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 well as the rest of the world. The nations of India and Pakistan who were partitioned celebrated their 75th birthday and 75 years of separation. The flashpoint of the disputed territory of Kashmir is still in the news. India's bette noire Pakistan as usual is embroiled in all sorts of controversies.

Its ex-Cricketer and ex-Prime Minister Imran Khan in jail 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 in the United States, 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 36th 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 Pakistan 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 (then REC), Rourkela BBC radio broke the Breaking News. It was the death of Pakistani President General Zia Ul Haq in a plane crash. I also remember many of us ragging our juniors by forcing them to dance to celebrate the death of India's bete noire Zia-Ul-Haq whom the Indians loved to hate. At the same time I heard from a friend from our counterpart REC Srinagar about the Muslim dominated College campus mourning the untimely death of the Pakistani leader. He said - "SAALE NAACH RAHE THE JAISE UNKA BAAP MAR GAYA", roughly transliterated - "Those guys whose sisters I seduce were mourning as if their dads died". (Sala means wife's brother but in this context it means I am the seducer of the sister of whomsoever at the receiving end).

Zia was a diminutive soldier and a shrewd strategist. His regime would shape the politics of the subcontinent for 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 a hard time". Hard time he did gave to India - 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 Zia 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. Promotions were hard to come by until fortune favored him after Bhutto became Prime Minister of Pakistan. Bhutto trusted Zia against the advices of his close confidants,  as he thought his diminutive Army Chief as harmless and malleable, as the later was always obsequious to the Prime minister. Bhutto promoted Zia making him the Army Chief 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 is said he ordered Bhutto's genitals to be checked post hanging to ensure that the ex Prime Minister wasn't a closeted Hindu, a prevalent rumor in Pakistan.

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.

Pakistan is a nation where Allah, Army and America rule. 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 which is usually stuffed with alcohol 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 Law". He sure was. Had he survived assassination he could have hung all of Pakistan military's top brass if 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 from India. Born in 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 the Indian Army. This name stuck to him as he came to be known as Dhyan (Chand) or moon.

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 medal 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 back to back bronze medals in Olympics in Tokyo 2021 and Paris 2024, harbinger of it being back in the game.

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 goals to 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 a 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 smashed 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 wounds filled with yellowish-white pus oozing out of them. 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 treaded inside and tend to the tribals were the Christian Missionaries. They provide them food, shelter, education and healthcare. They do where our government spectacularly fails to do - to provide the basic necessities and 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. They just take advantage of a failed system. As long as poverty and hunger remains, Jesus could triumph over Ram and Rahim under right condition.

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.

College elections in Odisha

 College elections in Odisha which was stopped from 2018 is going to start from next year. Not sure why it was banned in the first place, and not sure why it was brought back. 

I studied in BJB college in Bhubaneswar for couple of years from 1984 to 1986, where elections were highly farcical with a lot of political undertone. My father who taught Physics there was the Adviser to the College Union. I never participated in any Election - Vilection, nor there was much violence those days to remember and write home about. The aspirants for different positions of student's Union would push their candidature through cards into the hands of the prospective voters - aptly called "Pushing cards". 

The girls standing in clusters around  the SANATAN CHAT stall would get the scented versions of the pushing cards exclusively reserved for them, scent coming out of some cheap perfumes strewn over the card. The less fortunate ones, the boys had to be contented with plain, rugged pushing cards. 

The day of reckoning comes to a climax on the "Why I stand" meeting when the contestants are supposed to go at length explaining their candidature at large on the stage. This meet is invariably more histrionics and of less substance. Whatever of little substance is has gets lost in the cacophony. Post election the promises made by the candidates were rarely kept, yet this annual farce continued year after year as precious days of Academics were ruined. 

The icing on the cake in that meeting used to be the much awaited arrival of the candidates for the position of Dramatic Secretary on the stage. They tried their best to outsmart each other by singing loudly, jumping to the tunes of the latest Bollywood hits and telling bawdy, semi vulgar jokes.  

The more the giggling of the girls in audience more enthusiastic are those on the stage, their presence enticing the hopeful Dramatic Secretaries to swing their hips in a more dramatic ways. Once a candidate tore off his pants on stage while dancing to a Jeetendra - Sridevi number exposing his DORA, a popular underwear of that time.  

