Leadership qualities of Dhoni

Dhoni has been at the receiving end due to India's recent loss against Bangadesh. My take on this, media and a section of public are making so much ado about nothing. At one stroke, they erase the credit to Dhoni due to the prior wins under his leadership and give undue focus on off season blues. A la any any human being and celebrity, he has his share of positives and negatives. Being the captain of cricket in India, where the game is religion, is a position of Damocles's sword perpetually hanging on top of the head. Let me focus on the positives about Dhoni.

It was early 2006. India was chasing a sizable Pakistani total in front of a hostile home crowd in Lahore. At a crucial moment India loses its star batsman Sachin Tendulkar, still requiring loads of run. Those days the end of Tendulkar was usually considered as beginning of India's impending end. Nonchalantly walks in this man with long hair, a tyro following a connoisseur. Nobody expected much from this young man from the nondescript, impoverished state of Jharkhand, M S DHONI. In middle of a hostile India baiting (rather hating) crowd, he led a successful India chase staying as cool as iceberg. It's not very common to be newcomer to crash into limelight in a nail biting, pressure cooker rivalry between the arch rivals. Dhoni's performance in Pakistan's own backyard earned praise from no other than then President General Musharaf, not a huge fan of India or Indians by any standard. (Musharaf incidentally told Dhoni not to cut his trademark long hair). Arguably Dhoni was the harbinger of a new era when Indians finally got out the cycles of defeats against Pakistan, not any more the nerve and guts to fight under adverse circumstances.  

I have seen Captains Srikkanth, Ganguly, Kapil Dev sweating and/or chewing nails (which is a sign of momentary tension). In contrast, Dhoni was cool as cucumber, leading from the front. That's awesome leadership quality. A team at the time of crisis looks at its leader. A cool and poised skipper keeps things calm, inspires and enthuses confidence. Dhoni has done it all. He has changed the image of Indian cricketers as a bunch of softies who capitulate under pressure. That's quite an achievement. So give him a break and move on.

The Legend of Chakulia Panda

Our childhood Summer and Puja vacations was hardly complete without spending some time in our ancestral village near Puri. It enabled me to have chance a encounter with a very typical part of coastal Odisha Vaisnavite (devotees of Lord Vishnu) culture, brought by CHAKULIA PANDA, or the devotional bard. They are freelancers who roam from houses to houses, singing songs heaving paeans of praise for the lord in colloquial Odia, happily accepting the offers of alms from commoners. Not sure what the word CHAKULIA means. My best guess, it stands for "the moon faced priest".

The tradition of Chakulia Panda very unique to coastal Odisha. They carry a palm umbrella to protect themselves from the scorching tropical heat and rain. Usually pot bellied, he is attired in saffron cloth and carries a saffron GAMUCHHA (loin cloth) shaped in the form of a converted bag to collect alms. It's not unusual for him to have a partner. As soon one finishes a stanza, the other one takes over. They often hunt like a pair of fast bowlers, complimenting each other, instead of balls they use devotional songs. One occasions, one of them plays KENDARA (a locally made wooden violin ) to the tune of his partner's song, to add more fervor.

Upon hearing a Chakulia Panda song we would come out and gape at him. My mother, being the daughter-in-law of the house will peep through the half open door. Our grandma, acting as the interlocutor, would venture outside with a bowl of rice and vegetables. The Panda would praise her benevolence, lavishly showering her with praises. Continuing to eulogize, he will proceed further, distinguishing her offering being fresh vis-a-vis our neighbor's who supposedly gave him POKA (bug eaten) SADHA (rotten) stuff. His glib sycophancy would flatter my grandmother by no means, enticing her to bring more alms. I am sure, he would be applying same tactics at other's doors.
In summer a few mangoes and a small portion of ripe jackfruit would be an added bonus to our devotional Bard. On top of he DAANA (gift), a few coins as DAKHINA ( tips ) is a must for a Brahmin. Occasionally, in exchange of some GUA GHIA (pure clarified butter from cow's milk) in a SISI(a cylindrical pouch made from dirty glass) the Panda will render an additional number. Then he would bless the home owner and his family, proceeding to the next house, excited by the prospect of dousing his Rice and DALMA (a mix of boiled lentils and vegetables) menu with liberal dosage of ghee at end of the day.

