Happy Dasahara 2026

Durga Puja is thick in the air, as thick as the smell of "JHUNA" (Saal Resin, sweet smelling powder sourced from bark of a tree when lit emits perfumed smoke). Today it culminates on DASAHARA (10th day), after passing ASHTAMI (the 8th day of worship of Goddess Maa Durga) when the worship is at its peak. The air is filled with a unique festive flavor - the sound of music blaring and the sight of huge idols of Maa Durga on the PANDAL (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 the 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 BRAHMAN HO KAR KAISE EK JEEV KO KHA SAKTE HAIN" - How can a Brahmin in you 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, moonlit nights cool and crispy. The schools, colleges 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, as our 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 (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 sweat beads 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 on 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 tried to flee, it was catching up on me. I tried to outrun it, 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 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.

As the puja juggernaut trudges ahead, I am reminded of the night of DASHAHARA (Dussera) festivals, chariot carrying our village diety would roll on the narrow, dusty track in between the lines of thatched roofs. It would make intermittent stops in front of each house, as the designated priest would climb the stairs made from MANKADAA PATHARA (black poked sedimentary rock) leading to the main door.

He would swivel his GINI (another conical device made from brass) on his left arm and swirl few drops of water around the BHOGA, the sacred offering of PITHA (rice and lentil based cakes) from the household, uttering OM HING KLING NAIBEDYAM SAMARPAYAMI (oh lord, I offer thee these pious offerings). Soon the priest would walk down, followed by urchins from the households joining the melee, chasing the chariot. Most of them invariably wore loose fit shorts, frantically lifting their pants which would frequently slip off as they chase the chariot amidst the haze of dust lifting up under the  lantern lights in the dark.

The incessant cacophony from the GHANTA continued, as the chariot juggernauts ahead. I queried a fellow village youth, what a particular tune of DHAIN DHAIN DHAIN..DHAIN DHAIN DHAIN means. He told me it rhymes with,

AHE CHAKA DOLA
TAMA BOPA KALE KHAITHILA KI
BAIGANA SANTULA.

Transliterated to English...

O Lord Jagannath
In your father's generation,
Did you ever ate soup of boiled Eggplant ?

Happy Durga Puja and DASAHARA to all..

Happy birthday Akshaya Mohanty

 If he were alive, the legendary Odia singer Akshaya Mohanty born this day in October, 1934, would be 92 year old today. Like Kishore Kumar, he was a virtuoso, a multifaceted artistic talent from Odisha. Though better known as a versatile singer, the lyricist in him penned many songs - from serious to romantic, from comic to melancholy ones. Arguably the musical all rounder in him placed him above the rest of the contemporaries from his generation, which included a field of gifted artistic talents from the state of Odisha, the likes of Pranab Patnaik, Chitta Jena, Sikandar Alam, Prafulla Kar.

Khoka Bhai (Akshaya Mohanty went by this nickname), started singing in the 1950s and was at his peak in the 1970s. During that time he made the cardinal mistake of quitting his cushy government job to fully focus on his musical career. Unfortunately for him, he belonged to a state better known as the graveyard of artistic pursuits. Those were the days when government was the main employment provider. Odias in general looked down upon and harbored anathema towards anything but secured SARAKARI (government) job. He could have continued "NISARE GHIA MARI" (rubbed Clarified Butter on his moustache, meaning worked without fear of losing the job) and carried on nonchalantly in his secured job nonstop till he attained superannuation at the age of 58. He still could have continued to sing untill his death, completely assured by the safety net of "Sarkari" pensions. But he took a risk to follow his passion, his first love music. But unfortunately for him like most first loves it didn't materialize for him and remained stillborn, him paying a big price for quitting his government job.

Khoka bhai sang many Odia hits. His records sold well. He was hugely popular and immensely admired, yet his going professional in the field of music did not fetch him the remuneration to amply compensate for his ability. By mid 1980s he was not in good economic shape. Everyone admired his songs and music, but going professional didn't provide him a sustainable source of income. He took to alcohol and continued to abuse himself. My brother-in-law who interacted with him extensively during the maestro's trip to Chicago in June, 2001 often found him drunk, staggering and blabbering around. His reckless habits cut short his life and career as he died a year later in the year 2002. He was only 68.

After listening to Akshaya Mohanty's title song from movie "JAJABARA", Lata Mangeshkar suggested him to try his luck in Bollywood. But a laid back Akshaya Mohanty would never do that. He visited America multiple times and enthralled the NROs (Non Resident Odias) with his songs, making them nostalgic. My memory goes back to the year 1979 when his trip to America was well covered in the local Odia newspapers. Those days coming to America used to be a big deal. The legendary singer, post returning from his American trip quoted in the popular local Odia daily "SAMAJA" - "Even cats and dogs are better off in America than humans here in Odisha".

India has come a long way since 1979, now a 4 trillion dollar plus economy chugging ahead. Visiting America is no longer a big deal to get publicized in local newspapers. But those were the days. Soon came out a song composed and recorded by him based on his first hand American experience,

AMERICA RE PREMA HUE
BEECH ROAD UPARE,
AMA CUTTACK RE PREMA HUE
BHAI RIKSHAW PACHHARE.

Transliterated....

 (Love in America
  is a road side show,
  In Cuttack love happens
  behind Rickshaw).

The young generation in Odisha since have lifted their veil of shyness, enjoying their amorous aventures in middle of parks and pubs - even on BEECH (Middle of) roads as hand pulled Rickshaws have given way to their Autorickshaw cousins. Saluting the Maestro and wishing him a Happy Birthday, let me end my ode to him with this funny number, penned by himself,
"PREMIKARA BARIADE BAIDHANKA
AU BICHHUATA BANA,
DEKHIBAKU MANA CHHANA CHHANA
KUNDAAI KUNDAAI GALA PRANA".

Roughly transliterated

"My beloved's home backyard
Has a jungle filled with Poison Ivy,
In the eagerness to watch her stealthily,
I had to scratch myself heavy."

Happy birthday JP

Jayaprakash Narayan is amongst the numerous great persons born in the month of October (incidentally he died in the same month also). He is one of our much forgotten heroes. For me, JP, as Jayaprakash Narayan was popularly know as, was synonymous to the public's opposition to the historic, draconian Emergency imposed in June, 1975 and his role in the India's Lok Sabha (Parliament) elections that followed in March 1977, when Indira Gandhi who had imposed emergency called it off and announced fresh election only to be drowned by the Janata Party Tsunami.

As a child I have little memory of Emergency, but still remember the headlines on newspaper "The Times of India "JP WAVE UNABATED" (used to be delivered in Bhubaneswar by flights from Delhi in the evening). Jayaprakash Narayan, also known as 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. (Though North India punished Indira Gandhi for Emergency, South India solidly stood behind her as she swept the Southern states).

I remember my father and uncle clinging to the radio to get the latest election results from BBC whom the public those days trusted it more for authentic news as AIR (All India radio) was the government's propaganda mouthpiece (Have things changed much these days) ? 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 duffer 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 the most 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" and united different political factions from socialist left to Right Wing under a single umbrella called Janata Party, is now India's a much forgotten and neglected hero. Khushwant Singh who interacted with many Who's & Who's during his long life span, mentioned 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, big or small 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. Lot of things currently across the country echoes the times of Emergency days, yet vindicating history repeats itself and those who forget history are condemned to repeat it. HAPPY BIRTHDAY Lok Nayak Jayaprakash Narayan, last but the least one more of our forgotten heroes.

Happy birthday Amitabh

Today is the Birthday of Amitabh Bachchan, an icon in the Hindi movie industry, popularly known as Bollywood (aptly named after Hollywood, the way we love to copycat). There is a monologue from his movie "KAALIA" - "HUM JAHAN KHADE  HOTE HAIN, LINE WOHI SE SHURU HOTI HAI", meaning, "Wherever I stand, the line starts from there". The movie from the year 1982 was incidentally the time when Amitabh was the one man Bollywood industry, the unchallenged superstar. He was the no. 1 to no. 10 choice of the watchers of Hindi movies, the rest came way wayy behind, such was his sway in Bollywood. So much so that the popular actresses of that time were scared to be his leading ladies in movies, lest they will be eclipsed by the tall actor (he is 6 feet 2) standing tall above the rest.

