Happy Halloween 2022

 Halloween always reminds me this spooky episode of my grandmother's tryst with the outer world. She used to narrate us this story from her childhood which till date fascinates me.

When she was about 10 years old, she was seriously ill. Those were the days when incurable diseases like Cholera not Condom which kept India's population under control. Her parents quit on her, when they saw her eyes closed and her body became cold. She remembered floating above her body, watching her parents crying. She saw some of her dead relatives. That included her sister who was close to her and succumbed a year earlier to Small Pox. She told my grandma, not to worry about the nether world, as she got familiar company.

Then a big burly guy came from nowhere, yelling - "What she is doing here ? She needs to go back, her time hasn't come yet." Soon she opened her eyes, to see her sobbing parents relax and wipe off tears from their eyes. She started to miraculously recover from that day. She lived a long life, well into her 90s, never ever suffering any major ailment after this and leading a very smooth life until the age of 95. Till she died, she was active, taking care of herself and passed away peacefully in sleep while taking afternoon siesta. A blessed death for any human.

In modern day clinical terms, it is called NDE (Near Death Experience). I would think, this was a short term Nether Death Experience, her tryst with the outer realms. Whatever it may be, my grandma forever insisted on this event, took RAANA (swore on the lives of her near and dear ones) of speaking the truth. I do have reasons to trust her, as ladies from that generation took their RAANA seriously, especially when it comes to their kids and grand kids.

Anniversary of devastating 1999 cyclone in Odisha

 Touched by Bay Of Bengal on its Eastern frontier, Odisha, my state back home in India is prone to Cyclones (counterpart of Hurricanes in North America) which come churning their way through Indian Ocean before making landfall anywhere on the vast Eastern Coromondel Coast.

It took my memory back to this day in the month of October, 1999 exactly 23 years ago when arguably the worst cyclone in my lifetime to hit Odisha in the form of Category 5 winds close to 150 miles per hour knocking out trees, houses, killing humans and livestocks in several thousands. 

Caught pants down, the inept and corrupt administration in Odisha was unprepared for such an eventuality. It was completely caught by surprise, like a fox in front of searchlight - completely stunned, stoned and clueless. By the time the hapless authority could recover and gather strength and resources to launch some semblance of relief and rescue operation, the damage was already done in terms of life, property and reputation.

On that day in America, I was travelling on a new Consulting assignment to the state of Arkansas and just arrived at my hotel when my sister called and blasted me in one breath conveying the bad news from home. I rang up my father in Bhubaneswar expecting my call not to go through. It was a pleasant surprised to hear his voice at the other end, as our home phone was back working less than 24 hours after the storm. I was glad my folks were safe and sound, sans couple of fallen Papaya trees in our backyard.

There was no smartphone and Wifi those days. Face and book were two separate words - juxtaposing them into one entity was strictly fantasy. My hotel lobby had a few computers where I promptly logged into internet via now defunct AOL (America Online). There was a handful of Odia websites those days, but they were yet to carry any news of damage. Probably they were not in a position to carry news due to the power outage. Only a few web editions of national  newspapers provided some glimpse of the horrendous loss of life and property.

The picture got clearer after couple of days, as the weather cleared up. National media carried clear pictures of bloated corpses of humans and livestock floating in swamps created by retreating sea water. Stuck in the debris, there were no dogs, jackals, crows or vultures left to feed on them. The sight was ghastly, still etched in my memory.

It was rumored that Giridhari Gomango, the Chief Minister of Odisha (equivalent of a Governor in US) at that time ignored the warning about the Cyclone based on the advice of his personal Astrologers who sooth-sayed him with confidence not to worry, as the the Cyclone would skip his state. But the Super Cyclone hit the heart of Odisha with full force. Gomango took the brunt of widespread criticism on the aftermath of devastation and was subseqently forced out of his job. 

The powerful and disgruntled Congress leader JB Patnaik, the man Gomango replaced not long ago supposedly played some deliberate politics to accentuate the later's removal. Previously in power for 14 years he activated his widespread contacts and sleeper cells inside the all powerful Bureaucracy calling shots in Odisha to indulge in tardy distribution of relief materials, causing further damage to the reputation of CM Gomango who was unceremoniously removed. 

