10 Die hard old habits die hard - Part II

 (Continued from the part I of my last blog of 10 die hard old habits which have died).....

6. The 4 Cs of youth of those days, i.e. Cinema, Cigarette, Cycle and Curly hair hanging over ears were the classic tell - tale signs of soneone turning into a "CHHATARA TOKA" (Girl chasing vagabond) and BAZAARI (Free roaming loafer). Good boys were not supposed to watch movies, smoke, go on long bicycle rides and keep long hairs. As an early teenager, I was once chastised by my grandfather for keeping long, wavy hair cascading like waterfall over my earlobes. Many found me cute in that hairstyle and complimented me but not so much my grandfather who saw it as an early sign of stepping into the world of CHHATARA-hood. The long hair gradually became short, but I could never chase girls. Cigarette, popularized by Bollywood actors like Amitabh and Anil Kapoor is no more a fad these days, mainly due to the current generation have turned health conscious.

7. Chocolates or Candies were exclusively meant for the kids. Elders eating chocolates were frowned upon as being childlike. It has been described in the popular Akshay Mohanty Odia song attributed to his daughter, "MU KHAILE ALU CHAP, TU KHAILU LOLLIPOP". Transliterated it means - 

"As I savor my Potato cutlet,

Lollipop is what you just ate". 

An elderly relative of mine used to be very fond of Cadburies Milk Chocolates and Five Star Bars popular those days. But he was too shy to express it in public. He would buy those from a local store, loudly proclaiming to take it for his nephew and neices, but in privacy will devour a good portion of those. 

8. JANHA MAMUN (Chanda Mama), Indrajaal (Phantom, Mandrake, Bahadur) and Amar Chitra Katha (history and mythology) comics were very popular those days with kids, though Chanda Mama was read by all age groups. The favorite of the youth from that generation were cheap detective novels of DASYU (Bandit) Ranjan and Dipak series and tiny SATHI POCKET BOOK novels. Not sure how many of them exist and read by the current iGeneration. 

Another popular stolen and burrowed-to-never-get-returned materials were the popular Weekly Magazines of Sportstar, Sportsworld and Sportsweek, especially during the peak cricket season. The chief target were the colored center spread sheets of popular cricketers those days - Gavaskar and Kapil Dev. Those magazines would soon get raped and soiled, with those cherished center spreads gone missing. In our school library there was virtually a riot to be the first person to tear and grab those.

9. Remember posters and scribbles on walls proudly portraying - "BASANTA ROGA RA PRATHAMA KHABAR PAIN 5000 TANKA PURASKAR" (Rs. 5000 reward for the first information on Small Pox). The Cholera and Small Pox used to be the dreaded disease of those days, more dreaded were the preventive shots (injections) where a needle as thick as DAMPHANA (the Odia term for thick needles used to sew jute sacks) was stabbed to your hand or ass with great force. It would cause severe pain and fever for next several days. Don't think the present generation is so afraid of needles.

10. NUA BARSHA or The New Year's Day was celebrated on 1st January, not on the night of 31st December. As the clock chimed at midnight, most were in deep slumber, well cushioned and cuddled inside their comforters on cold winter nights rather than dancing their way in Bacchanalian jamborees in a faraway hotel or nightclub. A family lunch or dinner would suffice to welcome the New Year, rather than a New Year's Eve celebration.

Those were the days. (CONCLUDED)

10 did hard old habits which die hard - Part I

 Those from my generation who grew up in India might remember all these. Not sure if our counterparts from the present generation still retain some if not all the following habits. A few habits probably are still intact, some gone redundant, became defunct a la old rivers die unsung in deserts. Many are considered unwarranted - consumed by the ever encroaching cultural invasion from outside and sands of time. Here is a compilation of 10 such die hard old habits hardly died.

