The Resort politics in Assam

In 1977 Indira Gandhi was swept out of power post emergency, but she swept South India where her popularity was at its peak. Akin to Bhakts now, she developed a cult in South of the Vindyas where she was popular among the masses as AMMA INDIRAMMA (mother Indira), especially in the politically important state of Andhra Pradesh.

Her popularity in South continued unabated until the matinee idol NT Rama Rao gave her a shock by dethroning her in the Assembly elections held in Andhra in 1983. In July 1984, an insecure Indira Gandhi with the help of a pliant Governor created a fracture in the ruling Telugu Desam Party by making some Vijay Bhaskar Reddy as the CM. 

Telugu Desam MLAs were rumored to be given 25 lakh Rupees, a big amount those days to switch party. A concerned NT Rama Rao drove his loyal MLAs to a resort in Bangalore as the last resort. Incidentally there was a non-Congress government led by RK Hegde of Janata Dal was in power in Karnataka. Thus began the era of resort politics.

Now fast forward to almost 40 years later. Does it ring a bell ? Now its deja vu time for us as history repeats itself. The present BJP led government has taken a leaf out of Congress page and mastered the art of resort politics. BJP has vindicated itself as the party with a difference. The difference being - Crores instead of Lakhs are used to purchase Siv Sena MLAs parked inside a resort in Assam. 

Not surprisingly the BJP supporters are conspicuous by their silence, though a few shameless ones still believe it's an internal matter of Siv Sena where BJP is innocent lily white. The 40 odd Siv Sena MLAs are simply visiting Kaziranga National Park in Assam. Their thick skinned impudence is thicker than the skin of the Rhinos of Kaziranga Park.

It yet forces me to repeat my often quipped colloquial Odia proverb, 

NARATTOMA DASA KAHE,

KOU SALA BHALA NUHE.  

Roughly transliterated, 

Narottam Das says; 

Not a single SALA (scoundrel),

Is a good Fella. 

BJP and Congress aren't a whole lot different.

Back to USA - India trip 2022

 After settling down on the windows seat on the Vistara flight from Bhubaneswar to New Delhi, I had to wait patiently for half an hour as the giant beast growled on the turmac. Running behind schedule it finally took off from Odisha's soil. I switched my head towards the window to take a view at the fading string of the lights below. The flights from Bhubaneswar Airport fly right above our home after take off, so I tried to get a bird's eye view of our house from above. My wish was belied as the airplane slowly vanished into the cloud.

I have already covered the topic of a large number of Odias these days talking in Hindodia (Hindi mixed Odia). When you look at a person after a hiatus, you can perceive any noticeable change rather than someone who sees the same person every day. Similarly, visiting Odisha after a long gap one other thing I did notice - there is a drastic drop in the quality of Odia songs. They are filled with nonsense lyrics and double entendre. Not to be left out the Odia music videos play cheap songs full of gyrating hips in gay abandon. Modern Odia music videos are made for the masses by asses.

Long distance travel is real pain in the back, literally. I could feel the soreness in my back after I am back in USA after a grueling 30 hour long journey from Bhubaneswar to Delhi to London to Atlanta to Columbus interspersed with several stops. I was welcomed by 100 degree (38°C) heat here. From one heat wave to another, heat follows me everywhere. Looks like I am a hot guy, destined to be roasted this year. I could sense the heat, but can't feel it so much here as I just came from India after encountering the prickly humidity of Bhubaneswar adding to the heat index factor which makes it energy sapping.

It felt odd not to hear a single vehicle honking on my 100 miles (160 km) road trip from Atlanta Airport to Columbus. Miss the din and bustle, crowd and the continous kickee...kickkee..kickee...of bikes yonking horn and slicing their way through the traffic - the ubiquitous jerk on the road and the bumpy rides. The roads here are too smooth, comfortable to my back. A person who has driven on roads of Odisha, driving anywhere else in world is a walk in the park.

Already miss the murmuring of the mosquitoes and brutally clapping them to death, the yodelling of mongrels in the middle of night to mark their territory. The air of Georgia feels refreshingly fresh after spending hours inhaling the breath and fart filled stale air emitted by hundreds of passengers inside the flight for 21 hours.

The 30 hour long journey including the in between flight stoppage time seemed eternal and tiring when you are packed like sardines inside Cattle Class, better known as the better sounding Economy Class. Above 40,000 feet in the sky the moon looked a whole lot bigger and brighter in the pollution free air - the rabbit inside the moon looked eager to jump out into the window seat I took.

US President Ronald Reagan was known to doze off during meetings he attended abroad as he couldn't get sleep inside long flights, even inside his comfortable Air Force One. I also share a similar trait of not able to go beyond sporadic cat naps on long haul flights. I am scared of turbulence. The slightest of shaking of airplane gives me nightmares. I feel tired but could barely sleep inside a flight. The whirring sound of airplanes still humming around ears.

My first day at work wasn't too bad except late in afternoon when my chin started to drool and hit the space bar of computer keyboard. Still drooling over my India trip. No black coffee or aspirin can assuage this post vacation hangover, only time will heal it. My trip didn't go in vain. Travelled miles to achieve several milestones meeting my parents, friends and relatives, connected with old friends and met new ones, ate a lot of local food with fun filled moments.

Reminds me of Kamal Hasan from the movie PUSHPAK who while staying in a posh hotel could not sleep as he missed the sights and sounds of his locality, where his deep rooted roots lied. The pleasure of staying amongst your own is unparallel. One always tends to fall in love with own millieu. Love it or hate it, amidst all these there is a unique flavor of incredible India which you do not find elsewhere. It concluds my travel blog to India. More next time...

Goodbye Bhubaneswar - India trip 2022

 In Bhubaneswar the fad of Hingodia (Hindi mixed Odia) continues unabated. Nani and Apa have catapulted to Didi. Bhinei has turned into the fashionable "Jiju" and so on. A lady whom I used to address as APA (elder sister) since time immemorial now insists on being addressed as DIDI (as they address elder sister in Hindi). "APA, NA KADALI CHOPAA (Banana peel), MOTE DIDI DAAKE (call me Didi)" - she retorted back when I addressed her as APA. I got the message loud and clear. Ekta Kapoor's teleserials are clearly having their effect. 

First time I heard the word "bro" was in Hollywood movies and after coming to America. Now bros are roaming rampant in Bhubaneswar, a few addressing me with "Hi bro". For someone from the current generation of middle class in Bhubaneswar being closer to Hindi and English sounds "Hef" (the slang used for being cool here). The city Forest Park dwellers, Netflix and Amazon Prime watchers are one step ahead of the rest in "Hef" category, as they chew "Phew, Oops, Shit" in English - for them Hindi is so passe and English being cool.

In the United States most places open for breakfast quite early, between 5 AM to 6.30 AM. Then open for lunch from 10.30 and dinner at 6 PM. Here breakfast stalls are never open before 8 AM, most restaurants open for breakfast around 9AM. Lunch is eaten not before 2 PM and dinner often after 10 PM. With such late dinner one can imagine eating a late breakfast. But at our home here we don't eat that late and it keeps me sane. I prefer to have my cuppa tea early in the morning, but lunch at 2 PM and dinner at 10 PM isn't my cuppa tea.