Since then things have changed a lot over last two decades. Lessons were learnt from the mistake of 1999. The subsequent administrations have been doing a commendable job in disaster management. Technology in the meantime has grown leaps and bound. Modern day satellites are able to predict the path of Cyclones days ahead of landfall with accuracy. Time being the essence, prior anticipation and tracking of the behemoth single eyed monster has led to evacuation of public en masse, drastically reducing the casualty. This time prior to Fani hitting the Odisha shore, a million have been evacuated to Cyclone shelters. Though damages to property was extensive but valuable human lives were saved.

What hasn't changed is the corruption in the post cyclone relief distribution which may have gone from bad to worse. As my friend, young man Pravat Pruseth questioned - ୧୯୯୯ ମହାବାତ୍ୟାରେ ଆମେରିକା ସରକାର ପଠେଇ ଥିବା ପାଞ୍ଚ ହଜାର ଟଙ୍କା ମୂଲ୍ଯର ଗୋଟିଏ ଗୋଟିଏ କମ୍ବଳ  ଫାଇଭ ଷ୍ଟାର ହୋଟେଲ ଗୁଡିକରେ ପହଞ୍ଚିଲା କେମିତି ? (How come the blankets sent by the US government during super Cyclone 1999 manage to reach the 5 Star Hotels) ?

There were talks of some of the high quality tarpolenes donated by  Western nations to act as shelter cover ended up covering the cars of the BADA BADIA (Big Shots) in Bhubaneswar. The relief somehow manages to reach the greedy, not the needy. Good luck to my folks in Odisha. Take care and Stay safe from Cyclones 🌀 in this season.

20 years with TSYS

When I arrived in America on a cool, late Spring day of 1996 I wasn't in best of shape and spirit, going through a bad phase in life. As goes the popular Bhojpuri saying - "ZINDAGI JHOOND BAA (Life is all messed up), my life was a mess. My ties to a girl just broke up a month before marriage. I was having a horrible time with my boss at work. Living in Calcutta in the mid 1990s I was looking for an escape route, to travel somewhere far from the madding crowd as my surrounding milieu seemed to be mocking at me. I was insecure, unsure of myself and at my vulnerable best.

Still I had no immediate plans to come to the United States. Being the only son of my parents I was a pampered kid. Living in Calcutta was just an overnight train journey away from Bhubaneswar which I visited every other weekend to eat my favorite fish curry and Mansa Jhola (goat meat curry) cooked by my mom. Like many things in my life, I hadn't planned coming to America at that juncture. It just happened to happen all too quickly.

A friend of mine in the US took my resume and circulated around body shoppers, a term used for the placement agencies who hired folks from India on H1B Visa. From bolt from the blue came a decent offer from a Pittsburgh based Company called Mastech Incorporated (now iGate). So I landed here in the United States and been here ever since.

It was the beginning of a long journey. Four years later I got my US Green Card. A year later on a Fall afternoon my wife and I arrived in Columbus, Georgia on a rainy day to start my new job at the Total systems Inc. which at that time was the 5th best company in America to work for (no. 1 in the year 1999). My first day at work was on October 28, 2022 - exactly 20 years ago.

No sooner I entered into our new apartment, a teenage girl came from nowhere and rear ended my vehicle. The damage to the car was minimal, but perhaps as I was Bonded to the place I was shaken, not stirred. There is a DHAGA (proverb) in Odia - "GHARE PASU PASU MUNDA RE CHALA BAJILA" (No sooner I entered my home, my head hit the roof). I thought this freak accident was a bad Omen, harbinger of worst things to come.

It didn't turn exactly that way. Many good things happened in due course of time, though a few stood out. Our son arrived in our life in the year 2005. A year later I acquired US Citizenship as the same year saw the arrival Facebook as a social media platform. It taught me writing when I joined Facebook in 2009 and haven't stopped ever since. Please excuse me for some self bragging here -currently with nearly 5,000 on my friend list and almost an equal number of followers I have come a long way.

But the most important thing happened to me was my tryst with Total Systems Inc. For all these years I have seen many ups and downs in life and company as a lot of water has flown under the bridge over river Chattahoochee. But what hasn't changed is my unwavering commitment and bondage to the company all these years as I feel proud to be associated with it 20 years down the road.

Slangs of Bhubaneswar

 Akin to most Americans who have a middle name, majority of those back home in Odisha, my home state back home, from my generation carry a nick name. The first name is also called good name. It is not so uncommon to be asked in India - "What's your good name".

