Trimps ban on Immigrants from Islamic countries - A country by country Analysis

If we analyze Trump's Immigration ban on Muslim countries on Individual Basis, there is lot more than we can see now at micro level. Here you go....

The Unaffected Nations : 

INDIA and INDONESIA : Two nations with the largest Muslim populations but negligible terror provider are Unaffected.

EGYPT - Mohammed Atta, the person who orchestrated 9/11 attack was from Egypt. But its military is known to treat their fundamentalists well. ( When Ahmed Al Zawahari, the current leader of Al Qaida was inside an Egyptian jail, his both hands were fed to rabid Dogs to chew and play on them). Besides that, Egypt is a good ally of Israel, the blue eyed boy America.

JORDAN, KUWAIT, QATAR, UAE and OMAN - Valuable allies of USA with way too much business and strategic interest are left untouched.

The Semi Affected Countries, with more stringent vetting process :

SAUDI ARABIA - A major exporter of terrorism but American Business interests with them won't make them go too far with a blanket ban.

PAKISTAN - Another breeding ground of Islamic terrorism. Being a non NATO ally it escaped with vetting process for now. It may not last long once the Americans are out of Afghanistan

AFGHANISTAN - Americans are still there with military base and personnels. Vetting process will continue, but its longevity isn't guaranteed.

The impacted Ones :

IRAQ and SYRIA - Both are part of the acronym ISIS (Islamic State of Iraq and Syria). Need I say more ?

IRAN - No surprise here. The State is already officially a Terrorist state declared by United States for long time. Both countries have no overt diplomatic relationship, no embassies in each other nation, not to mention the Shia majority nation is a scourge to Israel. Easy pick by

Trump.

LIBYA - Another easy pick as post Gaddafi (add it to the list of another American screw up after Iraq) it is a major breeding ground of terror.

SOMALIA and YEMEN - The easiest of the picks. Both are poorest of the poor nations with no business or interest utility for Uncle Sam, also sanctuary of terror elements. No one drops a shed of tear or cares about these impoverished nations, especially Yemen which is currently a proxy war zone between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

My first day of tax preparation 2017 season

Taxing time again. My first day of volunteering this tax season at the local VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) center wasn't so uneventful. After 7 long years, IRS has upgraded to a new Software which is more user friendly. I filed taxes for 6 persons today in a 3 hours, while I could do at most 4 using the old software during the prior years in the same time frame.

Define irony - encounting a marriage counsellor who filed for divorced last year. now filing tax as the head of the house hold as single parent.

Getting divorced or separated isn't not something new, but what I found was oxymoron, a marriage councilor getting divorced, another fodder to my blog.

It is said, the ex Prime minister of India, Indira Gandhi's intervention was often solicited in her social circle to mediate broken marriages. It is a well known fact that she didn't make anything great out of her own marriage. 

A brilliant astrolger, a lot of things he predicted about me way back in 1985 turned out to be true, couldn't control his own fotune and turned himself into a megalomaniac. 

Often I wonder about the vagaries of life. A doctor who cures others from many incurable disease, falls pray to mundane ailments. Many mefics I personally know who give lengthy lectures on bad effects of tobacco and alcohol are themselves champion chain smokers, chewers of ZARDA (scented tobacco) and frequently douse themselves in liberal dosage of sundowners.

Famous bowlers in cricket, who take the wickets of great batsmen often get out to ordinary balls from average bowlers. Burglaries in policemen's home are neither uncommon, nor unheard of.

It yet reinforces my belief that humans are the biggest elements of contradiction. It probably apt for my blog site to be titled "Oxymoron"  (I came up with this name for my blog site, juxtaposing the words "Ox and moron", for I see myself as an Ox, a no brainer animal and self proclaimed moron). And oxymorons we all are.

Trump's Inaguration as 45th President of the United States

Exactly a year ago, Donald Trump was in the middle of a mudslinging battle with his rivals Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio in the Republican Primaries. He edged them out eventually against all odds and yet proved wrong most of the pollsters and political pundits to crush Hillary Clinton's dream to get elected for arguably the most powerful position on earth. Today the President Elect Trump finally graduated to the 45th President of the United States of America.

As the winter Washington rains washed off the dust as it settled down, the hype and hyper associated with Inaguration Ceremony slowly boils down to reality, the new Commander in Chief will have his hands full. Luxury of insurmountable power he has, the unflinching loyalty of his supporters he has, but time is the luxury he doesn't have. As the world holds it breath, struggling to predict the future of an uncertain world order under an equally unpredictable Trump, here is my take on the years ahead of him at the helm of affairs.

