The Ides of August

 August, one of the longest months of the dog days of summer finally coming to an end. This month has been hot, humid, flooded with water and seen lots of political heat in the Indian subcontinent as the nations of India and Pakistan celebrated their 75th birthday and 75 years of separation. The flashpoint of the disputed territory of Kashmir is still in the news terrorism continues unabated. India's bette noire Pakistan as usual is embroiled in all sorts of controversies.

Its ex-Cricketer and ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan is still in the news and as the all powerful Army is still pulling the strings of the government. 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 has been a disturbing month for our Western frontier neighbor. Imran Khan's coronation as Prime Minister happened in this month and this month also saw with the 38th 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 after the 1987 world cup. Imran's comeback resulted in him leading Pakistan to win the Cricket world cup only time in history in the 1992 version of the Cup. 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 Breaking News. It was the death of Pakistani President General Zia Ul Haq in a plane crash. 

Zia was a diminutive soldier and a shrewd strategist. 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 the Pakistani secret service ISI enough to subsequently stage spectacular attacks after attacks inside India, successfully protraying India over time as a clueless weak state.

Born in India, educated in St. Stephens College, Delhi he migrated to Pakistan where he rose his way up in the Army. He was a 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. But promotions were hard to come by until fortune favored him after Bhutto became the PM of Pakistan. Bhutto trusted Zia against the advices of his close confidants whom he thought as harmless and malleable, as the later was obsequious to the Prime minister. Bhutto promoted Zia making him the Army Chief by superseding others.

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 of ascending power.

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 country 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 "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 or American Embassy 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 back - "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 whom 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 $50,000 brought down Soviet military aircrafts which cost millions. The financial loss was devastating for 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 the wind was blowing 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 rumored 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 tune.

Happy birthday Dhyan Chand

Since 2012, National Sports Day is celebrated on August 29 every year to commemorate the birthday of Major Dhyan Chand, the Hockey Legend. Born in the year 1905, Dhyan Singh was called 'Chand' (moon) because during his youth he practiced hockey under the moonlight as he had a day job in Indian Army. This name stuck as he came to be known as Dhyan Chand.

He represented India in many Olympics and won laurels as part of the Gold medal winning India team until Pakistan just partitioned from India broke the monopoly in 1960 Olympics when after decades India lost the Olympics gold to Pakistan. A good number of players stayed in Pakistan along with Lahore, the hockey capital of the world at that time. India came back to win the Hockey Gold at Tokyo 1964, but it has been a steady downslide ever since it until India won a bronze medal in the recently concluded Olympics in the same city of Tokyo.

Dhyan Chand's wizardry in Field Hockey was noticed and widely acclaimed so much that his stick was once searched for glue or magnet because when he dribbled past it seemed as if the ball was stuck to his hockey stick like glue as he juggernauted his way towards the opposition's goalpost.

In the famous final of the 1936 Berlin Olympics where Hitler showcased it to advertise Nazi Supremacy, in front of a full crowd and Fuhrer India rolled over the favorite home team Germany 8-1. Hitler was watching the game from the podium. He soon sought an audience with Dhyan Chand, a rare gesture by the charismatic German head of state to a foreign athlete. Impressed by Dhyan Chand's impressive stick work, Hitler instantly offered him German Citizenship and position of Colonel in Deutschland Army. Dhyan Chand politely declined.

Soon India got its independence from Britain. After retiring from military at the age of 51, he worked for development of Hockey amidst heavy paucity of funds. He suffered a lot, but nobody helped him. The man who mesmerized Hitler by leading from the front to smash German team in finals of 1936 Berlin Olympics and smash the Fuhrer's ego of Aryan Supremacy, died unsung from liver cancer in the general ward of a nondescript Hospital. 

Dhyan Chand's son Ashok Kumar represented India in Hockey in 1970s. But he was hardly a replica of his famous father. His biography tells us why a few people dare to take up sports as a career in India. It also explains the reason of the poor show by Indian athletes in Olympics and elsewhere. Happy birthday to the legend. You remind us that we have achievers beyond cricket.

