Happy New year 2020

The teen year 2019 paves way for the year 2020 - a leap year, year of the Summer Olympics and Presidential Elections in the United States. While we step into it, we don't know what lies ahead, what's in store for us. As the old man 2019 bends his spine and extends his hand to open the door to welcome the New Year, it is now time for some introspection. 

A la getting rid off old cloths for the new ones, the soul moving from one body to another as famously extolled by Lord Sri Krishna in the BHAGWAT GITA and other Hindu Scriptues, 2020 will be reborn yet again at midnight tonight. The year dawns with the cherubic smile of a newborn, as another number is added to its age in the form of a New Year.

But hardly anything ever changes. Life trudges ahead as the same shit, different day - with different color and texture. Hardly anything cataclysmically different happens, rather more or less the status quo is maintained. I don't make any New year promises to myself, as I don't and can't keep them. I just roll over to the year ahead of me.

We may forget history but we don't forget to repeat it year after year. Similar to this starting stanza of the Kishore Kumar's song :

EK RUT AAE, EK RUT JAAE PHIR,
MOUSAM BADLENA, BADLE NASEEB.

"One season comes and another goes,
Seasons change, not the fateful woes".

This year came and went with a mixed bag of good, bad and ugly for me, with additional baggage of memories rolling into next year. Made new friends, revived old ones and lost a few near and dear ones, once and for all. Yet the year comes with this stark reminder - life goes downhill from here, tasks become uphill and years are numbered before I go over the hill.

To me, almost all the New Year wishes expressed over the years have been pleasant enough to makes them forgettable. Homo Sapien's inherent instinct is to remember the unpleasant ones. I being no exception - remember this one from 1st January,1982. On the first New Year after his marriage to Diana, Prince Charles wished the nosey British Paparazzi, "Have a Nasty New Year".

But I don't have to be nasty. So let me repeat the forgettable wish, as I do not forget to do at the end of every year - HAVE A WONDERFUL NEW YEAR ahead and stay blessed.

Trump is likely to win in 2020

Few days are left before we hit the year 2020. It is going to be the year of American Presidential election. One thing I have decided - that I am NOT going to vote for Donald Trump. Period.

Though I don't want him to be reelected, he has a high chance of winning his reelection. A week is a long time in politics. November 2020 is eons away. Lot of things can happen in between - for better or worse. Barring a recession in the American economy, Unfortunately for detractors like me, he is likely to get a second term.  Here is why.

If you look at all Presidential Elections in history since the World War II when the term of an American President was reduced to only two terms - only two Presidents lost their reelection bid. They're Jimmy Carter in 1980 and George Bush Senior in 1992. Both went to their reelection presiding over an economy in Recession and lost.

A bad economy doesn't necessarily mean that Trump will be defeated, unless the Democrats present a better, viable alternative. So far, the Democratic candidates look listless. Joe Biden, the most likely Democrat nominee reminds the Americans of same old, same old establishment guy - an Washington insider. A new face like Obama with a driving message connecting to audience is much needed, but absence.

The American Primaries are starting in January. First in Iowa, followed by New Hampshire, Nevada, South Carolina and Florida. I have a feeling Joe Biden will eventually get the nomination. Hope against all odds he manages to defeat Trump and pushes him into the dustbin of history as the 3rd sitting President in American history since the Second World War not to get a Second term.

Trip to Savannah 2019 - II

America is blessed with gigantic water bodies to sustain the river cruise liners. The rivers are fed by rainfall which is well distributed throughout the year, not just limited to a particular season. It explains why there is no particular "rainy season" in most parts of America. In the relatively dry West, snow clad mountains feed the rivers, making them perennial. US is filled with big lakes of different shapes sizes - starting from tiny ponds to Great Lakes in North, all gargantuan sources of freshwater.

It was a crazy, cold rainy day here in Savannah. Water, water every where - literally pouring down from top in form of rain and the Savannah river brimming in water below the River Cruise liner with the drenched American flag fluttering on the tall flagmast atop the ship.

All were ensconced inside the ship as it was too windy and blustery out there. From the comfort of warm enclosure, peeking through the pounding cold rain we watched the seagulls brave the weather, diving into the river water for a fresh catch. The Seagull catches fish the hard way, under harsh circumstances in the pouring rain and low visibility. It yet vindicates that fishing on your own way gives you better confidence than being an armchair angler.

Americans have even mastered the art of commercializing things which even Science doesn't accept. US is full of hunted hotels, mansions where folks pay a premium to stay. It is said that the Actor Jim Carey once stayed in one such famous Hunted hotels paying heavy price. In the middle of night he was seen running bare bodied with only his shorts on in the hotel lobby. He promptly shifted, never going back to his room again. When asked, he never disclosed the reason for his weird behavior in the middle of the night but vowed never go back to that hotel again.

Same goes with the Ghost tours and Savannah in the state of Georgia is famous for that. A trip to Savannah is incomplete without taking one of the several ghost tours available after dark. Many stay in the Hunted hotels for the sake of experiencing spooky stuff, but we preferred to avoid such hotels. I am afterall a meek Odia without much water stored in his ass (GA**I RE PAANI NAHI, as they say in Odia).

The weather was perfect for a Ghost tour - Cold, Dark and Stormy. We took a guided tour of the most famous Hunted House of Savannah - Andrew Lowe's mansion. Andew Lowe was a rich and influential man who minted money by exporting Cotton when the demand for the cash crop was high at in the initial days of the Industrial Revolution.

But even stinking rich people are not immune to tragedies as one after another struck him at the height of his money and fame. His wife and couple of kids died young. Andrew Lowe was left crestfallen. Many since have witnessed shadowy figures in that mansion, a man in a Butler's dress named Tom. Smell of cigar suddenly wafts inside the hallway with no one seen smoking around. 

A few have smelled a rosy perfume close by as they felt like suddenly brushed aside by some. The perfume was supposedly worn by Mary, the second wife of Andrew Lowe who died young in that house. 

Following the hurricane of 1979, men working around the Mansion heard the painful sobbing of a woman. Their first thought was it was someone taking refuse there, as many mansions were used as temporary shelter homes for the hurricane evacuees. They followed the sobbing sound to one room above the staircase, but found nobody there. However, they found that it was the Anniversary of the death of Mary, who died in that exact room where the crying came from.

As a finale to our Savannah travelogue here are a few Spooky Jokes told by our Ghost tour guide retold here.

Why the Skeleton didn't go to Prom ?Because he had nobody. 

Why the Ghost didn't couldn't get his crush?

Because he had no guts.

What's the cross of a Vampire and a Snowman- Frostbite.

Trip to Savannah 2019 - I

Come Christmas time in America, it's time for some downtime by taking some time off from work to enjoy the holidays, shugg off the jaded nerves recharging your batteries. As human beings we all are entitled to take a break from the daily drudgery and nothing helps better than taking a vacation. Being a busy year for me (each following year it invariably gets busier) a vacation had been long pending to prevent any burnout. 

We decided to spend a few days in the historic city of Savannah, Georgia - a place diametrically opposite of the city of Columbus where we live. Georgia is a big state, area wise it is pretty much close to Odisha, my home state back home. If you fold a map of Georgia by the Piedmont line extending from its North West corner to South East, Columbus on South West and Savannah on North East will probably overlap on each other.

Georgia was one of the first 13 states forming the United States of America. Savannah was a major port city down South, a center of trade where most of the cash crops produce - especially Tea, Rice, Indigo and Cotton were exported. It explains why cold Sweet Tea, (rather than hot tea we are accustomed to in India) is very popular in the South, served in almost every restaurant to help wash down the food.

Savannah was a prosperous city in the 18th and 19th century. But slowly except Cotton the demand for Tea, Rice and Indigo reduced over time as the main customers British started Tea and Indigo plantations in India. And India being their prized colony Great Britain, they got Tea, Indigo and Rice from India at darn cheap price with plenty of cheap labor to exploit. 

The English found a better way of profiteering - plunder your own colony than compete with an independent country. However Savannah still remained the main port as far as exporting Cotton was concerned as England still needed American cotton. Though the Americans drove the British out of their country, the trade between the nation continued. Business and Politics have a strange contradictory relationship. Like married couples they bicker with one another, yet stick together for the sake of mutual gain. 

The city of Savannah has enough history to showcase. The first tour a Trolley ride through its historic streets. We stopped by the oldest house, its first owner was a Pirate in 1735 and still preserved. The tour guide stopped by the bench made famous by Tom Hanks in his iconic movie "Forrest Gump" who sitting on the bench delivered in his thick, Southern accented monologue - "Life is a baax (box) of chaacklates (chocolates). You don't know what yaa going to geyt (get)".

Prohibition started in the year 1908 in Georgia which went dry 12 years before the complete prohibition was imposed in rest of America. It led to flourishing of bootlegging and the rich, port township  of Savannah was its epicenter in South. 