Protectionism and insourcing will be the flavor of the time in a world of rising population and automation, when Drones and Robots have started replacing the humans but can't replace the human ethos. When America sneezes, the world catches cold. It has sneezed and a trend has begun to make and hire things at home - very soon the whole world is going to catch this fever.

US has for way too long been burdened with NATO and UN. It's now the time for some reality check, especially on NATO. Let Germans, British, French et all stand on their own legs, rather than staying forever young after World War II for US to cradle them. Trump's anathema towards United Nations, a bloated bureaucracy which should be dumped into Atlantic has the unstinting support of many.

On fighting Terrorism, Trump is going to be stern and clamp down on the selective entities like ISIS, while hardly bothering to bother those terror bodies who haunt others, aka India. Sorry Trump's fans back home who feel that the Right leaning Republican President is going to be a natural ally to the BJP led government. The American brand of Conservatism isn't exactly the same as the RSS brand of Conservatism practiced back home. 

Here are some examples which may not sound so musical as they don't align with the leitmotif of the Right Wing forces back home. First, American Conservatism is Church centric, where as our RSS is no fan of Christians or Christianity. 

Secondly, the Conservatives in Coke Land are staunch believers in American Exceptionalism which has nothing to do with our own brand of Conservatism back home. 

Thirdly, Guns are the sine qua non American Conservatives are big supporters of Guns, whereas our RSS folks could never graduate beyond Lathis (Sticks). Trump is a die hard advocate of all the above three.

The curtain comes down on a long day of celebration, with the Inaguration Ball Orchestra continuing late into the evening. A new day approaches, a new era commences, the future of which only time will bear testimony.

Jallikattu Controversy

Tamil Nadu is one of the few well governed states of India. Tamilians in general are disciplined, law abiding and hardworking citizens, making their state one of the topmost 5 states in India based on various development indices. Most of the Nobel Laurates in Science from India are from this Southern state. And they certainly don't condone cruelty to animals.

The growing Jallikattu agitation there has less to do with cruelty towards animals, more to do with those North of the Vindyas (the mountain chain in Central India, known as a natural divider between North and South) who don't understand the sensitivity of South and are often found lacking sensibility in handling touchy, cultural matters. The end result, some big screw ups.

Once during my stay in Delhi a local colleague asked a guy from Andhra, GHAR KAHA HAI TERA (Where is your house) ? He replied - "Srikakulam". TOH TU MADRASI HAI (Oh, you're a Madrasi). In fact Srikakulam as close to Madras as Belgaum in Karnataka is. Yet everyone South of the Vindyas is a Madrasi in Delhi. (It's no coincidence that many in our nation's Capital think Odisha a part of BANGAAL or Bengal and Jagannath Puri is some Punjabi BAI***OD or sister slammer).

Bollywood movies are known to mock at Southern culture, especially the Tamilians. In one such movie I saw a while ago, a guy wearing spotless white DHOTI (loincloth wound around the waist), with BIBHUTI (Sacred white ash) smeared on his forehead arrives at a DHABA (a North Indian Eaterery), scanning for SAMBAR (A typical South Indian dish) on the menu. 

Now walks in the popular Hindi movie comedian Johny Walker, dressed as a Sardar (Sikh) uttering - OEE MADRASI. KYA SAMBHAR KE SAATH NAAN KHAEGA (Will you eat flatbread dipped in Sambhar, an unlikely combo) to the cacophonic bursts of laughter around him.

From Mehmood in movie PADOSAN doing "AIYO, CHATURA NAAR" to "Chennai Express" for its Lungi dance song sequence, there are many instances of South Indians being mocked on Bollywood screen. More conspicuous was Mithun Chakraborty for his Bharat Natyam dance to the tune of Tamil accented "YUM KRISHNA AIYYAAR YEMME (Hum Krishna Aiyar MA) in Amitabh's movie "AGNEEPATH". 

The list is endless. 

India is a loosely tied Federation, where a lot of cultures and languages conglomerate to form an Union. It needs a glue to bind them for sustainability. That glue is not Bollywood or Cricket, but mutual trust and respect, based on a good understanding of different cultural aspects from Kashmir to Kanyakumari, from Dwarka to Dibrugarh. A knee jerk judgement by those at position of power without looking at regional sensitivities can only fuel antipathy towards the center, nothing else.

N D Tiwari joins - An asset or liability ?