1. Have a fever ? Your diet changes from normal "BHATA - DALI" (Rice and Dal or Lentil soup) to "PAUN RUTI - KHIRA" (Bread and Milk). Saltine cracker is the snack of fever, known to titillate you numb taste bud. Also fever is the time to consume fruits considered exotic at that time - Apple, Pomegranate, Pear and Orange. They were preferred over the locally sourced and plentily available Banana, Mango, Guava, Papaya, AATA (Sitaphal in Hindi or Custard Apple). Though these tropical fruits were highly nutritious, for a strange reason they were thought as cold fruits which can aggravate fever, especially Banana and Guava. Perhaps they fit to the old Odia adage, "GAAN KANIA SINGHANI NAKI" (Country girl, Runny nose), simply meaning - "Local stuff, Unpalatable".

2. PETA GARAM or the Hot Stomach Syndrome, the colloquial medical adage blamed for every common ailments, from constipation to headaches. It was supposed to be the root cause behind common cold. No one knew what exactly the elusive PETA GARAM was, but drinking plenty of PAIDA PANI (coconut water) and flashing mugs of cold water on your lower belly at shower was the prescription to get rid of it.

In case of stomach upset LEMBU PANI (Lemon juice squeezed into water) was used for instant remedy. Often a cut lemon was inhaled close to nose tip to prevent puking. The later definitely worked, not sure about the former as it often caused acidity.

3. Need old Newspaper to cover a dusty cupboard, make a temporary cup holder out of it for munching peanuts or making THUNGA (paper pouch) ? Go and fetch for the ubiquitous "SAMAJA KAGAZA", the default name for all Newspapers those days. "The Samaja" was then the most widely circulated vernacular newspaper of Odisha. Once in my Primary (Elementary) school our English teacher asked a question to his students - "Which newspaper comes to your house ?" All in my class answered in unison - "Samaja". I answered - "The Samaja" and received brownie points from our teacher. 

Either way, Samaja ruled every one's home, both as carrier of news, then of utility value to be sold to the perennially cheating buyer of magazines and newspapers who would arrive every other week on his antique bicycle, shouting at top of his voice - KAGAZA BIKRI KARIBE KAGAGAZA (Wato to sell Newspapers) ? The tyres of his bicycle would be seriously short of air pressure, invariably touching the ground. He would be carrying his "NIKITI or TARAZU", his hand held weighing machine and BATAKARA (weights of 500gm, 1kg nominations made of wrought iron), carefully crafted to cheat the customers. The 1 kg measured is never 1 kilogram, it would weigh at least 15% more for the benefit of the buyer.

4. The caption ODIA JUBAKA NKA UCHHA SIKHYA PAIN BIDESHA JATYA (The Odia youth goes abroad for higher education), followed by a Passport picture of the smiling man wearing suit and tie used to adore the inside pages of "The Samaja" - most widely read Newspaper of our days. BIDESHA or Foreign was the euphemism for USA or UK, mostly the former. Don't remember anyone ever publishing pictures of those travelling to the foreign lands of Nepal or Bangladesh. Now way too many are making PHOREIN (Abroad) travels to get a mention on local newspapers.

5. "ARRE ETE RAATI JAE TU KOUTHI THILU ? JA HATA GODA DHOI, PRARTHANA KARI PATHA PADHIBU" - (Hey, where were you so late in evening ? Go, wash your hands and legs, do study) - was the usual reprimand from parents. Now a days it has changed to - "JA iPhone CHHADI PATHA PADHIBU" (Leave your iPhone to focus on studies). I heard the same from a father who was bewildered by his child's demands for a separate room and more privacy in his house, something unthinkable during our time when all the kids used to study together packed like sardines in a room. Reprimanding kids for coming late is so passe. Parents these days are regarded as interlopers by their children. Forget about boys, even girls of late are hardly questioned for coming home late.

(The 2nd and concluding part of the blog will follow soon).