While the first name is used in educational institutes and paperworks, the nicknames given by parents are the ones preferably used by friends and relatives. A common way of addressing a person in the twin city of Cuttack - Bhubaneswar is by using the unique combo of nickname and last (sur) name. For example Bunu Panda, Muna Sahoo, Lulu Patnaik and so on. Don't know why the nickname overrides the first name, with the last name remaining constant.

Nicknames are often juxtaposed with the following terms to form an alias, giving an peculiar identity to that individual.  For example, MOTA or MOTU (fatty), PETA (potbellied), POTALA (rotund), GEDA or BANGURU (shorty), LAMBU or DENGU (tall), TERA (squint), MIAN or PATHANA for Muslims. For example, Budu PETA, GEDA Gopala, Haq MIAN and so on. 

Sometimes certain activities or actions get stuck to names as tattoos get stuck to human body for whole life, refusing to go away. Once in our school one guy farted loudly, followed by bursts of laughter as Chinese crackers on a Diwali night. He was nicknamed as "So and So the Farter". After leaving school he entered the college and thought that the episode will be forgotton. Or so he thought. He asked another guy, a junior from his school asking him if his name "So and So" rings a bell. His  junior gave an impromptu answer - "Oh, So and so the farter". It further his disappointed senior who remorsefully walked away.

Another common and reverent form of addressing is the last name followed by "Babu". In Odisha I have been addressed as Dash Babu on numerous occasions, not yet sure why I am not addressed as Sambeet Babu ! Being referenced as a "Babu" invariably brings an image of a Head Clerk wearing thick framed glass in me, but I never take any offence. 

In REC (now NIT) our teachers with a doctorate degree preferred to be addressed with the prefix Dr. So and So. If someone inadvertently addressed a faculty constipated with tons of ego by his Doctorate degree as a "Mr" instead of "Dr", he was inviting trouble. That was the time I was enlightened that there are two kinds of doctors who live in this world, one PADHAIWALA (teaching) type doctors and the other DAWAIWALA, the medicine kind who treat diseases.

Here you go with a few popular slangs of our time, mostly from the twin city of Bhubaneswar - Cuttack.

MANDU - Nubile Girls

LUNGUDA - A habitual girl chaser

PENA - Nincompoop.

GHODI - Literally meaning mare but denotes a Tom Boyish girl lacking feminine qualities. A tall, lanky girl those days, however pretty she might be would be written off a DENGI GHODI (Tall Mare) versus a plump, fair, short, stocky girl adored as a DAUL DOWL (Chubby) beauty.

LULLA, CHOCHALA - Thoroughy useless, Good for nothing guy.

DHAEEN or DHAIYAAN - Literally means a person with respiratory ailments gasping for breath. As a slang it means a worthless guy, an abject failure in life.

MUNDA - A naive, slow witted person who can be dangerously moronic.

Those days the BADAGADIYAs, the folks living in a village called BADAGADA in the outskirts of the city perfectly fitted the bill as MUNDAs - naive, slow witted folks who can be dangerously stupid. Their heads were rumored to be stuffed with cow dung.

There used to be a popular anecdote about the residents of Badagada. One day the head of the village who was getting persistent headache visited a doctor. He came back triumphantly announcing "Doctor checked my head and found nothing in it" which was followed by cheers from his fellow villagers. Though we were in awe of their muscle power, it did not deterred us from poking fun at the Baragadiyas.

A fly-in encounter

 The other day I was buying lunch from a drive through window at a local restaurant when a fly from nowhere suddenly entered into my car. I frantically tried to shoo it away, but the fly refused to fly away. I kept the windows of my car open for a while to let the barging air suck the fly out. But the tiny insect managed to swing inside the car, toing and froing from one corner to another like a pendulum, mocking at my predicament.

The fly reminded me of that drunken uncle in a house party who comes uninvited and refuses to leave. I have some interesting anecdotes from my childhood days to share. The father of my friend happened to be a reputed Contractor in Odisha who got some lucrative government contracts. During the marriage ceremony of my friend's sister, I noticed a middle aged man in an inebriated state passing lewd, uncomfortable sounding double entendres at girls old enough to be his daughter. The guests maintained a safe distance from this obnoxious person for his mouth smelled a unique blend of smoking tobacco, Pyorrhea and Whisky. 

Couple of years later I bumped into the same man again, this time during the marriage reception ceremony of the same friend's brother. Our drunken guy from the previous marriage reception was in a bachhanalian mood was giving lascivious looks at young girls, ogling them with his shrunken red eyes and passing disparaging remarks, his countenance reeking of lecherous intent. The history was just repeating itself.