There is a severe shortage of Rs.2000 notes (Bills) though Rs.500 notes are available plentiful. I hate to have a bulging out pocket filled with lower denomination notes in it, so carrying Rs.2000 bills is my preferred option. Yet couple of banks I checked out couldn't provide me with any 2000 rupees note. Someone shared with me his reasoning behind this shortage - that Rs.2000 notes are mostly used for black money transactions and hence much sought after, eventually becoming elusive for the commoners. Conspiracy theory or otherwise, it made sense.

Overall my trip went well. The enery sapping heat and humidity didn't motivate me to venture outside Bhubaneswar. Though didn't bitten by travel bug to wander far and wide, I was by mosquitos multiple times. Gladly so far no symptom of Dengue. Ran lot of errands, did some charity work. The feeling of helping someone is more satisfying than visiting any temple.

When I loaded some Airtel minutes to my local mobile (cell) phone, I was prompted to speak out my phone no. Speaking "96688" as nine-six-six-eight-eight" is often frowned upon and not properly understood. You need to pronounce 66 as "Double 6", 88 as "double 8" and so on. Being out of touch with the milieu for a while, it took me a while to figure this out.

Eminent writer R K Laxman sited this reason for him to stay in India when he had the option to settle abroad invited by multiple Colleges in UK and US -"Where on earth you will find so many variety of characters to write about !!!" He wasn't far from truth. No place under sun can match India in the richness of flora, fauna, chaos and characters to write about. Often chaos and disorder brings the fun and frolic out of life rather than orderly tidiness.

What's the similarities between a vacation, a consulting assignment and life ? All have a start date and end date. Like all good things in life a vacation has to come to an end. Before vacation one is rejuvenated and filled with energy. Towards the end of the trip one is jaded, somewhat depressed. There is always an inherently internal wish you had a few more days to spent. Three, four or five weeks, however long you stay it is never enough.

In the wee hours of the trip it's always the endless cycle of last minute shopping, meeting friends and relatives, running errands, packing, weighing, repacking and re-weighing of luggages.  Now the time has arrived to bid adieu to my motherland. Good Bye India. See you later...

Day XXII in Bhubaneswar - India trip 2022

 It felt great this evening meeting with my friends from REC (now NIT) Rourkela at Swosti Grand. Engineered for fun we cherished a lot of old memories from the college days, arguably the halcyon days for all of us.

My credit card issued in US is declined at many places here though some merchants still accept it. That's really strange. I am told it's due to some weird rule recently set up by RBI (Reserve Bank of India), the equivalent of Federal Reserves in US. So, those who are planning to travel from USA to India please carry enough cash with you as backup.

So the water broke and monsoon finally delivered. The rain has grounded the dust in air, swiping off the dirt from the foliage like wiper blades of a car. The air looks clean and crispy. The buildings are looking wet but brighter in sunshine peeping through the cloud. No one minds this respite from incessant rains. The craters on the street across our house were filled with muddy water. One of those craters was used by the familiar stray dog who is part of our family, for we never fail to feed him. Now filled with water he was slurping the khaki color water as his eyes were scouring for a drier spot to rest.

Monsoon season is very unique to India during which it gets bulk of its annual rainfall. It is accompanied by the reversal of wind direction. Arriving just after a long, torturous hot summer it quenches the thirst of a parched earth. Everyone eagerly waits for its arrival - from the farmers to poets, from villagers to city dwellers, from kids to seniors. Farmers to start their KHARIF (summer) Crop, the city-zens for a reprieve from heat and poets to add one more ode to myriads of poems dedicated to monsoon.

People looks at the sky to savor this rare occasion of the first monsoon rains marking arrival of the rainy season. Poets are motivated to let their pen capture the moment. Many love songs are written over the advent of monsoon - from the romance of Radha and Krishna, to songs of Bollywood depicting drenched actors and actresses eager to shower in the first shower of the season for the viewer's delight. Legendary poet and dramatist Kalidasa several centuries ago wrote an eulogy to cloud in his MEGHADOOTAM (Cloud Messenger) to carry the message from the lover to the beloved.

In West where winters are wet, cloudy depicting morbid gloom, the arrival of sunshine is celebrated. In contrast, in India the dark clouds with thunderclap followed by torrential rains is a welcome phenomena. Birds start singing, Bards sing legendary songs in the praise of the arrival of the monsoon, Peacocks spread their colorful tails to dance to the tune of rains. Dark clouds as silver lines are welcomed in India over sunshine which is associated with heat and dust. It brings joy and respite from the never ending Indian summer. 

The celebration is not just limited to the reel world of movies capturing the monsoon. In real world people come out to play, enjoy sitting on swings propelled by cool, gusty winds accompanying the rain, singing songs of delight to welcome the arrival of Monsoon. Swings play an important part in the Odis festival RAJA exactly timed around the arrival of the monsoon season. Many love to get drenched, as they believe that getting soaked in the first rains of the season cures skin infections. 

Monsoon is rarely an equalizer, far from being uniform. It could be deficit at one place but at the same time causing waterlogging in the cities and floods elsewhere. Vagaries of monsoon is neither new, nor unheard of. Its inherent tendency is bountiful one year, scanty the next. Invariably every year, the monsoon arrives in the month of June and takes leave in early October, with a highly inequitable distribution of rainfall. This Odia proverb aptly depicts  the vagaries of monsoon :

JALA BAHULE SRUSTI NAASA,

JALA BIHUNE SRUSTI NAASA, meaning

"Lack of water causes catastrophe,

Excess of water causes catastrophe."

Talking of puddles, I was reminded of this incident few years back. One evening that summer after a bout of fresh monsoon rain my wife, son and I were waiting on the street right next to our house for our Uber ride. 3 guys on a motorcycle started oggling at Tanujaa, their heads turned in unison by 90 degrees towards her, like they hadn't seen a girl before. 

All of sudden their pillion stumbled a pothole filled with ankle deep water. Distracted, one of them fell on the muddy poodle, while the other two got busy extricating their buddy from the mess. We had a hearty laugh at the fallen hero's expense. Monsoon has its share of fun and joy. More later....

Day XX and XXI in Bhubaneswar - India trip 2022

 On completing 3 weeks of my stay in India I remembered this funny anecdote. A man once went to an astrologer, who after seeing his chart said "You will be begging after two years". "What will happen after 2 years ?" asked the man, now somewhat curious and concerned. The astrologer replied "Don't worry. You will get used to it". Similarly in the initial days in Odisha I struggled with the heat and dust, the sultry weather and the erratic traffic. Now I have got used to it.

During this trip I am occasionally having dry cough which I can relate to the heavy dust cover in the air, mostly due to never ending construction activities going on in our area since time immemorial. The arrival of monsoon would have settled down the dust. Monsoon seems to be constipated this year, stubbornly refusing to come out, delivering in bits and pieces, a few drizzles here and there. So far lots of thunder and lightning, all fart no shit.

In my childhood days in Odisha, a dry cough had a medical term ascribed to it - "PETA GARAM", or warmth of the belly. No one really knows what it exactly means, but it was suppose to be the symptom of many diseases, especially related to cold and allergies. The term PETA is famously associated with the acronym for "People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals". But here, the treatments for PETA GARAM is only associated to a species of mammal called humans, ethically treating the human belly from getting hot as a prevention which is better than cure.