Happy birthday Mother Teresa

 I lived in the city of Calcutta in the mid 1990s. One day I happened to see a leper whose almost entire torso was covered in wound filled with pus. Flies swarmed around, feasting on it.

I was too scared to stare, soon turned my head and back to this helpless guy. Engraved in memory, that abominable sight still refuses to go away. I feel short of kudos for those who shelter them and nurse their wound. MOTHER TERESA was one such person.

She has admirers and critics. I belong to the former category. In this age of 24×7 media, social or otherwise, it's imperative for the folks at the helm of affairs, to be judicious in what they say. We are a free country. There is no harm in being a critic of Mother Teresa or anyone else for that matter. Our Constitution does allow its citizenry to freely practice their religion. If she or anyone else tried to convert within the parameters of law, nothing prevents them to do so.

Christian missionaries do convert but they do some good charity work. My cousin was once the SP, Police in a remote district of Chattisgarh. He narrated me his AANKHON DEKHA HAAL (First Hand Information) of a densely forested area which was under his supervision to maintain the Law and Order.

Most part of that district was remote and totally inaccessible, evenly infested with Maoists and Mosquitoes who can carry you for miles. The administration is virtually non existence. Only folks who tread inside and tend to the tribals are the Christian Missionaries. They provide them food, shelter, education and healthcare. They do where our government spectacularly fails, to provide the basic governance.

If I am suffering from hunger and shivering from malaria, it may not take me long to prefer Jesus over Ram or Rahim if the need arises. We have a saying in Sanskrit, BUBHUKHITAM KIM NAKAROTI PAPAM (Why a hungry mouth will not commit a crime). In 1970s an Airliner carrying an Uruguay Rugby team crash landed on the Andes mountains. Without food for many days some players turned cannibals, did not think twice before eating the flesh of their dead fellow mates and attempting to kill live ones.

Compared to that changing the religion could be a walk in the park, if we step into their shoes. If the missionaries take the gullible tribals for a ride, the fault lies in the system. As long as poverty and hunger remains, Jesus could triumph over Ram and Rahim.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY (August 26) to Mother Teresa. The sick and destitute whom you whole heartedly served and the whole world forever will be indebted to you.

Takht Ya Takhta

There used to be a saying during the Mughal rule in India,"TAKHT YA TAKHTA", which means, "Crown or Coffin". It aptly described the fratricidal wars fought between the Mughal bothers for the prized Kingship which knew no Kinship.  In the end one brother ended up with Crown, the rest of the brothers rested in graves. Fundamentally hardly anything has changed over ages. It is invariably the winner take it all world. Others who lose the battle are destined to be relegated to the backburner of history.

A few days ago there was a severe thunderstorm in the USA Capital of Washington DC. Four persons were taking shelter under a tree right in front of the White House when they were struck by lightning. Three of them died and only one girl survived. The survivor was all over Prime time cable networks on TV describing her ordeal with the lightening strike and how immensely lucky she was to be still alive. She sure was lucky. Those who died faded into oblivion. The one who made it through the lightening strike, struck a goldmine. She crashed into instant limelight as TV cameras followed her around. She lived for another day to bask in glory.

How many remember this incident from the Kargil War in 1999 when two IAF pilots ejected from their fighter planes and landed in the Pakistani territory ? One of the pilots was brutally tortured and killed before his body was returned to India. The other one, named Nachiketa was lucky to return alive in one piece. Not many, including me can remember the dead pilot's name from top of my head. But we remember Nachiketa, who would have been turned into a superstar if social media existed those days.

Fast forward to the Indo-Pak imbroglio of 2019 when social media had established its footsteps world wide. Thankfully, our pilot Abhinandan who ejected and parachuted in Pakistan came back alive and kicking to receive rockstar welcome at home. God forbid, if something bad happened to him there would have been a huge hue and cry. But he would have been forgotten soon from the public memory. Now if he desires, he can join politics and possibly end up as the Defense minister of India.

Tragedies occur all over the globe. Many perish, some survive. The survivors are often treated as heroes earning a new lease of life and a life of celebrity. The rest who perish soon fade into dusk laden horizon. The Pakistani teenager Malala was shot by the Taliban. Luckily she survived. She became an icon of the oppressed girls in that ravaged nation, eventually earning the coveted Nobel Peace Prize. Had the perpetrators succeeded (mercifully they didn't) nobody would be remembering her like many like her killed by Taliban.

