This is some real bullshit. With the increasing use of tractors for tilling lands for cultivation, oxens aren't needed anymore. As sometimes an unwanted female child is known to be left at God's mercy on river Ganga GHAT (bank of the river), similar fate awaits the cow's male offsprings these days. Many leave their young, male calves at mercy of Lord Shiva to take care of his BAHANA (rider) Bulls. The old town, known as the city of Saivite temples bear the brunt of these stray bulls. The area where I live has a Lord Shiva temple every other kilometer, hence a good number of bulls and bullshit peddled around. There are at least a dozen of them roaming free in our locality - big and small, of different hues and colors.
They sleep around on the middle of road. You can see them non chalantly ruminating as vehicles pass by. They graze and feast around trash near dumpsters. On occasions they're known to goad unsuspecting bystanders and their parked vehicles. They are also the cause of many traffic accidents, especially when they get excited at the sight of nubile cows and chase them around, inspecting to impregnate them.
A different type of paper, the famous Paper Masala Dosa of Venus Inn located in Bapuji Nagar isn't what it once used to be. It's no more thin and crispy, I ended up chewing it like a Tandoori Roti. The Sambar and Chutney no longer taste the same. Recommended by someone I bought Dosa from a road side kiosk which tasted far better, not to mention a whole lot cheaper. It's not just the old restaurants with reputation like Venus Inn have lost their mojo. Most of the newly opened stores belong to the category of "well begun is half done". No sooner they become popular and their popularity gets amplified by coverage on social media than they start taking their customers for granted and their quality goes for a toss.
Already two weeks past my stay, I have managed to meet and interact with folks from different folds of life. I don't let an opportunity pass to have a chit with local folks from all echelons of the society to get a hang of the political vive of the millieu. Here are my 5 take aways based on conversations and subsequent analysis.
1. Naveen Patnaik led BJD will stay in power in the state until the party supremo dies. I hardly found anyone who dislikes the man. His social policies work like magic in a state where the majority of the population are known to have low aspiration and are ledback in nature (the usual disclaimers apply).
2. BJP in Odisha is equally inept and corrupt. It has no other option but to wait for its turn to be at the helm of affairs of the state. There is not a single leader from the national party to match the stature of Naveen Patnaik in the state. Their two high profile central ministers from Odisha have zero political base. Forget getting elected to Assembly or Lok Sabha (where Lok or people vote their representatives), these two gentlemen aren't even capable of winning a Municipality election where real people vote.
3. Most Odias supporting BJP are upper caste Hindus and from middle class. They are invariably government servants, businessmen and retirees with a stable source of income. It also includes some hypocrites of highest order who earlier benefited from the largesse of the previous corrupt Congress regimes and now turned into BJP supporters. They are examples of what we call in Odia the perfect CHHATA (Umbrella) party, avid practitioners of the principle of "BARSHA JUADE CHHATA SIADE (Wherever is the direction of the rain, so goes the Umbrella). It is attributed to the fair weather folks. Not all supporters are "Chhata party" type. I encountered some MUNDA (Bull headed) supporters with Cowdung stuffed inside their head. If Sri Modi says shoot your mother, they will shoot without blinking their eyes. I wasn't surprised, having encountered a bunch of them on social media.
4. Forget the minorities, the lower caste still looks at BJP with suspicion. Invariably all the Autorickshaw, OLA - UBERAY (as Uber is pronounced here) drivers I have interacted aren't happy with the high gas (Petrol/Diesel) price and inflation. The common man who feels the pinch squarely blames the BJP led Central Government for that.
5. Modi and BJP are now synonymous as the Nationalist party is no more a cadre based party. It may well be chistened - Modi Janata Party. Like it or not, Modi (BJP towed to his tail) will continue winning most if not all future elections including 2024 Lok Sabha. Though divisive his carefully crafted cult status has grown in stature a la Indira Gandhi in the 1970s. There is simmering discontent at the Modi's government, but there is no one to capitalize on it. It took a national leader like JP (Jayprakash Narayan) to oust Indira, but I don't see any modern day JP in sight to replicate the same. It's the hard truth.
My father, who like me though anti-Congress through out his life with an independent mindset has of late become a supporter of BJP, although he is far from being Bhakt (devotee) type. When I queried him if he sees any tangible results on the ground he couldn't list any. Yet he supports the party as he doesn't see any future in Congress and any other party. I am sure he is not alone. More later...
1. Naveen Patnaik led BJD will stay in power in the state until the party supremo dies. I hardly found anyone who dislikes the man. His social policies work like magic in a state where the majority of the population are known to have low aspiration and are ledback in nature (the usual disclaimers apply).
2. BJP in Odisha is equally inept and corrupt. It has no other option but to wait for its turn to be at the helm of affairs of the state. There is not a single leader from the national party to match the stature of Naveen Patnaik in the state. Their two high profile central ministers from Odisha have zero political base. Forget getting elected to Assembly or Lok Sabha (where Lok or people vote their representatives), these two gentlemen aren't even capable of winning a Municipality election where real people vote.
3. Most Odias supporting BJP are upper caste Hindus and from middle class. They are invariably government servants, businessmen and retirees with a stable source of income. It also includes some hypocrites of highest order who earlier benefited from the largesse of the previous corrupt Congress regimes and now turned into BJP supporters. They are examples of what we call in Odia the perfect CHHATA (Umbrella) party, avid practitioners of the principle of "BARSHA JUADE CHHATA SIADE (Wherever is the direction of the rain, so goes the Umbrella). It is attributed to the fair weather folks. Not all supporters are "Chhata party" type. I encountered some MUNDA (Bull headed) supporters with Cowdung stuffed inside their head. If Sri Modi says shoot your mother, they will shoot without blinking their eyes. I wasn't surprised, having encountered a bunch of them on social media.
4. Forget the minorities, the lower caste still looks at BJP with suspicion. Invariably all the Autorickshaw, OLA - UBERAY (as Uber is pronounced here) drivers I have interacted aren't happy with the high gas (Petrol/Diesel) price and inflation. The common man who feels the pinch squarely blames the BJP led Central Government for that.
5. Modi and BJP are now synonymous as the Nationalist party is no more a cadre based party. It may well be chistened - Modi Janata Party. Like it or not, Modi (BJP towed to his tail) will continue winning most if not all future elections including 2024 Lok Sabha. Though divisive his carefully crafted cult status has grown in stature a la Indira Gandhi in the 1970s. There is simmering discontent at the Modi's government, but there is no one to capitalize on it. It took a national leader like JP (Jayprakash Narayan) to oust Indira, but I don't see any modern day JP in sight to replicate the same. It's the hard truth.
My father, who like me though anti-Congress through out his life with an independent mindset has of late become a supporter of BJP, although he is far from being Bhakt (devotee) type. When I queried him if he sees any tangible results on the ground he couldn't list any. Yet he supports the party as he doesn't see any future in Congress and any other party. I am sure he is not alone. More later...
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