He continued to dance until the muffled laughter from girls in the audience with their face covered in palm gave away to cat calls from the boys. It made him realize that something was wrong. After discovering his plight he took out his handkerchief (a must carry for youth of that time), covered his exposed area and ran towards backstage. 

Rowdiness or goondaism was frugal, limited to only verbal threats. Bullets or bombs were strictly fantasy. If someone threatens you then taking the name of so and so from BADAGADA, a village in outskirts of Bhubaneswar was enough to assure your safety. (Though brawny, the residents of the village were known to be naive, slow witted and their heads were rumored to be stuffed with cowdung). 

Apparently things started to get worse and no wonder a incident of bombing was reported not long ago in BJB College. In my opinion these needless elections should have been stopped all together long back. It hardly helps, rather hurts the image of these colleges - with a lot of precious time getting wasted. In REC (Now NIT) Rourkela where I did my Engineering, there was no such Students Union or Elections associated with it. There was only a cultural Secretary from the 3rd year who used to organize cultural and fun fests. There were some Elections for rudimentary positions in the hostels but not elections supported by political party of any kind. In that context not sure what the present government of Odisha is smoking to bring back these totally avoidable College Union Elections. 

Stockholm syndrome

Exactly 50 years ago, on August 23, 1973 a group of people were taken hostages in a bank in Stockholm, Sweden by Jan Erik Olsson - high on drugs and holding a gun. The world has seen several hostage dramas before and after this event. But what makes this one different is the hostages developing an emotional bond with their captors giving birth to a new phrase "Stockholm Syndrome".

The whole hostage drama got wide television coverage. The entire Sweden was glued to the TV round the clock. The audience were surprised when one of the girls taken hostage while talking to the authorities over phone started defending her captor. She had already developed a huge crush on her hostage taker who was a charismatic speaker and humored her by telling stories and playing Checkers. The drama ended on day six when police sprayed gas into the bank, forcing the culprit to surrender, freeing the hostages and ending the crisis. But the "Stockholm syndrome" never ended and still continues unabated in many places, many forms.

I have seen some of my college mates idolizing those professors who harassed them to no end, going an extra yard to eulogizing them, both before and after their demise. I am a son of a professor and I have ultimate respect for teaching profession. But needless harassing of young minds isn't something to be eulogized. It's Okay to admire the good things about our teachers, but to my surprise I have seen many victims of harassment needlessly going a long way harboring "Stockholm syndrome" towards them. The famous writer Khushwant Singh who didn't spare any one including himself once wrote - "A person doesn't become better after his or her death".

Coming from a feudal society, I heard folks eulogizing Babus (Bureaucrats), often smitten by them and the power they wield. It is not unusual to see victims at the receiving end of the Babus saying -"ARRE SEY IAS OFFICER PEE KI BADEILA" (So and So IAS officer got drunk and beat some hapless folks). As if getting drunk and beating innocents by taking law into their own hands and taking advantage of their position is something praiseworthy. I know many who are forever stuck to their marriages with "Stockholm syndrome" in spite of being in an abusive relationship. Once a girl confided to me about her abusive relationship. When I questioned her compulsion of clinging to her abusive husband and being stuck to a toxic relationship, her response was reminding me the title of a Hindi song -
"BHALA HAI BURA HAI, JAISE BHI HAI.
MERA PATI MERA DEVTA HAI".

Roughly transliterated,

"Good, Bad or Ugly, Wherever he stands.
After all, he is my husband".

We see lots of examples of the "Stockholm syndrome" in real life. Psychologically many of us tend to sympathize with our perpetrators. Part of it is due to our inferiority complex which makes us see them as stronger persons doing things which we aspire to do but can't due to various reasons - it could be lack of courage, the societal pressure etc etc. We get a vicarious pleasure by seeing our wishes replicated by someone else. What happens then is a perfect example of - "if you can't beat them, join them". 50 years since we are stuck with the "Stockholm syndrome" forever.