History has vindicated that prohibition has been a failure across the globe. Great Innovators they are, Americans distilled some of the best Bourbon Whiskeys during the prohibition era. (Lot of English words are shortened in American English, e.g. colour is called color, Cocoanut as coconut. But Whisky is called Whiskey in America, a rare instance of a longer version of the word in American English vis a vis British).

On a cold, blustery day saw a couple smooching and fondling each other with youthful enthusiasm ahead of us. They were high on Holiday spirit. The bald beau looked much older than the girl. Remembered a popular Odia DHAGA (Couplet) used in my village about Sugar daddies - the much older husbands of younger wives.

LANDA MUNDA KU SORISA TELA, 

BUDHA GHAITA KARUCHI GELA.

Mustard oil atop Bald Head

Old hubby is Kissing Ahead.

More later...

TU, TUME (Tum) and APANA (Aap)

TU, TUME and APANA, though all carry the same meaning, are three different ways of addressing in Odia. In Hindi its counterpart is TU, TUM, AAP. The choice of words depends on the familiarity and strata in society of the person at the receiving end. Basically all stand of the equivalent English word "You". English language doesn't distinguish a person being addressed as you.

It's common to address one's mother, siblings (if the younger ones is a brother in Brahmin families) and friends (on basis of familiarity), or people of the lowest strata in society with TU. Next comes the next layer of address TUME or TUM (in Hindi) is reserved for the more respectful uncles, spouces, boy-girl friends and people at the next level of stratum.

APANA or AAP is reserved for the best, the elderly folks, teachers and those at highest strata of society. It is a way of courtesy extended to others. I am now reminded of this stanza from a song in the Hindi movie BOBBY, "JAISE Lucknow KI DO NAWABON KI GAADI PEHLE AAP PEHLE AAP KARTE NIKAL JAATE HAIN" - as two vehicles carrying Royals of Lucknow, a place known for etiquette request each other to go first when they get into a Deadlock situation at road intersections when two drivers are stuck, requesting the other one to go first. Such courtesy extended in Lucknow is rarely extended elsewhere, certainly not on the roads of Bhubaneswar.

Sometimes a change in social status, in relationship or otherwise, changes the way of addressing. In most arranged marriages the couples address each other as TUME (TUM). In case of marriages preceded by dating (dating in India may not be exactly the American way of dating) or in the so called love marriages as known in local parlance (in most cases it's less love, more like self arranged marriages based upon convenience), during the pre marital courtship the couples are known to address themselves as TU (if they are classmates of close age). 

Post marriage the inertia of TU Addressing continues like Newton's law of motion, unless an external factor like mother-in-law forces the girl to address her son with the more respectful TUME. It is less common, though not unusual for the husband forced to switch from TU to TUME as the girl yearns for more respect.

In arranged marriage, the bride and groom usually call each other TUME or TUM, though in some cases for the husband to address his wife as TU (our's is still a male dominated society). It's not unusual for such couples to come down addressing with TU, when they fight or get down to the basic instincts, as TU is the base way of addressing.

I have seen the dilemma in addressing when some one's elder sibling gets married. A person, who forever had addressed his elder brother as TU, finds it little odd to address his BHAUJA or BHAVI (brother's wife) as TUM. Eventually he or she adjusts (another ubiquitous word, we adjust a lot in our society).

Once upon a time, Bhubaneswar was filled with Cycle Rickshaws. Everybody from our generation has yelled HE RICKSHAW JIBU (O' Rickshaw will you go). Now it's replaced by HE AUTO JIBA or JIBE KI ? (O' Auto, will you go). A rickshaw puller was rarely called JIBA KI (better respected expression) and Auto driver is rarely called TU or JIBU (least respected expression). Either denizens have become more respectful, or the transformation from a Rickshaw puller to Auto driver has gone has earned them respect. 

In English language it's always you, you and only you. A two liner Odia limerick from our childhood goes as follows.

AGYAN APANA TUME TU,
TUMA MUHARE KUKURA MUTU.

Respected base(you), better (you) and the best(you),
May a dog pee on the face of you.

RIP Bob Willis

I remember Bob Willis for a very unique reason. He is the first international cricketer I saw up close, only the barbed wire of the Hotel Kalinga Ashok lawn separating us - arguably the only livable Hotel in the twin city of Cuttack and Bhubaneswar in the early 1980s. A tall lanky guy with an aquiline nose and curly hair is not someone who can be missed. I correctly identified the man, relating him to his pictures I saw on Sportstar, Sportsweek and Sportsworld - the Sports magazines of the time.

It was almost 38 years back, when a power packed English team was touring India. England then had a formidable team, the overwhelming favorites over their hosts. They had an indomitable One Day International record, being the finalist of the prior World Cup, losing only to the mighty West Windies. India had a below average record in the limited overs version of the game.

The year was 1982. A late winter day of that cricket season seems just like yesterday, when the first ever One Day International match at Barabati Stadium in Cuttack was played between India and England in the last week of January. It was one of it's kind. Earlier Cuttack had hosted a few games between the touring international sides and East Zone. But for the first time an One day international match involving team India was going to be played at the picturesque venue.

Enthusiasm was building up in anticipation of the match. There was a huge demand for tickets, with all of them getting sold out in no time. My father somehow managed to grab a couple to the jealously of my friends, giving an ardent cricket fan in me the most cherished opportunity of the time. A few officials were selling their match passes openly in the black market. 

The English team arrived early and were housed in Hotel Kalinga Ashok, barely a mile from my home. Next day morning I heard "TRING TRING" - a friend of mine ringing his bicycle bell in front of our flat (apartment).  It was his usual signal that something important was going on. 

I immediately rushed downstairs. He told me to ride along with him as he got the news that English players were out in the lawn Hotel. I did not think twice, as my heart was pounding fast with unbridled excitement. Now I am going to see in real life the sports celebrities I pictured on the Sports magazines.

We pedaled fast and within 5 minutes reached the spot. I could see Bob Taylor (wicket keeper) and Bob Willis relaxing on the lawn on a cool morning, sipping Tea and chatting. Only a barbed wire separated us by a few feet. Excitement got better of my friend who started shouting in Odia at top of his voice "ARRE DEKH RE, TALOR AU BOTHAM BASICHANTI (Hey, take a look. Taylor and Botham arw sitting together)". I corrected him. It was rather both Bobs, Taylor and Willis. Botham wasn't there.

A few passerby took notice and a crowd started gathering. Both these English players could sense the commotion. They got up and hurried towards their room. Before leaving Bob Taylor made a monkey like gesture and rolled a half eaten apple towards us. We felt so privileged by getting his attention and felt as if we attained salvation. Little we did realize it wasn't a very laudable gesture on Taylor's part. With his blue eyes sparkling at us, the other Bob (Willis) just smiled and left.

This man, tall and lanky Bob Willis along with Beefy (appropriately nicknamed) Botham formed a formidable English pace attack, being the thorn on the flesh of their opponents. Though the more flamboyant Botham hugged the limelight, the gentleman cricketer Bob Willis carved his niche - both on and off the field, later as a Commentator.

I will remember Bob Willis for defending a meagre lead of 130 against the Aussies in Headingley in 1981, with the English snatching an improbable victory by 20 odd runs, with Bob Willis taking 8 wickets for 43. Also for being at the receiving end in 1982 when Sandip Patil hit him for 8 consecutive boundaries and Yashpal Sharma hitting a six off a flick, a fluke shot from the bowling of Willis in 1983 Semi finals.

The gentleman cricketer who died today at the age of 70 will forever remembered for his contribution to cricket by our generation and the generations to come. RIP Bob Willis.

The rape and murder of young medico in Hyderabad

It is winter of discontentment in India. Close to the heels of bad economic report comes another bad news of the ghastly rape and murder of a young lady doctor in the South Indian city of Hyderabad. The news is as shocking as the Nirbhaya rape case which incidentally happened a few winters ago in the nation's capital Delhi. Drawing a parallel, a la the Nirbhaya rape case was fast tracked and perpetrators were swiftly punished, the culprits in this case should be quickly apprehended and rewarded with nothing less than a death penalty.

The debate over Capital Punishment and the state taking law into own hands in a civilized society is probably as old as the civilization itself. I have seen many squabble over the efficacy of death sentence as a deterrent to crime. In this respect the contrast of opinion between males and females is conspicuous. 

Men are certainly anguished by this heinous act, but the outpouring outrage from the women is quite understandable as the fairer sex can relate more to the agony. It probably explains why more number of males than females question the righteousness of the death penalty, especially in case of rape. Personally I would love to see the rapists hung by their neck till they shiver, quiver and lay still, cold as revenge is best served cold.

Reminds me of this monologue delivered by actor Anupam Kher playing a bad cop in 1991 movie HUM - "YEH KHOON BHI BADI AJEEB SI CHEEZ HAI. APNO KA NIKALTA HAI TO DARD HOTA HAI. LEKIN DOOSRON KE NIKLE TOH MAZAA AATA HAI (Blood is a weird thing. It hurts a lot if it is your own. If it comes from others, watching it is fun).

Hence, before passing some armchair judgment let's take a pause, contemplate by stepping into the shoes of the victim's family, be it Nirbhaya's (the woman raped in Delhi) or the medico girl in this case. 