Nijjar's Killing in Canada

 One summer evening in the month of June, Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Sikh, finished praying in a Gurudwara (sacred worship place of Sikhs) in Surrey, a suburb in Vancouver, Canada. No sooner he came out, two masked men pumped bullets on him from close range. Nijjar died from multiple gunshots. 

Hardeep Singh Nijjar was no small fry. He was a separatist leader, a supporter of  Khalistan, an independent Sikh nation  demanded by more Sikhs living abroad than in India to be carved out of its state of Punjab. In that context, Nijjar's death didn't come as a surprise, but I am pleasantly surprised that Indian agents have carried out a successful mission to eliminate a national threat. It looks like a classic RAW (India's Secret Service) hit, though India, as expected, has officially denied the allegation by Canada.

India has every right to take out any threat when it comes to its national security. Mossad, Israel's ruthless and deadly Secret Service assassinates its targets on regular basis deep inside other countries as far as Argentina, Dubai and Iran. Unlike India, they are more forthcoming - their official stance is they neither confirm or deny their hand in them. America goes one step further. It not only openly takes out its enemies, its politicians take full credit for killing terrorists. Examples are many, the best is the killing of Osama Bin Laden deep inside Pakistani territory which certainly helped Barack Obama politically. Did Canada ever complain then ? Then why now ? There can be no double standard for terrorism as there is no good and bad terrorists. They all are bad, no exception. 

What is the demand for Khalistan ? For the uninitiated, at one point of time in the 1980s when  terrorism was at its peak in Punjab, it seemed that "Khalistan Banta Hi Rahega" - it was just a time Khalistan will be formed. Mishandling by the Congress government catapulted Sant Bhindranwale, a Sikh with a flowing beard and aquiline nose from a small time preacher into a big time martyr. His speech in parts of Punjab, especially in the rural areas caught the imagination of the Sikh youth of the time. His simple slogan 'JO DARTA WOH SIKH NAHI AUR JO SIKH HAI WOH DARTA NAHI' (one who fears is not a Sikh, one who is a Sikh never fears) inspired many to take up gun and became terrorists. 

As Khushwant Singh mentioned in his autobiography, Giani Zail Singh, ex Home Minister and President of India famously described Bhindranwale as SADDE DANDA "our stick" to beat the Akalis with. Congress party wanted to use him as an useful idiot to settle score against opposition Akali Dal. Eventually the genie escaped from the bottle and the DANDA became a huge stick to cause pain to Congress and the nation's backside.  

It took another Congressman PV Narasimha Rao to clean up the mess left by his predecessors. Within months of becoming the Prime Minister, Rao called elections in Punjab and managed to conduct one amidst fireworks of bullets and bombs. As we say in Odia, "KANTA KU KANTA KADHE" - A nail is needed to take out another nail. The Congress government that followed gave a free hand to the Super Cop KPS Gill whose motto was very simple - "Kill a terrorist, earn a promotion". The Punjab police responded spectacularly by reaping bounties on the terrorist heads as bountiful as a successful Ravi crop harvest during the BAISAKHI (a popular festival in Punjab). By end of the year 1993, little more than two years after Rao taking office, terrorism in Punjab was a thing of past. 

But the dream of Khalistan was never dead. It lied dormant, though limited to few countries in the West. My Punjabi friend has seen the picture of Bhindranwale in a Gurudwara in North America not long ago. In that context, with many local Khalistani sympathizers around, it was prudent for Indian government to eliminate the cancer before it spreads and send a message. Prevention is always better than cure. We cannot afford another Bhindranwale, so it is a smart move to kill the snake before it grows big and start biting. Kudos to India, the protest from Canada not withstanding.

The Joy of Freedom

 During our Elementary (Primary School in our time) days there was a story from our SAHITYA  (literature) book in Class IV named, MUKTI RA ANANDA or "The joy of Freedom". A young man comes out of prison and goes to a local bird market. He purchases an entire cage of bird, only to release them to the bewilderment of the beholders. Long story short, the just jail released man wanted to extend his joy of freedom to the poor birds.