Amitabh started his movie career in the year 1969 in a forgettable movie "Saat Hindustani". He struggled for 4 more years and at one point almost decided to leave acting and become a "Boxwallah" until Zanzeer (1973) and Deewar (1974) delivered him two back to back hits putting him on a pedestal from which he never looked back. By 1980, he already established himself as the Superstar of Bollywood. Once considered too tall and lanky to play the lead role of a hero in the movie, he proved all his detractors wrong. No wonder it is said that a good height always attracts the opposite sex. Those days, 6 feet 2 was considered too tall, where as Jaya Bhadudi with a diminutive height of 4 feet 8 did well in the industry (incidentally they got married to each other). 

Those were the days in the early 1980s people would line up from the middle of the night to get the first show tickets to watch a new release of an Amitabh movie. Ticket blackers ruled the roost to make some fast bucks. He was so popular that producers like Manmohan Desai churned out one junk after another out of Amitabh and those forgettable movies ran full house solely based on inertia of the actor's charisma. He was no more a Superstar, he was the Megastar.

In 1980 Journalist and Writer Tavleen Singh once met Amitabh at her friend Sonia Gandhi's residence in Delhi when Indira Gandhi was the Prime Minister of India and Amitabh was close family friend to the Gandhis. Tavleen requested Sonia if she could make Amitabh, already a sought after superstar of the time agree for an interview. Amitabh was very warm to the idea and agreed. He told Tavleen - "When you are in Bombay (it wasn't Mumbai yet), please call my Secretary and get an appointment".

When the D-day arrived, early that morning Tavleen arrived at Amitabh's residence in Bombay. The superstar was about to step out for an outdoor shooting session for movies "NASEEB" and "DO AUR DP PAANCH". Tavleen noticed that the previous warmth displayed at Sonia Gandhi's home had vanished as Amitabh barely talked to her and in a reserved tone told her to follow her as his wife Jaya gave Tavleen a cold stare while handing over a tiffin box of simple, vegetarian food. Amitabh is known as a vegetarian and a frugal eater.

At the shooting set Tavleen noted that Amitabh completely overshadowed his co-actors Hema Malini and the Kapoor brothers Sashi and Rishi. In terms of popularity he was way ahead of the rest, mobbed by his fans both on and off the set.
It was a long day when Amitabh completed several sessions of shoot. Finally after sunset when darkness set in, Amitabh found some time for interview and slowly open up to Tavleen. He answering her questions on his way to another set for thw shooting session for the next movie. This time he was warm and approachable. As mentioned by Tavleen after the interview she ended up having a crush on Amitabh.

In the 1960s, days before getting into acting profession once Amitabh visited Mahmood, a comedian and a better known actor of the time along with his close buddy Rajiv Gandhi, the eldest son of Indira Gandhi who later went on to become India's Prime Minister. Not knowing Rajiv Gandhi, Mahmood told Amitabh - "You are too tall, lanky, unfit to become a hero. Better try your hands playing the role of bad guys (villain)". Then glancing at Rajiv Gandhi he said - "However, your friend is a handsome dude and got looks fit of a hero. He may try his luck in Bollywood". Fate had its own way. Little more than a decade later in 1979 Amitabh was the undisputed king and Superstar of Bollywood after the stupendous success of his movie  "MUQADDAR KA SIKANDAR" where he vanquished Vinod Khanna, his sole challenger.

Prior to his first hit ZANZEER, Amitabh reportedly contemplated quitting movie career (Similar to Kishore Kumar who thought of retiring before the success of his songs from ARADHANA). The rest we know is history, as he established himself as the one man industry. The saga of this talented Mega star (he was above and beyond a Superstar) is beyond the scope of this blog. Some, if not all of his movies impressed me enough to make them watchable even today, especially many of them laced with the golden voice of Kishore Kumar who was the playback singer of many of Bachchan's hit movies (its rumored both fell out with each other in 1984 after SHARABI. Kishore Kumar quit singing for Amitabh after the superstar refused to act in a movie which Kishore Kumar intended to produce. Then Shabir Kumar, not Kishore became Amitabh's voice).

The other day I was watching one of his movies - NAMAK HARAM, a movie in which he acted along with the contemporary Superstar Rajesh Khanna. Though Rajesh Khanna hugged the limelight in that movie, Amitabh showed flashes of brilliance with his trademark angry young man acting using his baritone voice. Needless to say, in that movie he showed traits for a promising future. The movie has a strong undertone of Socialism, the fad during those days. Rajesh Khanna asks his friend Amitabh, who plays the role of son of a rich business tycoon, the price of "Chivas Regal", a brand of Scotch they were sharing together. It was Rs. 250 a bottle in 1973, a hefty amount these days - more than a MAZDOOR (worker's) salary.

As the movie progresses, Amitabh is advised by his father not to trust his friend Rajesh Khanna. He warns his son - "Your friend belongs to the middle class. Folks from that class  who vouch on their ideology and principles, can also be very ambitious and dangerously treacherous. Forever looking for an opportunity to move up, they can easily drop their pretense of ideology cloaked in hypocrisy to do anything to climb up the social ladder. Hence the middle class folks should never be trusted, as they can backstab you with drop of a hat in their quest for upward mobility."

Very apt and prophetic statement. Upper class folks born with silver spoon in their mouth, mostly have a smooth sailing throughout their life. The barely ambitious lower class look forward to their next meal. The middle class always have that feeling, "I would love to be there but I am not yet there, may be some day." 
They daydream to reach the status of those "haves". Competition is cut throat and jealousy is the highest amongst the middle class. Many are capable of doing anything and everything, by hook or crook for upward mobility. 

The burgeoning middle class in last few decades just strives hard to do that, a desire to get rich overnight at any cost. They are the ones who are pretty much mostly responsible for all corruption and scams we see these days. The tall ambition of the middle class as described by the actor Om Shiv Puri in this movie is dwarfed by the acting of Lamboo legend Amitabh who delivered his classic closing monologe in his heavy, baritone voice to get the attention of the audience. He did well in that movie "NAMAK HARAM", standing next to the then Superstar Rajesh Khanna. A star was born that day. Don't think I will see anyone close to Amitabh's stature in the Bollywood movie industry during my lifetime. Happy 83rd Birthday to the legend. Hope more to come. 

RIP Nana Patekar

 I am reminds me this scene from Nana Patekar's movie ANKOOSH from the year 1986 when I was in my teens. A feminine boy goes around a neighborhood swinging his hips, while Nana Patekar and his friends pass comments to a girl walking nearby (a term used for eve teasing back home in Odisha). The boy protests - MEIN SAARI LADKIYON KO APNI MAA SAMAJHTA HOON (I consider all girls as my mother). To this Nana delivers his epic Punchline, "TERA NIYAT TO THIK HAI, LEKIN TERA BAAP KA KYA HOGA - "You're fine, but what will happen to your dad". It was the first Hindi movie of Nana Patekar which instantly catapulted him into limelight. Since then he never looked back with a series of hits to follow one after another.

In the 1987 movie "PRATIGHAAT" Nana plays the role of an honest policeman whose wife gets kidnapped by a local mafia goon. Nana appeals to his superior - "SIR, KAALI NE MERE BIWI KO UTHAKE LE GAYA" (Kaali has taken away my wife force)", to which his boss replies - "Go and sleep peacefully. We will look at the matter tomorrow". Nana responds - "Sir, KOI AAP KI BIWI KO UTHA KE LE JAYE TO AAP CHAIN KE NEEND SOENGE !" (If someone kidnapped your wife, will you be able to sleep peacefully that night" ?