Don't know how many such Chakulia Pandas are left today. Won't be surprised if these pall bearers of this ancient cultural heritage and tradition are as endangered as Royal Bengal Tigers, on verge of extinction. Seeing this morning the picture of a Chakulia Panda posted by my senior Dipti Bhai from REC days did ring a bell and bringing a blast from the past.

40th Anniversary of Emergency in India

One fine morning in early 1970s J L Arya, the justice of Allahabad High Court Judge, judged Indira Gandhi's victory over her rival Raj Narain (a political  buffoon ) as illegal. It was followed by calls for her resignations. Strikes and violence followed in most parts of India. Soon she would impose internal emergency on a sultry midnight in June. That was exactly 40 years ago,

At that point, India was independent by itself for less than only 30 years. The hangover of being ruled was still strong, so also the obsequiousness towards the ruler hadn't faded yet. It manifested itself by Indira Gandhi behaving herself as "Empress of India" by herself. She alone can't be blamed, as media branding her as "iron lady" and the success of Bangladesh liberation probably went to her head. Even Vajpayee famously ascribed her "Goddess Durga". Soon Indira would became a cult figure.  With cult status came sycophancy. D K Barooah, a Congressman famous said " India is Indira, Indira is India". She was soon surrounded by pliable sycophants who fed her what she liked. Her younger son and groomed political heir Sanjay Gandhi was already behaving as a bully.

All fundamental rights were snatched from citizens. Those who protested were put in jail. Indira and Sanjay Gandhi expected the opposition to bend, yet to their surprise many crawled. (One exception was Kishore Kumar, an extremely popular singer at that time. He refused to sing for Sanjay Gandhi and was promptly banned from govt controlled Radio and TV).

Not everybody opposed emergency.barring a few incidents in Kerala, not surprisingly South India was quite where she was popular with the masses as "AMMA INDIRAMMA (mother Indira, post emergency elections Indira swept South though she was defeated in rest of India). RSS admired her for teaching its arch enemy Pakistan a lesson by carving a Bangladesh out of it. It extended its covert support to her and she reciprocated by occasionally taking RSS's help during Emergency to further her political goals. She shrewdly played soft Hinduva card. But her son Sanjay had no soft corner for anyone and had no patience for the rule of law. He bulldozed slums of Delhi and rumored to have organized forced castration of Muslims, blaming them for India's population explosion.

But many who still remember those days say, though the freedom was clipped, it had its positive side. People in government offices (the biggest employer those days) came to work on time. Public sectors made profit. Buses, planes and trains were dot on schedule. Though short lived, it was proven that we respect the rod more than democracy.

I still believe a benevolent dictatorship with a vision is better than the chaotic democracy we presently have. We can disagree on this, but Jeffersonian model of democracy is a myth, a mirage and certainly doesn't fit to all milieu. yet we can agree that Emergency was one of the important events in the Post-Independent India and there is always have something to learn from history.

The needless call for resignation

Back home, clamors abound for resignation of Arun Jaitley and Vasundhara Raje, for their alleged link to Lalit Modi. I am no card holding member of BJP, but unless the lady and the gentleman have committed some heinous anti-national act, the call for their resignations is absolutely unwarranted.

On the aftermath of 9/11 not a single Democrat asked for the resignation of the then President George W Bush. Al Gore, who less than a year before that incident fought a mess electoral battle with his opponent, came out fully supporting him "Bush is my Commander-in-chief, I support him". The state of Missouri, a strong Republican state, had a Democrat Governor during an alleged racial killing last year. Didn't  hear from a single Republican demanding his immediate resignation. Most recently, after the racial shooting in South Carolina, I have not heard any demand for resignation of the state's Republican Governor of Indian origin.

Not that as if a NETA's (so called leader) heart gets a concience attack and resigns upon hearing the demand from the opposition. In a civilized, responsible  and non-chaotic democracy, there should not be any call for resignation for that matter, small or big. Rarely any resignation ever has served any purpose or solved any crisis. Rather its often comes with additional baggages of problems anew, more of a distraction from the real issue.

Bhubaneswar, Chandigarh were designed by same Architect

The famous architect Charles Correa passed away a few days back. May his soul Rest In Peace. His death reminds of another famous architect, Otto Königsberger who designed the state capitals Bhubaneswar for Odisha. Chandigarh, the joint capital of Punjab/Haryana was built around the same time. They were designed in almost identical manner. Only difference, what we call UNITs in Bhubaneswar are called SECTORs in Chandigarh. The similarity ends there.