My friends, a wonderful couple and cat lovers adopted a stray cat left as a kitten by someone near their doorway. They adopted him, fed him well providing him with all comforts. But once the cat grew up, he left their home and their street not to be found again to taste his new found freedom. He was a feral cat who cherished the outside world was reluctant to stay bound to the comforts of home.

The quest for freedom is not just limited to birds and animals. It has been commonly observed that domestic helps in many houses strive to get out of the owner's homes, once they are into their teens. In many cases they simply vanish overnight, though they are treated excellently by their ever compassionate employers who feed, cloth and pay them handsomely, share their best toiletries and tip them on festive occasions. Yet they itch to get out to freely explore the world, to know more about the unknowns beyond the four walls of life. This desire is propelled by the quest for freedom, which often makes them sacrifice their prior abode of comfort and luxury.

I have encountered many Chinese and ex-Soviet Republic immigrants in USA, who unlike us immigrants of Indian origin hardly ever visit their motherland. Many forget that there is a country called China or Russia. Things are lot better now, especially in China. Yet growing up in a milieu minus the basic freedom, they are simply afraid and insecure about visiting the MiddleKingdom, lest they will lose their hard earned liberty. Many of them are fascinated by our frequent trips to India. They feel calling their folks back home every other month is more than enough. It's not unusual for them to take an American spouse by hook or crook to cement their stay in USA by getting American citizenship without any qualms about forgetting their roots.

Years back, an Odia officer from IFS (Indian Foreign Services) was posted in America. Per Foreign ministry rules, he was entitled to bring a Domestic help from India - an euphemism for a servant. He brought a semi-educated young man from his village in Cuttack, thinking him the last and the least likely one to escape. Or so he thought.

The officer, a bachelor, spent long days and evenings at work, often eating outside. Having nothing to do at home and getting bored watching TV in those days sans Cell phones and Social media, his "helping hand", popularly known as "CHAKARA TOKA" in Odia or NAUKAR in Hindi, helped himself by going around the city.

Slowly he started getting a taste of American life. One fine morning he decided to abscond without informing his employer. Our IFS Babu (Officer) anticipated that his fellow Odia must have melted away in Chicago, gobbled by the gargantuan city as an undocumented illegal immigrant doing some menial job.

Soon his suspicion turned out to be true. One evening he was in an Indian Restaurant where he saw his ex-helping hand mopping the floor. No sooner their eyes met than the later turned and ran away. Our Odia Officer bro chased him for a while, calling his name at top of his voice, that he is going to forgive him and his folks back home in India are now a worried lot. 

It had no effect on the guy as he melted into the labyrinth of vehicles. If the officer wanted he could have followed up with the local authorities to trace him out. But he let him go, allowing the man from his village pursue his American dream. He returned back gasping like the Cheetah on National Geographic Channel after a failed attempt to catch its pray.  

USA is known as "The Land of Freedom" as many of the forefathers of its inhabitants landed in America fleeing Europe to escape persecution. They were no doubt adventurous - for you need to be brave enough in order to migrate to a different corner of the world at a time when you don't know what's in store of you in a new world not connected by telephone, internet or social media. Yet, the call for freedom trumps all hurdles which can motivate humans to get adventurous, go above and beyond.

Such is the taste of freedom ! Like the proverbial man eating tiger who stops eating other animals once it tastes human flesh, the fragrance of freedom is unique and the desire to retain it is irreversible. Love the motto of the state of New Hampshire in US - "LIVE FREE OR DIE". It's certainly worth it.

Bagha Jatin

Today is the death Anniversary of Bagha Jatin, or Jatindranath Mukherjee, an Indian freedom fighter who fought against the British and died young at the age of 36. 

