Is Mango the king of fruits ?!!!

India is the largest producer of Mangoes (Magnifera Indica) in the world, the name Mango originated from Tamil ‘Mangkay’. Some thousand varieties of Mangoes grow in this region, the fruit is considered king of all fruits. It is believed that from India Mangoes reached Europe through traders, much earlier Buddhist monks were responsible for its spread in Asia, later Arab traders took it to gulf and other places. Ancient Indians believed Mango tree can grant wishes, even now some parts of India during auspicious occasions like Deepavali and pongal (in Tamil Nadu) they hang Mango leaves at the entrance. Various dishes (like for instance manga pulliseri- the one I expertise in!!) and puddings are made from this fruit. Pickles, papdis, murabbas, chutney, amchur, panna… the list is long. (Unripe mangoes are used in fish curry in travancore region, it give that characteristic taste).

The famous breed of Mango is Alphonso (or hapoos)- they sell that in boxes even in malls nowadays, it has been gifted to head of other countries as diplomatic gesture. Apart from popular varieties like Kesar, Dashehari, Mulgoa, Chausa, Langra….there is Himsagar, Kishen Bhog, Mankurad, , Neelum, Suvarnarekha, Vanraj, Bangalora, Banganpalli, Bombai, Bombay Green, Fajli, Fernnadin, Zardalu. Hybrid Varieties are Amarapali, Mallika, Arka Aruna, Arka Puneet, Arka Anmol, Arka Neelkiran, Ratna, Sindhuri, Au Rumani, Manjeera, sugar baby. Other hybrid varieties released are Alfazali, Sundar Langra, Sabri, Jawahar, Neelphonso, Neeleshan, Neeleshwari and so on…..now those are some serious names!!. During mango season (April-May) mango exhibitions are held with varieties of mangoes in display (few weeks back I went for organic mango festival!!). I recall when kids we used to run when mango fell from tree, the one who reaches first gets it, unlike coconut mango fall with light thud (obviously!!).

So is it mango the king of all fruits?.

Well….hmm…well this blogger is not really impressed despite its credentials. My vote goes to Jackfruit (kathal in hindi, chakka in Malayalam) this fruit is really underrated. Dr.O.W. Barrett (an agriculturist credited with many books on these subjects) wrote in 1928: "The jaks . . . are such large and interesting fruits and the trees so well-behaved that it is difficult to explain the general lack of knowledge concerning them.". There is mention of jackfruit in Varamahira’s Samhita (6^th century). This blogger gives this humble fruit top marks not only for its taste but also smell -nobody can miss it even from few meters, it is sweet combination of pineapple and banana!!. It is one fruit I am crazy about, so much so one tends to overeat. Jackfruit is also purely Indian tracing its origin to Western Ghats (the name jackfruit traces its origin to Portuguese jaca which in turn derived from Malayalam chakka). The fruit is quite a recluse with spiny exterior and sticky interior, it is like the fruit is asking “you don’t want to mess with me do you?”. Truly cutting jackfruit is a messy affair. One has to smear oil in hands before venturing otherwise regret it for next few hours, the glue doesn’t go even with washing!!. There are two types of jackfruit as I know kooza and varika chakka, the later is favored as the fruit is of high quality. The Kooza are softer and fibrous and very messy. It is difficult to tell whether the Jackfruit is kooza or varika before cutting (the variation of these names are found in Thailand and Srilanka, even Jamaica). Like mango many varieties of jackfruit are now found the 'Singapore', or 'Ceylon' jack was introduced in India in 1940s. In 1961, the Horticultural Research Institute at Saharanpur, India, reported the acquisition of air-layered plants of the excellent varieties, 'Safeda', 'Khaja', 'Bhusila', 'Bhadaiyan' (gr8 name that one!!) and 'Handia' and others. The Fruit Experimental Station at Burliar, established a collection of 54 jackfruit clones from all producing countries, and ultimately selected 'T Nagar Jack' as the best in quality and yield (In Assam, nurserymen have given names such as 'Mammoth', 'Everbearer', and 'Rose-scented' to preferred types). This blogger has a liking for jackfruit as well as tapioca chips (hate potato chips). In South Karnataka coastal region I happen to taste Jackfruit idlis!!!(as also ela adas). I am big fan of Chakkakuru mezhkuperatti (jackfruit seeds).

Ludovico Di Varthema an Italian traveler who came to kerala in 1503 had this to say about Jackfruit “I found in Calicut a kind of fruit which is called Ciccar (jackfruit). Its stem is like that of a large pear tree…this fruit is gathered in the month of December, and when it is eaten it seems as if you are eating musk melons, and it appears to resemble a very ripe Persian quince. It appears also as though you are eating a preparation of honey, and it also has the taste of a sweet orange. Within the said fruit….there is another fruit which, if placed on the embers of a fire and then eaten, you would say that they are the most excellent chestnut. So that this appears to me the best and most excellent fruit I ever ate”. Our man had something to say about mangoes too “another fruit is also found here…this manga (mangoes) is made like one of our walnuts in the month of August, and has that form; and when it is ripe it is yellow and shining. This fruit has a stone within like a dry almond, and is much better than the Damascus plim…”

Long live Jackfruit !!!

Kick the monarchy out

Nepal has finally done it. It is a great event. People holding position due to hereditary reason is anachronism. They should have been kicked out quite sometime back. This is the best thing to have happened. In India also these scoundrels were given too much leverage, ideally their property should have been taken by the government. Now some of these hereditary suckers are making easy money by converting their palaces into hotels. Nepal could have done it long back but sissies were ruling so far. The same is the case of India where these idlers were pampered instead of been shown their place in democratic society. Freedom means land distribution so that everybody has equal start and opportunity. It is an opportunity India missed, the tragedy is now packed as multiculture and tolerance, part of incredible India tourism!!. It is communists who did it in Kerala it is Communists who did it in Nepal. Any lessons??. Hopefully Prachanda doesn't become a Chavez and try to seal for lifetime, commies have that terrible itch!!