Feeling irritated and now a bit curious I asked my friend - "Who is the person ? Why Mausa (Uncle) keeps on inviting such folks to your family gatherings ?" My friend got a bit defensive and replied hesitantly - "After all he is a family friend and very close to my dad." Later on I discovered that this abominable person was an Engineer who passed the bills submitted by contractors and hence was deemed tolerable and given a free pass.

The fly was still humming inside my car when I remembered this incident. During my childhood days this man from our village used to visit our home quite often. My parents were gracious hosts. His peculiarity was that he would always arrive close to lunch or dinner time. One day just out of curiosity I asked my father - "Why this gentleman turns up exactly close to the time when we eat our meal ?" My father replied back - "Once upon a time this man not only used to be rich, he was a well known spendthrift. Back in those days he would never blink an eye or think twice while lavishly entertaining me out of utmost regard for educated folks. We shouldn't forget his generosity during his torrid time. Never underestimate the power of a hungry man's blessings".

Both incidents could be construed as two similar incidents separated by a common sentiment in different times. In both cases two different men were considered as fly on the ointment in my eyes in two separate situations, the licentious Engineer who had a choice and the poor man from village who didn't have much of a choice. What I remembered on a fly flooded my memory while I drove back and it ebbed as I reached home. 

Suddenly the fly in mymy car swung by and sat on my lap. My reflex action tried to swat it off while I opened my car door. The fly flew away towards the bright and blue sunny sky hovering on the misty grass on my front yard and soon melted away to its freedom. My fly-in encounter left me alone, still slave of the memories from the past. 

Back to work at office post pandemic

 Went back to work at my office location after 2 years and 7 months. The attendance in the office was frugal. There were not many people around as some of them are working remotely following the new "2 days at office - 3 days from home" schedule. I have now started to work Mondays and Tuesdays at office and rest three days, Wednesday to Friday from home.

Last time I worked at office was on March 17, 2020 when Donald Trump was the President of the United States and Joe Biden was struggling in the Democratic Primaries. A lot of water has flown in the river Chattahoochee since then when I started working from home due to the Covid pandemic until today.

It was mixed feelings going back to work after such a long time. I was excited as I missed the office and my coworkers for such a long time. Missed the fun, chat, eating lunch at the campus cafeteria and the office gossips. I had my share of fun and chat with my team mates as and when I encountered them. 

During the lunch time I decided to take a walk to the cafeteria. My ever alert ears receptive to spice, juicy stories overheard two ladies walking ahead of me. They were gossiping, doing character assassination of their Mother-in-laws. I heard one of them saying - "My Mother-in-law would listen to everyone but me". The other one nodded - "mine is no better".

There was hardly anyone around. It seemed I was walking through some ghost town as I encoured only a couple of souls on the entire stretch of little less than a furlong from the elevator to the cafeteria. It was peak lunch hour, so I expected some line and the place streaming with people. 

But I was so wrong. The cafeteria had no more than half a dozen people looking around as they hadn't much of a choice. There was no soup, the popular salad bar was missing. Only the grill section was open with only a handful items on menu. The usually busy lady at the cash counter was yawning waiting patiently for the next customer. It felt like something was missing in the millieu, like an orange whose juice has been sucked out.

A few team members complimented me after a long time no see for shedding a few pounds and my salt and pepper hair which has started growing like weeds on an uncared lawn. It was a long day being Monday today, but nevertheless felt great to get back to work after a long hiatus. 

Happy birthday Lok Nayak

 Jayaprakash Narayan is amongst the numerous great persons born in the month of October (incidentally he died in the same month also). For me, he is synonymous with his opposition to the historic Emergency imposed in 1975 and his role in the Lok Sabha (Parliament) elections that followed in March 1977, when Indira Gandhi called off emergency and announced fresh election only to be drowned by the Janata (Party) Tsunami.

As a 8 year old, I have faint memories of the Emergency, remembering the headlines on the newspaper Times of India "JP WAVE UNABATED" (used to be delivered in Bhubaneswar by flights from Delhi in the evening). Jayaprakash Narayan fondly called as JP and LOK NAYAK (Leader Of The People) was creating waves across North India which wiped away the entire Congress from the cow belt. His slogan "SINGHASAN KHALI KARO, KI JANATA A RAHI HAI (Relinquish power, as Janata Juggernaut is on its way) caught the imagination of the masses in North India where the Congress Party was literally wiped out.