My mother attributes my dry cough to its root cause of "Peta Garam" after her son landed up in this unfriendly weather. She has advised me to take bath sprinkling less water on head, but a liberal flashing of mugs of cold water on belly (PETA) to prevent it from going hot (GARAM). She says if your pee resembles Mustard oil in color and viscosity, it is the classic symptom of legendary PETA GARAM.

Shower and ablution back in those days were a combination of water, bucket and mug, the fad of toilet paper was still elitist. The concept of toilet paper was as alien as aliens were to me. Toilet and paper were two separate entity, those days juxtaposing them was strictly fantasy. In 40°C heat, post consumption of hot, spicy food water feels a lot cooler than the softest of toilet paper.

An NRI visiting India went shopping for toilet paper. The store was out of it. Said the furious NRI, "What kind of store you have, you don't carry a necessity item like Toilet Paper ?" "Sorry Sir", The storekeeper responded. We don't have toilet paper but we have plenty of Sand papers. "TIKE ADJUST KARANTU (Please adjust a little bit)". Trying to imagine the condition of the guy using sand paper in place of toilet paper.

Brahmins are expected to take shower in a semi naked state to prevent their PAITA (sacred thread worn over their shoulder) from getting MAARA (spoiled). And it should involve pouring mugs of water on your belly to keep it in cool and forming a barrage against disease.

It's not uncommon for folks coming out of our NIT hostel bathrooms in fully drenched and dipping cloth, a la male version of Mandakini, of Raj Kapoor's "Ram Teri Ganga Maili" fame. In summer such an experience was pleasant. In winter in Rourkela one needed to shiver for minutes before changing to dry cloth.

In our NIT hostel there would be beeline in front of the standing showers when the municipality supply water comes running at noon. The line used to be a lot longer during the winter months as the running water was relatively warmer than the stored one.

The first couple of mugs of water would be poured over the body with a burst of latest Bollywood hit song on top of the voice. That would instantly kill the fear of cold water. The BESURA (tone and beat less) song continues as mugs of water are flashed on the belly to prevent PETA GARAM. The song slowly dies down, as the next person in line keeps knocking on the door, a terse reminder to wrap up with soaked GAMUCHA and tip toe back to your room.

Not sure if those preventing measures against PETA GARAM really prevented us from common ailments. But am sure, "PETA GARAM" is just another name for dehydration. By drinking plenty of water one is better off than flashing liters of cool water on the torso.

I would like to end this blog with an ode to talented, blind author Faturananda from Cuttack who incidentally was born this month of June. He wrote many Odia short stories and was known for his dry humor and sarcasm. His description of minute details was amazing - especially of the human feelings. At a very young age he lost his eyesight, hence he could never fall in love at firstsight.

He described his feeling of love in Odia - "PETA RU GOTE GARAM PABAN BAHARI CHHATI KU KUTU KUTU KALA PARI EKA ABHIGYANTA" (Love is the feeling of a hot air emanating from the stomach and tickling your heart). I fell in love with that expression of a blind person who could see the love it without able to see. A feeling of PETA GARAM isn't too bad. My mother was so correct. Flashing of cold water on the stomach and drinking of plenty of water has helped me beating the PETA GARAM. More later....

Day XVIII and XIX in Bhubaneswar- India trip 2022

 "KAALI MU TO HUSBAND SANGARE HATA KU HATA DHARI MARKET RE SHOPPING KARIBAKU JIBI", "Tomorrow I will go shopping in the market with your husband holding his hands" - a challenge thrown by a woman to another woman. The later obviously irritated by this indecent proposal lands a thunderous slap on the girl's cheek who just boasted herself as the other woman in her husband's life.

The camera zooms on their faces for 30 seconds, flashing intermittently while capturing the emotions of the ladies, one of satisfaction of being the conquerer of the other woman's husband and the other woman's face showing signs of insecure annoyance. The background music grows louder as camera continues focusing on their faces. This is a scene from a popular Odia teleseries in the evening prime time. The women folks in our home are glued to it, including my mom who after a long day watches it bleary-eyed.

I call "SAMBADA", the vernacular Odia Newspaper rubbish. But my bowels won't move unless I scan it, going through all the crap while sipping my morning cuppa tea. An important news item caught my eyes - "SAALI SAHA BEDI RU BARA FERAAR", "The groom flees from the marriage altar with the bride's sister". Another noteworthy news item was about a Clerk in Pension Department of Odisha caught for taking a bribe of Rs.15,000 (about $200). It's high time they stop reporting bribes of these meager amounts. I find ultimate hypocrisy in seeing this reported on media. A classic case of the Odia saying - HAATHI GALI JAUCHI, PIMPUDI DHARA PADUCHI (Elephant escapes while the Ant gets caught).

We studied in Math and Physics during our school/college days, that when a number tends to get too small we ignore it considering it as zero. And those who are familiar with corruption in India a bribery of Rs15,000 is too small these days to get noticed and reported. The media should forget them and rather focus on catching bigger fishes.

We use the term GOAT for Greatest Of All Times (GOAT) - for the likes of Pele in soccer, Tendulkar in Cricket, Roger Federer in Tennis and so on. I can proclaim that Goat meat is the greatest of all meats, especially in curry form. I have eaten chicken, turkey, venison, tortoise and quail meat curries. But nothing beats the taste of goat meat curried the Odia way.

The scorching heat and humidity of the daytime restricts my shopping and dining out mostly after sunset. The cooler and breezy weather earlier this morning prompted me to go out and do some shopping as my departure day gets closer. Didn't find a single store carrying a decent collection of craft and gift items. Some of the stores I found were grossly overpriced.

So I headed to "UTKALIKA" - a craft store located in the iconic Market Building, the Times Square of Bhubaneswar. I took a stroll amongst a plethora of shops, big and small, just opened for business in the morning. I found the price in Utkalika quite reasonable. It had a wide range of products and their staff friendly. The same afternoon I visited my friend Alok Kumar Pal at his office in Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC). The office, the rooms and the cafeteria looked modern and impressive. It looked no less than a 5 star hotel.

While driving on Bhubaneswar roads we have to skirt the incoming traffic on our own lane approaching us. It feels quite irritating and often scary to see a vehicle coming towards you in your lane. The Bond movie "Living Dangerously" should have been shot on the roads of the capital city. Or a Road mafia movie "Roads of Bhubaneswar", similar to the Coal mafia based movie "Gangs of Wassyrpur" would be a big hit. Nothing more can relate this phrase "from reel to the real life" than riding on Bhubaneswar roads. More later...

Day XVI and XVII in Bhubaneswar- India trip 2022

 After finishing my dinner the other night at a well known hotel-cum-restaurant in the city I suddenly stumbled upon an old friend at the lobby. He introduced me to someone accompanying him - "He is my friend Sambeet". His companion who seemed inebriated asked me in a slurry voice, "Where do you live ?" I replied, "in USA". "Oh, I see. There must be one lakh (100,000) Odias in America" - he queried.

I found one lakh a gross overestimation of the population of Odias living in the United States and concluded it as a perfect calculation of a drunk mind. Before I could correct his exaggerated figure he dropped another bombshell - "America re jou Lakhye Odia Achhanti sabu mo B***a B*la" (All those Odias living in USA are my pubic hairs).

"How could you count your pubic hairs so accurately and arrive at the exact figure of one lakh ?", I somehow blurted out. I went further - "How do you manage to count and groom your 100,000 pubic hairs ! Do you count them by hand or use a machine, the kind of which they use at bank to count cash with a whirring sound" ?