Not sure about the outcome of BJP adding the wily, old fox N D Tiwari to its fold at his young age of 91, there will never be a dull moment with him around. Only time will tell the efficacy of the move by the decision makers in BJP.

N D Tiwari represents the slowly exinct old school of Congress, whose secret source of survival is doing GHULAMI (slavery) picture perfect to the Nehru - Gandhi clan. The sycophantic culture in Congress was best depicted by Debakant Baruah, a Congressman from Assam, who once said in 1970s that "INDIA IS INDIRA and INDIRA is INDIA. 

At same time a Hindi couplet was ascribed to N D Tiwari.

"INDIRA KI HOON MAIN PUJARI,
SANJAY KI HOON MAIN ABHARI,
NA MEIN NAR NAA MEIN NAARI
MAIN HOON N D TIWARI".
Roughly translated into English.
"Worshiper of Indira I am
Indebted to Sanjay I am,
Neither male or female is my fame
N D Tiwari is my name".
I have no idea how sagacious is the decision of BJP's top brass, but Tiwari jee has been in news of late for his salacious deeds. From getting sandwitched by babes at the age of 85 at Governor's mansion in Hyderabad to proudly going on honeymoon, smiling his gum and waving at the paparazzi from a car proudly proclaiming "JUST MARRIED", he has is the emblem of life begins at 90.
Good luck BJP. N D Tiwari is quite a NAR (Man) and hopefully the turncoat turns out to be an asset rather than liability to your Party.

Prelude to the UP elections -I

Election campaign heats up in the cold, dusty fiels of the politically vital state of Uttar Pradesh (known as UP), part of the cowbelt on the great gangetic plains. It is this heartland of Indian politics which sends the majority of MPs to our Parliament and is the state which has sent us the majority of Prime ministers.

A win in the state of UP can be make or break time for the fortune of a party -  a state where caste and communal factors factor in in deciding the winner. With Muslims solidly behind SP, the Upper castes behind BJP and the lower caste behind BSP,  they form the base of the respective parties. They need to scavenge out chunks from each other's base to carve out a winning formula.

I am reminded of my Engineering college days in REC (now NIT) where a sizable number of the students came from the cowbelt which includes the states of UP and Bihar (Both then had Uttarakhand and Jharkhand as part of them). They were great guys, but occasionally some of them would whisper around my ears ISKA JAAT KAA HAI (what's his caste), curious to know about the caste of few Odias, mostly their roommates, trying to connect their castes it to the caste of their Odia counterparts. 

For example, they linked our KARANA caste to KAYAST. The caste Brahmin was self explanatory, though they struggled a lot whether to align our KHANDAYAT caste to Rajputs or Bhumihars.

As a teenager, who had hardly travelled outside Odisha, I found it rather strange.

Odias might have tons of lacunae, but such rampant and naked casteism is not one of them. I found their behavior little weird and uncomfortable, not to mention noticing a few of the upper caste folks from the cowbelt would avoid sitting on the Mess Dining Table with certain guys, whom they perceived as from lower caste or strata of the society. The thought of not sharing a meal with someone never came to our mind, churning my stomach.

Caste is not just A factor, it is THE factor in UP politics, which can only be ignored by any political party at its own peril. No doubt the realpolitik in UP is laced with casteism (as well as communalism), a slight swing of votes can swing the elections in either direction.

(Last and the concluding part of the blog to be continued tomorrow)

Good bye Obama and his legacy

During the Democratic Convention in the year 2004 to declare John Kerry as the Party's nominee for the President of United States, one of the multiple speakers on the stage was a newly elected Senator from Abraham Lincoln's state of Illinois. There was two things special about this Senator - he was one of the rare African-American Senators and a charismatic communicator. His name was BARACK OBAMA.

With his famous "Skinny kid with a Funny name" speech, Obama catapulted into the  limelight during that Convention. A star was born. When I saw that speech, interrupted by standing ovations, I predicted a bright future for him.

Little anybody knew that in the subsequent Democratic Convention exactly 4 years later, the same person would be at the centre of the spotlight, being the Party's nominee for the President of United States of America.

No one would've predicted that another 4 years later as Obama walked into White House for his 2nd term, the Democrat nominee at 2004 Convention, John Kerry would be serving him as his Secretary of State. It yet vindicates that time define fortune and it's wheel.

Obama was the first African American in true sense - his father was an African (from Kenya) and mother an American. Economy was in a free fall when Obama took over. Bill Clinton left America's economy with a budget surplus, George Bush spectacularly squandered it, leaving with trillions of dollars deficit, mostly due to his Iraqi misadventure.