The rape of the lady doctor in Calcutta

It is summer of discontentment in India. Close to the heels of bad news from Olympics front regarding an woman wrestler who accussed the Wrestling Federation Chief of rape and molestation, comes another bad news of the ghastly rape and murder of a young lady doctor in the Eastern Indian city of Calcutta. The news is as shocking as the Nirbhaya rape case which incidentally happened winters ago in nation's capital Delhi, followed by the rape and murder of a lady doctor in Hyderabad. Drawing a parallel, a la the Nirbhaya and Hyderabad rape case was fast tracked and perpetrators were swiftly punished, the culprits in this case should be quickly apprehended and rewarded with nothing sort of death penalty.

The debate over Capital Punishment and the state taking law into own hands in a civilized society is probably as old as the civilization itself. I have seen many squabble over the efficacy of death sentence as a deterrent to crime. In this respect the contrast of opinion between males and females is conspicuous. 

Men are certainly anguished by this heinous act of rape and murder, but the outpouring outrage from the women is quite understandable as the fairer sex can relate more to the agony the poor victim would have gone through. It probably explains why more number of males than females question the righteousness of the death penalty, especially in case of rape. Personally I would love to see the rapists hung by their neck till they shiver, quiver and lay still, cold as revenge is best served cold.

Reminds me of this monologue delivered by actor Anupam Kher playing a bad cop in 1991 movie HUM - "YEH KHOON BHI BADI AJEEB SI CHEEZ HAI. APNO KA NIKALTA HAI TO DARD HOTA HAI. LEKIN DOOSRON KE NIKLE TOH MAZAA AATA HAI (Blood is a weird thing. It hurts a lot if it is your own. If it comes from others, watching it is fun). For some idiots on Facebook it sounds fun. Nevertheless, I have already reported few tasteless remarks on the poor girl to Facebook.

Before passing some judgment let's take a pause, contemplate by stepping into the shoes of the victim's family, be it Nirbhaya's (the woman raped in Delhi) or the medico girl in this case. It would be easy for me to preach eye for an eye is wrong, the state has no right to kill an individual, blah blah. But would I be talking at the same breath if I can relate the victim to one of my near and dear one ? Hell no.

In America death penalty is a state subject, most conservative states have it, most liberal states don't. The nation is evenly divided on the issue. Here the family of the victim is allowed to watch the execution of the perpetrator. They perhaps do it for a reason. 

Dastardly act often provokes dastardly response. It may not be humane, but it is human. I have no illusions of being a superhuman. Normally I won't hurt a fly, let alone watch someone die. When I see one of our backyard feral cats get hurt, it hurts me a lot. Yet God forbid, if one day I am invited to such an event, I will unabashedly take the front row, taking the sadistic pleasure of watching the turbulent last moments of the convict.

No wonder in movies nobody sheds a tear when the bad guy falls. Hope one fine morning (not sure why hangings are done in the morning), these rapists will be hung until death from the hangman's noose.

Hang in there. Before I go, I can't but mention this sonnet from the Hollywood Western Classic - "3.10 TO YUMA ", based in 19th Century US. Electric Chair wasn't invented yet. Hanging in Public was the preferred mode of execution in America's Wild Wild West. A hangman taunts the convict before taking him to the gallows :

"They will hang me in the morning,

They will hang me before the dawn.

They will hang me in the morning,

I will never see the Sun".

I can attribute the same sonnet to these convicts. Don't RIP girl, until those who harmed you never see the sun as they walk to be garlanded by the hangman's noose. Hope that day is not too long away.

Happy 77th Birthday to India - Independence day 2024

 A history of thousands of years, an advanced civilization counted amongst the oldest of the old. An enchanting land of sages and the sagacious. Cradle of Eastern mysticism from which emanated some of the major religions now spread over the world. A land of ages of culture and traditions, opulence in art, literature and classical languages and music.

Hinduism, the oldest religion in universe, is the foremost among them. Buddhism is another relugion which originated from India several years before Christ or Prophet Mohammed were born and subsequently spreaded south and far east, as far as China and Japan. So also Jainism, a religion which surfaced round the time of Gautam Buddha from the same exotic land and still in practice.