Next comes a scene from the 1989 movie "PARINDA" where the actor Nana Patekar playing the role of a psycho gangster asks his henchman Jackie Shroff - "TERA BHAI KAISA HAI" (How is your brother) to which Jackie responds - "BAHUT DUKHI HAI" (He is very sad). Then Nana Patekar goes on - "YEH DUKH NAAM KI BIMARI KA KOI BHI DOCTOR KE PAAS ILAAZ NAHI HAI. KHUD KO BHOOL NA PADTA HAI" (There is no cure for sadness with any doctor. One has to learn to forget". In the same movie he nonchalantly asks Jackie - "KARAN TERA BHAI KO SAMJHA, NAHI SAMJHE TO GOLI MAR DE". (Karan, try to make your brother understand. If he doesn't, shoot him). He says his henchman to kill his brother as casually as killing a mosquito. Oh, talking of mosquito 🦟. He famously said in another movie while clapping a mosquito to death - "EK MACHHAR NE AADMI KO HIZDA BANA DIYA" (A mosquito has turned a male into an eunuch).

In another scene from Bollywood movie APAHARAN (Kidnapping), Nana Patekar playing a Don hires a rookie kidnapper played by Ajay Devgan into his gang. Nana's perturbed and jealous acolytes question the veracity of taking Devgan into their folder. His boss Nana justifies his hiring - "PEHLE APNA AUKAAD DIKHAYA, USKE BAAD KAAM MANGA (He first proved his worth, then he asked for job). That day I learned something from this monologue. It certainly looks great if I establish my credentials first and then brace myself for any credit. Not the other way around.

There are way too many monologues of Nana to reproduce in this blog. He has delivered several epic ones in multiple movies he has acted, using in his direct, no nonsense dialigue deluvery using his heavy, baritone voice. Nana Patekar who passed away earlier today in Goa, India at the age of 75 had carved his niche in Bollywood for 40 years long. RIP the great Marathi actor. Om 🕉 Shanti.

Trip to Chicago 2026 - II

Last Sunday we made a trip to the Jagannath Temple of Greater Chicago located in Aurora, Illinois. About 35-40 folks turned up to participate in the weekly Puja (worship) followed by typical Odia style temple meal followed by sweet dish. It was quite a fulfilling experience.

I was reminded of this incident when I was visiting the Jagannath temple in Chicago years ago. The temple those days was situated at a different location. It was Thanksgivings time and the windy city was considerably colder than the warm weather of Georgia where we live. Decided to make a trip to the Sri Jagannath's abode with my sisters who are actively involved in the temple administration and management.

It was the day of our tryst with CHAKADOLA (Round Eyeballs) - one of myriad lovable ways of addressing Lord Jagannath by us Odias. Those days the temple was in its nascent stage. The Lord was well ensconced inside a small house by the large hearted Odias who are a section of the devoted devotees from the Sri Jagannath Society Of Greater Chicago. The icy chilled inside soon warmed up, as the lamps were lit and the heating cranked up inside the building, followed by the high decibel cranking of hand held GHANTA (lummox cylindrical brass plates hit with stick) and GINI (runt, ear shaped pair of brass, more shoothing to the eardrums).

As the puja juggernaut trudged ahead, the sound transported me back down the memory lanes on a Time Machine, to the night of DASHAHARA (Dussera) festival in my native Brahmin dominated village near Puri which we used to visit during Puja vacation. The chariot carrying our village diety would roll on the narrow, dusty lane in between the lines of thatched roofs. It would make intermittent stops in front of mostly thatched roof houses, as the designated priest would climb the stairs made from MANKADAA PATHARA (black poked sedimentary rock) leading to the main door.

He would swivel his GHANTI (another conical device made from brass) on his left arm and swirl few drops of water around the BHOGA, the sacred offering of PITHA (rice and lentil based cakes) from the household, uttering OM HLING KLING NAIBEDYAM SAMARPAYAMI (O' lord, I offer thee these pious offerings). Soon priest would walk down, followed by urchins joining the melee, chasing the chariot. Most of them who invariably wore loose fit outfits, frantically lift their short pants which frequently slip off as they chase the chariot amidst the haze of dust lifting up under lantern lights.

The incessant cacophony from the GHANTA continued, as the chariot juggernauts ahead. I queried a fellow village youth, what a particular tune of DHAIN DHAIN DHAIN... DHAIN DHAIN DHAIN means. He told me it rhymes with,

AHE CHAKA DOLA
TAMA BOPA KALE KHAITHILA KI
BAIGANA SANTULA

Transliterated to English...

O Lord Jagannath
In your father's generation,
Did you ever ate soup of boiled Eggplant ?
Now I could mentally tune in to the local context,

AHE CHAKA AKHIA
TAMA BOPA KALE KHAITHILA KI
CHICAGO PIZZA

O Lord Jagannath.
In your father's generation
Did you ever had Chicago Pizza sessions.

Now back to the temple an interesting episode awaited us. It depicted how we humans are basically elements of contradiction. It would be hypocrite not to admit that we all have some semblance of hypocrisy embedded within us.

On that particular day in November, it felt very cold inside the temple as the heating system was not working. The Head Priest was already aware of this, but did not inform the Utility guys. The reason being quite silly but not unusual with us Indians, the ego of not properly approached by the members of the temple committee. The man, a 4 feet personna loaded with 4 tons of inflated ego, felt it was punctured as the tyres of a bicycle on a rocky road.

I was patiently listening to the conversation between the priest and other members of the core temple management committee. Finally I concluded that it was nothing but priest's BIG ego which put a spanner in the wheels. In the meantime I noticed a few lines in Sanskrit scribbled on the temple wall AHAM BHAV ATMA KE LIYE KHARAB HAI.. meaning "Ego is bad for the soul". Earlier the same evening the Priest also mentioned the same during his 30 minutes long PRAVACHAN (sermon).

When it was time to leave, I asked the priest "PANDITJEE (Respected priest), can you please explain those lines written in Sanskrit on the wall to me ?" He duly obliged. I thanked him, did my NAMASTE (Indian tradition of greet and good bye).
As I started walking towards the exit door, I heard the Priest's voice from behind - "Dash Jee, I have a feeling you knew the meaning of those lines but still asked me". He shied and continued "I agree, we don't always practise what we preach. That's why we are mere humans needing guidance from God".

I chuckled back when a burst of howling chilly Chicago wind at my face gusting through the semi-open door reminded me to run towards the warm comforts of my car. Late that night I heard that to every one's delight the priest did a volte-face and agreed to call the maintenance folks to fix the heating, the first thing next morning. Not sure yet if my tete-a-tete with the priest made any difference !!!

Trip to Chicago 2026 - I

After days of drab weather, it was nice to see Sun come out of fleece clouds on a cool, crispy early Fall Chicago morning like a "Nayee Naveli Dulhan" (newly married coy bride) peeping through her "Ghunghat" (veil). There was a feeling of coolness in the air compared to the warm tinge for someone visiting from Georgia is used to. The upper Midwest Prairie flora is so different from that of Georgia. The vegetation is a mix of sparsely populated deciduous and coniferous trees over sprawling grasslands, with some trees turning slightly yellowish or brown in preparation for turning reddish before shedding themselves during late Fall.

I visit Chicago once every few years. The city hasn't changed much, but the milieu has. The Aurora - Naperville area I am staying now has become more crowded with more Desis around compared to before. More Indian grocery shops and restaurants have come up. When you stop by a red traffic light here you see a Desi on left, a Desi on right. (DESI is a term attributed to the NRI or Indian origin community here in America mostly amongst themselves often in a deregatory way. Mainstream Americans are mostly unaware of the term. Though I have this uncanny ability to laugh at myself, during my inititial days I was uncomfortable being called a Desi, a term generally used to denote a pariah dog back home in Odisha).

Most Odias in Chicagoland area live in this twin township of Aurora-Naperville, including my friends and relatives. If you throw a stone blindly into a crowd you may hear a response "KIERE SALA" (Who is this wife's brother. Sala's is literal meaning is wife's brother but in Indian lingo it's not very complimentary as it denotes sister's seducer). I walked into "Mall of India", an Indian Walmart of sort, where you can get all kinds Indian food, vegetables, fishes, goat meat. A conglomerate of Indian eateries where you can snack on Somosas and Pakodas washed down with Mango Lassi or Thumbs Up.