It would be easy for me to preach eye for an eye is wrong, the state has no right to kill an individual, blah blah. But would I be talking at the same breath if I can relate the victim to one of my near and dear one ? Hell no.

In America death penalty is a state subject, most conservative states have it, most liberal states don't. The nation is evenly divided on the issue. Here the family of the victim is allowed to watch the execution of the perpetrator. They perhaps do it for a reason. 

Dastardly act often provokes dastardly response. It may not be humane, but it is human. I have no illusions of being a superhuman. Normally I won't hurt a fly, let alone watch someone die. But God forbid, if one day I am invited to such an event, I will unabashedly take the front row, taking the sadistic pleasure of watching the turbulent last moments of the convict.

No wonder in movies nobody sheds a tear when the bad guy falls. Hope one fine morning (not sure why hangings are done in the morning), these rapists will be hung until death from the hangman's noose.

Hang in there. Before I go, I can't but mention this sonnet from the Hollywood Western Classic - "3.10 TO YUMA ", based in 19th Century US. Electric Chair wasn't invented yet. Hanging in Public was the preferred mode of execution in America's Wild Wild West. A hangman taunts the convict before taking him to the gallows :

"They will hang me in the morning,

They will hang me before the dawn.

They will hang me in the morning,

I will never see the Sun".

I can attribute the same sonnet to these convicts. Don't RIP girl, until those who harmed you never see the sun as they walk to be garlanded by the hangman's noose. Hope that day is not too long away.

The Maharashtra soap opera

I remember this movie showed on Doordarshan in the year 1987, the only TV Channel available in India. Its name -  YEH WOH MANZIL TO NAGIN, loosely translated "This is not the goal we envisioned". 

In that movie, a group of friends who have gracefully aged try to help a college rebel for the right cause played by the actor Pankaj Kapoor. Nasiruddin Shah was playing the negative role of a small time politician fiddling in student politics. At the end of the movie Pankaj Kapoor is killed betrayed by his own. It was a deja vu moment for the old men who planned a mutiny against the British but ended up by betraying their close friend who gets killed by the English ruler.

Moral of the movie - nothing much had changed in those 40 years between 1947 and 1987. Friends betrayed friends then, the next generation replicated the act years down the road. The movie aptly depicted this, contrasting the milieu of games of deception played in two different era but resulting in the same end game.

Betraying our own for cheap, myopic gains is in our blood. Otherwise everyone from Turks, Persians, Afghans, Mughals and British couldn't have defeated, looted and occupied us with impunity. The title of the movie perfectly captured the ethos and pathos of - our basic nature didn't change down the road.

Now fast forward to 2019. We can see the fortune of the aspirants for Maratha throne swings like pendulum every passing day. (I call this quest for power as a battle for throne in the guise of the hypocrisy called democracy). Current political drama is played in the state of Maharashtra when fortune favors one faction in the evening, but next morning the other faction is sworn at the Mantralay (Assembly).

The common man is a BHAKUA (gullible chap) who is enjoying this Soap opera from the sidelines. His mandate has gone to the dogs. My newsfeed is filled  Bhakts (blind supporters of BJP) having gleeful euphoria and multiple orgasms since last night, since as of now its advantage BJP. Those who oppose the party are down but not out, hopeful that the old, wily Fox Sharad Pawar has a surprise or two stored in his sleeves to have the last laugh. It ain't over until it's over. PICTURE ABHI BAAKI HAI (the movie is yet to end). Game on folks.

Whatever may happen, irrespective of the end result let's take a break from the drama and climax, rather relax and introspect. Aren't these folks supposed to respect our mandate ? Did we elect them for displaying these non stop nonsense histrionics which can give Ekta Kapoor's soap operas run for money, as the state administration lies paralyzed for weeks ? I haven't seen a single post highlighting this. All are busy watching the reality show. After all these Netas (leaders) we elect represent us only.

The democracy we envisoned is for namesake only and has a long way to mature. Abraham Lincoln famously said democracy is "Of the people, By the people, For the people". Under current circumstance it is - "OFF the People, BUY the People, FAR the People". YEH WOH MANZIL TO NAHIN. This is not the goal we dreamt off at independence. We got miles to go before we reach our much cherished destination.

The Brouhaha behind the Muslim scholar of Sanskrit

I have nothing against Sanskrit or those who want to learn the language, or any other subject out of their own voluntary will. Excellence in academic pursuits is purely self motivated and interest driven. If imposed, it yields limited dividend.

Like many from my generation I studied Sanskrit in my School. Taking excuse to do some self bragging, I scored 80% in that subject in my CBSE, Class X Board Exam - not so bad those days. Yet I have my share of concerns and complaints about the exotic language. 

Let's cut the hypocrisy here. Everyone wants a good paying job and Sanskrit is not a subject which can guarantee you that. The language, which is well revered has tons of grammar and rules, making it inordinately complex for commoners. I perennially complained to my grandpa, a well known Sanskrit scholar of his time who insisted on me roting its grammar rather than a structural approach to teach the language. When he wanted me to repeat NARA, NARAU, NARAAH (Man, two men, more than two men) after him, the prankster in me responded rhyming PIAZI, PAKUDI, BARAA (popular snacks of Odisha).

It explains why Sanskrit forever remained an Elitist language. In Ancient India folks deviated from Sanskrit to Pali as the former remained confined to Brahmin snobbishness. A language can only grow with its flexibility and adaptability, with a grammar which is less rigid making it acceptable to the masses. The English language grew leaps and bounds from countries to continents for the same - sun never sets over the English language empire.

Credit goes to those who take interest in learning Sanskrit and excel in it, in spite of the hardships associated. In this context, the storm in the teacup generated around the appointment of Feroze Khan, a Muslim Sanskrit scholar to the Benares Hindu University, is pure and unadulterated nonsense. This is outright silly, when especially espoused by those who have little or no knowledge of Sanskrit. And a little knowledge can be a dangerous thing.

Sanskrit as the prerogative of Hindus is akin to viewing English as a patent of the Christians. Though the majority of scholars in Urdu are Muslims, there are Hindus and Sikhs considered erudites of the Urdu language. In fact, the writer Khushwant Singh was a connoisseur of Urdu. Liberal dosage of Urdu Shayaris (couplets) adorned his widely read weekly columns. 

Interestingly, Urdu and Sanskrit are ornamental languages which are not widely spoken in mass. Most Muslims in the Indian Subcontinent speak Bengali, Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto and Hindustani - a much diluted version of Urdu mixed with Hindu. Both Sanskrit and Urdu don't have a script of their own. Sanskrit in Odisha is taught in Odia Script. I read and wrote my school exam in Sanskrit using Devanagari script.

The knowledge in any subject, including Sanskrit has hardly anything to do with religion. Nothing prevents folks from other religions to learn it. Many Westerners who are Christians by belief are excellent scholars of Sanskrit with in depth knowledge of the subject (In my college days textbooks written by Westerners, mostly by American authors addressed my real doubts while Indian Authors conveniently skirted them).

Sanskrit is not a patent of Hindus only. Those who have deep understanding of the language should be recognized irrespective of faith. A nation which doesn't respect or reward meritocracy can never prosper. Period. It explains why we are still struck in our vainglorious days of 5000 BC, hardly done anything notable in modern age to justify our potential. It's because we reward mediocrity bypassing merit.

One of the reason behind these needless protests is the recent rise of extreme right wing fundamentalism fueling intolerance, mostly by BJP and aided by its blind supporters for cheap political gains. Media, social or otherwise has its role in fanning this fire. Most of those who are against this Muslim scholar of Sanskrit don't know the S - of the language. Hope sanity prevails and the BHU authorities go ahead with the appointment of Mr. Feroze Khan. Good luck to him. 

JNU and its addiction to Freebies

JNU (Jawaharlal Nehru University) is back in news yet again. From what I get from our media back home about the JNU issue, the students are protesting against the subsidies they had been getting for long is now cut off. They are just addicted to freebies like opium. Being educated ones, they should realize that nothing is free and some one else pays for them. The famous or infamous University, depending the way you see it, often resembles a war zone. 

I have visited the JNU Campus in the 1990s and had eaten couple of times in their hostel mess (no relation to the mess happening there, the food court of college hostels are called mess in the local parlance). The food quality was substandard by hostel standard, hardly close to my Engineering college food. But what I heard from my host, the food was subsidized, quality be damned.

I could see signs of leftist ideology, with some hardcore socialist leaders, who during the day preached communism to core, as the solution to all global evils. Come evening, they would hanker for Scotch or Bacardi (much sought after those days, so as I, as a visitor with access to those fascinating phoren stuff from the land of Bourgeois). Later they would go out eating Ice Cream with girl friends in posh eateries of South Delhi. The juxtaposition of Communism with Scotch, followed by Ice Cream, reeked of hypocrisy, as nauseating as an alcoholic's Piarrhoea effusing mouth.

