immediately, sending a volunteer to fetch a Pass, handing it to the poet from Sambalpur, apologizing on behalf of them. 

Gangadhar Meher stood smiling. Taking no offence, he told Nilakantha - "Don't worry. Your boys are fine". I can see, Nilakantha has indoctrinated his students well to enforce discipline. Fast forward to a century - if a student volunteer defies the order of someone of the stature of Madhu Babu, a few Babus (Bureaucrats) would compete to punish the hapless guy (or girl) to impress their VIP bosses.

Eventually the hard earned state of Odisha, as we see it today extending from the Coromandel coast of Bay of Bengal to the dense forests of DANDAKARANYA (Eastern Ghats), saw the lights of the day. The state of Odisha was formed on 1st of April, 1936. Though many Bengali BHADRALOKE (gentlemen) opposed the move, their was hardly any violence against them, not there was any exodus of Bengalis to their native state. Most of them settled down in Odisha mingling with the milieu, especially in townships of Cuttack and Puri, the happening places in Odisha at that time. On his death bed, Madhusudan Das, realizing his dream of Greater Odisha which included Paralakhemundi (modern day Ganjam) and faraway Koraput, smiled and died a happy man with a sense of accomplishment.

TO BE CONTINUED, AS I READ 📖 FURTHER