 

The difference, ask those who are familiar to both the cities. Chandigarh is one of the most livable cities in India, lively, green and thriving. Bhubaneswar is becoming more and more unlivable as days pass (admitted by many who have been living there for decades). A planned city is growing completely unplanned way. When the city started to outgrow itself around Y2K (Year 2000), the authorities rather than being the architect of its growth, not only slept but became inept and corrupt. Cool breeze blowing across green foliage, these days has been replaced by hot lava winds meandering through concrete jungle. Certain things have reached beyond the point of redemption.

 

During our growing up in that city, no bypass was needed as the city's arteries were not clogged. Now clogging of sewage lines and its spilling over has spewed anger among the denizens. The  cesspools have become ideal breeding ground for mosquitoes. I remember poking fun at my friends from Cuttack about their famous KATAKI MASA (mosquitoes from Cuttack) who are rumored to lift men for miles. Now Bhubaneswari Masa can give them a run for money.

 

Hindustan Motors and Toyota started their operation in 1967 and the similarity ends there. Without going into further details, I can tell that if Chandigarh is Toyota today then Bhubaneswar is Hindustan Motors, aptly describing the Tell of the Two Cities - the name of the famous novel by another Charles, Dickens. Mr. Charles Correa, if you happen to meet your counterpart Otto Königsberger in your heavenly abode, please tell him that there is nothing wrong in his deign of the city. Lots of water has flown since in rivers Daya and Kuakhai which sandwiches the lovely city you steadfastly designed. You can read him the Odia proverb, duly transliterated 

 

"MANKADA HATA RE SALAGRAMA
NACHAI NACHAI NELA PRANA"..

 

" The deity's statue in monkey's gripe;
   Danced and danced until he took its life".
 

The Saga of KANESTABALA (Constable)

Constable is considered as the lowest rank of Police back home. Not sure if the same goes with their counterparts in England. On the aftermath of crimes in UK, often a Constable talks to the media. In India rarely that privilege goes to anybody below the rank of an IPS (Indian Police Service), which was incidentally called Imperial Police Service for a long time.

In Odisha, the Constable is locally addressed as KANESTBALA, in a derogatory sense. He is always close to the commoners and often being ridiculed for his disproportionate figure of thin arms and limbs, with a protruding belly. With his physique, forget about catching a thief, he can't even catch a mouse. A gentleman who once retired as DSP (Deputy Superintendent of Police) got into a squabble with a peon ( a person at the lowest hierarchy in a job) in front of my house. The DSP boasting for himself said "You know, I retired as DSP ?" The year was 1988. The Peon retorted back with his ready wit " You might have retired as DSP, but you must have started your career as a KANESTBALA (constable)". So the Peon had the last laugh at the expense of the Constable.

Though butt of jokes, the Constable is envied for his job, which can bring UPURI (extra income) while he can still rub Ghee (clarified butter) on his moustache and work uninterrupted until he reaches the age of 60, lack of promotions being damned.

There used to go a saying in Odisha

MACHHA KHAIBA ILISI

CHAKIRI KARIBA POLICI"

"Hilsa is the fish you should cherish;

The job you should do is Police".

No wonder, except perhaps the sub-Saharan Africa no where the police is as corrupt as in India and the job is most sough after. When the fence starts eating the crop, or the RAKHYAK (the keeper) becomes the BHAKHYAK (eater), it speaks for itself. Reminds me of this stanza from the Kishore Kumar's song "Chingaree Koi Bhadke'

MAZDHAR ME NAYA DOLE TO MAAJHI PAAR LAGAE;

MAAJHI JO NAO DUBOYE USE KAUN BACHAYE"..

Transliterated

"If the boat capsizes in mid river, the boatman rescues all;

 If the boatman himself capsizes, who saves him after all ?"

 

Lalit-Gate

Watergate Scandal of early 1970s which led to the resignation of Richard Nixon, has opened another floodgate of fashionable tendency to add a surname "Gate" to any sundry scandal. Latest to join the bandwagon is Lalit-gate.

No one ever thought in his or her wildest dreams, the discovery of burglary and wire tapping at Democratic Party Headquarters in the (in) famous Watergate Hotel in Washington, would lead to President Nixon's resignation. As most media outlets ignored it, the newspaper Washington Post stuck to its reporting and continued digging further. Eventually it pointed to "All the President's Men", costing him his job (a book bearing the same name from Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein is a must read). A sitting President resigning from scandal was unprecedented in American history.