Since then, much has changed, but not the commie sentiments in the Campus. Liberal thoughts flow inside the institute as the river Yamuna in spate during the  monsoon. Liberalism is not a dirty word, though I diagree with the JNU brand of liberalism. But a note to the ultra liberals of JNU breed - Being Liberal or anti-BJP is one thing, being a succor to freebies is another.

We can agree to disagree with American liberals, but they don't compromise when it comes to their national security. Best example is Obama. A classic Chicago liberal, he had no qualms about taking out Osama bin Laden or ordering drone strikes on terrorists. (Our Diggy Singh was the soul prominent politician in South Asia to shed a few crocodile tears for his Osama Jee). Scores of liberal Democrat Senate and House members broke with Obama and voted with Republicans in preventing him from vetoing the bill to admit in 10,000 Syrian refusees to America. 

On the other hand our liberals back home sound like blatant Paki Premis (lovers) and everything that doesn't make sense. The current drama in JNU is just a piece of political puzzle, an effort to grab a piece of political pie in the guise of protest. Dear JNU students, study hard, pay your dues and get out of the campus once you earn your degree. Staying in news for wrong reasons is not the right thing to do.

RIP T N Seshan

In the middle of the current Election imgroglio in the electorally important state of Maharashtra, passed away the person who was synonymous with the conduct of Elections in India the 1990s. The man, T N Seshan who carved his niche as the martinet but controversial Chief Election Commissioner, passed away today at the age of 87.

He was and still is one of the rarest of the rare Indian Bureaucrats I admire. For T N Seshan single handedly took the entire establishment by horn while he was in the system, a very rare thing for a government official to do. Because barring a few exceptions, the Indian Bureaucracy is famous for being self serving, champion at maintaining the status quo where the process, not the end result is important. 

Yet T N Seshan was the odd man out in a system where the Babus (a not so flattering term used to denote the all powerful Indian bureaucrats often in a deregatory way) are known for their obsequiousness and servility - towing the lines of political masters. An IAS officer from South India he crashed into limelight in North, in the national capital Delhi when he was made the Chief Election Commissioner. Self describing himself as an Umpire whose role is to see the election is conducted fair and square, he firmly clamped down on electoral violators fast and furious. 

As a first step he came up with the idea of Voter Identity Cards. It was anathema to many politicians, upsetting the likes of Laloo Yadav in Bihar and Communists in Bengal who mastered the art of booth capturing and didn't want to lose their upper hand.

The maverick T N Seshan proclaimed "No voter Id Card, no Election" prompting many states in the mid 1990s to hastily issue id cards. Sensing him getting too powerful for his shoes, the government tried to clip his wings by appointing couple of more Election Commissioners. But the extrovert Brahmin from the state of Tamil Nadu retorted back - "Let the Government appointment 100 Election Commissioners. But I am the one and only one CHIEF Election Commissioner" - reminding all about his position in the highly hierarchical structure of Indian bureaucracy.

He yet vindicated that the Babus from their fraternity need not have to lick the boots of their political masters in order to survive. After retirement in late 1990s he visited many places across India giving speeches and attracting thousands who thronged to watch him speaking. In one of those lectures he famously said - "Not a square inch of India from Kashmir to Kanyakumari is free from corruption". 

I saw him once when he came to Odisha and gave a speech in the middle of BJP College Old Science block. The cramped venue was jam packed, so much so that you throw a handful of mustard seeds inside  the audience it can't reach the ground (Transliteration of a common Odia proverb SORISHA PAKEI BAKU JAGA NATHILA). People saw him as an agent of change inside the miasma of dirty Indian politics.

He wasn't far from truth. Two decades 

down the road corruption has got from bad to worse. Those who used to take hundreds now demand thousands, thousands demand lakhs, lakhs have graduated to crores, crores to multi crores keeping with the inflation. In China they say Corruption is rampant, in India the Corruption is epidemic.

My thousand Salute to the braveheart who unlike his tribe went against the tide to challenge the authorities and tried his best to be a harbinger of change. Hope he inspires the new generation for a better India. RIP,  T N Seshan Sir.

Panipat - the movie

There are rumblings on media - social or otherwise about the latest Bollywood movie PANIPAT based upon the 3rd Battle of Panipat in January, 1761 between the Marathas and the Afghans led by Ahmed Shah Abdali. In that war the Maratha juggernaut led by their Commander-in-Chief Sadashivrao Bhau on a winning spree capturing the North India was checkmated by Ahmed Shah Abdali in the historic battle at the historic Panipat, located in the modern day Indian state of Haryana.

Many who have seen the trailer of the movie feel that the Maratha Chief Shadasivrao Bhau is depicted as soft by the expressionless actor Arjun Kapoor vis a vis the ferocity and ruthlessness displayed by Sanjay Dutt playing Ahmed Sah Abdali.

Deliberate or not, cruelty and savagery is part and parcel of any war, especially in the ancient and medieval time which involved more men than machine. Ruthlessness, not charity was the sine qua non of the victor over vanquished - a clear fear mongering tactics to create fear and panic amongst the opposition.

The Mughals and Afghans were battle hardened, physically stronger, fighters, had fast moving cavalry and were motivated soldiers. More importantly they had a strategy in place. Historically since Mohammed Ghori defeated Prithviraj Chauhan as the last Hindu King to rule Delhi, we were no match to them. (Technically Raja Himu ruled Delhi for a month in 1556 when incidentally in the battle at the same location of Panipat he was defeated. The Mughals displayed their usual savagery by chopping off Hemu's head and displaying it on top of a pole).

Wish the Marathas going into the battlefield of Panipat learned something from their hero Chattrapati Shivaji - the founder of Maratha Kingdom. Being a pragmatic warrior, he knew the strength of Marathas lied in their familiar zone of hilly territories. So he never ventured out to fight the Mughals in plains - knowing fully that fighting in the plains was Mughals forte.

Shivaji hated war Elephants. The slow moving pachyderms were useless in the treacherous mountain ravines of the Western Ghats where Shivaji and his Maratha warriors ruled the roost. Perfectly adept with the milieu, the marauding Marathas would lure their enemies into the densely forested,

treacherous ravines of the Western Ghats. 

After surrounding them, they would roll large boulders from the top of the mountains, killing and trapping the Mughals. Then the valiant Marathas would smarm over their helpless enemies riding their fast moving horses. The Mughals good at fighting in the plains of North India would suffer irreparable losses.

If outmaneuvered, Shivaji would make tactical retreat and hide in one of his forts. When surrounded, often he made spectacular escapes, right under the nose of enemy forces. This duly earned him the sobriquet of MOUNTAIN RAT by no other than Alamgir (Emperor) Aurangzeb whom Shivaji frustrated to no end till the latter's death. He wasn't shy of making strategic pacts with Nizams and Mughals to buy time and replenish his resources to fight his war another day. 

Sadashivrao Bhau failed to make any such strategic alliance, whereas the Muslims Kings of India joined the Afghan Abdali in the name of Islam, fearful of a Hindu power in Delhi in form of the Marathas. He could have made a pact with the Sikhs to his advantage, who hated Muslims to the core of killing their Gurus.

But the Marathas after him just did the opposite. They went too far north to Panipat, very much part of the vast plains of North India. The January weather in North India was too cold for the Marathas who were accustomed to the comfort of mild winter, whereas it was perfect for Abdali. I am sure, if the Marathas would have the advantage if they fought the war in June in 40 plus heat to the discomfort of the Afghans.

Shivaji also realized the potential of the English who were just starting to poke their nose inside Indian politics. The Chattrapati knew the advantage of Europeans Artillery which were of better quality and bought quite a few from the British. But in 1761 when the 3rd Battle of Panipat was fought, British were already a player in India - having served their foothold in Bengal and the South. They helped Ahmed Sah Abdali with their artillery and other logistics.

The end result - in spite of their valiance and fighting, the Marathas narrowly lost the Battle of Panipat. War is not a sporting event. Winning at any cost is the leitmotif behind a war, unless the war is fought between Mahatma Gandhi and Leo Tolstoy. Abdali Shah Abdali won because of better strategy and a unified,  motivated army, though we like it or not. History can't be rewritten by making actors look more lethal and ferocious. Arjun Kapoor acting rough and tough won't propel Peshwa win over Abdali.

Unfortunately, history favors the winners. Since 1192 when Ghori defeated Pritviraj Chauhan, our history is mostly full of defeats not due to lack of bravery (as shown by Rajputs and Marathas) but due to treachery, infighting and lack of unity and strategy. Let's learn to live with that, rather than focusing on actors and their depictions of historical characters wish it changes the history.

Maharashtra and Haryana State Elections - 2019

As the Campaign for the Maharashtra and Haryana state Assembly elections draws its curtain, no prize for guessing its outcome. After a long time I am witnessing a predictable, one sided election in India, duly vindicated by opinion polls. The results are not going throw any surprise - as the victory of BJP along with its NDA allies is a foregone conclusion taken for granted.