I remember my father and uncle clinging to the radio to get the latest election results from BBC whom the public at the time trusted more for authenticity than AIR (All India radio). Late in the night came the news of Indira Gandhi and her son Sanjay's defeat followed by spontaneous celebrations on streets.

Indira Gandhi was defeated by Raj Narain, a political buffoon of the time and her son Sanjay by a local goon. I remember fireworks going up lighting the sky and celebrations near SOOCHANA BHAWAN (Information center) in Bhubaneswar, only source of latest news those days, when internet, social media and for many TV was strictly fantasy.

Delhi also didn't sleep that night when its denizens went on a frenzied celebration spree. I still remember the pictures next day of folks in bell bottom pants and long sideburns dancing on streets of our capital city flashed on Newspapers.

The man who sowed the seeds of the first anti-Congress government at the center with his concept of "Total Revolution" is India's is now a much forgotten and neglected hero. Khushwant Singh who interacted with many Who's & Who's during his long life span, admires JP as the top 5 personalities he admired -  "this man was so powerful and charismatic, yet so down to earth that though an extremely busy person he would give an audience and a patient hearing to everyone who visited him". 

Without him, Indira Gandhi could have defeated the fragmented opposition (she in fact swept the South and portions of Gujarat and Maharashtra who stood solidly with her despite the Emergeny) and possibly christened herself as the Queen of India and her son Sanjay as the Crown Prince. Thanks mostly to JP,  it didn't happen and democracy survived in India. Indira was to be taught a lesson. Otherwise she could might have made India her dictatorship. Emergency was probably her testing ground for that.

Soon after his death, the Janata Party splintered. Many likes Laloo Yadav who grew under JP's shadow promising to help the poor, ended up making himself and his family rich by indulging in rampant corruption. His followers forgot him and his ideology. HAPPY BIRTHDAY Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Narayan, one more of our forgotten heroes.

Happy birthday Utkalamani

 Today is the birthday of Gopabandhu Das, an Odia Patriot, freedom fighter, social worker, reformer and a writer. He is also fondly referred by the masses as UTKALAMANI or "The Jewel of Odisha", a title well earned. He was one of the first visionaries of modern Odisha, a pioneer of out of box thinking.

Gopabandhu Das was born on October 9, 1877, in SUANDO village of district Puri, a walkable distance from my ancestral village. From his early childhood he was sharp in academics and went to Puri, the closest township to do higher studies, like most from his surrounding villages.

Higher education enlightened him to fight social evils and dogmas. He fought against couple of scourges of the time, the diseases of Casteism and Cholera, one social and the other one pandemic in nature. Though a Brahmin he changed his last name from "Dash" from "Das" to protest against the rigid casteism prevelant at the time. He was in favor of woman empowerment, widow remarriage, education and staunchly opposed Child marriage, leaving no stone unturned in his efforts.

Hordes of people used to die in flood, followed by communicable diseases like Cholera (my grandfather has seen in his own eyes his entire family of 10 from his cousin's side in our village wiped out by cholera in matter of a week). Cholera patients were treated as pariah those days. Nobody would dare come closer to a Cholera patient, locally called as BADI MADA (A Cholera corpse) fearing contamination as the dogs during the day and Jackals in night would feast on the abandoned corpses. It was Cholera not Condom which kept the population under control.

Gopabandhu and his friends, primarily Nilakantha Das's tryst with the lethal disease hardened their resolve to fight. Encountering it from close quarters helped them overcome the fear of the disease. They did something unthinkable in that time - take the Cholera Bull by its horn. Getting close and taking care those infected with this marauding disease, from administering them medicines to doing their last rights, for no one would dare to touch a person cursed by BAADI THAKURANI (The Goddess of Cholera) - without ever bothering about getting contaminated.

Gopabandhu used to travel to remotest of the places to supply relief materials and medicine to the impacted folks. He also foresaw the power of media and was the founder of a popular Odia Daily The SAMAJA (Society), which is still in print. In 1908 he formed the "Young Utkal Association" - an organization which strived for philanthropy and fighting the social evils of the time 

In 1924 Gopabandhu Das got out of jail to get a heroic welcome by public. He was immediately received by P C Ray at the Provincial Congress Conference in Cuttack Town Hall, where the later proudly made an announcement, declararing Gopabandhu Das as "UTKALA MANI" or The Jewel of Odisha.

