40th Anniversary of Nam War

This month marks the 40th Anniversary of the Nam (the slang used for Vietnam War in America). It was an embarrassing quagmire for the Americans and literally so, as their soldiers recruiting via draft, could never adapt to the muddy paddy fields of Vietnam. Guerrilla warfare waged by a motivated enemy on their home turf, equally lack of motivation from the Americans, who being creatures of comfort were simply misfit for long, arduous combat in mosquito infested jungles of Nam.

The War ended with the famous air evacuation of the last remnants of Americans from Saigon. China and Russia who backed North Vietnam, didn't learn anything. China, soon attacked Vietnam in 1978 and was forced to a hasty retreat by their war rugged rivals. Soviet Union's Afghanistan misadventure brougt yet another Superpower to its knees (it's rumored that Breznev, drunk with Vodka ordered soldiers to move into the land locked country).

It would be foolish to see America's beating retreat in Nam in terms of victory of communism over Capitalism. Communism slowly started fizzling out. China shunned it and got stuck with the habit of getting rich. Soviet Union went broke, both in economics and political terms. Capitalism in spite of its shortcomings thrived, mainly due to innovation and competition associated with it. Vietnam have long adopted free market economy, their leaders baking bread with their once enemy Americans. Cuba, which is close to Uncle Sam's territory is getting closer day by day by embracing it's arch rival.

As April rolls over to May, the 1st day of the month is celebrated as Labor Day in most parts of the world. On this day, the communist nations during their haydays used to showcase their military prowess. Only country which now calls itself communist is North Korea. It is more like the Kim family's (hermit) Kingdom. Their buffoon leader and his father before him are champion womanizers and consumer of luxury capitalist goods. World has seen many changes, as the commies and their promised land has gone to the dogs (it's not a coincidence that the young Kim, their present dictator is rumored to have fed his uncle to the dogs). Communism in India is now limited to a few parasite intelgencia who shop in London but pretend Moscow as paradise. 

Easrtquakes can't be predicted accurately

Many on social media are claiming that this earthquake in Nepal-India was predicted by some scientists and astrologers. All these claims invariably comes after these catastrophes, never before. The fact is, in spite of all advances in science, till now there is no technology to correctly predict an earthquake or volcanic eruption.

It's said that animals could sense tremors coming and history has records of them behaving in a weird manner before earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. A friend of mine who was studying Engineering close the location of the famous Latur earthquake in 1993, remembers dogs whining and cows mooing, hours before the shudders of tremors came.

Unfortunately animals cannot communicate this clearly enough to us humans to take precautionary measures. Hopefully from 26th April, someone can predict these natural disasters in advance, saving many invaluable lives.

From Ghain Ghain to Kana Kala Se

If social media is to be believed, the latest slang going on in Bhubaneswar is - KANA KALA SE. Transliterated it means "What he/she has done !", the reason I have put an exclamation mark, is to indicate the way it is delivered with an emphatic stress at the end. It could have several connotations, but apparently used mostly to tease girls. 

My memory of such slangs emanating from Bhubaneswar goes back to late 1970s. The first one was "GHAIN GHAIN BULE BINCHANA NALA". I was too young to comprehend the meaning of it. Literally it meant "the hand held fan rotates superfast". It probably meant nothing, but I do remember some Bell bottomed boys from that era, with cascading hair covering their earlobes and long sideburns, using these lines to tease girls. Whatever it meant, the weather in Bhubaneswar needs AC these days for most part of the year, BINCHANA NALA (hand fans) are now relegated to villages. 40s were unheard of in the city interspersed with water bodies, their cool surface wind propelled into the city by bursts of air emanating from Bay Of Bengal. There was hardly any tall building to block its path or absorb heat, the only one being the 9 storied one which housed government offices. It was a place of tourist attraction of the time.

The immensely talented Odia singer Akshay Mohanty, mentioned about this slang referring to the to the New Capital city of BHUBANESWAR. The song went 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,

Hail to Our New Capital Bhubaneswar.

You see O' The Mother of SUKUTA,

The hand held fan rotates superfast".

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, inside the labyrinth of a big city like Bhubaneswar.

Early 1980s saw couple of new slangs DEKH TAKU (look at him/her, it's mostly directed for her) and KOUTHI THOIBI (where shall I keep). That period saw the rise of KHATTI (Nonsense gossips) culture in the city, where boys would cluster around culverts (cemented structures on the cross roads of drains, originally meant for drainage of storm water, ending up being youth activity centers). Whistling and passing innuendos at girls passing by were not uncommon.