The only major National opposition party Congress has lost all its mojo, the will to stage a comeback fight. This happens to any organization bereft of vision which prefers mediocrity to quality. Congress party lacks quality leadership and direction at top level. The last leader who had political skills with leadersship quality was Indira Gandhi and to certain extent her chosen successor son Sanjay (her other son Rajeev lacked political acumen and went on to squander a rare historic mandate). The Gand Old party of India clings to a family way past its expiry date destined towards doom.

The Congress party had surrendered even before the campaign had started. Rahul Gandhi was hardly in the picture. A la rats jumping off a sinking ship, the Congress party men and women were seen quitting in droves. The AAYA RAM, GAYAA RAMA (Came Joe, went Joe) tendency of its political leaders as well as its UPA allies leaving for greener pastures, overwhelmingly towards BJP continues unabated. 

Can't blame them for their classic CHHATA (Umbrella) Party syndrome. Cut the hypocrisy, hardly anyone these days joins politics to do JANA SEVA (Public service). They do it for their personal gains - for money, power, accompanying benefits rather than any real political ideology. In this context joining BJP makes a whole lot of sense for them as they see no future in their own parties. (Similar rat race is seen in Odisha as BJD, a party in power for more than two decades is seen as best political bet).

A commonly used Odia saying goes as - BARSHA JUADE CHHATA SIADE (as the direction rain goes, so follows umbrella), which means the tendency of being a fair weather friend. This exodus is going to lean in the direction of rain and it rains BJP now. No wonder Politics is the last resort of  scoundrel and makes strange bedfellows. 

A weak opposition doesn't augur well for a democracy, for power is the ultimate aphrodisiac. Power leads to corruption and absolute power corrupts absolutely. There will always a vacuum as the Ayaa Rams and Gayaa Rams rush in to umbrage under the same umbrella. Hope this lacuna is fulfilled by a constructive opposition as the ruling party BJP is diluting itself towards self destruction by unabashedly accepting bad Apples from other parties. This is ultimately going to hurt the so called party with a difference on the long run. It's time someone steps in to fulfill the vaccum. High time indeed.

Happy 150th birthday Mahatma Gandhi

Albert Einstein once described him as - "It's hard a believe such a man in flesh and blood ever walked on the surface of earth". The world famous scientist wasn't far from truth, as the man he was referring to rightly earned his accolades. We are talking about non other than our BAPU (Father of the Nation), Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, popularly known as MAHATMA (the famous soul) Gandhi.

Newton's 3rd Law says every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Same is applicable to human emotions. Every violent action would naturally follow with an equal or more violent reaction, often leading to a continuous, never ending cycle of revenge. But Mahatma Gandhi decided to fight violence in an exactly opposite manner, something different and out of box called "Non-violence". 

It was another matter violence was not an option as India was not in a position to take the might of the British by force. Unlike many who believe that the British shat in their pants and fled away on the sight of Subash Bose, militarily Indians never posed any serious challenges to the British rule. (For those now ridiculing Gandhi for his nonviolent method of resistance should ask themselves how many Battalions were raised by there idols RSS and Hindu Mahasabha - both having their presence prior to our independence).

Born in Gujarat to an upper middle class family, educated in England, Mohandas Gandhi first experimented his peaceful protests against the brutally racist Apartheid regime in South Africa. He subsequently applied the same against the British rule in India. 

Gandhiji (as he was popularly addressed as) experimented with different vices and virtues early in his life, prompting him to write "My Experiment with Truth", where he frankly admitted his distaste for sex when he had an urge while attending to his ailing father and slipped away momentarily to his wife to fulfill his desire. When he returned, his father was dead. This incident filled him with remorse.

But sometimes his experiments went little too far. At an old age after his wife's death, his experiment of sleeping naked with his nubile niece to test his control over libido attracted some controversies. His opponents, notably the Muslim League made a big deal out of it. Gandhi finally discontinued this practice after some persuasion by an image conscious Congress party. What happened in dark, stayed in dark.

However, his method of protest being unique immediately caught the eyes of the world at a time when the electronic media was at its infancy but upcoming. The world stood up and took notice, appalled by the sight of the DANDI March protesters brutally mowed down by the DANDA (stick) of British Police (Indians who were majority in the police force had no qualms hitting or killing their own when ordered by the English). The victims didn't show an iota of retaliation or remorse and went ahead with their protest, still taking the blows from police baton and falling injured one after one another, until they couldn't carry on any further. 

This incident was covered extensively by the western media which brought Gandhi and his unique mode of protest to the limelight. Gandhi was an idealist, whose idealism did not fail in his missions, though finally he fell to an assassin's bullet. His ideology of non-violence was later replicated by Dr. Martin Luther King Junior half a world away in The United States to fight for the Civil Rights for the Black minorities. Dr. King, like his idol Gandhi was too assassinated, but both vindicated the efficacy of "Non-violence" as a mode of protest.

When India celebrated its independence, arguably brought to by his non-violence means, instead of celebrating, Gandhiji spent the day praying and fasting. He was steadfast in his pursuit for Hindu-Muslim unity, but India was partitioned amidst bloody violence on communal lines, opposite to what he stood for.

Post partition, Pakistan asked India to pay Rs.48 crore (480 million), a princely sum those days. India refused to oblige. Bapu wanted India to pay the money to younger brother Pakistan and went on fasting, forcing India to relent and pay the money to its western neighbor. Pakistan used that lump sum amount of money to buy arms and attack India.

As mentioned by the eminent Freedom Fighter and Social reformer from Odisha, Pandit Nilakantha Das who was a contemporary of Gandhijee, the later visited the Satyavadi School in Sakhigopal, near Puri during his trip to Odisha in 1923. Sri Das disagreed with his mode of operandi by getting freedom through spinning wheel of CHARKHA. After completing his public meeting at Puri, it was Gandhi's turn to proceed towards his next stop - Cuttack. 

Gandhi's team suggested that half of them would travel by train and the rest by PADAYATRA (March on foot). But Nilakantha advised all of them to take the walk, so as to build the momentum of public enthusiasm, giving Gandhi an opportunity to better connect with the local polulace. Gandhijee heeded to Pandit Das's advice, opting for a walk. 

On the entire journey Gandhi's entourage survived on boiled rice and vegetables. It was tough on Pandit Nilakantha, who loved his fish curry. Midway, he came across a leper and donated his hand spun KHADADA (crude cotton cloth) to the destitute. Next day, Bapuji encountered a group of KELA (nomads) feasting on Barbecued KATASA (wild cat) who strayed into their camp. 

He went on preaching vegetarianism to them, trying to dissuade them from eating meat. Gandhijee advised them - "Eat milk and ghee which are good for health. Stop committing the HIMSA (violence) of killing animals". But for the poor nomads, milk and ghee were pipe dream, a distance luxury and KATASA MANSA (Wild cat meat) was the crude reality.

After his death, his countrymen hardly retained his ideologies. India continued to be riddled with violence of all sorts, later in the form of terrorism. The current affairs of our nation may aptly described by these few lines lifted from the Odia song LE NABEENA from 1981, depicting the sad saga of the Mahatma. (Naveena here depicts the typical down to earth Odia guy, no relationship to any person bearing the same name).

LE NABEENA TIKE PACHHAKU ANA,
HATHE BAADI DHARI THIA BAPUJI NANA,
BAPUJI BUDHA RA AAKHI RE LUHA,
TA RAMA RAIJE AAJI YAMA RA BHAYA

( O' Nabeena, take a peek behind.
Stick in hand Old man Bapuji is standing,
The old man's eyes are filled with tears,
Yama, the God of death has filled
His Dream Land with fear).

Happy 150th Birthday to Bapu, the Father of the nation. We may or may not agree with what you did or what you could have done, or whether your out of box experiment with non violence was an useful weapon. But you carved your niche to be the greatest amongst the greats who ever walked on the surface of earth.

ABSYAKTA HAI

Remembered watching a Hindi TV serial named CHANAKYA based on the life of the advisor and point man of Emperor Chandragupta Maurya in ancient India. Set in an era 300 years before Jesus Christ was born, the episodes covered the life and time of young Chandragupta struggling to topple the brutal regime of Dhanananda, the King of Magadha.

Though it was a battle between the wicked Dhanananda and young Maurya, the real battle of brains was fought in the background between Chanakya and the sharp, resilient Minister of Magadha - RAKHYASA. Rakhyasa knew that Nanda was evil, but being sworn to the throne of Magadh, he was loyal to the Emperor and tried his best to protect the King's regime. 

The smart Amatya (Prime Minister) could anticipate every move made by Chanakya beforehand, saving his King Dhanananda's life several times. The shrewd and smart strategist in Rakhyasa recruited multiple Doppelgangers (body doubles with similar look) of the king to confuse the assassins sent by Chanakya

After Dhanananda was defeated and killed, Rakhyasa continued resisting on behalf of the old guard. His several attempts to assassinate Chandragupta Maurya were prevented due to the timely intervention of Kautilya (another name of Chanakya). 