Born in Nadia district in present day Bengal, he was only 5 when his father died, followed by his mother at 9. He was brought up by his elder sister. From teenage he dabbled in fighting for freedom against the occupying British who ruled India with an iron hand. But Jatin possesed an iron hand using which he killed a tiger as he was scouring the forests to go underground and use as launch pad for his anti government activities. He used a small knife to kill the tiger but was grievously injured in the process. It took him days to recover from the poison of the tiger's claws which caused him deep, gruesome wounds. After this incident he was christened by locals as "Bagha" (the tiger killer) Jatin. 

Soon Bagha Jatin would shift his revolutionary activities to Balasore, a small town in Odisha close to Bengal border. He, along with his close friends Chittapriya, Manoranjan and few more formed a merry band whose fiery spirit led to several skirmishes with the British using arms and ammunition. In order to run their organization they needed money and hence looted rich the Zamindars (feudal lords) of the time, most of whom sided with the British. After looking, Bagha Jatin gang would leave a note saying that they are taking the loot to fight for freedom and will return the money with interest after independence. 

But such a thing never happened. During the World War I, Bagha and his associates established contact with German who was seen as enemy's enemy is a friend as they were fighting the war with British. The Germans were ready to assist Bagha Jatin's gang with arms and ammunitions. But the mission failed due to couple of reasons. First of all, the English ruled India with the support of the majority of Indians and many of whom were eager to please and cooperate with their occupiers for a price or privilege. Secondly, British had created a strong network of spies and informants and like a ripe fart could smell any mutiny or revolutionary activities from miles. 

Based on the information they received the British Military Police closed in on Bagha Jatin and his gang inside the deep forests surrounding Budhabalanga River near Balasore. Though thorougly outnumbered, outgunned and outmaneuvered, Bagha and his associates fought bravely for few hours before most of them were gunned down or captured. 

Bagha Jatin was seriously injured in the ensuing gun fight. He was taken to a local hospital and treated by a British doctor. When he came to his senses he refused to get treated by an Englishman and threw away his bandages. He continued to bleed and died this day September 10, 1915, exactly 108 years ago. Long live martyr Bagha Jatin. My tribute to one our many unsung heroes.

 In the early 1980s Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister of India. A minister in her cabinet, Basant Sathe was mulling a Presidential form of government in India by floating the idea as a trial balloon.  

It made perfect sense for Congress Party then as Indira Gandhi was the undisputed leader of Congress and India. There was nobody, neither in her party nor outside close to her stature. All the opposition parties unitedly pooh-poohed the idea opposing it tooth and nail for the obvious reason. Not a single leader then was in a position to be a counterweight to Indira at nation level. The idea remained stillborn.  

Congress must be breathing easy now as the concept of a Presidential form of government never saw the day, remaining a non-starter. Now I wonder if the constitution ever changed to that effect then BJP would be reaping the benefits now. Vajpayee could have won in 2004 rather than losing it if India had a Presidential form of government. 

In this context, though not a big fan of BJP, I still like the idea of "One Nation, One Election" brought by the Modi led BJP government at the center. Yes, the motive isn't entirely altruistic. Yes, BJP sees political advantage in it as though India isn't a Presidential form of government, it has a single popular leader in Narendra Modi who runs more like an American Presidential candidate leaving his closest rival Rahul Gandhi far behind. It thinks as divided opposition is trying to unite now, by advancing the elections to winter of this year will put the nascent opposition unity on backfoot. 

But if you think without any bias or malice to anyone holding both Parliament and Assembly Elections together has some long term benefits. Here is why. 

Firstly, it is economically viable to do both  together at one time. It saves a lot of tax player's money, time and energy. In one shot get done with both and don't bother until next 5 years. 

Secondly, as being suggested it the "One Election" is planned between the months of November to February when the weather is salubrious in most parts of the country. Although it is winter in North India they would prefer to campaign and toil to vote in December than toil in 45 degrees heat of May. 

A multi party committee has been formed to look into this. Let's see how it goes.