Typical of many Indian stores, they don't accept credit card as mode of payment if you aren't buying anything worth more than $10. Some offer 5% discount if you pay cash. I saw that in Mall of India stores and found it bit odd. What I didn't find odd was a man I saw surreptitiously scratching his private part in public at a corner of the Mall grimacing with orgasmic pleasure moans of big sighs "Aah, Ooh" laced relief from the itch down there. When our eyes met he pretended to adjust his belts with a "Not I" look on his face. We Desis leave our mark in civic sense everywhere we go. Not sure why we love to strew toilet papers on floors of public toilets of Desi owned stores, restaurants and malls.

Went to savor some South Indian food at "A2B Indian Veg Restaurant" in Warrenville, IL. On a Saturday evening it was very jam packed. The cacophonic inside filled with bombardment of mostly south Indian lingo reminded me of the Ravi Talkies fish market near our house back in Bhubaneswar. The food was good, but outside felt much better under a full moonlit night sky spraying sprinkling golden rays, accompanied by a soothing breeze from Lake Michigan providing a much needed tranquility from inside. More later...

Suicide in IIT Mumbai

 IITs, the premier Technical Institutions are back in news again, this time due to yet another suicide by a student in IIT, Mumbai. 173 IIT students died by suicide in 20 years, 70% in last 10 years. And this disease isn't limited to the IITs alone. 

NITs, the second most premier Technical Institute in India (I am a proud alumni of NIT, Rourkela) isn't immune to this epidemic. The cream of the cream of our time used to clear a fair and highly competitive exam to earn a seat in these coveted  Technical institutes. Today also I believe it's still the same. Few months ago, a 19-year-old B.Tech student, Diksha Dubey, who hailed from Bihar, allegedly died by suicide on Thursday in the National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra in the state of Haryana. Such incidents are happening too often for comfort and raising concerns about student mental health.

Regardless of being from a premier institute or not, it is so sad to see men and women at such young age ending their lives. It needs to be noted that suicides have grown up exponentially in educational institutes these days. Part of is this reason sited by professors from IIT Madras to a friend of mine who lives in the United States and regularly visits his Alma mater whenever he makes a trip to India (America is filled with folks from IITs and NITs. It is said if you blindly throw a stone chances are it will hit someone passed from IIT or NIT). As confided by his professors to him, these days many mediocre students are churned out of innumerable coaching institutes manage to clear the entrance test. Once in, when left on their own they can't cope up with the aggressive curriculum and choose to end their lives unable to face the failure and an over expectant milieu, including their parents.

Every person has right to live. It hurts utmost when someone commits suicide. And it hurts more, if that person happens to be young. Like every man and woman of their age, they too have a dream, but unwisely decide to procrastinate their unfulfilled dream by killing themselves. 

When a person decides to end his or her life ? It's not just because of the frustration with life, it's more due to their lack of care or concern for rest of the world, which includes their near and dear ones. If I ever feel suicidal for some reason, I may resist that thought for a moment, if I think of my family, if not me. Apparently they don't care about their loved ones and decide to end their life at the spurt of the moment, never ever getting any second chance to regret over it.

Suicides in college campuses aren't so uncommon. Surging teenage hormone gone wild can create havoc in heart and mind, which can be due to failure in academics, romance or bullying by others. It reminds me of the iconic movie 3 IDIOTS where a student kills himself due to his frustration at his project being pooh poohed by the Principal of the College. The student Rancho played by the actor Aamir Khan complains about the mental stress the students undergo, leading to such avoidable tragedies. As the Principal gets defensive and refuses to take the blame, Aamir Khan replies - "I am rather blaming the entire system, not you Sir".

Aamir Khan speaks some hard truth in that movie. Students carry a lot of burden and expectations from their demanding parents and a cut throat competitive society. The simple equation Ambition - Achievement = Frustration holds good. Often they snap, as the lid of the pressure cooker comes off burning the face.

The greatest tragedy is silence of the silent majority, which is conspicuously deafening who mostly turn a blind eye to competition and peer pressure which are to be blamed. Can't resist repeating my often mentioned joke. A person once went to an astrologer, who after seeing his chart said " You will go bankrupt after two years". "What will happen after that ?" asked the person who was now somewhat concerned. The astrologer responded "You will get used to it". So the silent majority has got used to the chaotic system with a CHALTA HAI (let the status quo prevail) attitude. Don't be surprised if you hear news of more such suicides more frequently. The focus has unfortunately shifted to casteism instead of addressing the root cause, until the next suicide happens, not a matter of if but when.

Xi Boycotting BRIC dinner

So much brouhaha was being made about the Chinese President leaving early the BRIC summit held in New Delhi by skipping the dinner. Many say it is a snob to the host India. Some say Xi skipped the meeting as it was a all vegetarian platter (I find this silly, as if he wanted Xi could have stayed back as a diplomatic gesture and consuming a glass of soda or water).

But does it matter as far as the bigger picture goes ? Chinese follow a very calculated, pragmatic foreign policy, laser focused on their long term goals. It seems once the main diplomatic meetings were done, deals were made and photos taken, from China's point of view there was no point in wasting time any further by staying back for a meal of "Dhokla and Fafda". Also it could be sending a subtle message to the host that we aren't equals and our priorities are different. Once we are done with exactly what we need, there is no point in sticking around. In the war torn world with global economy shaking and teetering with uncertainty, Xi Xinping probably had more pressing engagements like his grooming himself for his more important trip to the United States.

Since India's independence in 1947, China never saw India as its equal. The Chinese Premier Zhou En Lai once asked Nehru how comes a few thousand Englishmen could hold on to a nation of 400 million people so long ! It was an innuendo laced in snide towards India. Still India's first Prime Minister Nehru went overboard with his Hindi-Chini Bhai Bhai (India and China are brothers) with his "Panchsheel Neeti" five points principle of peaceful co-existance. China reciprocated by showing its true color, launching a surprise attack on an unprepared India in October, 1962 handing us an embarrassing loss.

The writer Khushwant Singh was once visiting Hong Kong, close to the heels of the humiliating defeat suffered by India at the hands of the Chinese on the aftermath of their surprise attack on our Eastern front. As the ebulient Sardar on a journalism mission was walking down the street, a fellow Sikh greeted him - "SARDARJEE. DESH SE AYE HO (you have come from our country) ? TUMNE TO NAAK BHADDA DITTA (you cut our nose - shaming us)". "CHINIYAAN NE TO TUMHARI BH**ND MAARLI (the Chinese have screwed your bottom). KUKKAD KHAANDE JOGE HO (You are only good at eating chicken - poking fun at the Punjabis penchant for eating chicken. The pun was, you are good for nothing, chicken eating guys who have forgotten fighting).

The Sardar of Hong Kong went on further - "I used to boast before my Chinese wife about the great martial tradition of Sikhs. Now she is poking fun at me". Point taken, the Chinese beat us left and right in that war, catching us unware, following the age old military adage, "surprise is the main element of war".

History repeats itself. Fast forward to the year 2020 as they have managed to capture 60 square kilometers as reported on the media. No surprise here. The inscrutable Chinese known strategize well in advance caught us off guard again. We have been caught off guard by the Pakistanis in 1999 too, but unlike the Pakistanis,  the Chinese are too tough a customer to deal with. The bottom line - the Chinese screwed our bottom once again.

Ronald Reagan famously said - "Trust, but verify". In case of the inscrutable Chinese we should go an extra yard - "Don't trust and verify 100 times before you do". The Chinese are very shrewd and plan long term. We must forever be on guard, as we don't know what card they are playing next. Dragon may not breathe for now, but hold your breath until after BRICS meet is over when the Dragon will bully again.

China, which is internally insecure is still wary and jealous of Japan and South Korea's economic success in its neighborhood. Though India is its only nuclear rival in its neighborhood it not so much bothered about it.  China knows well that nuclear weapons are used as deterrent. Otherwise America would have won Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq and Iran wars hands down.