Realizing Rakhyasa's ability and resilience, Chanakya managed to convince his chief adversary that the later's loyalty lied with Magadha and now that Nanda is gone, Amatya Rakhyasa may accept his offer to become the Prime minister of Magadh under Chandragupta Maurya. Rakhyasa obliged and Chanakya after realizing his dream of AKHANDA BHARAT (United India) left for Taxsila to continue his teaching.

When Chandragupta was raising his battle, the evil emperor Nanda tried his best to capture the duo of Chanakya and Chandragupta. But both managed to give him a slip, giving him sleepless nights. In one scene from that tele serial, in a spurt of frustration Dhanananda raises his sword to kill his AMATYA Rakhyasa, but withdraws. 

The wise Amatya smiled back. The irritated king questioned him about the reason behind his smile. Rakhyasa replied - AAP MUJHE NAHI MARENGE, KYON KI AAP KO MERI ABASYAKATA HAI. (You won't kill me, as you need me). Mahananda replied - SAHI BOLA, KYA KHOPDI PAYEE AAP NE (You said it right. What a brain you got) ! The king needed his wily Amatya as his savior.

The bottom line is ABSYAKATA HAI - the world goes on mutual needs. China in its restive Xinjiang province forces its Muslim citizens to drink alcohol and eat Pork - both religiously prohibited by Islam. Yet Iran and Saudi Arabia, the so called champion of Islam who give FATWAs (religious decree) at slightest drop of hint of humiliation to the religion are conspicuously silent on China. Because they have business to do with the Middle Kingdom, an energy hungry country which needs oil. 

This ABSYAKATA HAI applies to China and its relationship to US as well - both ways. In spite of all kinds of nuisance created by Pakistan, the logic of ABSYAKATA HAI forces the world's sole Superpower to engage with the terrorist nation. Vajpayee, the ex PM of India literally said "ABSYAKATA HAI" in poetic terms to the reporters when question about the reason for talking to Pakistan.

Same is applicable in our everyday life. An Employers keep its employees for their utility value. Pragmatism forces us towards appeasement and tolerance of otherwise avoidable elements in our day to day life - because of ABSYAKATA HAI (we need them). More than 2300 years has passed since Dhanananda couldn't kill his Amatya RAKHYASA for the later's utility value - the logic for ABSYAKATA still remains strong and valid.

The myth of Modi helping Trump win 2020 election

There are stories abound on Indian media - social or otherwise that Modi's address in Houston will help Trump win the 2020 Elections. I don't think it will make much of a difference, if so it will be at best marginal. 

Either way, it is not very wise for a foreign head of state to appear taking sides in an American election. What if Trump loses his reelection bid in 2020 ! Modi would still be in power and has to deal with a new Democrat President with the perception of the Modi almost all out campaigning for his opponent. Though Americans are known to follow pragmatic, self centered foreign policy, the perceived overt endorsement is unwarranted.

Here is why Modi's indirect endorsement of Trump for a second term wont help much electorally. Let's do some reality check and please do your Math. The number of folks of Indian origin in US is 4.4 million (1.5% of the total population). Out of them, American Citizens of Indian origin would be less than 3 million as there are lot of Indian diaspora on Green card, other work related visa who cannot vote in the US Elections. That makes them about 1% of the Registered voters.

For those who are eligible to vote, Indian Americans vote overwhelmingly for the Democratic party, including myself. I am not going to vote for Trump in 2020. Period. Nearly 80% of Indian Americans voted for Hillary last time. That's a gargantuan gap there. Don't think there will be a sea change to that number as I know several folks who support Modi, yet won't vote for Trump.

Simply take a look at the demography. Among the Indians in the United States 51% are Hindus, 19% Christians, 11% Muslims, 5% Sikhs and 10% unaffiliated to any religion. So forget any support for Modi from the Muslim and Christians amongst the Indian Americans, forming a good chunk of 30%. I have interacted with a few from those communities and the name Modi is anathema to them. 

Hindus and Sikhs are the only ones who are likely to be swayed by Modi. But still a large swathe of them who are settled here for a long time have Democratic roots, voting on local issues, especially those 2nd generation Indian Americans. Forget being a Modi supporter, they hardly relate to Modi or India per se.

The bulk of the Indian Americans live in the states of California, New York, New Jersey, Illinois and Texas. Out of these the first four are solidly Democrat and Texas solidly Republican. The Indian American vote in these states won't make any difference in the outcome. 

The way it works in the Electoral College based American Election, it is winner take all. If a party wins a state by 1 vote it pockets all its electoral College seats. If Republican party wins Texas by 1 vote, Trump takes all the 38 Electoral College. It is same as BJD taking 21 seats even if it defeats BJP by 1 vote in Odisha, assuming each Lok Sabha seat in Odisha represents an Electoral College. All these states I mentioned where majority of Indians live aren't even competitive. Modi's support for Trump will not make a dent there.

Hence the fact Modi can swing a lot of Indian votes in American election is an over exaggeration. A few cult followers may change their mind, but not a whole lot, which is required to tilt the balance in favor of Trump or his Republican party. No harm in Trump trying to change the equation, so good luck to him.

Reporting live Modi's speech at Houston, Texas

Just completed watching Howdy Modi event live from the NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas of the United States of America. Howdy is a Texas slang form of "How you doing", a common way of Americans addressing one another.

 

Modi addressed a large and a largely  disciplined crowd of 50,000 people of overwhelmingly Indian Americans. I have seen Modi address more boisterous crowds in India, with audience far higher than today's rally in Houston. But rarely (probably never) he got the same kind of attention on media, especially in India. 

The entire airwaves back home on a Sunday evening was filled with the coverage of Howdy Modi, pushing an ungoing T20 Cricket match (a game religiously followed than any religion in  India) to the back burner. It was quite unprecedented scale for an event held on the foreign soil to get such a feverish media coverage back home in India. However, the mainstream American media made a frugal coverage of the event, so I had to catch it on YouTube. 

The icing on the cake was Donald Trump. No doubt he was the star of the stage and his presence making all the difference. Such a widespread media coverage won't have happened without him on board - especially for an event held on a foreign soil. Trump was very forthcoming and turned his speech into a campaign rally - heaving paens of praise on the Indian American community, sharing the common ethos and pathos of both nations, keeping in mind his reelection bid only a year from now. He left no stone unturned in eyeing India as one of the world's top notch emerging market and America's  desire to tap on it. No one knows better than Donald J Trump who himself is a businessman. It is win win situation, beneficial for both nations.

Yet one must have noted Trump alluding Modi doing his best to alleviate the Bureaucratic red tape in India to make it more business friendly. This is a much needed step as it is well known to Trump and international business community about India's Babudom being its biggest bottleneck to its growth. The President of US is right in finger pointing it as a deterrent when US is looking for an alternative to China in the middle of an ongoing trade war.

Let's hope all these bonhomie lasts long, patiently waiting and watching how far it goes when it takes to next level. There forever will be the ubiquitous invisible Elephant in the room - Pakistan. The nuisance and utility value of that nation should never be underestimated. No question that it's advantage India for now. A pat on the back from the most powerful person on earth doesn't hurt at the time of Kashmir imbroglio post  scrapping of the Article 370. Reporting live on social media - Good night to my friends back home and good day to the rest.

The first 100 Days of the BJP Led government

First 100 days is known as the Honeymoon period - be it marriage, job or government. Expectations are low, the benefits of doubt take your side. The partner in your life or colleagues at work are less judgemental as one is prone to lesser scrutiny. A lot could be achieved it this timeframe until the universal law of "Familiarity breeds Contempt" sips in. Nothing lasts forever. Like it or not, the happy honeymoon is bound to come to its natural end - sooner or later.

Here is my take on the first 100 days of the Modi led BJP-NDA government. Though constitutionally we are a Parliamentary democracy, the last Election (certainly not first as Nehru, Indira and Rajeev Gandhi have done this before) was fought Presidential style. According to a Poll 35% Indians who cast their vote for BJP admitted they wouldn't have voted for the Party if Modi was not their Prime Minister candidate. That's a sizable number when often few thousands, even a few hundred votes makes the difference between win and loss in a Parliamentary constituency.

First and the foremost - the positives. The government taking the advantage of the honeymoon period and the pervasive hyper nationalism has scrapped the controversial Article 370 in Kashmir. It's a step in the right direction. But it's a long journey towards stability in the turbulent state - a rocky road ahead and Pakistan hellbent on creating potholes. Those crazy BJP supporters need to wait to fulfill their cherished dream (rather fantasy filled hallucinations) to settle down in Kashmir Valley with fair skinned local girls.

Next, from what I hear the Modi led government has curtailed entitlement culture of Lutyens Delhi to a certain extent. The Babus are working more and playing less Golf. Leeches and parasites are less seen in the the power corridors and accompanying the Prime Minister on his foreign tours at tax payers expense. It won't be so easy for the government to take head on the well entrenched corrupt and inefficient Babudom (Bureaucratcy) in Delhi and the rest of India, yet credit should be given where credit is due.