Pandit Gopabandhu Das, was fond of fish. He has expressed his fetish for prawn which was plentiful those days -

HAIO CHUNGUDI KAHIN,
GHUNGUDI MARIBA KAHAKU KHAI ?

Hey, why the prawn is not seen.
What'll make us snore in the afternoon ?

Due to lack of refrigeration facilities as well as demand for export, freshly caught Tiger Shrimps were sold cheaply by the fishermen at dime a dozen before the heat and humidity of Puri spoiled them. Locals feasted on them until the arrival of storage facilities and demand for their export made them a lucrative, luxurious and costly item for the locals.

Pandit Nilakantha Das, a close friend and confidante of Pandit Gopabandhu has devoted an entire chapter in his autobiography clearing the aura of "BHAKTIKA MITHYA" or devotional lies attributed to UTKALAMANI. Sri Lingaraj Mishra wrote this sometime in the 1950s when a statue of Utkalamani was inagurated in Cuttack - "When Gopabandhu's only son was laying on death bed in 1904, he got the news about the devastating floods in Odisha.

Bidding adieu to his son at his bedside, Gopabandhu said - "so many sons of my country are perishing. I have to serve them, even if I have to leave my son on his death bed", before proceeding to flood impacted areas.

Then poet Radhamohan Gadanayak wrote a long poem eulogizing Gopabandhu on this. No question about Utkalamani's unflinching dedication and commitment towards social service, but this was simply a devotional lie spread by his BHAKTs (devotees).

Nilakantha Das has kept the records straight on this by providing detailed facts with timelines. Lingaraj Mishra who wrote this popular anecdote didn't know Gopabandhu before 1921. The later was never involved in serving people in flood or draught affected areas until the year 1908 when he formed the "Young Utkal Association". It was good 4 years after 1904 when the claim of him abandoning his sick son to serve the calamity stricken people was made.

As per Pandit Nilakantha Das who knew Gopabandhu from close quarters - Utkalamani was not a stoic person, rather he had a soft, caring heart. Sri Nilakantha had seen in his own eyes, in presence of Late Sadashiv Mishra (a famed teacher in Puri Zilla School) the death of Gopabandhu's infant son in the arms of his wife. Needless to say, the parents were inconsolable. He was his only son and there was no flood during that time.

Another devotional lie was after his son's death and before the great flood of 1908 Gopabandhu became a saffron clad Sanyasi (yogi) roaming across nation. That was also nowhere close to truth. Had these facts were not disclosed by Sri Nilakantha Das, these urban legends would never have been debunked and turned to gospels.

Ironically the man who worked fearlessly amongst the Cholera patients shunned by the public, died of another waterborne disease - Typhoid. In 1928 Gopabandhu went to Calcutta to address a labor conference and likely contracted there the disease from which he could never recovered. Apprehending his death, Utkalamani summoned Nilakantha Das and others close to him, instructing them to write his final will. "I am dictating my last will and testament", he told as Dr. Radhanath Rath wrote it in front of teary eyed onlookers. After giving instructions to donate the Samaj printing press to Bharat Sevak Samaj, he passed away.

Next day was the eve of the auspucious Sri GUNDICHA Rath Yatra. Gopabandhu's dead body was taken around Satyavadi, where he dedicated most of his life in the service to mankind. Droves of mourning people massed around the funeral pyre as his remains were consigned to flame. It was end of an era, a chapter in the history of Odisha came to close. That days was June 17, 1928.

Being independent minded, Pandit Gopabandhu fought against the contemporary British rule, advocating SWARAAJ or self rule. He was promptly arrested and put in jail. While is jail, he wrote in Odia BANDIRA ATMA KATHA (The autobiography of a Prisoner), a stanza from which I still remember. goes as follows.

MISU MORA DEHA E DESAI MATIRE,
DESA BASI CHALI JAANTU PITHIRE.
DESA RA SWARAJYA PATHE JETE GADA,
PURI JAU SETHI RE MORA MANSA HADA.

Roughly transliterated...

"Let my body blend in this county's track,
Let My country men walk on my back.
On the path of self rule lies potholes,
Let it get filled with my flesh, bones." 

Mortal man, whose immortal memories is going to inspire all for generations to come. My thousands salute to the free thinker and beacon of the future on his 146th Birthday.

The saga of Archana Nag

 Her name is Archana Nag. A small town girl from Bolangir she came to Bhubaneswar, the city of opportunities in Odisha to study law and dream big. Not sure how far she went on her academic pursuit, she was posing as a lawyer and as an active member of a leading political party. In this process she got married and had a child.