A Chinese spokesman said recently went on media proudly proclaiming - "China will never attack the first time, but will never allow to be attacked the second time. His statement needs to be taken seriously as the inscrutable, no nonsense Chinese are known to talk less and if at all they talk they express in a few, measured sentences. Vajpayee famously said that you can choose your friends, you can't chose your neighbors. He was so right...

Jesse Owens - An American icon

 Today is the birthday of Jesse Owens, the American sports legend who carved his niche in history by being the first man to win 4 Gold Medals in an Athletics event in the Olympics Games - a record which stayed unbroken for a long time to come until another American Carl Lewis broke it in 1984. He is also remembered for another reason, for driving a nail on German German Fuehrer Adolf Hitler's coffin of a misplaced belief of Aryan supremacy theory at the height of Nazi propaganda.

Ninty summers ago the 1936 Olympics, world's greatest sporting event was eventful for few reasons. First, it was held in Berlin under Hitler's Germany, being overshadowed by the blatant use of the Sporting events for Nazi party's theory of German supremacy. Second, it was also the first Olympics to be televised. Third, it also showcased the talent of Jesse Owens, the famous black athlete from the United States who seized the limelight, overcoming myriads of obstacles in insecurity and a pressure cooker atmosphere to win 4 golds.

Jesse Owens was an American icon, a symbol of its athletes power in the Sporting arena. Growing up in an era of racism in America, he battled poverty with a wonderful rags to riches successful life story. Hailing from a poor family in the post recession America, no one ever imagined him winning accolades in the land of "Hail Hitler", bringing a dent in the dictator's theory of Aryan supremacy.

Jesse's talent was spotted during his tenure in the Ohio State University, where he created record in the 100 meter sprint event. Soon he was a shoo in for the American Olympics team, selected for the mega event across the Atlantic.
The preparation for Berlin Olympics started on a controversial note, with America almost boycotting the event due to the host's overtly anti-Semitic biased policies. Germany was desperate to see American athletes at home, for without the USA participatation the Olympics would be akin to a German Bratwurst sausage without salt and Sauerkraut without sugar. After a lot of lobbying by Hitler's Man Friday Goebbels the US Olympics Committee narrowly voted to send their team to Germany.

On arrival at the Olympic village in that eventful summer of 1936, Jesse Owens was appalled at the disgusting sight of anti Semitic graffitis all over the Olympic village proclaiming - "Dogs and Jews are not allowed". The fitting finale came in the form of 100 meters event, still a prized event in the Olympics which every one looks forward to. Jesse Owens was pitted against the local favorite Lutz Lung of Germany - the symbol of Hitler's Aryan racial supremacy.

Jesse not only won that race, he went on to win 200 meters, led 4x100 meter relay to add another American gold, followed by one more the long jump event, yet again defeating Lutz Lung in the later event. (Jesse and Lutz became friends and continued communicating with letters in an age sans email and Whatsapp, until Lung died fighting for Germany in North Africa during World War II).

Hitler was in the stadium, watching Jesse sprint his way to a stupendous win. Here is where historians differ in their accounts about what followed. The Fuehrer supposedly left the stadium in disgust as his myth of Aryan supremacy was shattered. But per Jesse Owens knowldege, Hitler acknowledged his victory by waving at him from the visible podium of the stadium.

On the other hand after coming back to America during a felicitation dinner for the US Olympics team in New York, Jesse Owens along with other black athletes had to use the service elevator, whereas their white counterparts took the normal elevator. The humiliation didn't end there. It was customary for the Olympics medal winners to be invited to the White House. But the 4 Gold medal winner Jesse Owens's name was conspicuously missing from the names of the invitees. Roosevelt didn't want to be in news hosting, baking bread with Jesse in White House, his picture of shaking hands with a black man getting published on the front page of the newspapers in an election year.

What happened to Jesse Owens after that ? He continued earning money as appearance fee, running against race horses for the pleasure of spectators, until he became too old to do so. Yet his record of 4 fabulous Olympics Golds was a record which stood for almost half a century, never broken during his lifetime, only to be emulated by his compatriot Carl Lewis in Los Angeles Olympics of 1984, four years after Jesse's death in 1980. Happy Birthday Jesse Owens. You will remain a Sporting legend and will forever be remembered.

Anniversary of 9/11

Today is the 25th Anniversary of 9/11, when a prominent chapter was added to the American and World history on this day on September 11, 2001. How time flies ! A child born on that day is no more a teenager and is already eligible to legally drink alcohol.

Feels just like yesterday when on a cool, crispy early Fall morning commute to my work at Toyota Motors Manufacturering in Kentucky where I was working as an IT Consultant, the news of terrorist attack on the World Trade center came as a bolt from the blue. That very day is forever etched in my memory. Most at my workplace were stunned, but stayed calm and composed. Many were frantically trying to locate Afghanistan on the world map and I remember helping a few in finding the beleaguered nation which made the cardinal mistake of harboring Osama-Bin-Laden, the man behind the terror attack.

There was no hysteria or public display of outcry, but it was not business as usual and anxiety on the faces of my coworkers was quite palpable. I had the habit of filling gas in my car at a local Shell gas station which used to give 5% discount on Tuesdays and unfortunately that September 11 fell on a Tuesday. On my way back home I encountered a long line at the gas station. There was hardly any car on the road. People were mostly indoor, glued to the Television.

The aim of terrorists is to create terror and they really succeeded that day in scaring the hell out of Americans who were attacked on their Mainland for the first time in history (technically the first major attack on US soil took place after the strike on Pearl Harbor by Japan on 7th of December 1941. It was in Hawaii, America' 50th State thousands miles away from mainland).

Contrast that to the indomitable spirit amongst Indians. Mumbai and many other cities in India have gone through several terror attacks. But within hours the life comes to normal. It's not about the number of people being killed, those many are killed in road accidents every day. The main goal of the terrorists is to create terror in the hearts and minds of the people. In that aspect they fail miserably in India, though it has more to do with the need for ROZI ROTI (daily bread) than any great gallantry against odds or fighting spirit. Yet they still deserve the credit of defying the odds and getting back to normal life quicker than anywhere in the world.

A quarter of a century down the road, hardly anything has changed. Though, touch wood, America has been able to prevent any major terror attack on its soil, war and terrorism across the globe still thrive. No nation on earth is fully immune to the disease which is spreading its tentacles far and wide like cancer, nor they're entirely blame free for letting this menace prevail due to their short sighted political goals.

Some one is a good terrorist as long as he is an useful idiot to serve one's own business, but becomes a bad terrorist if it hurts the state which sponsors them for creating terror in another country. Someone's terrorist is another one's Freedom Fighter. If not curbed, on long term terrorism is going to do irreparable damage to the mankind unless everyone gets together to root out this evil. Remember, if you keep snakes in your backyard thinking that it will only bite only your neighbors then you are living in fool's paradise. One day that snake is going to bite you. The lessons learned from 9/11 should never be forgotten.

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 of Bengal, he was only 5 year old when his father died, followed by his mother at 9. He was brought up by his elder sister. Since teenage days 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 and teeth 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 near 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 the rich Zamindars (feudal lords) of the time, most of whom sided with British. After looting, Bagha Jatin's 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. 

Unfortunately they couldn't keep their promise. During the First World War, Bagha and his associates established contact with Germany who was seen as enemy's enemy being 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, Odisha. Though thorougly outnumbered, outgunned and outmaneuvered, Bagha and his associates fought bravely for few hours before being captured or gunned down one by one.

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 regained his sense he refused to be treated by an Englishman and threw away his bandages. He continued to bleed and battle for his life until he died from gunshot wounds on this day September 10, 1915, exactly 111 years ago. Long live martyr Bagha Jatin. My tribute to one our many unsung heroes.

Janmastami and Godmen

 We just passed JANMASTAMI, Birthday of Sri Krishna, an Avatar of Lord Vishnu. It reminded me of this Baba, a charlatan in the guise of a saint who once lived in Bhubaneswar. He proclaimed himself as an incarnation of Lord Vishnu, his 11th Avatar. On this auspicious day it was rumored that the Baba turned himself into BAL GOPAL (Baby Krishna). His women devotees cuddles him and took turns in feeding him milk. Preaching others about avoiding fatty food but himself not so averse towards it, the Baba was said to have a preferences for full fat milk over semi fat ones.