As Sanjeev Kumar said in the iconic Hindi movie SHOLAY, LOHA KO LOHA KAT TA HAI (only iron can cut iron), Sadadam Hussein was a ba***rd, but he was our ba**rd. He kept Iran under control and put a lid on a can of worms. But Bush went there and opened the lid for the worms to grow and form the core of ISIS today.

Obama was prudent to stay out of Middle East. At home his Auto bailout and Stimulus Package arrested the economic bloodbath, assuring him another term. Though many expected much more him, he did a pretty good job as he inherited a mess no President in the modern history of United States did. America is pretty stable now as he ends his tenure, compared to when he took over.

Barack Obama will be judged as the buffer between two political buffoons, George W Bush and Donald Trump, the later still untested. He will go down history as a President who not only prevented a sinking ship from going down, rather steadied it on its course. Adieu President Obama. America and world are going to miss you.

 

The Days of Texas Detour

In 1979, the English movie TEXAS DETOUR was playing at Bhubaneswar, which a good friend of mine claimed to have watched it. However he said the movie's name was "Texas Dictator", apparent from the way he pronounced it.

 

Texas Dictator, Detector, Doctor or Whoever - I had no option but to believe him, for he was the one and the only one self proclaimed expert of English movies and music at that time within my circle. So his words were the Gospel. Yes, I had heard of Texas. But as a State where the American President JFK was assassinated in a city named Dallas - no more, no less. 

 

My friend had an aura about him, as he claimed following ABBA, Boney M music. Often he used to sing something with snorted lips, which resembled English language as "Bata shoes, Carona shoes..shoooooes..whoooos". I was completely spellbound. Ignorance may be bliss, but for me it metamorphosed into sheer adulation.

 

Those were the days of late 1970s and early 80s, when watching English movies was taboo. Only CHHATARA (girl chasing vagabonds) and BAZAARIs (free roaming loafers) had the reputation of watching English movies - with the additional image and baggage of being filled with nothing but filth to spoil the young minds.

 

Such assessment wasn't entirely wrong in an overtly conservative society. Teenagers would stealthily break free from parent's prying eyes to watch movies like BOBBY and QURBANI (Sacrifice). Except Bruce Lee and Bond movies, the rest English movies were out of bounds for most. But it couldn't bound the curiosity of the youth of the time, who managed to sneak into those movies designated for Noon Shows.

That was the time when Cuttack was the big brother, a happening city and with Bhubaneswar its poorer twin. The later was regarded as a city of immigrants lacking a coherent culture of its own, ascribed by many as GOLAM NAGARI (The City of Slaves) where the salaried class slavish people served their SALKAR (government) vis a vis the DILADAAR and BOBAAL (Broad hearted and fun loving) KATAKIs (denizens of Cuttack). 

 

Folks from Cuttack were fun loving, considering 5 or 6 Talkies (local parlance for movie theatres) they had, decent by the standard of those days and far more than any other city in Odisha. From the quality of mosquitoes to movies (the famous KATAKI MASA can lift you for miles) the city on the bank of Mahanadi had an edge of its newly built adjoining capital city.

 

In contrast Bhubaneswar had only 3 movie halls, two of them named Kalpana and Rabi were within a mile, equidistant from my house. Both were arguably the biggest hatcheries of CHHARA POKA (Bed bugs) who can bite chunks of your ass off, which is apparent from the scenes of the viewers coming out of the theatre, scratching their private parts in public.

 

Once when I was glued to Amitabh's movie NASTIK (Atheist) in Rabi talkies, I got this cold, gluey feeling from bottom, stuck by a big mouthful chunk of chewing gum left by someone on my seat. I realized it midway when I tried to get up, leaving a thin trail of white string behind me, akin to a jet airliner leaving a white tail on deep blue sky. It was real pain in my butt, as during the intermission I spend a good chunk of time, cleaned myself off that chunk from my pant using a handkerchief (a part of a teen's pocket paraphernalia those days along with a comb). 

 

Another escapade in the Kalpana Talkies - I took my TASREEF (sat down) on the coconut coir filled seat, as the beg bugs were having a field day feasting on me. Annoyed and irritated, I barely shifted to scratch myself, glad to be relieved that the spiraling spring protruding upwards from the torn away top of the chair just missed the target it was destined for. I told my English movie loving friend sitting besides me - You just missed the fun. If the spiraling spring hit the right target, you could have heard me inadvertently singing with snorted lips your favorite song - "Bata shoes, Carona Shoes, Whoooooos, Whoooooes, Oh My Woes". 