He was too drunk to get my joke, but told me - "I will see you around". He never came back. My friends were still laughing at my response. No sooner I turned around than I heard a loud thud. I looked back to see our drunk friend fall down at the doorstep of the hotel lobby and farted loudly enough to be audible over a distance as his friends struggled to pull him up. He staggered a few feet and suddenly leaned on a car parked close by and vomited on the tyre, belching out in waves. It was a long day and I thought it was time to bid goodbye.

During this trip I found many small, nondescript restaurants who supply great food at a reasonable price while the reputed ones have started faltering. Once they get name and fame and sense lack of competition, they start taking their customers for a ride and dilute the quality - literally in case of Lingaraj Lassi.

Yesterday evening was quite pleasant. I was standing on our balcony enjoying the hitherto missing gusts of Southernly sea breeze, overlooking the street near our house. Over the years the volume of the traffic on the street has considerably gone up. Nowadays it's lot more chaotic and cacophonous. The vehicles big and small horn their way all the day spraying clouds of dust into the sky.

One day my son was waiting for his turn to cross the street, expecting incoming traffic to stop for him as he thought Pedestrians always have the right of way. So he thought. He stood for several minutes as not a single vehicle stopped for him. I told him - "If you expect the incoming traffic to stop for you to cross over you will be waiting forever". Finally I held his hand and helped him maneuver to the other side of the road.

I was observing the neighborhood kids playing closer to the street close to  twilight hours as coconut, betelnut, mango, Jackfruit, Sajana (Moringa) trees happily swayed in the cool breeze, enjoying their swing ride in the middle of Raja festival. A boy was busy chasing a Chameleon who was hopping fast on the dusty road and jumped on our flower tree clinging on to the fence. He shouted with pure, unadulterated excitement on top of his voice - "ENDUA, ENDUA" (Chameleon, Chameleon). His mother chastised him - "ENDUA NUHE GIRGIT KAHA" (Don't call Endua, as in Odia, tell Girgit, as in Hindi).

I have no reason to believe the family had ever lived outside Odisha at any point of time in their life. Forcing a child whose mother tongue is Odia to say "Girgit" substituting "Endua" didn't make any sense. Endua is so old fashion, Girgit sounds so cool. As I was pondering over my thoughts the good old "Endua" startled by the commotion melted away inside the dusty, green foliage.

I constantly keep on hearing that Raja didn't bring any rain this year as it normally does. The monsoon doesn't depend on Raja, rather Raja is tied to it.
The festival has hardly anything to do with monsoon other than coinciding with its arrival. The festival is set around the arrival of monsoon, not the other way round. Monsoon doesn't depend on Raja, rather on several Geographic factors like El Nino and La Nina, the unusual heating or cooling of the Pacific Ocean located thousands of miles away can make the monsoon very freaky. So delay in the arrival of monsoon isn't something new or unusual. More later...

Day XIV and XV in Bhubaneswar - India trip 2022

 Another positive development I noticed here is the ubiquitous "Paytem" Payment method available at most places, which includes but not limited to the small businesses like street vendors serving fast foods. I see many ordering their Chat or Chicken Egg rolls, then rolling their their smartphones over the Paytem barcode, thus completing their cashless transactions. It makes me feel great to see that we are slowly but steadily moving towards a cashless society and the trend is catching up fast in India.

More than half way through my India trip I have realized that time flies faster than the speed of light. Explaining his famous "Theory of Relativity" for a layman to understand Einstein said "Time flies slowly when you listen to a boring lecture, but it flies fast when you talk to a pretty girl". He wasn't far from the truth. Similarly a vacation week passes a lot faster than a work week.

Last Saturday night I booked an OLA cab at 10.30 PM in front of Swosti Grand, Master Canteen. No sooner I completed the booking than the assigned cab driver immediately called me and wanted to verify the exact destination address. After hearing me out, he demanded Rs.100 more or he is going to cancel. Don't mind paying Rs.100 more. But I didn't want to be taken for a ride by my OLA ride and face extortion. The Uber car I booked immediately after this OLA fiasco arrived and picked us within minutes without any hesitation.

My friends who were visiting from Calcutta and Chennai told me that they haven't encountered such situations in their respective cities. Our complacent Odia Bhai probably made enough for the day, wasn't in a mood to drive any longer that night, so demanded Rs.100 as a driving factor to drive further. 10.30 PM on a summer night isn't too late these days, even by Odisha standard. It speaks volumes about the professionalism in Bhubaneswar vis a vis other cities.

On our way back, we narrated this incident to the Uber driver. His views was more nuanced. It's not uncommon for OLA - Uber drivers to face unruly passengers late in the night - from drunks in different stages of drunkeness to unreasonable night owls. That's one of the reasons to dissuade them to ply late into night, though 10.30 PM may not be too late even for a tier 2 city like Bhubaneswar.

The Uber cab driver made his point. The capital city of Odisha is no more a sleepy township of salaried people. A city originally designed to accommodate 40,000 people now harbors no less than 12 lakh (1.2 million) people of all shades of hue. Dacoity, Burglary, gang wars, chain snatching, drugs, prostitution, and other crimes hitherto rare during my growing up days are now rampant and on the rise.

Yeaterday, June 14 was the day of RAJA SANKRANTI, the first day of the popular three day festival celebrated mostly in the long, culturally rich coastal Odisha (Raja isn't native to Western Odisha).The festival invariably comes in mid June as per the Gregorian calendar. The festival of Raja is also considered as the harbinger of the cooler rainy season, as the South West monsoon rolls over the state during Raja festival, bringing waves of rain.

As the silvery monsoon rains ornament the thick humid air, the perfume of PODA PITHA (baked rice cake) pervades the environment. Young and old alike play on DOLI (swings), with men snarling their blackened teeth and girls exposing their red pouty lips - post effect from chewing PAAN (betel leaves filled with colored condiments and scented tobacco).

Raja arrived, still no sign of monsoon. When I arrived close to the monthend of May, the monsoon was predicted to arrive early in Odisha by June 7. There was no sign of rains. The arrival of monsoon was updated by the Meteorology department yet again to coincide with the arrival of Raja on June 14. Still no sign of monsoon. Now the prediction is for monsoon to bless Odisha at the end of the 3 day Raja festival. Guess the weather department keeps on changing the goal post by just looking at the sky and making their  predictions. More later...

Day XII and XIII in Bhubaneswar - India trip 2022

 These are the first few lines of an Odia duet I overheard at a Barber's Haircut Saloon the other day.

Boy - TO SEXY SEXY ANTA DEKHI
           MO DIL FIDA HELA.
(Looking at your sexy waistline,
My heart was satisfied).

Girl -  TO STRONG STRONG BODY DEKHI
          MO NAZAR LAKHI GALA.
(Looking at your strong body,
My eyes were fixated)

Calculate how many English, Hindi and Odia words are there in this so called Odia song loaded with tons of vulgarity. It is high time the legendary Odia singers Akshay Mohanty, Chitta Jena, Prafulla Kar et all take rebirth and save Odia music from adulteration, cataclysmic alteration and its eventual extinction. I requested the guy giving me haircut and shave to save me from any further torment by switching from this "Sexy Sexy" song to something less sensuous and more listenable. He dismissed me nonchalantly - "AGYAN AJI KALI SABU EIYA KU  SUNUCHANTI (Sir, these days all folks listen to this). He made his point.