Well, he imbibed so much milk that he could not digest and so also the local populace couldn't digest his escapades. One fine morning his ASHRAM (abode) was stoned and Baba fled away. Don't know what happened to this self proclaimed 11th incarnation of Vishnu. He was rumored to have resurfaced elsewhere.

In Punjab the controversial Baba Ram Rahim Singh was in news not long ago. The Baba had been convicted of rape charges and his followers had taken to street, taking the tri-state of Punjab, Haryana and Delhi into hostage for a few days as violence reigned. He had patronage of all political parties including BJP. Now we have examples of fake Babas from East (Odisha) and North (Punjab), South (Tamil Nadu) in the form of Nityananda Swami and West (Gujarat) in Asharam Bapu complete the pan-India affliction of the Baba franchise.

I am not against Godmen. They and their followers have every right to their belief and peaceful assembly to preach and sooth the tired souls as long as they stay within the framework of law. But some are known to take law for granted and into their own hands. They also indulge in obnoxious activities, often involving women and children. The myths surrounding them eventually get shattered, replaced with controversies and free fall from grace.

What's the secret potion that enables these Babas to sustain, survive and elude the authorities of any misdeed ? Many of those nefarious Gurus have equally unscrupulous folks as disciples which includes but not limited to politician, bureaucrats and businessmen. The Baba often acts as a conduit, a wheeler and dealer for those in power, a backroom boy who knows their secrets and use them an insurance for future.

The vast majority of the disciples of these Babas aren't illiterate, poor folks as we would think, they are rather from the middle class and upper strata of our society. Many, especially women suffering from insecurities and bored with their bland daily drudgery of suburban, small city life become the SHISYAS (Female devotees) of these charlatans to get some kick and adventure as an scape ftom their mundane lives. But familiarity breeds contempt. The disillusionment kicks in for some at some point when they discover how uncouth and fake these Babas are. Their Guru's misdeeds events gets exposed with time as the ocean floor gets exposed after the fall of high tide.

But these folks are in minority, for come what may, still a vast number of brainwashed BHAKTs (disciples) chose to virulently defend their Babas. This doesn't come as a surprise to me. When I posted earlier about the milk loving Baba of Odisha, a friend of mine who incidentally had studied in IIT apparently got pisses off and started trolling me. If this was the reaction from a highly educated guy (studying in IITs, a premier Technical Institution is arguably considered the highest form of education in India).

Karma is a bitch ! Gladly, law and their own Karma eventually catches them. I hope they rot in jail, excelling in CHAKKI PEESING..PEESING.. PEESING (A Hindi allegory describing jail time).

Teacher's Day 2026

Today is TEACHER's Day, all other brands are prohibited (Teachers is a popular brand of Scotch). Joke apart, I salute to all my teachers who have made a huge difference in my life by shaping my knowledge and character. It is not just limited to my teachers in school and college. My parents were my first teachers. Then came friends, relatives, acquaintances as my teachers in various forms at different stages in my life. There is always something to learn from every human being, a prince or a pauper, a beggar or a sorcerer, an animal or an inanimate object. Life is the biggest teacher. 

A good movie can be a good teacher too. In the iconic movie 3 IDIOTs, on the Teacher's Day of September 5, the character Chatur Ramalingam goes on stage to recite a Sanskrit Sloka (hymn) eulogizing the teachers of his college. He rotes the Sloka by memory, without understanding a single word, nor caring about its content, without realizing that the original speech was altered by a playful and witty Rancho (played by Aamir Khan). 

As Chatur on the stage was about to vomit the Sloka he rote from what Rancho wrote, the later told his friends to get ready to hear a sermon about the former's farting prowess. Chatur recites:

UTTAMAM GAD GADATA PADAM,

MADHYAM PADAM TUCHAK TUCHAK;

THUR THURIYA KANISTAM PADAM,

SUR SURIYA PRANA GHATAKAM.

Roughly transliterated...

"Loud farts are majestically thundering;

Medium farts come along stuttering,

Small Farts arrive whisteling & sirening;

The silent ones can be life threatening."

As the crowd goes berserk rupturing with laughter and poor Chatur gets kicked out of the stage. Racho's dark humor taught us another lesson in academics - Knowledge acquired through roting sans understanding may earn you a degree, but will get you nowhere. My father always emphasized on learning through understanding rather than roting.

Decades ago there was this incident, when a sub-collector in Sonepur district of Odisha did this shameful, cowardly act of kicking a hapless school teacher, abusing him as a poor MASTRA (the way the word master is often pronounced in Odia, a term mostly used in derogatory sense for teachers back home). 

I remember a cartoon related to this incident which came out on the local vernacular Newspaper "The Sambada" with the following caption, (rhyming with our famous Sloka "GURU BRAHMA GURU BISHNU... "

GURU DEENA GURU HEENA

GURU SAMANYA MASTARA;

KANDOOKA SAMAN GURU

TASME SRHEE GOITHA MARA

ITI UPA- COLLECTOR

JILLA NAMA SONAPUR.

Transliterating in the same rhyme form to keep the theme intact,

"Teacher is poor, Teacher is mere;

Teacher is just an ordinary Master.

Teacher is akin to a football;

To be kicked for sure.

Courtesy Sub-Collector,

From the district of Sonepur."

I have heard parents asking their children in Odia "KIRE MASTRA AJI KANA PADHEILA" meaning "Hey, what did the master teach you today". The English transliteration may not sound so bad but the way it is delivered in the native language is not a sign of great adulation. It shows the respect they the guardians give to their teachers.

My simple take - A society which does not respect its teachers, can never prosper. Period. Great nations are made by great men. Great men (and women) are shaped by their teachers. HAPPY TEACHER'S DAY to all.

The legend of Sher Shah Suri

 Babur, the founder of Mughal empire convened a meeting of officials of his Kingdom to celebrate a hard fought victory in the battle against the Rajput confederation led by Rana Sanga, which followed his easy victory over Ibrahim Lodhi in the historic first Battle of Panipat. A massive feast was served to the emperor and delegates from various provinces of his Kingdom.

Sitting on top of the elevated throne something caught Babur's eyes. From the high pedestal he could see a young man struggling to eat a big chunk of meat placed in front of him. The man took out his knife, cut the meat into smaller chunks and started eating those pieces using his knife. In those days it was something unusual, considered a daring act in front of the Mughal Emperor, where a certain court etiquette needed to be followed in front of royalty. Babur noticed it and told his close courtiers - "Keep an eye on this man. I have a feeling he will go very far in life".

The Mughal Badshah who didn't live very long after this incident was quite prophetic. Couple of decades later this young man Sher Shah Suri would defeat Babur's son Humayun in two successive battles - Battle of Chausa in 1939 and Battle of Kanauj in 1940. He chased and drove away Humayun who took refuse in Persia. Sher Shah now become the undisputed Emperor of India. He ruled for 5 years from 1940-45 as a successful ruler,  military campaigner and an able administrator.

Sher Shah Suri was not born into royalty. He was the son of a minor Afghan Jagirdar in modern day Bihar. It is said that when Sher Shah's mother was pregnant with him, she had an unusual dream of a crescent 🌙 moon entering her swollen belly which is considered lucky in the Islamic world. She woke up in a state of bliss, recounting this dream to her husband who kept her awake rest of the night, not to let this auspicious dream pass by, overriden by another one.

Born Farid Khan, he become Sher Shah Suri in his youth when he single handedly killed a tiger. Following his father's footstep, Sher Shah spent his early career managing estates for others inside the very Mughal court he would one day erase. The emperor he defeated, Humayun, was the son of Babur, the founder of one of the most formidable dynasties in South Asian history. None of that protected him against the swift tactics of Suri.

Sher Shah rose through the Lodi and then Sur tribal networks in the Bihar region of northern Hindustan during the 1520s and 1530s. By 1538 he had already seized Bengal and was openly challenging Humayun's authority. Humayun marched south to crush him. The two forces met first at Chausa in 1539 CE, where Sher Shah routed the Mughal army and declared himself Sultan of Hindustan on the battlefield.