There are also some countries masquerading as Democracy who have monarchy as head (albeit titular in some cases). One wonders when will Britain be truly democratic?. There are also some disgusting people out there who teach us about democracy and freedom but when it comes to knighthood no qualms in queuing up in best dress. Bravo to that!!.

Recalling Agatha Sangma !!

I came to know through the Net the other day that Agatha Sangma is elected to Lok Sabha by a huge margin. About a decade back I used to be staying in Karol Bagh apart from taking up job and dropping it as also occasionally showing my face at JNU Campus (very rarely attending classes) I was also involved in taking classes in god knows what all subjects in god knows what all places on weekends. Those days I was taking Indian Constitution for students preparing for Law in a place nearby. This kid was enrolled (I recall her since she was daughter of Mr. Sangma the former Speaker of Lok Sabha. Teaching Constitution to daughter of Speaker of Parliament of largest democracy….geeeez I have done that too. Sometimes it boggles me the kind of things I end up doing!!. Thankfully I have mellowed a lot recently), she I vaguely remember was one of those always smiling types (I guess mostly with a girl whose mother was a senior bureaucrat with Delhi government). I recall getting information regarding Meghalaya, I did visit that very year. It is gladdening that she eventually became a lawyer and now an elected MP by a huge margin. And she would definitely need lots of knowledge about Indian Constitution, hopefully she recalls the fellow always in kurta jeans!! (everybody I guess goes through kurta jeans phase!!!).

Errata in the earlier blog: The play i saw was Mudrarakshasa and not Mrichkatikam, the play was about Mauryans and Chanakya. Brilliantly done.

Phoenix has landed!!

NASA has done it the mission to Mars has landed. Phoenix had a perfect landing on Mars. It is an astounding feat. The mission will explore Mars vertically that is dig in to find traces particularly of water. This blogger has always kept track of space missions, the interests started quite early. The programs by Carl Sagan that used to come in DD on Sunday mornings decades back had an elemental impact. He was an amazing guy, a great narrator and very passionate about what he said I can still recall Kepler, Copernicus….he opened a new area of interest. Previous successful mission to Mars include Mariner3-4, Mariner 6-7, Mariner8-9, Viking1-2, Mars Observer Pathfinder, Climate Orbitor, Polar Lander-Deep space 2, Mars Global Surveyor, Mars exploration rovers (spirit and opportunity), Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter.

Years later I had the fortune to be at Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC) as part of a Project for few months. It was a great experience; we did tests in supersonic tunnels with prototype of PSLV-d2. It was also the year the PSLV mission failed (1993), I was lucky to witness the post mortem analysis of the failed mission. It was quite interesting. It was great to know that the recent PSLV-c9 put ten satellites into the orbit recently, it is a stupendous feat by ISRO (i guess after GSLV).

Tendulkar was a legend

Vijay Tendulkar who expired few days back was an amazing man. I came to know about him only in 1997-1998, my awareness of theater was quite limited till then. In 1994 I recall I went for a play as part of temple festival, since the whole day’s program was sponsored by the family I decided to go. The play was not up to the mark- with painfully exaggerated dialogues and some actors missing the cue, in small towns of kerala people react quite viciously to substandard affair. They consider it as personal insult, so they started hooting and the play was abruptly stopped and was replaced by some song, in the meantime the younger crowd started to search some of us youngsters to teach a lesson and I recall hiding in darkness for an hour or so and running full speed home !!!. With this background I had very low opinion about theatre, and so mostly gave not much importance to plays. While I was in Delhi I stayed quite near to Mandi house, so once happen to see the notice of Mrichkatikum, just out of curiously I dropped in. It was brilliant and just couldn’t believe that theater could be so sophisticated. It so happened that this play was directed by legendary Habib Thanvir, it was amazing way to start. I was so much excited about it that next two years I didn’t miss a single play, seeing even the bad ones at basement of Sriram centre Theater (where once the play had to be stopped in between since they forgot the dialogues, it was an amateur group and there were some five odd people in the audience!). I tried to introduce few people whom I knew those days to theatre with not much success!!; I recall being very upset if good plays did not have much audience or the phone rang!!.

It was during these days that I came to know about Vijay Tendulkar, infact there was festival of Tendulkar play. I was blown over by Ghasiram kotwal, Sakharam binder (I was initially reluctant to go for these plays- not impressed by the title and having absolutely no idea about Tendulkar!!!), Kamala, Khamosh Adalat Jari hai and so on. All these plays I have watched many times performed by different troupes (even the original Marathi version on a tour in Pune!!) and so was able to appreciate the nuances. Tendulkar was raw, he touched reality the way that we understand subtleties of life often missed in the stampede and made us think. His understanding of life was deeper particularly the issues related to sexuality (compare this with on your face westernized market driven clichéd approach these days). His plays left some very deep impact on my thinking. Bloggers also will be aware that he scripted movies like Ardh Satya, Manthan and so on.

Ps. This brochure of Tendulkar play I saw in 2001 I found in a book the other day, probably used as a bookmark!!. Incidentally I had collected some 100 odd brochures of the plays I liked during those days unfortunately many I lost as my room got flooded in rain and cartons got destroyed in 1999.

Introducing Naala cricket at Jaipur !!