Now let's come to the negatives. The GDP growth rather than accelerating like Ussain Bolt towards the end of his sprint, now more resembles me slowly huffing and puffing to the finish line in a 100 meter race. The economic slowdown is real. It has been acknowledged by the economists, except of course the BHAKTs (means devotees, but a term ascribed to die hard fans of Modi, BJP, RSS etc) who live in their own make believe world.

Rather questioning their own leadership, they are leaving no stone unturned in blaming everyone else including Gandhi, Nehru, Pakistan, Fake news, Paid media, and Global slowdown. (For information to those who are blaming the economic downturn on global slowdown, the largest economy in the world called United States is doing pretty well as of now, with its consumer confidence still pretty good). Even Dr. Swami, once a Bette Noire of BJP and now an ardent supporter of the party hasn't shied away from pointing to the holes in the current state of the economy.

Also, BJP supposed to be party with a difference has aped Congress in its practice of breaking the vulnerable opposition state governments. Best examples was the recent mockery of democracy in the state of Karnataka. Inspired by the Modi - Shah duo 15 odd opposition MLAs flew on their own to Mumbai in a private airplane and stayed in 5 Star hotel, footing the bill using their meager MLA salary from their pockets.

The Karnataka government would have come down under the weight of its own contradiction. But Bhakts defend this as Realpolitik - a clear case of hypocrisy and double standards when they leave no stone unturned in being critical of the Congress party, which once mastered the same art of breaking opposition led state governments to perfection.

Looking beyond the Honeymoon period here is something I would love the government to do the following 3 things with immediate.

1. Please own the responsibility of the economic slowdown and replace the person heading the equivalent of the Federal Reserve in India and bring a professional on board. No offense to History graduates, but Economics, like Science and Technology Economics is best left to be handled by professionals.

2. Please improve the quality of education and focus on the future generation for inventions and innovations. We might be flying Airplanes and invented TV,  internet etc 5,000 years back, but a report as recently as yesterday has not mentioned a single Institute of ours in the list of top 300 global institute. It's time to look forward and produce the first Nobel laureate in Physics since Dr. C V Raman from British India - not exist in the past glory.

3. Please be inclusive, not decisive. Not a single Muslim or Christian friend of mine are happy with you. They are as patriotic as anyone else. Minorities form close to 20% of India's population and we can't throw them to Indian Ocean. We need to embrace them.

As in marriages, honeymoons are known to been followed by disastrous consequences when the reality strikes back with vengeance as the honey dries up and moon suffers from eclipse. Marriage as an institution marriages needs mutual  trust and respect to survive long term. Your marriage to the public is no exception. The moonstruck public memory is short and can be fickle - so be careful mate, as it could very well dump you when expections aren't met. Good luck with the rest of your term.

RIP Abdul Qadir

He was named "Man with the Golden Arm". A leg break and Googly bowler the handsome man from Lahore - then the Capital of Cricket in Pakistan and during British India, he didn't exactly crashed into limelight after his Test debut in the mid 1970s. His name was Abdul Qadir.

Somehow inconsistent in his performance, he was far from a regular in the Pakistani team. It was a perpetual struggle for him to keep his place as a bowler in a highly talented Pakistani cricket team where the fast bowling duo Imran Khan and mercurial Sarfraz Nawaz ruled the roost.

Time and again he was in and out of the Pakistani squad. But the foresighted Imran Khan stuck to him in his team when the later became the Captain. Many then accused Imran of nepotism, pandering to the Lahore lobby (same accusation faced by Bombay lobby here) as he realized Abdul Qadir's potential.

The spinner never belied his Captain. He continued to mature and delivered at the right time, especially from the 1982 tour of England when he along with Imran Khan guided their team to some memorable victories.

Abdul Qadir did well in 1983 World Cup in England too where Kapil's Devils unexpectedly won the Cup. His 5 wickets in a crucial win against the Lankans helped Pakistan to enter into the semifinals only to lose to the favorite West Indies. Later on the night of the historic win at Lord's Abdul Qadir was one of the two Pakistani cricketers to join the Indian team in their night long celebration. The other player was Mudassar Nazar.

By this time Qadir was already acclaimed in the international cricket circuit, enough to get an offer to play county cricket. He famously said - "My art is not for sale", afraid of getting exposed in English County cricket. He sure mastered the art of Leg spin and Googly, giving a lot of batsmen, especially from England and Australia trouble reading him (Indians are good readers of spin). He was aptly nicknamed - The Man with the Golden Arm.

He would bowl with an unusual twist to his arm and could l take a maiden in the 49th over in an One Day International. In a crucial game against England in the 1987 World Cup he was instrumental in Pakistan's win by restricting the Pommies who were unable to hit him during the slog overs as he mesmerized them with his spin & surprise googlies.

Qadir had his contribution in batting too. In the same world cup he hit Courtesy Walsh for a six in the last over to seal the feat of the Windies. It was West Indies 's last shot at the 50 overs format of the game. It has never recovered till date to get anywhere close to winning the Cup.

Abdul Qadir was also instrumental in inadvertently bringing Sachin Tendulkar into limelight. Challenged by him, the rookie 15 year old boy Hit 4 consecutive sixes off the Connoisseur leg spinner in a limited overs match, stunning a highly partisan Pakistani crowd. A star was born that day. Qadir didn't have to wait until the night to announce the arrival of the star. The same evening he predicted that Sachin is going to be a great Batsman for years to come. He wasn't far from the truth

63 years is too young to go, especially for sportsmen. But life ain't fair and sport. RIP Abdul Qadir.

Robert Mugabe is dead

Robert Mugabe the megalomaniac dictator of Zimbabwe died today at the age of 95. He became the President of erstwhile Rhodesia, later renamed as Zimbabwe in the early 1980s after the country got its independence from Great Britain. 

The young nation put a lot of hope on the man who was educated with multiple degrees - a teacher turned politician. But slowly he turned into a ruthless dictator who ruled the Southern African nation with an iron hand.

The Elephant eating (no pun, he actually feasted on an elephant on his 90th birthday), nonagenarian African dictator Robert Mugabe did everything to take his country Zimbabwe into an abyss of elephantine proportion. The country's economy was in shambles. It's said that you have to carry a sac of Zimbabwean Dollars to buy a bag of grocery in that nation.

Mugabe practiced what we can call as reverse racism - driving away the white minority, who were mostly farmers and formed the backbone of their economy and cricket. Imagine if he would have been White and drove away the black minority in that nation. Zimbabwe would faced severe sanctions, in the same boat as South Africa during the heydays of Apartheid, banned from all international sporting events.

In that context, the hypocrisy of the African Union and rest of the world about Mugabe can't be ignored. They were conspicuously silent when Mugabe practiced reverse racism. 

He was not the only African leader who betrayed his supporters. India once backed Nelson Mandela, the President to neighboring South Africa, supporting him tooth and nail during the heydays of apartheid, eventually bestowing him with India's highest Civilian Award named BHATAT RATNA (The Jewel of India).

What was Mandela's reciprocity to India's magnanimous overture of giving its highest honor, rarely given to someone outside India ? He wanted to mediate between India and Pakistan on Kashmir,  fully aware of India's sensitivity towards outside mediation in Kashmir. Go figure. It's another example of those we help at their time of crisis leave no stones unturned when it comes to hurt us.

The game of cricket was the collateral damage due to Mad Man Mugabe who drove away who formed the backbone of the nation's cricket team. He can very well be credited for hammering down the final nails on its cricket coffin. Zimbabwe once a promising cricket playing nation on an upswing, is now struggling to keep afloat its test playing nation status - thanks to Mugabe 

Here are some quotes attributed to the Zimbabwe ex-President: 

1) "When your clothes are made of cassava leaves, you don’t take a goat as a friend."

2) "If you are ugly, you are ugly. Stop talking about inner beauty because men don’t walk around with X-ray machines to see inner beauty"

3) "When one’s goat gets missing, the aroma of a neighbour’s soup gets suspicious."

4) "Treat every part of your towel nicely because the part that wipes your buttocks today will wipe your face tomorrow".

5) "If President Barack Obama wants me to allow marriage for same-sex couples in my country (Zimbabwe), he must come here so that I marry him first."

6) "What is the problem with deporting white men from Africa? We now have aeroplanes which can take them back quicker than the ships used by their ancestors."

8) Interviewer: "Mr President, when are you bidding the people of Zimbabwe farewell?".

Robert Mugabe: "Where are they going?"

9) "If I am given chance to travel through time, I will go back to 1946 and find Donald Trump's father and give him a condom"

Pyramidnanda and Kanthananda

An extremely well read and erudite friend of mine recently wondered how 2-3 ton single piece of iron billets of Konark were built and kept in balance when no integrated steel plant existed anywhere on earth 800 years back ! How such billets have withstood the hostile corrosive saline seashore atmosphere ? 

A pertinent question indeed. The answer is simple. It has been proved and traced to Swami Pathurananda who lived in his Ashram near Chandrabhaga. His DIBYA DRUSTI (celestial vision) caused levitation and did the balancing act causing the beams to stay together. Till date his Dibyadrusti still continues doing the balancing act.