Then she hit the jackpot and stuck gold earning the tag of honey bee with her horny escapades. Soon she figured out the ugly underbelly of the city. As reported by media luring the high and mighty of Bhubaneswar which includes at least three politicians and a leading Odia movie producer, policemen, she had sex with them in her house while recording the steamy scenes. She then used those raunchy videos to her advantage by blackmailing her victims and extorting exorbitant amounts.

She apparently succeeded in her profession as the result spoke for itself and living quite well for herself. Soon she started living a lavish lifestyle in the capital city, owning an expensive bunglow, a fleet of fancy cars. As pets she not only had her henpecked husband and suiters, she owned exotic animals - a white horse and a brood of foreign breed dogs. Not to mention she was seen hobnobbing with the high and mighty of Bhubaneswar.

But soon fate caught up with her and her luck ran out. One of her alleged victims, a movie producer complained to the police that she was extorting 3 crore (Rs.30 million) from her, leading to her arrest. Stay tuned for more spicy news as skeletons are bound to come stumbling out of her cupboard as the hounding media has already smelled blood.

Bhubaneswar is no more the sleepy township of a couple of lakh (200,000) folks of mostly salaried, educated and intellectual class I grew up with. It has now turned into a melting pot, a city of immigrants from all over Odisha. The city has grown beyond its means, now harbors an estimated number of 1.2 million people. This unplanned growth was accompanied by unpleasant rise in people living in squalors strewn all over the city, rampant rise in crime, drug and prostitution. No wonder, such juicy news keeps coming out once in a while. May Lord Jagannath bless my home city back home.

Durga Puja memories

 Durga Puja is thick in the air. Today being ASHTAMI (the 8th day of worship of Goddess Maa Durga), we are right at peak of the Puja before it culminates in DASAHARA (10th day). The air is filled with its unique flavor - the smell of "JHUNA" (A sweet smelling powder sourced from bark of a tree when lit emits perfumed smoke), the sound of music blaring and the sight of huge idols of Maa Durga on the PENDAL (pedestal). Puja always puts me on a Time Machine, propelling me back to my growing up days in Odisha and certain related events forever etched in my memory.

Once I brought some PRASAD (offering to deities) from Lord Jagannath temple, Puri for the priest at my local temple in the United States. The priest, a Brahmin from Gujarat, was very pleased with what I got for him from the sacred Jagannath DHAM (abode).

We sat down chatting, as he asked me about my trip. I told him how much I cherish the fish and goat meat curry in Odisha. He was appalled and could not believe a Brahmin being a voracious eater of fish and a four legged animal. He asked me "AAP KAISE EK JEEV KO KHA SAKTE HAIN" - How could you eat an animal ?

I had no answer, but narrated to him my childhood experience when we used to religiously visit our ancestral village near Puri during Durga Puja vacation - the equivalence of Christmas break in US. It was fun time when post monsoon the air was calm, the school and college would be in holidays and us in a festive mood. Unlike Diwali in most parts of India, Durga Puja ending in DASAHARA (Dussera) used to the major attraction in Odisha followed by the festival of Kumar Purnima on the following full moon day. Of late this has been somewhat diluted due to rapid cultural invasion from  outside - DIPAABALI got converted to DIWALI. 

The most awaited event would be the ASHTAMI (8th day) for the annual ritual of goat sacrifice. On that fateful day villagers would walk in droves to catch a glimpse of BODA HANA(Goat slaughter). The sacrificial BODA (a non-castrated male goat with goatee and smelling horrible) destined for slaughter would be brought in and tied to a post. The priest would arrive chanting MANTRA (hymns) amidst the cacophony of the beating of GHANTA (large brass circular plates). 

A strongly built DHOBA (washerman) of our village with twitched Walrus moustache with its thick end pointing downward would arrive on scene. Wiping off the layers of beads of sweat from his forehead, he would unleash a sharp sword glittering under the morning Fall (Autumn) sun. With one massive blow he would detach the head of the goat from its body.

The disoriented torso of the goat would meander a few feet before collapsing, with its eyes wide open, still gaping at the crowd. The priest would collect its blood and offer it to the Goddess. Later the goat would be skinned and its meat divided equally among the villagers as PRASAD (sacred offering).