Humayun regrouped and returned with a larger force. But Sher Shah who was said to possess the ferocity of a tiger and shrewdness of a jackel was waiting for him. A master strategist, at the Battle of Kanauj on May 17, 1540 CE, Sher Shah attacked before the Mughals could organize their crossing of the river Ganga. Humayun's army collapsed. The Scion of Mughal himself barely escaped, reportedly crossing the river on an inflated animal skin by a local boatman. He fled westward into Sindh, then Persia, living as a fugitive while Sher Shah governed in Delhi. Later after Sher Shah's death when Humayun regained Delhi throne he allowed the boatman to sit on his throne for one day as a matter of gratitude.

Another instance of his strategic shrewdness  is documented when Sher Shah was facing a formidable Rajput rival. He figured out that his opponent was better positioned with a larger army, so he immediately made a requisition for reinforcement. In the meantime fearing an attack from the Rajputs not to be outnumbered by them, Sher Shah spread leaflets outside the opponent's camps spreading a fake message that some Rajput Chieftains had switched sides to Suri's camp. It created confusion in the enemy ranks, buying enough time for Sher Shah get his replenishment to defeat the Rajput King.

Within five years of taking power, Sher Shah Suri had completed a road system known as Grand Trunk Road stretching approximately 2500 kilometers from Chittagong in the east to Kabul in the northwest, lined with rest houses, wells, and shade trees every two kilometers. He also minted coins and created a fair taxation and revenue system later cloned by the Mughals. In the year 1545 an accidental gunpowder explosion during the siege of Kalinjar fort killed him. His descendants were incompetent and couldn't sustain his legacy. Had he not died in that freak accident, India might have have seen a different history. But no man ever in India had ever rose so fast from the scratch to became the Emperor and ruled for so little time of 5 years to carve his niche, leaving an indelible mark inked into its history.

Stockholm syndrome

 Exactly 53 years ago, on August 23, 1973 a group of gunmen and women led by Jan Erik Olsson - high on drugs and holding a gun took hostages in a bank in Stockholm, Sweden. The world has seen several hostage dramas before and after this event. But what makes this one uniquely different is the hostages developing an emotional bond with their captors giving birth to a new phrase called  "Stockholm Syndrome".

The whole hostage drama got wide television coverage. The world was glued to 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 culprits to surrender, freeing the hostages and ending the crisis. But the "Stockholm syndrome" never ended and stuck around like a chewing gum stuck to your pants, refusing to go. It continues unabated in many places, in various forms where the victims love the perpetrators.

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 an extra yard out of 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 death". He never spared anyone in his eulogy, he didn’t even spare himself when he wrote an self eulogy years before he died.

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 in Odisha 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 like glue to their marriages with "Stockholm Syndrome" in spite of being in an abusive relationship. Once a girl confided to me about her abusive relationship from a perennially cheating husband. When I questioned her compulsion of clinging to marriage 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 appreciate the stronger person bullying us 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". More than 50 years since we are stuck with the "Stockholm syndrome" forever.

RIP Pranab Patnaik

When Kishore Kumar died the month of October, 1987 an article printed in the popular English newspaper of the day "The Times of India" as a tribute to the eccentric genuius of Bollywood (literally printed on paper as internet or the ubiquitous world wide web was strictly a fantasy then). It ran with the title - "The last of the originals", indicating that after Mukesh who died in 1976 and Mohammed Rafi in 1980, Kishore Kumar was arguably the last of the original male playback singer in Hindi film industry.

Same can be ascribed and attributed to Mr. Pranab Patnaik, the well known Odia singer from our generation who passed away today taking the youthful memories of one generation with him. He was the last of the originals of the Odia music after the greats Akshay Mohanty, Sikandar Alam and Chitta Jena who have passed awsy. A la Kishore Kumar, Akshay Mohanty was a virtuoso, a multifaceted artist, a versatile singer and lyricist who has penned many of his own songs. Sikandar Alam and Chitta Jena were akin to Mohd Rafi, their voices were sweeter than the legendary Pahala Rasagolla, a famous local sweet. In my view Sri Pranab Patnaik was the Mukesh of Odisha. Similar to the legend who was know for his DARD BHARE GAANE (heart touching melancholy songs), you can feel the same from his Odia counterpart's melodious voice straight out of the inner most core of his heart.

Pranab Patnaik sang tons of popular Odia songs, mentioning all is beyond the scope of this blog. For me couple of them stood out - "Seemahina Dariya" from the movie Batighara and "Majhire" from Sesha Shrabana. Both songs were from the 1970s. The 80s saw the decrease in the number of songs from the famous troika of Akshay Mohanty, Chitta Jena and Pranab Patnaik as the listener's choice shifted to cacophonic voices and double meaning bawdy songs with bad lyrics barring few exceptions.

We had a family connection to Pranab Patnaik. He was my father's friend, though a few years older to him. Mr. Patnaik's wife was my father's classmate in Ravensaw College who used to complement my father saying that I can't stop laughing at Purna's jokes. They lived close to Ravi talkies, a stone's throw from BJB Flats where I spent my childhood and early part of my youth. His son Satyakam Patnaik was a year senior to me in school. We used to take the same bus to D.M. School and play badminton together during our childhood day. It was a small world in Bhubaneswar those days when every one knew everybody and can instantly recognize a person from the color and number of the vehicle. Those were the days !

Mr. Pranab Patnaik left for heavenly aboard at the age of 88 with his indelible mark in Odia music. He took the tearful farewell of a generation of music lovers to the afterlife. Mortal man, immortal melodies. May he RIP. Om 🕉 Shanti.

Happy Independence day to India

A history of thousands 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 all over the world. A land of sages and ages of culture and traditions, opulence in art, literature and classical languages and music.

Hinduism, also called Sanatana Dharma, the oldest religion in universe, is the foremost among them. Buddhism was another religion which originated from this country several hundreds of years before Christ or Prophet Mohammed were born, subsequently spreaded south and far east, as far as China and Japan. So also Jainism, a religion which surfaced before the time of Gautam Buddha from the same exotic land and still in practice. That's India, the land of my birth.

For centuries India was the El Dorado, rich and considered the land of opportunity during the medieval period. 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. He died a forlorn man, forced to stay  content at discovering a chain of Islands called "West Indies", his consolation prize for failing to discover India.

Eventually and unfortunately, India lost its freedom and wealth to myriads of invaders - from Alexander to Afghans, from Turks to Persians, from Mughals to the 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 miasma of poverty and malnutrition with 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 79th BIRTHDAY to Motherland INDIA.

Bus and the handkerchief

Back in the early 1990s, I was travelling by bus in Odisha, wanting to board one at Barhampur bus stand. No sooner it arrived at the stop and slowed down than some passengers jumped like monkeys while running adjacent to it and started throwing their handkerchief on the seats through the open windows.

Those who have traveled by bus in Odisha know this a classic way of reserving their seats before boarding, making a line before embarking the vehicle be damned. I waited for my turn and took my time to board. Once inside I saw some empty seats though many were still standing, reluctant to occupy those seats by the windows to of which strewn with handkerchiefs.

I nonchalantly swished away one of those "Rumals" (handkerchief) from a cherished window seat and occupied it. After a few minutes here comes this guy leisurely strolling towards me munching a packet of peanuts (groundnuts), spilling the shells on the bus floor. He wasn't too pleased to see me occupying his much cherished side seat.

While he bent down to pick up his Rumal he started accusing me of stealing his seat which he painstakingly reserved for himself by throwing that piece of cloth. I told him pointing to a Scooter parked outside "So you think by throwing my handkerchief on this vehicle I can claim it as my own" - trying to drive my point. I could hear muffled laughter from surrounding passengers.

But the punchline was yet to come. Another guy sitting behind followed me in his typically Berhampuri southen Odia accent said - "HA RE PUA, MO MAAIKINA MUNDARE RUMALU TA THOI KAHIBU TO MAIKINA TA MORA EKKA" - transliterated "Oh my son, you can put the handkerchief on my wife's head and claim my wife as your's only." Now the entire bus burst into laughter.