Unfortunate events in Jaipur took me back to Naala cricket in here. Many decades back there was a huge flood in Jaipur, it created big crater- a naala 50m deep and more than 100m in breadth it cut across the city, many houses just floated away. It probably was the biggest natural calamity Jaipur ever faced. Naala was a dead place with broken, half washed away and abandoned houses in small islands (when I visited this city few years back things are just like that!!). This was the sight for afternoon cricket for us, the housing colony- Amba bari, was huge settlement with thousands of middle class and upper middle class-some very rich residents, was located next to this ravine. We collected on afternoons in our cycles and climbed down this deserted ravine for 10-10 cricket (each team 10 overs). We didn’t mind the hot desert sun, it was great fun. The best part though was when we ventured into those abandoned houses and enacted movie scenes!!. Amitabh Bachchan dialogues and fight scenes were quite popular and since setting was all there we just had to jump from the window (shouting ye hath muche dhedhe takur!) or further break the house with all ferocity, many houses had some items left which were used as props!!. The masterpiece though was ‘slow motion’ fight and chase scenes, the fight with slow reactions- these few minutes ‘action’ was planned and choreographed with lot of care, the ‘dying scene’ with exaggerated moves were enacted amazingly by some of the kids. I recall one kid who could brilliantly do the ‘slow motion’ dying-with-bullet-in-his-body complete with labored dialogue ending with fixed open eyes and holding his breath!!. (There are some wonderful things posted in YouTube and this blogger has spent hours going through it. Some of the creations are brilliant. Slow motion fights which we enacted could easily have found many viewers, it was one the kind. Some memories of growing up!!!).

When I look at TV screens showing dead people in bomb blast in Jaipur a thought did not escape my mind: Was that man in his thirties lying on the trolley gasping for breath the same kid who enacted those incredible scenes of dying?. Terrible passing thought, it is sickening.

Is Indian judiciary not sensitive enough ?

This blogger doesn’t really have much information regarding Binayak Sen case. Binayak Sen a Doctor and Human right activist was arrested for being a sympathizer of Naxalites in Chattisgarh State. His petition was rejected even by the Supreme Court. For common people Judiciary epitomizes rightness therefore justice. Supreme Court is the highest court in the country. But the State of affairs within judiciary is being questioned many a times. There has been serious allegation of corruption as also insensitivity and bias towards elitist policies. The recent petition of eminent people around the world and within the country in support of Binayak Sen has put a serious question mark on judicial system in the country as also the way in which Naxals are dealt by the Centre.

Any system in a democratic set up has to function under the condition of scrutiny and accountability, otherwise it is authoritarian. The contempt procedures initiated by the Courts falls into feudal mindset. People in this country have all the right to know the functioning of judiciary wherein the matters are not affecting or interfering the effective transmission of justice. People have all the right to question and discuss court verdict-at the most it is a law and order issue. One wonders why RTI shouldn’t include the way Judiciary is functioning (and what happened to judicial commission?), bringing judges under ombudsman as a public servant is a step long due. Then there is a matter of proper representation of different sections of society in Judicial system (empathy an important context in Indian social reality seems to be lacking in many cases). As policies are increasingly influenced by Market (in the guise of economic development), as Media is substantially concerned about popular and attractive issues, common people are increasingly relying on Judiciary. An unrepresented Judiciary with insular understanding can only breed unrest; Naxalism is but one face of it.

PM might refer Naxals “threat number one” (that sounds like Govinda-Dhawan flick!!), the fact though is GDP led policies has its limitations. Of course economic globalization has helped lots of people but the ‘market competition’ can be sustained by the society if it is equipped. If there is no high level of schooling and education, if land reforms cannot be done then these ‘market competition’ can only accentuate disparities, clearly the benefits is being accrued disproportionately by a narrow section. One cannot negate the issues taken up by the Naxalites, their means though is reprehensible and should be severely dealt. It seems though that the state has blundered in the case of Binayak Sen. The State is wrong in prosecuting non violent sympathizers of Naxals that goes against norms of civilized society. Civil right is a step towards political right and both have umbilical link. Denying Civil right is denying political right and therefore chance for political solution. The State is not presenting a civil option, this will only breed violence. It would do the Government much good if it rethinks the way it is dealing with Naxal ideology. People like Binayak Sen are important link between alienated people who have taken to Naxalism (and violence) and the State, he is part of the solution. The earlier government realizes better. As Amartya Sen wrote in his essay (Democracy as Universal value) “The protective power of democracy may not be missed much when a country is lucky enough to be facing no serious calamity, when everything is going quite smoothly. Yet the danger of insecurity, arising from changed economic or other circumstances, or from uncorrected mistakes of policy, can lurk behind what looks like a healthy state”.

Oh not Jaipur

Jaipur is a city dear to me I have spend many of my formative years in here. It is one of the peaceful cities in the country. All the places where bomb blasts happened are so very familiar…badi chaupad, choti chaupad, chandpawl…it is disturbing. The walled city of Jaipur has not changed in many decades the streets therefore remain familiar (snap taken few years back). 60 odd people dying in series of bomb blasts in Pink city is very shocking. Many people who have died seems to be women and children. I never understand bomb blasts and what purpose it serves other than causing misery to common people. It is work of deviant minds.

What saddens further is that it is Tuesday, the city is more than alive on this day evening as people go to temples, there is rush and excitement. Tuesday is the day for praying Hanumanji, (I recall going to these temples, we had an official jeep at our disposable so we used to roam around a lot), all the kids must been as excited as I used to be, it is definitely not the moment to die. Jaipur is also the place where at one point I knew so many people, most of my classmates are settled in here, many families not from Jaipur whom I knew decided to settle here (so much so we also bought property with an intention of settling here, it is such an agreeable place with mostly helpful people). It is very sad that people of Jaipur had to go through this. Why do they kill people like this?