The scandal earned Nixon the sobriquet  "Dirty Dick", his approval rating plummeting  to 21 points (later George W Bush tried to beat him by getting closer with a rating of 24  during the Wall Street crash). It coincided with a torrid time in America when Arab embargo on oil saw long lines at gas station and the ignominy of Vietnam.  Lot of water has flown in Potomac river, yet "gates" keep on flooding.

Craze for government jobs have reduced in China

Government jobs have long been cherished. Every year more people seat for Civil Services examination. Many bright students, in spite of being disillusioned with the system, still attempt it as it offers both security and perks. Even the prospect of not getting so great a salary, hardly deters the aspirants, where the salary raise usually happens in a decade

But the Civil servants are now a worried lot and there are signs of diminished interest. Seems the familiar story from India, but interestingly it is about CHINA where the Civil services are strikingly similar to their southern neighbor's. After the President Xi Jinping's campaign against corruption, it's harder to solicit bribes which supplements the government servant's meager salary. Many live in constant fear of knock on their door by the Communist party's elite anti-Corruption wing. In 2014, it punished 212,000 officials, 30% more than previous year, though that's only 3% of the vast Chinese babudom. Yet the message sent by the anti corruption bureau is loud and clear, as many officials are taken with their spouse to visit their former colleagues in prison. This sets the perfect example and acts as a deterrent as the Chinese gulags are not fun place to live.

 

Meantime 10,000 Chinese government workers have already quit their cushioned jobs, seeking other alternatives. The receiving of gifts and donations of cash, has become riskier. Sumptuous meals procured by the Chinese SARKARI officials have taken a hit, hampering the business of many restaurants. The smart and pragmatic Chinese authorities are ensuring that these prosecutions are well publicized. It earns them rare goodwill given the cynicism of the general public against the officialdom, making it a win win situation for them.

Grilled In an Indian Summer of 2014

Switched on to the TV this morning to watch the Odia news. A promotional song LEMBU, ATI CHUPUDILE PITA ( excessively squeezed lemons taste bitter) from an Odia movie scheduled for the Raja release was being played. A new Odia actress Meghna Mishra dancing to the tune of this song in that movie was being interviewed by another lady anchor. It didn't go unnoticed to me that a discussion about an Odia movie between an Odia anchor and an Odia leading actress getting released on a leading Odia festival, was taking place with a typical accented Odia with almost an equitable spread of 50% Odia, 30% English and 20% Hindi.

 

Late this morning I went to a local gas station ( petrol pump ) to fill up the gas tank of the Scooty I ride. Job done, the attendant was about to hand me over the changes when his mobile phone rang. He took the call and went on " TIKE PIAJA AU RASUNA DEI BHAJIBU (fry using onion and garlic)". A customer can afford to wait getting fried waiting for change in 100 degree plus 80% humidity heat but onion garlic stir fry can't wait.

 

Rushed back home at noon for a shower to cool down. Before I could switch on the motor to fill up our overhead water the electricity went poof. So 4 hour no power; no toilet no shower. Felt like a fish out of water, lying supine on hot bed getting barbecued. It's 5 PM, still no sign of electricity. Sprinkle some salt and pepper over me I am a great grill. Another couple of hours I could have become a SUKHUA or dried fish, an Odia delicacy. Hopefully no more power cuts for the rest of the day.

Chinese get cracking against corruption

Today I read about the sentencing of a Chinese security Czar to life over corruption charges. China's President Xi Xinping is cracking whips on corruption and the corrupt officials. He is now using his influence, persuading foreign countries to send back those who fled with ill gotten money. The list contains about 100 such people.

 

Amongst the fugitives is a bureaucrat who flew to America with $40 million of embezzled funds, another with $15 million to Singapore. Some of the fugitives have surrendered. A few still remain at large, being harder nut to crack, for they have fled to US, Canada and Australia with whom China has no extradition treaty.

 

Yet China has been able to press America to get some concession in the form of them agreeing to cooperate by deciding to repatriate some, with the condition that the cases being handled as per American law and value (it's just a standard rider from the Americans. No sooner than those Chinese guys are sent back to China, as some already are, Gulag rather than American value will be awaiting them).

 

Now the question comes how those government officials accumulated sums like USD $15-40 million without the compliance of others in China. I don't think they made $40 million overnight without the knowledge and connivance of others in China and fled. Yet, setting up an example by bringing a few fugitives back to homeland has it's effect, acting as a great deterrent, political vendetta or agenda not withstanding. When the bull is in China shop, they take it by horn. There will be damage but minimized.