RIP Om Puri

MAINE RAMA SHETTY KO MAAR DIYA (I have killed Rama Shetty). The Award winning movie ARDHYA SATYA (Half Truth) ends with this monologue by an actor who is instantly thrown into limelight by his role of an honest cop played in this movie.

The actor was Om Puri, who has never looked back since this epic movie from 1984 until he passed away last night (incidentally the role of Rama Shetty, a gangster, was played by another eminent Marathi actor Sadashiv Amrapurkar, whose monologue KAAL ANA or come tomorrow to arrest me in that movie also catapulted him into limelight. He passed away not long ago).

After ARDHYA SATYA offers poured in for the Punjabi actor, who since acted in multiple commercial as well as art (non conformist) movies, displaying his immense acting talent. Easily recognizable by his thick, characterstic husky voice and poke marked face, he played all possible roles on screen - good guy, bad guy, good cop, bad cop, comedian and crook to perfection.

A champion of free speech, he didn't hesitate to express his opinion, daring to go against the tide by airing his objection to the war mongering Indians and banning of Pakistani artists on TV. It wasn't an easy thing to do at a time, especially in a surcharged atmosphere, when questioning of government's motive was tantamount to treachery.

Once the cheeky politician from the state of Bihar, Laloo Yadav promised to make the roads of Bihar as smooth as the cheek of actress Hema Malini. But down the road, the roads of Bihar still resembles the small pox pore filled chicks of the actor Om Puri than the cheek of the dream girl of yesteryears.

His trademark poke marked face instantly earned a witty response, which along with his heavy, husky, resounding voice will forever be etched in the memories of tens of millions in a nation where Bollywood is a major religion, along the Cricket. RIP Om Puri.

Dhoni retirement from the captain of the limited overs format

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 lost its star batsman Sachin Tendulkar, still needing tons of run to see through their target.

Those days the end of Tendulkar was regarded as beginning of India's impending end. Nonchalantly walks in a young man with long hair, a tyro following the departure of a connoisseur in Sachin. Nobody expected much from this guy named M S DHONI from a non descript, impoverished state named Jharkhand.

In middle of a hostile India baiting (rather hating) crowd, he led a successful chase staying cool as iceberg. It's not very common to be a 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 cycle of meekly surrendering against Pakistan to the chagrin and disappoint of its fans.  Soon India was no more seen as lacking the nerve and guts to fight under adverse circumstances.  

Dhoni continued to flourish and never looked back. His quitting today as the Captain of the limited overs format brings back memories of his biggest gift to our nation - under his leadership India winning the much coveted World Cup in 2011. Three years later followed his abrupt relinquishing of test career to the surprise of tens of millions of his fans.

A la most long lasting Indian Captains, Dhoni's tenure wasn't free from its share of controversies, with partisan debates surrounding him. But what's not debatable is his commitment and contributions to Indian cricket. The man has earned it. Hats off to a legend and God to many in a country where cricket is the religion.

The Bangalore molestation on New Year's Eve

The molestation of girls on New Year's Eve in Bangalore has made some ripples in media, social or otherwise. As every Faci-zen (Facebook Citizen) has an opinion about everything from Rocket science to Igneous Rocks, I didn't want to be the one left behind.

In our Metropolitan cities we have two Indias mutually coexisting side by side - one modern and liberal, the other misogynistic and voyeuristic kind. Both have this unwritten rule of sticking to their own territories. But on occasions, this thin viscous line of separation evaporates in the heat of the moment, encroaching into other's private territory.

This happens when both cultures clash, the cusp can be a large gatherings like New Year's eve. A la the warm and cold fronts clash across Jet stream causing Tornadoes, such cultural clashes cause social tremors. The Nirbhaya rape in Delhi and the most recent incident in Bangalore are results of a milieu sitting on a gunpowder keg. All it takes something like alcohol to ignite.

Constitution provides us freedom to hold peaceful gatherings. Yet freedom come with a cost, it is never free. Let me narrate this episode mentioned by friend Kulamani babu on another thread, which pretty much tells the story -

"When copies of books like "One quarter of hour in night @ call center" and of hundreds of such titles mushrooming, the authors of such masterpieces being decorated with Padma Awards, such  incidents would be very common in future. Last Sunday, while going to to  IIT, Hyderabad with my wife and son, witnessed  a boy and a girl were indulged in serious love making on the 8 Track NEHRU OUTER Express highway in broad day light and their two wheeler was acting like a bed ! We could not look and talk to our son for rest of the time ! Two wheelers are  banned in side the highway."