Few years ago Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos fulfilled his dream of travelling to space by taking his spaceflight on "New Shepherd" - the rocket ship made by his space company "Blue Origin". The flight was for 10 minutes which propelled him 60 miles above the earth into the space. This baby step taken is certainly going to be the harbinger of many more such trips to space, making it more affordable to fly into the space as time flies.

A la Dr. Martin Luther King Jr who had a dream about Georgia, today I have this midsummer daydream. One day during my lifetime when the space bus would be parked I would be able to reserve a window seat by throwing handkerchief. If the space bus is overloaded I won't mind standing inside it, paying half the price of ticket. From space I will expose the phalanx of my 32 teeth and do "HeeeHeeeHeee" and wave my hand to the mere mortals on earth down below.

My tryst with India's IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw

India's IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw recently said - "India stands nearly at par with the US and China in the global AI race". He said this on a serious note. I sincerely hope he wasn't joking or smoking something.

It reminded me of my brief encounter with Mr. Vaishnaw which goes back to the year 1994. I was working as the District Informatics Officer (DIO) of National Informatics Center (NIC), an organization affiliated to the Government of India. Apart from the Collector and SP of the district, I was the only one who had an Air Conditioning in my office. (Not that I was some biggie, rather Computers needed AC and as the man in charge of the computer I was entitled to that luxury. It's another matter due to frequent power cuts and malfunction of the AC it required to call AC maintenance folks from Rourkela on regular basis).

At the same time our present IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw was posted as an IAS trainee in the district of Sundargarh. Apparently with a lot of free time to spare, he used to come to our office and play Solitaire, a classic popular cards game played on computer and to communicate with his friends using NICNET, a precursor to email in the days the internet was still strictly fantasy. We two used to do a lot of chit chatting and I sensed he was kind of friendly towards me. He got even friendlier when he found out that I had a job offer from the Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) and was on the verge of quitting my government job. He told me - "You are an Engineer. For an Engineer if you want to live in india better be an IAS Officer. Otherwise settle in the United States of America". I asked him - "Would you have gone to America if you didn't get selected for IAS". His reply was - "I aimed for IAS and IAS only. Any other Civil Services job would have made me go out, particularly US to pursue higher studies". On another occasion he stepped away from his Solitaire session for a moment, exposing his notebook whose pages started to flip on their own propelled by air from the ceiling fan in full swing. One of the few lines he scribbled on the notebook caught my attention - "Don't get too close to the locals. Always maintain a healthy distance from them". Point well taken.

Time rolled by. I developed wings and flew away to America. That was exactly 30 years ago. Early in the Y2K I was visiting India. One fine morning while sipping my cuppa tea I saw Mr. Vaishnaw's photograph while glancing at the vernacular newspaper "Sambad". He was posted as the Collector of Cuttack, a politically sensitive district. He was in news for getting into a fight with local lawyers who acted as goons and ransacked his office. Aswini narrowly escaped from being manhandled. Soon after this incident he got his transfer to center. (The lawyers of Odisha are champion law breakers. The lawyers practicing at the Bhubaneswar sessions court on Lewis Road always make sure to park their vehicles on the roadside in a haphazard manner blocking the traffic with police looking the other way. I once asked a lanky, pot bellied policeman why doesn't he take action against these  recalcitrant brats. His reply was "ARRE BABA, OKILA KA SANGARE KIYE LAGIBA" (Oh my ! It's ain't risk taking action against the lawyers) !

Years after this incidence I saw his picture again in the front of newspaper. This time he was elected as a Rajya Sabha MP from Odisha. Though aged a bit, accumulating more gray hair and chubbier face, he hadn't changed much. Reading his profile out of curiosity, I tried to catch up his whereabouts during this missing time frame of more than a decade and half. After moving on to the center he eventually quit the Civil Services, came to USA for higher studies, joined the American multinational GE (General Electric), left his job again to plunge into politics and become a minister in Modi's Cabinet.

The man had already traveled a long road. It's good to be an optimist, but probably his long, tiring journey has fogged his mind to see India closing gap on USA and China on the race for AI. It's said that a man is known by the books he reads and company he keeps. Not sure about what books he reads, but certainly doesn't keep good company these days. 

Turbulence in Airplane

 An Air India flight from Phuket, Thailand to New Delhi, India gave passengers a frightening few minutes on Tuesday after the aircraft hit sudden mid-air turbulence, injuring several people on board as it plummeted 300 feet midair. One passenger's head made a dent in the ceiling and few were admitted to hospital. 

This is the time for summer holidays and many will be travelling far and wide. Unfortunately it is also the peak time for turbulence due to unstable tropic air clashing with jet stream on multiple fronts. I love winter travels, when the weather is salubrious, the air is still and crispy and unlike summer season, the flights are less prone to turbulences - at least in Northern hemisphere.

Turbulence in airplane scares the hell out of me. I have acropolis, the fear of heights. Once on top of the Sears Tower Chicago when my son jumped on thick glass enjoying the sight of cars plying underneath him looking like matchboxes in motion, I felt dizzy enough to step few feet back to my comfort zone. Now flying for 30 plus years it hasn't gone unnoticed to me that the occurrences of turbulences in air have gone up in recent times. To vindicate my observation, as per a report published in National Geographic magazine, because of climate change due to global warming the extreme weather events that breed turbulence are likely to become more frequent and intense. That means air travel which is already getting costlier and less customer friendly, is going to have the additional baggage of more bumpy rides. This is less pleasing and more scary scenario for all of us.

Nineteen years ago in July, 2007 at peak of the monsoon season in India moments before my flight landed at Bhubaneswar Airport, dark clouds started engulfing the plane. The Alliance Aircraft (ironically related to Air India as its subsidiary) encountered severe turbulence as it was pelted with powerfully packed tropical air currents. Unlike the violent winds outside, inside wafted a calm and composed female voice - "MAUSAM KHARAB HONE KE KARAN AAP APNI KURSI KI PETI BANDH RAKHIYE (Due to bad weather please keep fasten your seat belt). I promptly followed her order.

The plane shook vigorously, shaking my confidence to the hilt. Some slid down their window to take a peek outside, not knowing that turbulence can only be felt, can't be seen, for High School Science says Air is a mixure of invisible gases. There is no debris or dust flying at 35,000 feet to make the air visible. I am sure they must have been disappointed.
As the Aircraft shook violently, for a moment I thought the overhead baggage compartment will break open, spilling the bags on hapless passengers. The shaky roller coaster ride which lasted a few minutes seemed like eternity. It was enough for the agnostic in me to suddenly turn into a believer in God. My agnosticism vanished into thin air as I closed my eyes and started remembering all our 33 crore (330 million) Gods and Goddesses mentioned in Hinduism, including the little Goddess under the Banyan tree near my home whom I conveniently forgot for so long.

Finally the ordeal was over. The flight touched the ground amidst pouring, torrential rain. The passengers rejoiced by clapping and whistling. Soon I could hear murmurs of HEY PRABHU (O Lord) and JAI (Hail) JAGANNATH from the passengers repeatedly touching their foreheads with folded hands, offering their thanks to God Almighty for saving their lives and letting them live another day. As the flight came to complete halt, I was back to my normal self and my belief in agnosticism. The selfish me forgot once again the plethora of Gods and Goddesses I remembered only moments ago.

Flight plans avoid regions in atmosphere known to be prone to severe turbulence, but these regions constantly move. Hence it is difficult to predict exactly where the severe turbulence is going to be. Per Stanford University, USA based NASA Center of Turbulence Research help is on the way. One US airline debuted new turbulence detectors that use special radar to predict the levels and locations of turbulence in the flight path. Yet such prediction isn't 100% accurate as nature always holds the Trump card over us humans. It is going to be a perennialongoing battle between man and nature in the game of upmanship. It is very reassuring to note that , with the improvement in technology it is extremely rare for an Airline to crash due to turbulence.