This whole episode which created an earthquake in my mind wasn't free from aftershocks. For the next few days all that glittered wasn't gold, rather the unforgettable glittering sword slashing through the goat's neck gave me nightmares of the torso chasing me, the detached head hovering over it, the eyes still open and staring at me. As I fleed, it was catching up on me. I tried to outrun, but still unable to move as the goatly apparition closed on me. I would be up in a flash sweating profusely. My sister sacrificed meat eating after watching one such goat sacrifice on this auspicious day of ASHTAMI. 

Back to the future - the same aftershock came back to life, as our priest from Gujarat in Georgia who was patiently hearing my narration almost fainted. He could not digest this scene happening in a Brahmin village where his counterparts had no issues digesting the scene, followed by meat. I can vouch he was glad that I did not bring any PRASAD from my village. Happy Ashtami and Durga Puja to all.

Happy birthday Sashtri jee

 The birthday of Mahatma Gandhi always overshadows that of a hardworking, honest, patriot Indian, a great leader who shares October 2 with Bapuji as his birthday. He was our ex-Prime Minster, Lal Bahadur Sastri, albeight for a short time.

If Lal Bahadur Sastri did not die that fateful day in January 1966, Rahul Gandhi would most likely be a mid level manager in some private company, only to boast about his great grand father being the first Prime Minister of India and grandma being a Central Minister, instead of being the CEO and Scion of Congress Inc. Only difference, the CEO of a company is accountable to its share holders, whereas Rahul Gandhi is accountable to none.

Lal Bahadur Sastri was a diminutive man with a towering personality. A charismatic person whose personal integraty was beyond question. During his one and half years of being at the helm of affairs, he could capture the imagination of millions of Indians. He resigned as Railway minister talking responsibility for a train crash, something inconceivable these days.

Thinking him as weak, Pakistan attacked India in 1965, soon to be resoundingly rebuffed. His slogan of the time JAI JAWAN, JAI KISAAN (Hail Soldiers, Hail Farmers) swiftly yielded results in form of yield by farmers which was enough to wipe out India's perennial grain shortage and in the form of motivating soldiers who gave a befitting response to our attacking western neighbor by reaching the outskirts of the city of Lahore. It raised him to the zenith of popularity which unfortunately didn't last long due to his untimely death in January, 1966.

Sastri's premature death brought Indira Gandhi to power, who soon consolidated her position by making the Congress Party her family fiefdom or BOPA ZAMINDARI (Father's feudal property). Soon others emulated her, except the Communists (though I have no love for them, I admire them for resisting the family fiefdom politics) and to some extent BJP, almost all parties, regional or otherwise are now family held Inc.

From the Badal dynasty of Punjab in North to Karunanidhi dynasty in South, from the Biju Dynasty in East, to Siv Sena Dynasty in West, we have examples aplenty. I am sure the history of India would have been different and our generation who were born in late 1960s and early 1970s would have seen a different India today, if Sastri Jee did not die on that fateful cold Soviet night in Tashkent of 11th January 1966.

Happy birthday Bapu - 2022

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

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

It was another matter that when Gandhi came back from South Africa in January, 1915 violence was not an option as India was not in a position to take the might of the British by force. The last latgest organized mutiny was firmly squashed by the British in 1857. Unlike many who believe that the British shat in their pants and fled away on the sight of Subash Chandra Bose, militarily Indians never posed any serious threat to the British rule. (For those now ridiculing Gandhi for his nonviolent method of resistance should ask themselves how many Battalions were raised by their idols RSS and Hindu Mahasabha - both were present prior to our independence).

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

Gandhiji (as he was popularly addressed as) experimented with different vices and virtues early in his life, prompting him to write "My Experiment with Truth", where he frankly admitted his distaste for sex when a young Gandhi had a sexual urge while attending to his ailing father and slipped away momentarily to his wife's bed to fulfill his desire. When he returned, his father wasn't any more. This incident filled him with remorse and anathema towards sex.

But sometimes his experiments went little too far. At an old age of 67 after his wife's death, his experiment of sleeping naked with his nubile niece to test his control over libido attracted a lot of controversy. Tongues started wagging of a man sleeping naked cajoling his neice to get naked and sleep next to him. His opponents, notably the Muslim League made a big deal out of it. Gandhi finally discontinued this practice after some persuasion by an image conscious Congress party. What happened in dark, stayed in dark.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Happy 152nd Birthday to Bapu, the Father of the nation. We may or may not agree with what you did or what you could have done, or whether your out of box experiment with non violence was an useful weapon. But you carved your niche to be the greatest amongst the greats who ever walked on the surface of earth.