PS. Condolences to thousands of people dead in natural calamities in China and Burma

At Amritsar: the city of nectar pond

I have been to Amritsar before it takes almost 8-9 hours from Delhi in train. The route is quite pleasant with scenes of fertile land and boisterous people in stations. Traveling in train is always great fun provided you have the reservation and climate is agreeable, this March I was passing through MP and AP and the compartment had become a furnace something you associate with months of April and May, the dreaded Indian summer. Traveling in train though always is an experience, these interesting lines by Bill Aitken (in ‘Travels by a Lesser Line’) I came across sometime back that I found very funny:

My love for the train no doubt stems from an infantile urge to thrash phallic steel stallions into tunneled yonis as the earth heaves in Hemmingway approval. Frankly, while I have great regard for both Freud and Hemmingway, I fear they overrate the size of my piston. In short my love for panting monsters falls far short of obsession. The railway is the ground of one’s journeying but my joy in motion is by no means restricted to the gentle sway of one’s carriage. The train is but one convenient vehicle on the voyage to unravel life’s meaning or in this instance the geographical quest of unlimited access. The bauls, I am told, ride the trains of West Bengal and sing of life as a train journey. I think it was Jung who interpreted the station master as guru, while my own guru interprets the presence of railway guard in dreams as ‘God’. I ride railways because they give pleasure and good value, especially in India.

My co-passenger was an elderly Sardarji (Sikh for uninitiated), who was coming all the way from Mumbai. His hotel business is suffering because of lack of parking space he says. Now this is something I never thought about before! At lunch time he opened his bag and invited me to share “aoji roti khao”, this is typical of the place here. The sharing of food is considered most natural of acts (as mentioned earlier this has its roots in Langar or community eating). Other places the co-passengers would enquire whether you not having food “aap khana nahi kha rahe hai?” (You not having food?) or the most commonly asked “khana khyenge?” (like to have food?), this just a formality. The sikh gentleman though had more than formal intentions he kept insisting for few minutes and also added that he had enough food for two. Almost a decade back I had shared Kakhras with Gujaratis (when they travel they really travel!!) but things has changed drastically in last few years, sharing food now is inviting trouble -many incidents of laced intoxicants and stealing has been reported, one has to be vigilant. These incidents don’t affect me though since I travel very light and I don’t really have any valuable further I avoid eating much while traveling restricting to fruits or something very light.

Sharing food is something I associate with since my childhood. In middle class families when something special is cooked they tend to pass it to the neighbors (aaj hamare ghar meh ye khas bana hai !), many times we had sardarjis as neighbors that is how I first tasted Kadi!. Another tradition is that the utensil is never returned empty, it is considered very wrong. So if nothing else a cup of sugar will do! As I moved into richer societies these were replaced by weekend parties and so on, somewhere the old world charm of sharing special delicacy made with lot of care by not very rich family, got lost in the Westernized surroundings. Later as I got on with my life in places like Delhi I found that interacting with neighbors can really get into trouble, particularly when it is a family, your well meaning intentions can backfire seriously. It is better to restrict interactions; I guess that is how life works in big cities.

Since Amritsar is a border city, and out of the way from the Jammu-Delhi main route most trains terminate at this station. I took a room in a decent looking hotel nearby, the cause of initial concern was door sized sliding ventilator in the toilet!!. Dinner at the dabha was quite tasty there though was some skirmish as one fellow insisted on drinking liquor. The pious looking elderly Sardarji who probably ran the place had no words of piety, he told him in no mean terms that if he tried both his legs will be broken (dono tange tod doonga).

Amritsar is a city with long history, the narrow crisscrossing alleys, old shops and houses is like stepping into different era, it remi

nded me of chandni chowk (in Delhi) also a bit of Varanasi in certain places in its chaos. After paying my obeisance at Harmandir Sahibji (Golden Temple- I spend few hours here more about it sometime later) I walked around the city, it was a very agreeable sunny day. Ideally curd should be avoided in the morning that too balmy early spring but I gave caution a go and settled for one huge glass of lassi for breakfast and flipped through Punjab Kesari Newspaper (hindi) that was kept on the table. The main news included bomb blast in Lahore, which probably was around 20-30Kms from where I was located; the shopkeeper who had a cheerful demeanor knotted his brows to express some concern.

The entrance to the place looked innocuous for the most heinous acts committed by the colonial British. Jallianwala Bagh massacre is one the defining moment of India’s freedom struggle. The year was 1919, date April 13, New Year day-Bisakhi, British Indian Army commanded by Gen. Dyer opened fire on thousands of unarmed people who had gathered here to protest against the arrest of Satya Pal and Saifudin Kitchlew, two popular leaders of the region. Since this Park had very narrow entrance, foot soldiers were used. As the park was surrounded by buildings, with no exit, people desperately tried to climb the walls of the park. Many jumped into a well inside the compound to escape from the bullets. A plaque in the monument says that 120 bodies were taken out of the well. Official figures put the dead at around 400, hundreds were maimed. If bloggers have seen Richard Attenborough’s Gandhi they will recall this poignant scene.

I had my lunch at Bharawan da Dabha, it is quite a popular place for vegetarian food (ask for Rotis without butter, people in here are seriously into ghee). I liked the food in particular the black daal (lentil). Amritsari Machchi (fish fry) is pretty famous in this region, the frying is done in two stages ending with a pinch of tangy salt with twist of lemon. An ability to identify more than ten varieties of fish in its taste and texture, as also having tried fish delicacies from different part of the country, Amritsari Machchi somehow did not impress me much.