Toyota's malfunction and Maggie's Lead

A few years back certain Toyota vehicles in America had sudden acceleration malfunctions resulting in deaths. Millions were recalled. The Toyota chief, Akio Toyoda flew half the world from Japan to be verbally VALATKAARed (raped) by the Congress hearing committee. All the members took their turns, until they were exhausted as Mr. Toyoda apologized profusely, taking full responsibility. His face shown widely on TV bore the testimony of it. Apparently not enjoying the ordeal, he had to bear this ignominy, for he didn't want to lose his share of pie in the highly competitive car buyer's market in America.

 

I think it's time this " Maggie" incident LEADS to similar accountability system in India, where the CEO of Nestlé is grilled and simmered like its in(famous) product in front of a Parliamentary Committee. The Nestlé' s CEO may not be on the same boat as Akio Toyoda. Yet bringing him to his knees will send a strong message to the perpetrators, keeping them on their toe. Justice, Equality and Accountability for any wrong doing, should be the hallmark of a democracy.

Ideally, Consumer should be the King and Customer the God in a free market governed society.  But unfortunately we don't live in an ideal world. India is long trending towards free market economy. Gone are the days of "take it or leave it consumerism" as the Indians have an array of choice these days, so it's time to strike when the iron is hot. Delaying will make the iron cool down and hard to bend. As the media shifts its focus to something a la "Salman Khan's wedding", Maggie will be back in business.

The Historic New Zealand and England One Day in 1983

The current series between New Zealand and England reminds me of a spectacular game between them at Adelaide Oval, in January 1983. I was following the match on ABC, Radio. England started well, with an unusual maverick move of sending Botham as the opener. It surprised many as such a thing was hitherto unheard of in the nascent days of One day cricket. Botham duly obliged scoring a swashbuckling 65 with 4 sixes, not a common thing those days. David Gower followed with a stylish 109 (he was in a great form in that series) and England made a formidable total of 296, which was quite huge at that time.

New Zealand started shaky, soon lost 2 wickets with hardly any substantial score on board. At that point England did the cardinal mistake in Sports, never ever take your opponent for granted. As they say in America, "it ain't over until it's over". They got lazy and sloppy in the outfield. Needless to say, Richard Hadlee (79), Coney (50) and Crowe (49) comfortably took the Kiwis home as the English bowlers and fielders faltered on a hot afternoon in Adelaide when the temperature touched 40 degrees (104 F). Those days Day and Night games were limited only to MCG and SCG. (Later in 1983 the first day and night match was played in at Nehru Stadium, Delhi marred by power outages. India defeated their traditional rivals Pakistan by a late burst of hitting by Kirti Azad).

Later in 1987, I saw the highlights of this match on a popular Sunday morning show on TV called Gavaskar's present ( there was only one channel available called Doordarshan. hence the term was TRP alien to all). The English could not believe that they could not defend their indefensible total. Their body languages said it all. This was probably one of the first instances of greatest chases in One Day Cricket, not by the mighty Windies. I did not see any footage from this match on youtube. Will appreciate, if some one ever locates it. it will be interesting to flip through the pages of history.

Kashmir Valley's sympathy for Pakistan

I was watching Kamal Mustafa, a senior member of National Conference, showing strong sympathy towards waving of the Pakistani flag in Kashmir. He was unabashed about his opinion.

The Valley's sympathy for Pakistan is not something new. During my college days in REC (now NIT) there was  unprecedented violence over in Srinagar. Those students from Odisha, who used to study in Srinagar REC were shifted to ours, as their institute was closed due to prolonged disturbances. They narrated their interesting and certain harrowing stories. (One of them is Ashutosh Mallick, who was asked SALIM MALIK TO MUSALMAN HAI TU KAISE HINDU BAN GAYA, "Salim Malik is Muslim, how come are you a Hindu", ascribing to his last name ).

 

The students from the Srinagar Valley were in a majority, kept to themselves and were completely segregated from their mostly Hindu and Sikh counter[arts from Mainland India. Except perfunctory interactions of exchanging academic notes and greetings on festivals of Ed and Diwali, there were hardly any interactions between them. Pakistan was seen as the Promised Land, the land of freedom and opportunity. When  Zia Ul Haq died that fateful day in August, 1988 the mostly Muslims Kashmiris felt bereaved while the rest rejoiced in silence.