There was this incident a few years back involving a boat which went adrift in the Atlantic Ocean. Two survived and the rest didn't. The ones who survived got all the media attention in America. They were shown live on prime time narrating their harrowing experience. Those who drowned were barely remembered. Elizabeth Smart the girl kidnapped in 2002 survived. Now she has written a book and is all over the talk shows on TV minting money. Many kidnapped kids vanished for good never to return. They were soon forgotten. 

Such a thing called destiny. Not many remember Michael Dukakis, Bob Dole or Al Gore, the later who was so near yet so far to the White House. It was because all of them lost their election. It's a cruel world. History is always partial to the winners, with losers destined to its dustbins. Life ain't fair and lovely. Never it was, never it will.

China and its millieu

 The other day I was watching a teleseries. It was the story of two families related to each other via marriage. The boy and the girl married to each other are the lone child of their respective parents. The son's parents feels proud, fortunate and privileged, exhibiting supremacy over the girl's family.

The son-in-law perpetually torments his wife's family. The guy's parents are proud of their son making extra bucks by greasing a few palms, although still dissatisfied with the amount of dowry provided by the girl's parents. They blatantly boast in front of the girl's parents that how lucky she is to have their son as her husband. Obviously the girl and her parents are unhappy with this liason. Sounds familiar, just like an episode from any typical Indian family, straight out of a SAAS-BAHU (Mother-in-law, Daughter-in-aw) soap opera.

No, you are wrong. It's not Indian, rather a Chinese teleseries with English subtitles I stumbled upon while flipping through channels on my TV. It provided a rare view into the Manchurian menu, as the curious me watched the Chinese milieu to have a peek into the reclusive society of a country which in 1978 was at par with India, now 5 times India's GDP, an aspiring Superpower flexing its economic and military muscle. But I was surprised that their social fabric and fraca aren't so different from us.

A friend of mine is married to a Chinese girl. Having made multiple trips to his SASURAL (in-law's house) in China, he has shared some fascinating anecdotes and provided me many interesting inputs about the country and its society. Wrapped in a cloak of secrecy, the Middle Kingdom and its citizens are incredibly inscrutable to the rest of the world, which now takes a keen interest in a nation out of curiosity and fascination for its tremendous economic and military strides made in last 40 years. 

Per him, unlike the Japanese the Chinese aren't a whole lot different from us. Cynical and insecure like India for long ruled by outside forces, they carry the burden of similar social issues including dowry. However the Chinese are more hard working and disciplined, a trait they have inculcated in recent time which has been forced upon them by their authoritarian government and now has become their habit. Like India many are critical of America but are great fans of Hollywood movies and hankering for a US Visa was quite conspicuous. Your worst critic could be your secret admirer.

My friend went on - in China you can feel the state breathing down your neck, as if the big brother is watching you all the time. However, there is lot less crime in the society, so much so that the girls commute by buses and trains late in night and roam free without fear wearing mini scots. In his most recent trip to China just prior to the Covid  outbreak, he saw signs of bad economy as many workers had left Beijing, going back to their hinterland due to massive job losses. The vacant satellite townships in Beijing looked like ghost towns.

In one of his trips his wife took him to her original small town in the hinterland of China from where her parents came from, migrating to Beijing to work in one of myriad factories churning out manufactured goods to cater to the voracious western consumers, especially in Americans. Her native place, a small town, was located some 4 hours by Bullet train from Beijing.

Inside the small Chinese town all looked at him expanding their tiny eyes, as if they saw an alien just parachuted from another planet. Even his in-law's pet dog went into hiding, gaping at him from a safe distance, baffled by the looks of an Indian with brown skin. My friend went around the town, savoring local Chinese dishes which tasted totally different from the Chinese food he ate in India or USA.

Though he saw some sporadic signs of poverty, the streets were litter free. He saw no one was peeing or defecating in open. My friend heard many stories of  corruption in interior China and people complaining of bribes forced upon them by the government officials in return of favors. Though every year hundreds are hanged in China on corruption charges, the disease is still rampant, unlike in India where corruption is in epidemic proportion.