Tough times ahead….

With food grain crisis around the world getting worse it is going to be some real tough time for huge number of people. So lots of people will have to skip their meals (the price of a Kg of rice has increased almost 7Rs in last one year, it is now 20Rs kg, this is the case of most food items), though situation in India has not gone out of hand as in some cities around the world where there have been reports of ‘food riots’. The reason for this crisis seems to be compounding factors of reduction of land used for agriculture as well as impetus on cash crops (like the recent biofuel in many parts of the world), global warming leading to unpredictable climate, silting due to overuse of pesticide, population increase, dwindling employment opportunities and so on. Some in West are also blaming India and China for these crises, since more people in these countries now have purchasing power and so the consumption has increased. I found it very funny this argument. It is true when people’s power to purchase better their consumption and need increases, but ignoring the wasteful culture of people who have more is not for me intriguing, it reflection of time we live in (the snap taken at Madurai).

I recall when I was kid food was short in supply, and so we had to limit our intake (my Tiffin box to school mostly consisted of roti/idli &sugar. Sundays used to be Non veg). The idea of unlimited supply of food was alien. I used to be quite thin, I recall when in one of the class test the question how many ribs humans have, I put my hands inside the shirt to count!!!. It was only when I was 9-10 we had a huge change we suddenly became relatively rich and indeed the consumption increased. But wasting food was considered serious offense, even a sin. Everything in the plate has to be finished or face some serious consequence.

Later in my life I had to grapple the issue of wasting food, you couldn’t store food for too long in summer, and throwing food made me very uncomfortable. Then I came with the theory that nothing can be wasted since when you throw food it is eaten by other organisms. Few months I lived with this thinking, something was not feeling right soon I understood that the energy used is an important aspect. Right from production to transportation to cooking all that add up to serious energy consumption and so if you are wasting food then you are wasting huge energy.

I have seen that people in West consume less but waste a lot, they store so many things that they forget what they have!!. It is culture of waste. In many programs shown in TV I have had glimpse of this mindset. I guess rather than blaming India and China they should look at their own backyard.

Postscript: In West they throw pie during protest!!. In this part of the world we have heard of rotten egg or tomato, things that are waste, people here don’t throw food, that is unthinkable. Pie is edible, few months back I tasted it (too costly, nothing great). I checked the recipe and found that main ingredient include flour, butter, sugar and desired fruit like say apple (quite popular), pumpkin, strawberry and so on.

Clearly what they throw around is actually food for millions of people.

…..continuing with monkey fights in cricket, wasn’t it Plato who said some 2500 years ago that “to be merely an athlete is to be nearly a savage”. Now we know what attracts Coca Cola Pepsi!!!!!

Plato also had something for “merely a musician”. It is difficult to agree to some of what he wrote (this blogger believes that an athlete is epitome of physical perfection and determination)…anyway it is a very interesting read, most times absolutely brilliant. But then Socrates, his influence, was amazing. I guess this period of European history was the most vibrant and accommodating. It is not surprising that, centuries later Renaissance happened in this very region. I read somewhere that Plato could have been to gangetic plane (now India). Is it true? Then he might have bumped into Buddha!!!

A tree under siege !!

This terrible sight I came across sometime back while traveling, this could be anywhere in India. First I thought the tree was blooming, as I approached I saw multicolored plastic kits hanging. It was a strange sight, the tree was the only one in the vicinity surrounded by multistoried buildings. The residents threw their garbage, some stuck in the branches. The thing is trees don’t have legs otherwise this one, like many in cities would run away!!. When I was a kid I used to think trees could speak to each other also that trees could take revenge if you break its branches, particularly in the night when they sleep. All of that is myth but now we know tree really can take revenge, you cut more trees you will definitely pay for it in the future and that is not a myth!

Many cities have banned plastic bags, the measure has been quite successful (the brigade that rant ban is no solution please excuse. It works!), the floods in Mumbai city to some extend was due to clogging by plastic. The earlier the government takes these steps better, much better would be biodegradable options. I have read somewhere about organic plastics.

Congrats to Delhi Government: This blogger wants to congratulate Dilli ki sarkar for introducing dedicated lanes for Buses!!. It is brilliant, the government shouldn’t give much significance to Media cry, since they are concerned about themselves and their family and friends. Yes there seems to be some chaos but that is normal, ask common people who travel in bus and they will tell how important this step is. The litmus test for any new measure is whether it is helping more people?. Further hundreds of people who occupy minimal public space while traveling should be given precedence.

Quite coincidently this blogger has traveled in the route where this experiment is being conducted i.e. from Khanpur to Moolchand, probably not less than thousand times in Bus (522 was my favorite route). I have spent hundreds of hours stranded inside crowded buses (summer was really bad), wherein a single occupant in a car would be contributing more towards the traffic jam and pollution. Introducing measures that give respite to more people should be the priority of the government- that is the reason why poor people stand in long queues to vote (it is not an outing for them). Ideally it should be win-win for all members of society but with depleting resources and space we have passed that.

In the meantime there is no Jashn Manale at Mehdiganj

If you are follower of Indian Mainstream media you will never know that there are huge protest against CocaCola Pepsi around the world as well as many places in India where these companies have set up their exploitative plants. That is freedom of expression for you!!. I guess the censor by Market is a serious threat. In March this year there was a huge protest by people of Mehdiganj. Plants in Plachimada is closed few years back by popular action, very soon Mehdiganj and Kaladera will follow by peaceful protest (visit http://www.indiaresource.org/action/faxcoke.php). Coca Cola is also known to have committed gross crimes like in Colombia. Coca Cola Pepsi have positioned itself as youthful energy drink, which obviously is a lie. But that is nothing compared to misery it causes to local population by groundwater depletion and pollution. This the copy of what happened in Mehdiganj.