 

Nothing reflected the mental partition and the hiatus based on faith than cricket. The rooms of the Kashmiri Muslims adorned the pictures of Imran, Akram, Miandad and Salim Malik. In their common room, during Indo-Pak cricket encounters they used to sit segregated, with the Kashmir Muslims cheering for Pakistan. Only Indian players who ever got an occasional cheer from the predominantly Muslim Kashmir students were Azharuddin and Arshad Ayub.

 

Unfortunately for the students from Mainland, India used to lose often from their traditional rivals. Their hapless supporters had to bear the brunt of taunts from the Pakistani supporters from Srinagar. It's no surprise for a politician from the Valley to sympathize with Pakistan, for he has correctly assessed the pulse of the locals.

MAACHIS, the Movie

Recently I saw the Hindi movie MAACHIS. Lovely depiction of the milieu of Punjab at the height of its militancy ( reminded me of "Operation Blue Star" on this very day of June, exactly 31 years ago). Arguably, it was Chandrachud Singh's best performance ever. He looks and aptly fits the bill of a Punjabi lad, peeved at the system and police brutality, veers into wrong path. Taboo and Om Puri, both played stellar roles. The crisis (as usual) was created by the Congress government who turned one Sant Bhindranwale, a non descript,  small time preacher into a charismatic leader, catapulting him into limelight. 

 

As Khushwant Singh mentioned in his autobiography, Giani Zail Singh famously described Bhindranwale as SADDE DANDA "our stick" to beat the Akalis with. Well, eventually the genie escaped from the bottle and the DANDA became a huge stick to cause the pain to Congress and Nation's back. The man's myth still lives on. It's not unusual to find T-shirts figuring his turbaned head with flowing beard and cassettes containing his speech in parts of Punjab, especially in the rural areas. His simple slogan JO DARTA WOH SIKH NAHI AUR JO SIKH HAI WOH DARTA NAHI..( one who fears is not a Sikh, one who is a Sikh never fears), caught the imagination of the Sikh youth of the time.

 

The violence and senseless killings reached its peak in late 1980s when the Punjab problem seemed to have gone beyond solution. I met an Odia chap, who was lucky to survice one such attacks in JCT Mills, Phagwara. One night, a bunch of terrorists entered the plant compound and wrapped up all the outsiders get could. Then they forced them stand in a line and shot them randomly. But before doing their cold blooded target practice, those heartless folks took some time, poking fun at their victims who were crying and begging for their lives. Our Odia guy was standing in a dark corner. In the commotion, he decided to take his chance. He slowly back stepped, jumped off a wall and ran away, luckily surviving the volley of bullets sent after him. The next morning (Night time bus services were banned in Punjab those days) he left Punjab forever, determined not to return again.

 

Lots of water has flown since in the 5 rives which make Punjab. The Khalisthani militancy is dead. it's probably the only insurgency successfully countered by the government, though it had its role in creating it at first place. As the name of the movie suggests, a spark from MACCHIS (match stick) can flare up an inferno. We now have its parallels in Maoist movement across different states (not sure why it is named after Mao who hardly cared for or visited India, Naxalite is more appropriate as it refers to a village in Bengal). Hopefully, we learn something from History.

ANASARA of Lord Jagannath and Muggy time in Odisha

Lord JAGANNATH as HIS name symbolizes is formed as the conjoint (SANDHI) of the two words JAGAT (Universe) + NATH (meaning Lord of the Universe). Yet, He follows the simple rituals of a commoner, eats his sumptuous CHAPPAN BHOG (56 items devoted by the devotees), takes shower and falls sick. This occasion is celebrated as SNANA YATRA, or the auspicious Shower Ceremony, on the full moon day of the Hindu Calendar JYESTHA.

In the famous temple town of Puri, water from 108 earthen pots are poured over his head, the result of which comes in the form of a bout of fever. He suffers it for several days, taking complete rest in solitude and attended by the RAJ VAIDYA or the Royal Priest. This hibernation phase of the Lord going incognito for several days is called ANASARA, a phase the devotees are not allowed to see the Lord.

Coinciding with just a few days prior to the arrival of monsoon in Odisha, this time is accompanied by stifling heat and humidity. Hence this phase is locally called as ANASARA GULUGULI (muggy) days. The almost static air, pregnant with water vapor and barely moving a leaf on the trees is often unbearable, with hardly any relief on sight. The local populace take solace from a free Sauna for a few days, praying for early advance of monsoon.