For those have nots, who don't get such an opportunity in real life, do get a voyeuristic, vicarious pleasure on watching these scenes. For them the sight of vociferous Damsels in midnight's crowd in darkness is a God sent opportunity to grab, so they grope it.

One can't clap using one hand. It always works both ways, so both moral and regular policing can help. By moral policing, I am not suggesting sermons by sundry Netas (Leaders) or Gurus. We should look at Singapore, which applies a carrot and stick policy. Carrot - Ethical values infused in their educational system, some guided by our eminent Odia writer Manoj Das as cultural consultant to the Citi-state. Charity begins at home, the parents and elders should cultivate ethics in their young minds.

Stick - Fear of lashes as the DANDA (stick) works wonder, where logic fails. Once during early 90s, the Singaporean authorities went on to lash an American tourist who broke the law of the land, in spite of the Superpower exhaustively exerting its diplomatic might to prevent it. Singapore doesn't have this concept of sparing someone, because that someone is SALA KA MAMA KA BHATIJA (nephew of my Uncle's brothers-in-law). They went ahead and implemented the sentence. Our DANDA is no less effective than their lashes. If implemented without fear or favor, can yield awesome results.

 

Here goes the lesser known Odia Adage,

 

MADA KHIA MAHADEVA

MADA KHAILA BARA DABA, transliterated

Thrashing prone Lord Mahadev

Grants boon, if he gets thrashed

For only thrashing he obeys.

 

The fearless Lord Mahedev once granted boon to a demon after being severely thrashed by the later. As we say in Odia, MADA EKA AMOGHA ASTRA (Thrashing is an effective weapon). Nothing works like DANDA therapy, which can work wonders. Not suggesting a Saudi style moral policing, but Prevention in the form of practising certain discretion in public is always better than cure in the form of DANDA therapy. Otherwise, it will take someone to strike a matchstick in a room filled with inflammable gas to initiate the next firestorm, which is waiting to happen.

Visit to Jaganntah Temple on New Year's Day

Years ago, on one fine New Years day in India, I was trying to cross the Puri bound road close to where our home in Bhubaneswar. I was surprised to see thee abnormal traffic on a normal day, a rush almost similar to what you would see on a day of some major festival, like the famous RATH YATRA (Car festival) in Puri.

I had to tip toe my way, swaying my hips, waving, clenching my hands like an eunuch at the approaching traffic of vehicles big and small, zeroing on me, blaring their cacophonic horn in unison at me. As there were no Zebra crossing, it took 5 minutes exhibiting my dancing skills to cross a 20 feet wide road. (Road crossing is an art in Bhubaneswar and one needs to be a trapeze artist to cross roads at crossroads of Bhubaneswar). That day I went above and beyond my normal hip swaying skills which would have made any danseuse proud.

After managing to reach home in a single piece, I asked my father the reason behind such an unusual rush on an usual day. He said, it has become fashionable now to do a JAGANNATH DARSHAN (take a peek at Lord) on New Year's Day at the His abode in Puri. Like a dip in river Ganga (Ganges), they trust CHAKADOLA (Circular eyelid, another name of Sri Jagannath) with his ever pervading look will purify them off their dirt like Aqua guard, from the previous year and the year next.

It explains why you would see many bloody, bleary eyed folks, still nursing hangover from last night's New year's eve Bacchanalian jamborees, stumbling their way up the BAISI PAHANCHA (the legendary steps) leading to Lord's abode. Many of them I know are prolific slimy characters, congenial liars and champion womanizers, who are known to religiously make this trip on the New year's day. Constipated with sins, they hope that the next 364 days will go as smooth as whistle, as the morning bowel movement post a dinner of RUTI (Chappati) and DALMA (boiled mixed of fiber rich lentils and vegetables), a staple Odia food.

We have this popular Odia Adage - BAARA BARSA RA TAPASYA SUKHUA PODA RE JIBA, transliterated, "Twelve years of penance will be swept away by consuming broiled dry fish". It means, all the great efforts and perseverance for a long period can go wrong by a single stroke of stupid act.

Reverse this theorem - A trip to the abode of the lord on the first day of the year guarantees buying peace and tranquility for the rest of the year, erasing off the sins in one stroke, a la the wiper of a car swishes away all the dust accumulated in summer after fresh monsoon rains. May KAALIA (as Lord Jagannath is known for his Amber complexion) bless them for the next 364 days, until their must visit yet again on 1st January, 2018.