Three or more guys on pillions, often referred as LUNGUDA (habitual girl chasers) would follow nubile girls. No sooner they sight a girl, than the driver would turn his head 45 degree (anything beyond that can risk an accident), those behind him turn 90. It was not unusual for a driver to get carried away and turn his head 90 degrees, ending up in bruises. The bike or scooter would end up screeching and skidding, making them bite dust on the dusty roads of Bhubaneswar, filled with protruding pebbles. These slangs rarely lasted long and more slangs will come up in future. Time has changed, the human nature hasn't.

Happy Earth Day 2015

Today is Earth Day. Thanks to the initiative from our company, we recycle tons of materials, especially those Styrofoams, for which even 500 years are not long enough for landfills to bio-degrade. I proudly proclaim that every month, I religiously recycle at least 50 lbs (25 kg) of materials. I have done so consistently over last 19 years which would amount more than 11,000 lbs (5,000 kg).The feeling of fulfillment I get beats any visit to any temple, any day.

 

Not bad I guess, rather it feels good about recycling about 5 tons till date, preventing them from going into landfills, which is a lot better for the environment. On the occasion of Earth day it gives me an immense gratification to announce my contribution towards mother earth, however meagre it might be. Let's make our mother earth a better place to live and leave it so for the future generations. REDUCE, RECYCLE and REUSE should be our motto. Cut less and plant more trees, to make our a planet greener pasture for the future.

Hillary Clinton - On the verge of creating history ?

America is perhaps the only major democracy, which hasn't yet elected a Female head of state. Shirimavo Bandarnayake (the first ever woman Prime Minister was from Sri Lanka), Indira Gandhi (India), Margaret Thatcher (UK), Andrea Merkel (Germany) are the ones who immediately come to mind.

 

In 1872 Susan Anthony was arrested for voting in the Presidential election in New York. That came after the Abolition of Slavery in 1865. It wasn't until 1920 that for the first time nearly 8 million American women voted in a Presidential election. That was still less than a century back. America was slow to open up to equal rights and liberation for women, though many women fought during America's war of Independence against the British. It wasn't until 1930s when Hollywood Actresses Marlene Dietrich and Katharine Hepburn started wearing pants in movies, setting a trend for women wearing trousers in public.

When World War II started, America became a major supplier to the war ravaged Europe. The overwhelming demand was accompanied by a boom in the economy, leading to the hiring of women. The old adage "Man brings home the bacon, woman stays home to bake bread" was gone. But a woman President has eluded the nation since then. It almost happened in 2008, when a dark horse Obama created another sort of history. If things go right Hillary is all set to become the first Woman president in 2016, creating another history of sort.

RIP - J B PATNAIK

He was a politician who started his career in media, at a time when social media was strictly fantasy. Yet the news of his death, which came to me on the social media, reminded me of his administration during my growing up days back home. His death marks end of an era, where media has come a long way, but politics is still as murky as ever.

A controversial three term Chief Minister of Odisha, his administration paved the way to another 4 term (still counting) Chief Minister. A learned person in Sanskrit and Odia, a writer of prominence, his tenure institutionalized corruption and nepotism in a state which still languishes at the bottom of the ladder.

A master political manipulator, having a penchant to cling to power by hook or crook, was unceremoniously removed in 1999 and could never make a comeback. Controversies surrounding him which included practice of black magic,  innuendos of his alleged escapades published in now defunct magazine, arguably did a great damage to his party but could never dent his ability to stick to power. RIP, J B Patnaik.

Annual Physical Checkup

This week, I had my annual physical check up done at my Primary Care Physician's clinic. This is something I have been doing religiously over a decade now, to ensure my organs are well organized and in good shape. Eventually came the moment I dread the most, annal part of the Annual check up, to ensure nothing abnormal happening deep down.

 

The doc smeared his gloved finger with lubricant and rammed it deep inside my bottom, making me grimace, grinning my teeth. I should have taken a selfie at that moment and posted on social media. It could have gone viral with million plus hits. The doctor certified that my a** is first class and polyps-free. Deep down, I felt safe.

 

Soon I came out limping off the clinic, delighted and assured that my a** is safe for now. But I could visualize the doctor thinking about me, what an as***le. I envy those doctors who can annually screw you and get paid handsomely for doing so.

 

Reminds me of my ex-boss from India when I was in UK years ago. One day he had an headache and went to see a doctor. After returning back, our British client asked him "How did your visit go", to which my ex-boss replied " doctor checked my head and found nothing in it". He was not far from the truth.