Facebook is banned though Internet was available. His wife's girlfriends were jealous of her, as they were infatuated with the large eyes and sharp nose of my tall, dark, handsome friend. The Chinese men were envious of him as the local belles ogled at him, giggled and poked fun at him in a coquettish manner which my friend cherishes till today.

The Chinese government has recently relaxed their one child norm by extending it to two. The strictly implemented one child principle in China has contributed to a skewed male - female ratio in the society, heavily favored to the former. It has  landed the Chinese in not so sweet, but sour soup. The result - per a recent report there at least 50 million males in China who simply cannot marry because demand vastly exceeds supply.

Human mind always has a fascination for the unknown, until the intrigue aspect wears off in due course of time. The life within countries like China and North Korea raises interest for now, but it may recede at some point when the countries implode as the Iron curtain falls down. Familiarity breeds contempt, the curiosity will web when the country's ugly underbelly gets exposed. Till then it's not bad to take a peek inside the society of our powerful northern neighbor who will a perpetual thorn on India's flesh for unforseen future.

Anniversary of Hiroshima Bombing

 77 years ago on a bright sunny summer morning of August 6, 1945 a tiny US plane carrying a nuclear bomb of enormous power flew over the city of Hiroshima in Japan. The bolt from the blue sky came literally form of the pilot dropping the bomb, the first of its kind in the world, causing huge, permanent damage to the city. This bomb, an Atom bomb effectively put the final nail in World War II's coffin and Japan's war campaign in the Far East. Before Japan could recover from the bombing aftershock, it was followed by another one on another city of Nagasaki only 3 days later, on August 9. 

This bombing incident which happened that fine morning in August marked the close of the curtains of a chain of events which commenced following another bombing on a bright winter morning of December 7, 1941. This happened 80 years ago which forced America into the World War II, a little late in the game after its Pearl Harbor Naval base in idyllic Hawaii came under attack by Japan on the wee hours. The swift devastating blitzkrieg by the Japanese fighter planes completely caught the Americans unaware.

The main architech of the attack, the Japanese Admiral Yamamoto was not so inclined to attack the Pearl Harbor Naval base fearing its consequences. Educated in Harvard, he had some idea of American capability and he knew the retaliation will be fierce and could lead to Gotterdamerung. But drunk by success in Indo-China, the Japanese military junta headed by General Tojo vetoed the prudent Admiral's concerns and gave the go ahead order.

The calm, sunny morning in the  picturesque Pacific island of Hawaii was shattered when there were clear blips on the Radar announcing the approach of a string of airplanes on the horizon. It was promptly conveyed to the Headquarters who dismissed it with the now famous four words - "DON'T WORRY ABOUT IT", dismissing the fighter planes as routine flights which fly from California to Hawaii on regular basis.

The Japanese meticulously planned their mission. They were successful in fooling the Americans, cruising their Aircraft Career incognito for thousands of miles on endless Pacific Ocean and choosing to launch the strike on a Sunday morning when the Sailors were expected to be resting after a late Saturday night party and the officers busy playing Sunday morning Golf.

A la a swarm of killer bees moments later the Japanese bombers stung the Naval base, sinking one battle ship after another and taking thousands of young sailors only in their teens and 20s who barely started their career in US Navy. It was the first attack on the American soil by a foreign power, completely catching it off guard. The entire American naval fleet at Pearl Harbor was destroyed.

The same evening President Roosevelt declared war against Japan, marking the opening of a new front and chapter in World War II. Admiral Yamamoto knew very well that there must be an element of surprise in the attack to destroy US's superior Battleships before they could recoup and launch any counter attack. But it was no surprise when the US's Pacific fleet tracked Yamamoto when the later was hopping flight and shot his plain straight into the jungles of one of the uninhabited Islands in the endless Pacific.

Ironically, a few years after his death, his prior concern belittled by his superiors was vindicated when the G.I.s spectacularly fought back capturing one Pacific island after another from Japan. Their de facto leader, General Tojo anticipated an attack by US on the Japanese islands and was preparing for it. He didn't anticipate a nuclear attack. USA's surprise return gift to Pearl Harbor attack culminated in the dropping of "Little Boy", the new kid in the block in the form of an Atom Bomb on Japan, forcing the later to surrender unconditionally.