Over 1500 villagers marched to the Coca-Cola company's bottling plant in Mehdiganj in Varanasi in India yesterday demanding that the bottling plant shut down immediately.

Breaking a police barrier that attempted to keep the protesters 300 meters from the bottling plant, the villagers held a rally at the plant's gate accusing the company of creating severe water shortages in the area and polluting the water and land.

The march and rally against Coca-Cola in Mehdiganj in the latest in a series of protests against the company in India where communities have accused Coca-Cola bottling plants for exacerbating the water crises through heavy extraction of water from the groundwater resource and polluting the groundwater and soil.

The march and rally against Coca-Cola was preceded by a two-day conference in Mehdiganj on Right to Water. At the conference, Mr. Ghanshyam, a representative of the Uttar Pradesh State Pollution Control Board admitted that the Coca-Cola bottling plant in Mehdiganj did not have a current hazardous waste authorization from the Pollution Control Board required to operate. The authorization had expired on July 27, 2007 and the Pollution Control Board has sent a legal notice to Coca-Cola in this regard.

"Coca-Cola has been operating illegally for the last 8 months and the Pollution Control Board and the state government must take immediate steps to shut down the bottling plant," said Nandlal Master of Lok Samiti, the primary organizer of the conference and protest. Coca-Cola's bottling plants in India generate hazardous waste and they have to obtain authorizations from the Pollution Control Board to ensure that the hazardous waste is handled as required by the Hazardous Waste (Management & Handling) Rules 1989.

The communities' claims of declining water tables (which Coca-Cola refutes) have also been confirmed by the latest data from the Ground Water Board, a government of India agency.

Data collected by the Ground Water Board confirm that ground water levels have dropped up to 8 meters (26 feet) in the first seven years of Coca-Cola's operations, from 1999 to 2006.

The result has been the drying up of wells and hand water pumps in the vicinity of Coca-Cola's bottling plants, and continues to pose a significant crisis for farmers who also rely on the ground water resource to meet their needs. Over 80% of the community in Mehdiganj engage in agriculture, and groundwater remains the primary source of water for the community to meet all its water needs.

"The Coca-Cola company is a gross violator of human rights in India by continuing to operate its plants in areas where the community is unable to meet its basic water needs. Do we need to satisfy Coca-Cola's thirst for water when even the farmers don't have enough water to make a living?" said Amit Srivastava of the India Resource Center, an international campaigning organization. "All of Coca-Cola's claims of being a socially responsible corporation ring hollow when weighed against its track record in India."

The Coca-Cola company in India is under fire from various communities who have accused the company of creating severe water shortages and pollution. The Coca-Cola company was forced to agree to an assessment of its plants in India as a result of a sustained campaign internationally. The assessment of six plants (out of fifty Coca-Cola plants) released in January 2008 was conducted by the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and was a scathing indictment of Coca-Cola's operations in India.

The assessment, which was paid for by the Coca-Cola company, has recommended the closure of another bottling plant in India-in Kala Dera, Rajasthan-because of the acute water situation. The assessment also warned Coca-Cola on Mehdiganj, noting that the water tables have been depleting and the aquifer is moving towards a semi-critical situation.

"Coca-Cola, Pepsico and other companies are plundering our natural resources. Water sustains life, and without water, life in not sustainable. The time has come to put an end to the misguided expropriation of our natural resources and assert the right to water to the communities to whom it belongs," said Medha Patkar of the National Alliance of People's Movements, who led the march and rally.

For more information, visit www.IndiaResource.org

Contacts:Nandlal Master, Lok Samiti +91 94153 00520 (India)Amit Srivastava, India Resource Center +91 98103 46161 (India) +1 415 336 7584 (US)

This is cover of Ohio University Magazine

Jashn Manale of Simians!!

T-20 IPL is now quite popular, this blogger has found lots of people talking about it. I guess it is here to stay. Nothing wrong in that since T-20 version of cricket is quite exciting unlike the dumber version- Test matches. I am told there is technique and art in older version, I guess they have to redefine their definitions now or be outdated!!. Further IPL as also ICL gives chance for lots youngsters to play with international players, it also is good deal for audience.

This blogger is very much excited about how IPL tried to protect its rights by denying media free entry or copy. This is path breaking and keeping with the time we live in, IPL should have pursued it to its logical end. Media is in business and like every business you have to pay for your raw material. You cannot drop into stadium and treated like VIP (this blogger strongly believes media shouldn’t be given any privileges. They will have to pay for it) and take material free and use it for your profit in the name of medium to public. IPL is a private organization and has every right to run its business as it wants, intrusion into this right is illegal. IPL has the right to sell its pictures and video of the event the way it feels profitable. IPL could have easily got what it wanted instead of succumbing into arm twisting by media cartel, since the game is so popular that media will have to buckle to the reality of game reaching homes without its ‘service’. Further most media don’t have anything much to report so they will have to use the material from IPL!!. Understand this media needs IPL, than IPL needs media. Maybe in future IPL would give the media less leverage and take steps to maximize its profit. Only government through national interest clause has the right to show through Doordarshan what it considers important. That is democracy, and please no cribbing. Learn to stand in the queue and follow the rule.