We NRIs are champion hypocrites who give bombastic speeches about the low cost manual labor in India. But when time comes, we take the guilty pleasure of fully taking advantage of the low cost, grabbing it at the very first opportunity. It was my turn to do so today by visiting a Saloon, as a Barber's shop is called in local lingo.

This Barber shop aka Saloon was clean. It has improvised over the years, a wall mounted AC unit blowing cool air being its latest addition. But I hardly noticed any changes in the profile of the folks gathered inside. After entering the Saloon I noticed a few guys, thinking they were ahead of me in line. So when the hair dresser signaled me to occupy a chair, it surprised me, putting me in a spot. Sensing my hesitancy he insisted - "SAARE, BASANTU (Sir, please take your seat).

Soon I realized the reason of me being pulled ahead of the rest. Those guys ahead of me were not customers, but free roamers and freeloaders needlessly hanging around. The reluctant hair dresser is no fan of these guys whom he refers as BALUNGAs (worthless weeds) and wanted to avoid any PUNGA (not to mess around) with these local brats. He tolerated the unavoidable nuisance as an occupational hazard in his profession. He had confided to me about this earlier.

One of them was combing his hair backwards standing in front of the big mirror from time immemorial, whistling from the top his snorted piggy lips. He took a break, wiped residual hairs off the comb, checked it again by turning it over. Not satisfied, placing it close to his mouth, he tried to vacuum it off by blowing hair through his pouting lips. 

He resumed his combing operation, ploughing his hair backwards, uttering in Odia - KIRE KUNA (a common Odia nick name) TA SHAALI BAHAGHARA RU PHERILA (Did Kuna return from marriage of his sister-in-law) ? A guy reading a local newspaper got up, walked to the front door to spit out his betel stained saliva and replied - "NA MA. SE E JAYE MEESSI KALLA KARINI". (He has not given me a miss call - a call on the cell phone destined to be missed but expected to be returned at the earliest).

The tete a tete continued as the barber focused on giving me a clean shave, used his blade in surgical precision reaching out to all the nooks and corners of my face which I can rarely reach. He continued weeding out the unwanted hairs off my face, gave me a nice massage, soothing my jaded nerves. I thanked him for giving me a clean slate. Adding my tip to the final payment it cost me just a little more than couple of dollars. It can't get any cheaper than that. Can't complain, when I had a close shave for a tiny amount, as close and low it can get.

Plumbers, Electricians, AC Mechanics et all thrive well in Bhubaneswar, making decent amount of money. There is always demand for them due to the city's explosive growth. The dignity of labor hasn't quite matched up to their earnings in a feudal society where manual labor is frowned upon. But due to an upward demand curve and mobility, the dignity of labor is bound to grow as years progress.

Thursday is the best day for banking. I have an account at the local State Bank of India from the 18th Century. This Thursday when I visited the Bank, it was conspicuously less crowded. Then I realized that Thursday is the day of MAA LAXMI, our Goddess of wealth - so a monetary transaction is best avoided on that day, lest one wants to attract the wrath of our Goddess, running the risk of left in penury. I was glad that I was there on a Thursday facing a lot lesser crowd and my transaction at counter done in few minutes.

In spite of Pax Americana, we still have our indelible inheritance from the British. The most conspicuous difference is the way we write the dates. Here June 9, 2022 is written as 09-06-2022 in MM-DD-YYYY format. Found this the hard way at the bank when I wrote 06-09-2022 in American MM-DD-YYYY format on a Check (Cheque in British English) only to be rebuffed by the young lady at the cash counter.

I changed the date on the check back to the correct DD-MM-YYYY format and handed it back to her. Without lifting her head or making any eye contact, she continued to click away the computer keys with her eyes going back and forth between my check and the screen. She again pushed the check back to me, still looking at the computer screen -  "PACHHARE SIGN KATANTU (Please sign on the back). I duly obliged.

She pulled out a bunch of Rs.500 bills (notes) and put them on the counting machine. It whirred for a few seconds before displaying the amount on the screen. Then she bundled those bills in a rubber band and handed over to me. "Thank you ma'am. Have a nice day" - I replied. Now I not only raised her curiosity, I got her attention too. She raised her head, made an eye contact with me and suggested to count the money before leaving. More later...

Day X and XI in Bhubaneswar - India trip 2022

 OLA and UBER cab services are arguably the best thing to happen to the city in recent years. Just book them using your Smartphone App, you can see the cabs rolling in on screen, doing somersaults before showing up at your doorsteps in minutes. 

The other day I was the 8th ride for the OLA driver at 9 PM in night. He boasted that he is to driving as fish is to water and was planning to drive on untill midnight today and on the long tem until he goes over the hills over the wheels. A late migrant to Bhubaneswar from the midsize town of Bhadrak, like many job seekers from the hinterland of Odisha he came to the capital city, his city of neon lights and opportunity. He landed up as a driver for UBEREY (Uber pronounced in Odia accent) before shifting to OLA.

He shared his frustrations of handling occasional fastidious, recalcitrant passengers, last minute cancellations et all. He dreaded trips to Cuttack, for it's a challenge for him to drive in the labyrinth of lanes of the old city which prides itself on its 52 Bazaars and 53 Streets (BAUN BAZAAR, TEPAN GALI). Also he detested his customers in Cuttack whom he found to be more obnoxious and less rule abiding than those he encountered in Bhubaneswar.

I asked him - "How can you generalize like that" ? He continued - "Trust me, you must not have seen Cuttack". He was right. Though Cuttack is our neighboring city, I haven't visited it more than half a dozen times in my life, the last time was in year 2000. He went on - "The traffic in the new Capital city of Bhonsar is a walk in the park compared to Odisha's Old Capital city of Cuttack". I chuckled while replying back - "I certainly see how every rule abiding Bhubaneswariya makes his or own road rules on daily basis. Cuttackias can't be any worse".

During our early days in Bhubaneswar we lived in BJB Flats, in a government quarter provided to my father who used to teach Physics at the nearby BJB College. As the name indicates, the BJB Flats housed mostly teachers and staffs of BJB College, though there were considerable number of folks from other government services who got allocated quarters in those flats.

When we entered BJB flats in the year 1976, it was only 29 years since India got its independence from Britain. The British legacy still held steady. Apartments in Bhubaneswar were called Flats those days instead of Apartments as it is called in America. Now Flats are called Apartments in Bhubaneswar - e.g. Kedaragauri Apartments and so on. No one calls them Flats anymore.

Batsmen are now called Batters a la in Baseball games in USA. American slangs like bro etc is widely used by the young and not so young in Odisha's state capital. I saw an American restaurant "Chillis" at a mall near Rasulgarh. I heard men calling each other "Hey man" ! Pax Americana has taken over Bhubaneswar where British are so passe.

I took my son Sidhant with me to show him around the BJB Flats where I grew up, spent the bulk of my childhood and youth. We stayed in a 3 bedroom Flat located on the first floor, right on the front row of a series of flats. I knocked on the door of the flat numbering D-33 where we lived for 15 years. The current occupant of the quarter, a doctor, was initially a bit reluctant to let us in, but relented when he came to know that we are visiting all the way from America.