For centuries India was the El Dorado. Its tales of riches attracted travellers, traders and invaders from rest of the world. Columbus, the legendary Spanish explorer died a frustrated man, for he was not able to discover his dreamland called India - considered the land of milk and honey, the land of opportunity at that time. He died a forlorn man, forced to be content with discovering a chain of Islands called "West Indies", his consolation prize for missing out India.

Eventually and unfortunately, India lost its freedom and wealth to myriads of invaders - from Alexander to Afghans, from Turks to Persians, from Mughal to British. Many invaders from outside exploited India economically and politically, some looted and returned, some stayed back to rule us until we met our tryst with destiny on August 15,1947 when we finally got our independence. That's India, my motherland.

Since we gained our freedom and became a Democratic Republic, we haven't done a whole lot of justice to our immense potential. Very few nations can boast of abundance in natural resources, lushy green fertile lands, a wide variety of flora and fauna (India is the only country which has both Tigers and Lions, Africa which has varieties of wildlife doesn't have tigers). It got a diverse biosphere and a strong, talented workforce of English educated middle class. India has been a caged tiger, who needs to be unleashed to go for the kill.

I am tempted to lift these few lines from a popular Odia song LE NAVEENA from the year 1981. (Naveena here depicts the typical down to earth Odia guy, no relation to any person bearing the same name).

LE NAVEENA TIKE PACHAKU ANA,
HATHE BADI DHARI THIA BAPUJI NANA,
BAPUJI BUDHA RA AAKHI RE LUHA,
TA RAMA JAIJE AAJI YAMA RA BHAYA.

Transliterated..

O Naveena, just look behind.
Holding the stick in hand,
The Bapuji man is standing.
The old man's eyes are filled with tears.
Yama, the God of Death;
has filled his Dreamland with fear.

Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of Nation often credited for bringing independence to us, dreamt a RAM RAJYA (Utopian State) of India. But unfortunately, his dream remained stillborn, though post independence, we had a spell of ROME RAJYA (Romancing the indirect rule by a person of Roman origin). 

Lots of water has flown under Mahanadi bridge as we have come long way since 1981. We have come out of the classic Hindu rate of growth, now chugging ahead steadily, inching towards a $4 trillion GDP while moving tens of millions out of poverty.

Still a lot needs to be done, as multiple challenges lie ahead. Rocky are the roads, turbulent are the streams and miles to go before we sleep. And I am sure one day we will get there. HAPPY 77th BIRTHDAY to Motherland INDIA.

Songs and scenes make us gay and happy

I keep a decent collection of old vintage Odia songs inside the dashboard of my car. On my way back home after a hectic day at work, those are panacea to a tired soul. By default I am tuned to the NPR news, but whenever I need a break from the glut of media malaise, I switch to music which sounds music to my ears. 

One day I was on my way to lunch with a team member. No sooner I turned the keys, than wafted a song from 1970s, sung by two lady singers Trupti Das and Gita Patnaik. 

TORA MORA KATHA HABA CHUP CHAP,

TORA MORA BAHAGHARA THIK THAK. 

My friend asked me to translate the song into English. I obliged, 

"Let's chit chat whispering emotion;

As our marriage is set on motion." 

He raised his eyebrows and asked "Is this a gay song?". While having a hearty laugh, I responded, "This song depicts two nubile girls who as friends do, were chatting about their marriage been fixed, not that they are getting married to each other. Their coyish whispering indicates their shyness, a trait amongst girls in Indian society. Nothing remotely the lyrics ever suggest that they are gay. 

Now rewind back to the year 2002, when I invited an American friend home for dinner in our apartment in Kentucky. I put on the a music DVD playing Hindi songs and came flashing a scene where Akshay Kumar and Salman Khan, exposing their bare chested chiseled body, torso wrapped just by a towel. They were holding each other's hand, high-fiving and dancing on sea beach, gyrating and wrapping their hands around their waist. 

When I translated the name of the movie MUJHSE SAADI KAROGE as "Will you marry me", his instant response was, "Is this a gay movie?". 

I again burst into laughter, almost erupting whatever I was sipping off my mouth. I explained, in the movie these two guys will eventually propose to their lady friends. That's all it means. And I harbor no fetishes of watching gay movies. Singing and watching movies makes all gay and happy, it's just lies in the way you see it.