Hundreds of years before Jesus Christ was born, Swami Paridananda went to Egypt and gave the design of Pyramids to Egyptians. It's not Egyptians, its us who actually built the Pyramids, considered one of the seven wonders of the world. Egyptians just supplied labors. But they named the structure as Pyramid after Sri Sri Paridananda.

But the cunning Chinese were not so benevolent. In 7th century BC, Sage Kanthaswamy went to China and offered his Wall (means Kantha in Odia) building technology to the Chinese emperor who constructed the Great Wall of China but never gave us any credit. The Great Wall of China is renowned as another seven wonder of the world. It is the only man made structure visible from the surface of moon. Poor Sage Kanthaswamy.

A note of Caution - If you don't believe this and counter with logic and sanity it will be considered as an act of sacrilege, treachery and lack of patriotism. You better start preparation for relocating to Pakistan at the earliest.

Disclaimer - I have concluded this based upon my outstanding knowledge of History via Google and Facebook links, so any kind of link to the rise of BJP to power and my belief is purely coincidental. On the contrary, BJP got leaders with sensible brains to counter my insanity. God bless me.

The Culture of DALAAL and JUGAAD

Arguably the reigns of Emperor Harshvardhan's in North India, Raja Krishnadev Ray's in South and King Kapilendra Deba in Odisha are regarded as the Golden era in our Indian History. 

There was hardly any hiatus between the rulers and the ruled. The kings mostly fullfilled their RAJA DHARMA (Duty of a King) and their subjects were by and large satisfied. 

Legend goes that many Emperors, notably Harshvardhan and Krishnadev took disguise and mingled incognito with local populace to have a first hand knowledge of their subject's plight. 

Then came the Afghans, Mughals and British. They were aliens from another land who came to India attracted by its wealth. Gradually they became the ruler of the territory they occupied and had least affinity to the natives. Since they were not familiar with the local culture and lingo they succinctly cultivated a class of DALAALs (middlemen-cum-touts) who became the conduit between the rulers and the ruled. 

The Persian concept of MANSABDAARI, the system of appointing serfs who delegated the administration to more serfs further down the hierarchy came into existence. It became the perfect breeding ground for DALAALs who like Dracula became the bloodsucking parasites to the commoners. The modus operandi was boot licking servitude to their masters and oppression of the subject at the same beat. Gradually it gave birth to a culture of CHAMCHAGIRI (obsequiousness) midwifed by the Ruler and the ever compliant ruled.

Even the Mughal emperor Akbar, though a relatively benevolent ruler was not totally immune to this scourge. Later on William Bentinck, the British Governor General credited with curbing evils like SATI (forcible burning of widow in with her husband's pyre), Child marriage and THUGEE (Highway robbers) tried to bridge the gap to some extent. 

But his successors did not follow his foot step. British ruled us using this DALAAL class who readily acted as informers and conduits which make the task of former a whole lot easier. The culture of JUGAAD (arrangement) slowly became well entrenched in the milieu and thrives till date. 

It continued long after we got our independence from the British, long enough for the eminent actor Anupam Kher playing a bad cop in movie HUM deliver this monologue - "We have three classes of people is a society. They are ATYACHAARI (The Oppressor), KRANTIKAARI (The Mutineer) and INKE FAIDA LETE UTHATE HUE HAMARA JAISA VYAPARI (taking advantage of them are the DALAALS like us)". 

The best example are Lutyen's Delhi and of late - Bhubaneswar, the capital city. If Calcutta is called the "City of Joy", Bhubaneswar can be christened as "City of DALAALs). It is said that Mohammad Tughlaq, the eccentric ruler of Delhi left Delhi for Daulatabad after being sick and tired of these DALAALs. It is no better today. The breed like Cockroach can even survive Nuclear holocaust.

The Ides of August

August, one of the longest months of the dog days of summer finally comes to an end. This month of has been hot, has seen lot of political heat in Indian Subcontinent - especially on the flashpoint of Kashmir. The sudden decision of the Modi led BJP to scrap article 370 caught everyone unaware, including India's bette noire Pakistan. 

Its ex-Cricketer and Prime Minister Imran Khan and its puppeteer all powerful Army were caught off guard my Modi's decision. The otherwise confident Alpha male Prime minister who has guided his nation to many remarkable victories in cricket, bedded a number of lasses, fathered at least one known bastard, is behaving confused like a Fox facing headlight and running like a headless chicken. It is apparent from his blabbermouth churning out one nonsense after another on daily basis - the same way I churn out my blogs.

August can be a disturbing month for our Western frontier neighbor. Imran Khan's coronation as Prime Minister coincided with the 30th Anniversary of the death of another all powerful Army man and ex President of Pakistan who once successfully persuaded the charismatic, cricket captain to reverse his decision to retire from cricket. Imran's comeback resulted in him leading Pakistan to win the Cricket world cup only time in history. The President was General Zia Ul Haq.

For the country it would be the case of "The Ides Of August". It reminds me of one muggy day in August many monsoons ago when inside my hostel room in NIT, Rourkela BBC radio broke the news (No Breaking News, the concept was absent then). It was the death of Pakistani President General Zia Ul Haq in a plane crash. 

Zia was a diminutive soldier and a shrewd sstrategist. His regime would shape the politics of the subcontinent for a long time to come. He set the stepping stone to keep its rival India in check by getting his country nuclear and bleeding India in Kashmir and Punjab. He once reportedly said referring to his support to Sikh terrorism - "Keep the water boiling just enough to the right temperature, so that it doesn't spill over but simmers enough to give our enemy, aka India hard time". Hard time he did gave us - so much so that he emboldened ISI enough to subsequently stage spectacular attack after attack inside India successfully protraying India over time as a clueless weak state.

Born in India, studied in St. Stephens College, Delhi he migrated to Pakistan where he rose his way up in the Army. He was frail man with a short height, but a master strategist. He was lucky to be recruited by the British Indian Army as Officers were is shortage towards the end of World War II.

Promotions were hard to come by. But fortune favored him after Bhutto became the PM of Pakistan. He trusted Zia whom he thought as harmless and malleable, as the later was obsequious to the Prime minister. Bhutto promoted him over others by making him the Army Chief superseding others Senior to Zia.

Bhutto used to poke fun at Zia by calling him our "Monkey General" in front of the foreign dignitaries, alluding to the later's short stature and long protruding teeth. Zia would always respond with his inscrutable smile. But these innocuous teeth would later become fangs with a vengeance, delivering a venomous bite to Bhutto as the monkey general had his last laugh by dislodging the PM in a military coup and hanging him in less than couple of years.

It's said that Zia was a champion conversationalist. He would call his contemporary Indian Prime minister Morarjee Desai and flatter him by asking the formers view on benefits of drinking urine (Desai used to drink his own urine first thing in morning). Soon our first PM from Gujarat was conferred "Nishan-e- Pakistan", their highest civilian award. God knows what transpired between them but I am sure the cunning Zia didn't give Pakistan's highest award to the Prime Minister of their sworn enemy for the Desai's sermon on Urine therapy.

An alumni of St. Stephens College Delhi he once invited a delegation of its ex-students, fed them well and gave them free luxury rides across the scenic and historic sites of Pakistan. The entire team, a member of which was K Natwar Singh would heap paeans of praise about Zia's hospitality. At the same time he pushed terrorists into Punjab and Kashmir. This Pakistani general proved himself a master Jekyll and Hyde personality.

The General was a staunch Mullah who permanently veered Pakistan towards fundamentalism. In the movie CHARLIE WILSON's WAR based on the Soviets involvement in Afghanistan actor Tom Hanks who plays the role of the Texan Congressman arrives in Pakistan and immediately proceeds to meet Zia. After meeting he asks for "Rye Bourbon on the Rocks", eager to unwind a long travel from United States. 

He was bluntly told that alcohol is not served in the Presidential palace and he has to shift to a hotel to have his desire fulfilled. In another scene when the Congressman asks Zia (played by Om Puri) if any legislative approval is needed to supply weapons to the Mujahideens Zia retorted "I am the Constitution and my words are the Law of the land". He sure was. Had he survived assassination he could have hung all of Pakistan military 's top brass if he suspected them of involvement.

He allowed Pakistan as a conduit for the Americans to supply shoulder fired missiles (ironically one of the experts in firing them was Osama Bin Laden). Those weapons each costing $50000 brought down Soviet military air crafts which cost millions. The financial loss was devastating on the Soviets already toiling under a bad drought and down spiraling economy. The mighty USSR was brought to its knees so much so that during Breznev's funeral they approached Zia for a face saver exit. But the shrewd Zia knew on which side the tide was and kept quite. Rest we know is history.

Nothing lasts forever. The all powerful Zia's more than a decade of power came to an abrupt end as he died in a mysterious plane crash. It's rumores that KGB took him out as a revenge on him for openly siding with America in their Afghanistan imbroglio, bringing the Soviets to their knees. The truth only Allah knows. Imran should learn something from the Ides of August as he steers through these turbulent times - his nation facing bankruptcy and hardly anyone in the world interested to dance to his Kashmir tune.