A lot have changed since we left the Flats in 1991. The floors are now made from marble instead of cement. There are parking garages unlike our days which makes the entrances to the flats look clumsy. A lemon tree planted by my mother has grown leaps and bounds into a tall shrub. I gaped at the rooms with nostalgia remembering those days of silly fights with my sisters. My room is still intact with the cupboard freshly painted. Only thing missing was the big poster of Brooke Shields, my teenage crush which adored inside the cupboard.

Local news channels had predicted the arrival of monsoon ahead of schedule by June 8. Well, June 8 came and went, still there was no sign of monsoon. It's less hot and sultry during the daytime, evenings being windy and pleasant. It seems like me monsoon is taking a vacation. But the air is thick and heavy, pregnant with water vapor, eager to deliver monsoon anytime for the eagerly waiting parched folks. More later....

Day IX in Bhubaneswar- India trip 2022

 Today evening I was at Hotel Shirose near Ravi Talkies ordering a Parcel (the term used here for "to go" or take out food). I was about to wrap up my order when a gentleman barely a feet behind me suddenly interrupted in a very thick Odia accented Hindi by placing his order - "EKE MASRUMU PANIYARI PACKETE PARSALA KARO" (Parcel a Mushroom Paneer packet for take out). Extending his hand holding couple of 100 rupee notes (bills) over my shoulder he was trying to order before I had finished. Jumping queues to get ahead in line is part and parcel of life life.

Not sure why an Odia placing an order face to face with another Odia in the heartland of Odisha has to talk in a thick Odia accented Hindi ! Same was corroborated by a friend who just moved to Bhubaneswar from Mumbai and found out to his unpleasant surprise that most of his Odia colleagues here talk in Hindi amongst themselves. Some of them have never ever ventured out of Odisha.

I politely told our impatient guy in Odia to wait for his turn. He responded to me in clear and unadulterated Odia - "TIKE URGENTE KAMA THILA. LAYTE HEI GALENI (Had a little urgent work. I am getting late)". I replied in Odia, "We all here have some urgent work to do". It didn't seem to deter his recalcitrance. I reiterated myself, this time transliterating exactly what I just told him in Odia into English. "You can't just get ahead in the line. You need to wait for your turn". He acquiesced by miraculosly falling in line. In Odisha we love to respect those who speak in Hindi - more those speaking in English. My switching to English did the trick.

I have found biking is fun, but for a short distance. The local traffic is too erratic and unsafe to venture into the main road where one needs to be a zigzag Zen master to manoeuvre. Being out of the milieu for so long - if I drive on the main road it won't take long before either someone hits me, or I hit somebody. There is hardly any designated Pedestrian or Zebra crossing in Bhubaneswar. You have to tip toe and sway your hips, waving and clenching hands like an eunuch towards the incoming traffic in order to walk to the other side. Road crossing is an art and one needs to be a trapeze artist to cross roads at the crossroads of Bhubaneswar.

Though the temperature stayed under 40°C (104°F) it was another muggy, lazy dog day of summer. After lunch, I lied down reading SAMBAD, a vernacular Newspaper. It's a boring newspaper and the best medicine for insomniacs. Read couple of pages from the newspaper, you will be sleeping like a baby. Didn't remember when sleep overpowered me until wafted in a high pitch voice from a street vendor - BALTI, MUG NABA, BALTI MUG (Will you buy Buckets and Mugs).

The voice appeared louder and louder, gradually closing on me and slowly fading away reminding me of the Doppler's Effects we studied during Intermediate Physics - the effects of approaching sound on ear. I turned my side yawning, semi asleep. Then poof, electricity gone again. But thanks to the inverter, the fan kept on churning the air to my relief but soon the circulating air was slowly getting too hot for my comfort.

I stepped outside the room, still wobbly when our maid cautioned me not to step into the floor she just finished mopping. Thanking her for saving my somnambulist torso from crashing on the slippery floor, I tip toed carefully trudging into the balcony. Another vendor came yelling DAHI BARA, DAHI BARA (Bara soaked in buttermilk), a big tin container tied to the back of his bicycle with rubber tubes, the air inside the tires barely enough, making the steel frame of the bicycle wheels almost touch the ground.

It reminded me of an episode from my childhood, when defying our parents my sisters and I bought DAHI BARA from such a street vendor to find couple of drowned cockroaches who had taken a "Buttermilk Burial". We were squarely reprimanded by our parents not to buy anything from such vendors again.

Had a taste of BIKRUTA (Wierd) Odia today while I caught the local FM. Some of my non Odia and NRO friends speak far better non-accented Odia than the anchors on FM, especially the female ones who apparently think speaking accented Odia is a fad. And the quality of modern Odia songs - the less I speak of them, better. More later....

Day VIII in Bhubaneswar - India trip 2022

 I have observed certain marked differences in some commonly used phrases in American English and our Onglish (Odia accented English).

Onglish     : One to one meeting.
American : One on one meeting.

Onglish :       Going to office.
American :   Going to work.

Onglish :      Let's have lunch together.
American :  Let's do lunch together.

Onglish:Are you Going to lunch with us ? 
American : Are you Coming to lunch with us ? And so on...

This evening it felt so nice to meet my childhood friends from BJB Flats where we spent the bulk of our childhood and youth. We recapitulated those crazy days - playing cricket under street lights, stealing fruits from neighbors' orchards and of course tracing the whereabouts of the better known neighborhood girls who have now gracefully grown into middle aged women.

After taking an early morning shower on Monday morning, following my mom's diktat I walked towards SUKHMESWAR MANDIRA, one of several Shaivite (of Lord Shiva) temples scattered around adoring my neighborhood of Old Town. I do this religiously whenever I am in the town. It reminded me an episode from one of my prior trips.

Before walking to the temple I drank Tea, followed by Amul Lassi and couple of glasses of PAIDA (young coconut) water freshly plucked from one of the Coconut trees in our backyard. While on my way back, I realised my bladder was about to burst as I won't be able to hold on to it much longer. As there was still some distance to be covered (distance is a relative term and not just a number when you walk with controlling nature's call), I thought it would be prudent to open the valve midway.

Frantically looking for a spot with privacy, I found a suitable peeing spot by roadside. It was a dry spot near a wet wall, heavily stained by betel leaf saliva and more heavily stenched by rivulets of urine mixed with red saliva. Couple of guys joined me on my side were also inspecting the site for a location. The guy on my right looked up into the sky while relieving himself. I turned my head to the left and smiled at the other. He reciprocated by smiling back at me, exposing his phalanx of all hia dark, betel stained 32 teeth.

We all shook ourselves off, lifted and tightened our pants and bid each other an unspoken goodbye. It is another feeling of the pleasure of relieving oneself under open, blue sky, something I rarely do these days. A la a doggie I managed to leave my scent behind, may be back one day to reuse the spot. It is the best way to recycle these wall urinals lurking around the smart city. No place to wash hands, I knew it will be a few minutes before I reach home to do so - sincerely wishing of not getting an opportunity to shake my hands with someone. Feeling completely light and relieved, I started trudging my way back.

Soon my wish was to be belied. On my way back, I saw a familiar face rushing towards me - "HAIO KEBE FOREIGN RU ASILA. KETE DINA ACHHA" - "Hey when did you come from abroad (foreign in Odia is the term used here to denote a nation outside India, especially Western Countries). How long are you staying", extending himself for a warm welcome handshake. I reluctantly took my hand forward, squinting my nose, hesitantly extended my right hand towards him. The smiling guy on the other side shook his hands enthusiastically for a few seconds. 