World has moved ahead since then, with nations like Pakistan and North Korea already possessing nuclear weapons. Many say the nuclear weapons serve as deterrent. There is some truth to it. I believe India and Pakistan would have fought a 4th war if both were not part of the Nuclear club. Yet, this day 77 years ago saw the addition of a new chapter in the history of a war, the extent of its impact still unknown.

Comparing my son's thread ceremony with mine

Can't help comparing my son's BRATOPANAYAN event (thread wearing ceremony of Brahmins) held a few years back to mine held eons ago on a hot summer afternoon in 1979 and how things have changed ever since. I still retain the fond memories of those cacophonous songs blaring out of HMV gramophone record rotating at 46 RPM in the ceremony held in my native village near Puri. 

Music came blaring from the funnel shaped mike tied half way up a coconut tree, an inherent part of the flora of coastal Puri district in order to expand its reach to the broader audience. The birds 🐦 in the area scared by the high decibel sound took vacation for a day. Gramophone record those days was a major part of the paraphernalia for any ceremony to lend a festive mood to the occasion. Your function is a function of this music, the louder it is more prominent and prestigious is your event. 

The MIKEWALLA or the Gramophone guy would carefully put the pin on the rotating record which does a bit of cracking noise, fart couple of times prrt..prrt..before the music starts erupting. Intermittently he would clean the tip of the pin with the same handkerchief he uses to wipe off his betel stained saliva. At the same time he would be very protective of his music set, shooing away any curious urchin who dares to touch it, forcing them to gape at it from a distance.

Popular songs from Amitabh's hit movie "MUQADDAR KA SIKANDAR" emerged from the mike all the day long as my Brataghara ceremony went on. Being a huge Kishore Kumar fan and it being my special day, I was allowed to have my way. Hence I instructed the operator to play my favorite Kishore hits to keep me in good spirits on a long tiring day while seemingly endless chanting of hymns by the priest continued.

One prominent song playing on that day was a Akshaya Mohanty's funny Odia number :

MO BAPA NKA BAPA NKA BAPA
THILE JANE MANKADA,
E DALA RU SEDALA SEDALA RU E DALA AMARI PURBA PURUSA.

Transliterated from Odia...

"Our's dad's dad's dad was a monkey,
Our ancestors used to swing on branches getting jumpy".

It was followed by another one next in sequence...

"TU DEIGALU DHOKA..
THAANTA JADI LAKHYE TANKA..
E JHIA, TO MUHA TA KARI THANTI BANKA..

(O' Girl, you cheated me,
If I had 1 lakh Rupee,

I could have taught a lesson to thee)

The song was the howling of a HATASA PREMIKA (jilted lover) whose girl friend dumped him for Rs.100,000, a gargantuan amount those days. That year was 1979. Now fast forward to 2022. If a boy sings such a song he will be laughed at as 1 lakh rupees means nothing these days. LAKHPATI (proud owner of 1,00,000 rupees) has lost its significance. World has changed a whole lot since 1979. A LAKHPATI has graduated to a KARODPATI (10 Million Rupees) these days.

Then followed another Akshay Mohanty classic.

HASA TA LAKHE TANKA
CHALI TA ANKA BANKA;

RAGILA NAALI LANKA

RUSILA OOI HUNKA

TA GHARA KU BATAKHARCHA ADHEI TANKA.

(Her smile is worthy of Rupees One lakh
Her manner of walk is zig zag;
Her anger is like red chilli
She being upset is akin to termite hill;
The traveling expense to her home
Is 2 and 1/2 rupees)

These days 2 and half rupees will not take one beyond hundred feet in the cheapest bargain one can get for a rickshaw. A guy has to be exceptionally lucky to find such a girl close by.

WOKT NE KIYA..KYA HASI SITAM

NAA TUM RAHE NAA TUM

HUM RAHE NA HUM...

(Time has done such a wonderful injustice,

Neither you stayed you, nor I stayed mine)