Post handshake, he rolled his hands over his lip and chins, making me squint and raise my nose further. Hope someone recorded this handshake moment, it could very well get million plus hits on YouTube a la the greatest handshakes in history - Chamberlain with Hitler, Nixon with Chairman Mao, Ronald Reagan vs Mikhail Gorbachev and so on. Glad I didn't meet any more Mr. Fortunates on my way to shake hands with. More later...

Day VII in Bhubaneswar - India trip 2022

Mangoo vs Mongoose. This morning I saw an interesting encounter between Mangoo, our tenant's pet cat and a local Mongoose. The cat was perched on a low height wall overlooking the street across our house. He could sense something around and became alert lifting its tails. Suddenly from nowhere came a brown mongoose. The cat jumped off the walls and ran to the safety of our home. The Mongoose has a AHI NAKULA SAMPARKA (Snake and Mongoose relationship), so it's enemical only to the presence of snakes, its sworn enemy. It was hardly perturbed by a kitty cat and vanished fast behind bushes. My mother said it's going to be a good day for me as seeing mongoose is being considered to be auspicious here.

I see an analogy between the untimely death of popular Bollywood singer KK and the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857. There were two causes behind the Mutiny against the British. First, there was a long term pent up anger against the British East India Company's 100 year rule. Second and immediate cause was Mangal Pandey firing the first bullet of mutiny, killing an English Army Officer and triggering what we call the first war of India's independence.

Similarly, the first reason behind KK's heart attack is the long term blockage of his arteries, symptoms of which were ignored. Second and the immediate cause could be the stress and high BP associated on stage during his concerts which triggered the heart attack.

Many celebrity artists die young. It is said that "Gandharvas" (celestial beings from Hindu mythology who are singers and dancers) are born as super talented artists who die young after leaving their indelible mark. KK was the latest to join the bandwagon. The other KK was our eccentric genius Kishore Kumar who also died of sudden heart attack when he was only in his 50s.

"Are you here with your Missus and family ?", is a question I am commonly asked. People here are bit shy of using the word "wife". The word Missus is widely prevalent and the preferred word for wife here. Me, my Missus and son have become very fond of mangoes. The three of us devoured a dozen in one seating.

There are also differences in the usage of certain words (phrases) in America and my native state of Odisha. One such word is "Nonsense". In US it means something which doesn't make sense or difficult to understand. But in Odisha saying "Nonsense" can be considered as a GAALI or rebuke, taken in a derogatory sense. Another one is the usage of the phrase "I don't care". It implies lack of inclination or disinterest or simply "it's non of my business". In Odisha saying "I don't care" can instantly brand you as a heartless person lacking empathy. Meanings can be lost in translation.

In the Webster's dictionary smart means "clever, witty, brainy" etc. In Bhubaneswar parlance a guy on a bike wearing shining shoes and chasing girls is considered a smart guy. The name "Smart city" tag given to Bhubaneswar speaks for itself.

Rains were long overdue and much needed. Around 9 PM gusty gales brought in cool air lifting the dust above the ground. It followed by heavy water droplets plattering on the tree and ground, giving way to pouring rain and thunderstorm. Loved every bit of the rain slicing through the flashing lightning and heavy thunder. It brought the temperature considerably down and the croaking sound of frogs to forefront. Big toads were seen jumping around the street and our garden through the bright zizzag light of the nature. More later...

Day VI in Bhubaneswar - India trip 2022

 Just completed one week of my stay and couldn't ignore a noticeable difference and positive development this summer here in Bhubaneswar - the absence of perpetual load sheddings and ubiquitous power cuts. Barring a few power fluctuations and loss of electricity for few minutes, the power runs steady - being the savior from the ongoing stifling heat and humidity.

I should have touched wood while writing this. Not long after I wrote this Electricity went poof. It wasn't for too long, but it felt like eternity. For 2 hour there was no power. No toilet, no shower. The inverter which backs up power for emergency use kept the ceiling fan running which kept churning out hot and humid air. 

Felt like a fish out of water, lying supine on hot bed a la horizontal version of Sri Chaitnanya Mahapranhu getting barbecued. An hour gone, still no sign of electricity. Sprinkle some salt and pepper over me I am a great grill. Another couple of hours I could have become a SUKHUA or dried fish, an Odia delicacy. Thankfully electricity came back at the knick of the moment, rescuing us from further torment.

Another positive outcome of this hot and muggy weather is it has kept mosquitoes at bay. The tiny blood suckers haven't vanished, rather been in hibernation to escape from the heat. Whatever few I encounter in our room I mercilessly clap them to death. Mosquitoes are known to have amazing resilience. Non of these mosquito repellants are effective against them. The best option is mosquito net, but I feel terribly claustrophobic inside it. Preventing them from entering your room and their manual extermination of those present is the optimal solution.

The ongoing separation drama between a couple of celebrities or a celebrity couple of Odisha is grabbing headlines of local media. The popular cine couple of Anubhav and Barsha made a perfect glamorous lover duo, ideally made for each other couple on screen. Alas, their fairy tale marriage has apparently gone wrong with the couple doing mudslinging in the public. When they got married they were expected to repeat their onscreen romance and chemistry in their married life. But Real world is different from reel world, something they are learning the hard way.

The stifling heat and humidity forces me to drink plenty of water to keep myself hydrated. I am drinking twice the amount of water I normally do to pee the same. Took a walk inside the Forest Park one late evening. Didn't turn exactly into a walk in the park. I was told each round on the walking trail measures 900m (1/2 mile). The heat and humidity, even after the dark is so energy sapping that after 4-5 rounds I was completely exhausted and felt rejuvenating only after drinking a full 2 liter bottle of water. The key is to stay hydrated. Also the diary products here, especially the Yogurts get spoiled after couple of days even if you keep them inside the refrigerator - so bad is the current mugginess.

During lunch I try all kinds of Saaga of local varieties - Kosala, Leutia and Sajana which we don't get in USA, especially the later which is my favorite. They are simply packed with all essential vitamins and other nutrients. We eat our lunch at noon, unlike most here who don't eat lunch until 2 PM. Similarly 9.30 PM is the dinner time at our home, it has been the same since my childhood days. That's still early for many. 

A lot of households here in Bhubaneswar eat dinner no earlier than 10 PM. In US where the dinner time in 7 PM, is the snacking time in here when street food and fast food restaurants make brisk business. Food and culture may vary across the globe but are great unifiers. More later...

Day V in Bhubaneswar - India trip 2022

 So far, my days here are mostly like running errands in the morning, taking long afternoon siesta post lunch when venturing out of home in stifling heat and humidity can be energy sapping. Then hanging out in evening hours when the weather is lot more windy and pleasant. My son loves jumpy rides in 3-Wheeler Auto rickshaws on bumpy roads here, equating them to roller coaster rides on theme parks.

Every other day I visit the local HAAT (Flea or Farmers market) to grab some fresh, leafy green veggies - especially my favorite LEUTIA, KOSALA SAAGA (Local Leafy Greens) and DESI ALU (Yam). I have become the favorite of a middle aged lady vegetable vendor. I think she likes me for two things. Every time I buy vegetables, I don't do any bargaining and tell her to keep the changes when she returns me the balance. 

The first time I gestured her to keep the change, it raised her curiosity as she raised her head - putting her hand over her forehead to take a close peek at me through the sun glare. Every time she sees me standing in front of her mounds of vegetables, she hands me over the choicest pieces of DESI ALU and five bundles of SAAGA which she sets aside exclusively for me. It seems like I have become her favorite customer as I don't dishearten her.

Remembered this incident years ago during one of my summer trips to India. One fine morning I came to this same vegetable market to do some shopping and catch a glimpse of the milieu. No sooner I finished my purchase from a vendor than I heard someone shouting MAHADEB, MUNDIA (Salute, O Lord  Shiva. The venerable Bull is the ride of Lord Siva). I turned my head to notice a huge Bull sniffing vegetables hardly couple of feet from me. The mountain sized bovine acknowledged greetings by nodding its head while still happily munching the vegetables offered to him.

A man suddenly arrived on scene clad in LUNGI (A loincloth wrapped around the waist which can be conveniently removed for multiple purposes). Scratching his private parts in public (blame the hot and humid weather for that) he asked the lady vendor, ALO BAIGANA KETE NEKHA - "Hey, how much is the cost of the Eggplant" ? 

Then came a woman covered in rags, shouting explicit at another vendor who refused to part her with vegetables. 

She started cursing the vendor's whole family to die from BAADI (cholera, a killer disease of yesteryears but now defunct). She could have cursed her to die from Covid or Cancer as one has a better chance to perish these days from these diseases rather than Cholera. She also went on accusing the woman vendor of soliciting illicit relationship with her mothers and sisters. I couldn't understand why she didn't direct her anger towards her father and brother rather than mother and sister. Apparently we are a male dominated society where mothers and sisters are the butts of profanity and curse.

After being content from covering every member of her 14 generations with all her curses she finally relented. The lady selling the vegetables ignored her and went on shouting BAIGANA BAIGANA (eggplant, eggplant). I asked the lady vendor the reason behind the other woman's sudden outburst. Before she could answer my query, a man in loin cloth and unkempt hair told me "She is mad. No one takes her seriously". He sounded serious and logical.

As he walked away, the vegetable vendor started giggling. I asked her - "What's so funny about what he just said ? It was quite obvious that the woman didn't sound to be mentally sound". She replied, "Babu (Sir), this man just told you that the abusive woman is a PAGELI (mad woman), right ? " "Yes, I think I heard him loud and clear", was my reply. She continued giggling "Hee hee. He is no different. He is a PAGALA (he-mad) too." And he calls her mad. Hee hee hee. She continued giggling.

Now trying to make sense out of the madness surrounding me I swept off the beads of sweat from my forehead as the tropical sun was peaking right over my head. It was time to rush back home, far from the madding crowd. More later...

Day IV in Bhubaneswar - India trip 2022

 Though I ascribe to SAMBADA, the largest selling Odia daily as junk, I still can't desist reading it every morning. There was exclusive coverage of the results of the Indian Civil Services, arguably still the most cherished job in India. The widespread coverage of the results and rank holders of the Civil Services exam was not just limited to the print media, it was all over the electronic and social media as well. 

Not surprised in a feudal state where Babus rule the roost. The ruling party in Odisha BJD which stands for Biju Janata Dal can very well be christened as Babu Janata Dal - for per grapevine the state administration is completely controlled by Babus not by legislators from the ruling party. 

Can't think of any Babu contributing to the economy or generating jobs. But their routine transfers are usually talk of the town and page 3 material on the newspapers. I have many entrepreneur friends who sweat their ass in generating employment and contribute to the local economy. Rarely they are considered as page 3 material.

Last week an IAS officer in Delhi was charged of depriving athletes practice time after 7 PM because the Babu can walk his dog in that stadium. Hue and cry followed. Soon the Babu got a so called "punishment" transfer. Ideally he should have been suspended or even fired. Not sure why this transfer is called punishment as it could rather prove rewarding to him as he will be away from the toxic Delhi air, breathing fresh air in pristine Ladakh. Now he will be living in salubrious climes and in a picturesque environment. On top of that there will be ample of space in vast Ladakh to walk his dog. The so called "punishment" transfer is hogwash.

Reminds me of the experts from a book "DM's Dog" I read not long ago written by a retired Bureaucrat. Once in the early 1980s the author as a very young IAS officer who went to meet the Collector-cum-DM at the later's Residence office to introduce himself. All of a sudden the D.M.'s dog ran towards him and got hold of the bottom of his trousers. The young man, a cynophobic kicked the dog away out of self defensive reflex action. The furious Collector retorted back - "How dare you kick D.M.'s dog". Profuse apology from the young officer didn't hold any water. From that day the D.M. kept a grudge on the young man. Had the dog kicking officer was not from the elite Civil Services he could have lost his job.

My take on this is very simple. The day we stop giving prominence to the results of Civil Services and routine bureaucratic transfers we can proudly proclaim of having come out of feudalistic mindset. Babu worship is the sine qua non of a feudal society. Lesser the no of Babus and more the no of entrepreneurs, the more advanced a race is. 

When in the summer month of July, 1902, a 25-year-old engineer from New York named Willis Carrier invented the first modern air-conditioning, little did he know that his invention would be so indispensable in future. During my childhood days when the outside air was hot and humid, I didn't run to the comfort of Air Conditioning - because like most from my generation we didn't have AC in our home in the 1970s, 80s and well into the 90s. Now every middle class home in Bhubaneswar has at least one wall mounted AC installed.

I rarely felt the pang of heat, even during the hottest of summers in India. For me the exposure to AC was limited to its cooling comfort wafting inside the Computer Lab in NIT, Rourkela during my student life. No more, no less. A few restaurants and movie theatres had AC, but they regularly cut corners to save money by switching it off now and then. The owners cheated their customers of Air Conditioning which they thought as a luxury rather than a necessity and the hapless customers should be robbed off from this comfort, easily taken for a ride.

Urbanization and rapid growth of concrete jungles has made our cities hotter than before, but over dependence on AC makes us feel and complain more about the heat. As the saying goes in Odia - MANISHA SABUTHARU BADA SUBIDHA BAADI PRANI (Humans are creatures of comfort). Now that I have the comfort of AC, every now and then I look forward to it. 

Without access to Air Conditioning we can adjust to the environment, vindicating Darwin's theory of the survivor of the fittest. Humans being intelligent animals readily adjust to the situations and cicumstances. That's why we survived whereas the dinosaurs, mammoths and mammoth number of animals part of the fauna couldn't.

Same applies to most from our parent's generation who grew up in villages. After living in the cities for decades they can barely spend more than half a day in their native villages which do not provide the same levels of comforts of the cities. My grandmother who lived more than two third of her life without electricity was so much addicted to AC that she won't leave her room which was a cool 20 degrees cooler than the outside world. She was too tuned to AC and refused to visit her native village in summer where she lived lived happily for the better part of her life.

During the World War II at the time of relentless Nazi Bombing on England the British Royal Air Force fought bravely against the air blitzkrieg of Germany's Luftwaffe. Winston Churchill, the then British war time Prime Minister said about the Royal Air force - "Never in the History of mankind so many were dependent on so few", a tribute to the contribution of the handful of pilots who stubbornly defended the entire English population from the Nazi onslaught. 

Same can be attributed to AC - "Never in the history, so many humans were dependent on a mechanical unit". More later...