In the meantime there was Jashn Manale (courtesy Coca Cola) at Mohali cricket field. Monkeys got too much money they end up slapping each other, one moron got a tight one and whined in front of gleeful cameras. Surely a nation of more than one billion has something to think about!!. This also an opportunity for peddlers at Coca-Cola Pepsi to get into the script. Brothers are fighting and so CoCa Cola Pepsi could bring them together, of course for the national interest-the patriotism factor. We could have ads of these two monkeys drinking Coca Cola Pepsi together and soothing Aj tu Jashn Manale bhai. Bhai-bhai ka pyar nostalgia. So what are peddlers at Coke waiting for?!!.

This blogger also feels that boxing could be part of cricket. After each match the loosing team’s captain should be given boxing gloves and asked to choose any opponent to hit out. Surely this will break all TRP record (the suspense, the action…the experts discussing whom will he choose to hit and so on. The possibilities are immense) and I am sure Coca Cola Pepsi will be more than happy to sponsor this event. Aja Jashn Manale !!!

Disclaimer: this blogger has absolutely nothing against monkeys!!.

Really Senator Clinton? Obliterate will you?

Hillary Clinton the Democrat Party presidential hopeful (in USA) has threatened to “obliterate” Iran “if it attacks Israel”. She is increasingly morphing into an American the world likes to hate. Iran is no banana republic, it is a great nation and like all societies around the world it has its own share of fundamentalists. Attacking Israel is hypothetical but by threatening to ‘obliterate’ if you do is instigation. How about some leader in another country saying I will obliterate USA, surely that is terrorism!!. Dictionary meaning of Obliterate is ‘to destroy completely’, ‘annihilate’.

Really Senator Clinton you do want to destroy completely, is it?. 2006 census of Iran puts the population at 70million (two-third below 30years of age-the snap of Iranian children taken from a blog). Senator Clinton 70million is a huge number of people you want to reduce to ash, clearly if you have such intentions before the election then God save us (in comparison Hitler was subtle). Obliterate is the word that resonate with genocide, extermination, cleansing, holocaust...

Creating external enemy to rally people around is an old ploy (and Wild West does love it. Aint it?). Senator Clinton is positioning herself as tough and decisive. In American context ‘decisive’ means attacking other countries and

causing misery to people. They have other words like ‘collateral damage’ more civilized society would refer to it as mass murder. By these actions they have created more enemies. Enemy is not about individuals it is a mindset. Individuals can be killed but the mindset prevails and spreads faster, in this case getting increasingly bitter. Of course Taliban are serious threat but the way they have dealt has made it only worse, it is American arrogance at its worst. They have created more terrorists by their unilateral actions. Attacking Iraq was a serious blunder (incidentally this blogger was never against action against Afghanistan- though it could have been multilateral).

Hillary Clinton incidentally had supported the attack on Iraq, now she cannot pretend ignorance (as Mike Moore said in CNN sometime back …you cannot be less intelligent than millions of people who were against it and aspire to lead…there is something wrong here). Obama is a great guy and has got his heart in the right place, he also motivates. There are dimensions about him that is inspiring. Recently the Hillary campaign has been focusing to cut him, therefore the ploy of instigating him, con him to blunder, as it turns vicious they will make him say things and take it out of context- that too an old ploy, but in here the damage will be significant. Following the script Senator Clinton is invoking external threat right from pearl harbour (now when was that?) to Osama and ability to meet these crisis. One thought there are some very significant crisis facing America and the world. The debate has gone very negative and personal despite Barak Obama’s best effort. This will help warmongers on the other side.

Supporting woman candidate just because she is a woman is bias but if she brings in perspectives that is absent in the decision making then that is significant otherwise there shouldn’t be any difference between male or female. It is getting clear that Senator Clinton though a remarkable lady seems to be lacking any new thinking or for that matter change. This blogger has started to see her as not much different from Bush, despite her intentions she is not giving the genuineness, this blogger has lost faith in her. It looks all made up for the show. I don’t know but is there a ploy by Republicans to keep Hillary Clinton going? It looks very plausible since it is going to be a pyrrhic victory, very much to their advantage. Obliteration is a strong word to be used against a set of people for perceived threat, it is quite sad. Senator Clinton might have won Primaries but it would do the Party and US and the world much good if she quits. It has to be Barak Obama, the earlier they decide the better.

Post script: This blogger strongly prefer Nancy Pelosi, the US house Speaker. She definitely has the perspective that could enrich policy making in Washington.

At the most sacred place for the Sikhs

Sikhism is one of the youngest religion in the world the foundation of which was laid by First Guru, Guru Nanak ji. This happened in one of the most vibrant phase of Indian subcontinent history- the Bhakti movement. The early medieval history of north Indian subcontinent is very much influenced by Bhakti and Sufi Confluence. This period saw great saints like Ramanuja, Ramanand (his great and very popular disciple Kabir), Ramdev, Farid, Tukaram, Chaithanya (the Hare Krishna movement has roots in these) Sufis like Chisti, as also Shaivites, Vaishnavites in south India and many more. Mostly from the lower strata of the society and from very humble background this movement was a first serious reaction to the ossified hierarchical Hindu society probably after Buddhism some ten centuries early, as also later Islamic invasions. They gave message of unity of God and tolerance, they initiated personalizing God for common people through devotion also using language used by common people, stressing equality. This period not only had a significant influence on moral and spiritual ways of life of the medieval society but laid the foundation for future generations to live with the spirit of toleration. This was also the phase which saw tremendous growth in literature in various languages, new languages like Urdu and Punjabi got consolidated. Also singing as part of devotion got wider acceptance (Kirtan at Temple, Qawalli at a Dargah, and Gurbani at Gurdwara are all derived from the Bhakti movement). One wouldn’t be mistaken to assert that the idea of India was tremendously influenced by understandings of this period. Some of these great saints and mystics we have studied in school. Some wrote dohas (poems is the nearest word in English) we had to mug them and write the meaning. Kabir was quite popular with the kids. His dohas are brilliant and is part of Indian folklore, he is so entrenched among common people that they even quote these during discussions in small towns of north India, recall how many times have we have heard

this one:

Bada hua tho kya hua jaise ped kajoor
panthi ko chaya nahi phal aye athi dhoor

(what is the point being big-meaning rich and powerful, it is like being a Date tree there is no shade for travelers and fruits are so far…translate into English the punch is gone!!). During school days we used to use these to make fun of taller kids!!.
I recall this unfortunate incident years back when I had gone for a seminar on Kabir (at National Museum, Delhi, if I recall rightly) wherein two speakers-supposed to be experts on Kabir had verbal duel, one claiming Kabir to be Hindu while the other tried to prove him to be Muslim. I could not help laughing (….incidentally like most seminars food was good!!. Long live seminars and seminar culture!!. This culture has recently shifted to TV studios). Kabir was a mystic and in his dohas he had distanced and simultaneously claimed both Ram and Rahim (ie hindus and muslims). This is what he had to say about God

I am neither in temple nor in Mosque,
neither in Kaaba nor in Kailash;
I am not in any ritual or rite nor in yoga or in renunciation;
If thou be a true seeker, thou shall find me in a moment.

In another place he says:
To the East is Hari, to the West Allah’s abode,
search thy heart, within the inner core, Ram and Rahim live there.

Guru Nanak dev ji (1469-1539) was an enlightened man who had traveled widely from Haridwar to Ceylon to Mecca, he preached against caste distinctions, ritualism, idol worship and the pseudo-religious beliefs that had no spiritual content. Significantly he started community eating to stress equality and sharing (every Gurudwara anywhere in the world will have Langar and is open to anyone).

Legend has it that when Nanakji was only twelve his father gave him twenty rupees and asked him to do a business, apparently to teach him business. Guru Nanak dev ji bought food for all the money and distributed among saints, and poor. When his father asked him what happened to business? He replied that he had done a "True business". At the place where Guru Nanak dev had fed the poor, a gurudwara was made and named Sacha Sauda. Guru Nanakji chose to mix with all, the normal life-i.e. family life, became the medium of spiritual training and expression. He continued to work as an ordinary peasant as he preached. This is significant aspect of Sikh religion- the negation of saints as recluse or higher than others; even now you will find most Sikhs extremely hardworking, enterprising and religious. The stress was on practicality.

Asceticism doesn't lie in ascetic robes, or in walking staff, nor in the ashes. Asceticism doesn't lie in the earring, nor in the shaven head, nor blowing a conch. Asceticism lies in remaining pure amidst impurities. Asceticism doesn't lie in mere words; He is an ascetic who treats everyone alike. Asceticism doesn't lie in visiting burial places, It lies not in wandering about, nor in bathing at places of pilgrimage. Asceticism is to remain pure amidst impurities.

This was also the period of extreme misery for common people, with ossified Hinduism on one side and Islamic invaders on the other. Guru Nanak’s teaching provided an alternative. Nanakji tried to take the best of the times he lived in to give spiritual insight and moral fiber to people. There is a story which I found very riveting: On his return journey home he stopped at Saidpur in western Punjab during the invasion of the first Mughal Emperor Babar. On seeing the extent of the massacre by the invaders, Mardana asked Guru Nanak why so many innocent people were put to death along with those few who were guilty. Guru Nanak told Mardana to wait under a banyan tree and after a while he would return to answer his question. While sitting under the tree Mardana was suddenly bitten by an ant. In anger Mardana killed as many ants as he could with his feet. Guru Nanak said to him, "You know now Mardana, why do the innocents suffer along with the guilty?"

Khushwant Singh (who has written two volumes on Sikh History that is considered authoritative version, incidentally he also has collections of some seriously bad jokes!!. His reckoning definitely is ‘Train to Pakistan’, a book enjoyed reading as well as watched movie version by Pamela Brooks. It was a well made movie. We also had a short story in school ‘Mark of Vishnu’- if I recall rightly, it was about a snake killing its own devotee) writes …..it is till disputed whether Guru Nanak intended to reform Hinduism, form a third community or bring Hindus and Muslims together. It would appear that in his earlier career he tried to bring the two communities closer to each other. Being himself a Hindu he was at the same time equally concerned with reforming Hinduism. But as the years went by and his message caught on among the masses, he decided to give his teachings permanency through a sect of his own.

Th

ese lines of Nanakji I got from the Net

Had thou the eighteen Puranas with thee,
Could thou recite the four Vedas.
Did thou bathe on holy days and give alms according to man's castes
Did thou fast and perform religious ceremonies day and night,
Was thou a Qazi, a Mulla, or a Sheikh,
A jogi, a Jangam did thou wear an ochre-coloured dress,
Or did thou perform the duties of a household
Without knowing God, Death would bind and take all away.

Guru Nanakji says, “Truth never gets old” (Sach Puraana Hovai Nahi). His preachings were consolidated as Gurubani. These eternal words are considered most sacred by the sikhs and the Holy book Granth Sahib given the status of sacred Guru. These words are enshrined at the beginning of the holy scripture:

"There is but One God, His name is Truth, He is the Creator, He fears none, he is without hate, He never dies, He is beyond the cycle of births and death, He is self illuminated, He is realized by the kindness of the True Guru. He was True in the beginning, He was True when the ages commenced and has ever been True, He is also True now."

(this blog is continued later with visit to Harmandir sahibji)

A poem and some thoughts

The highway killer

It must be you
who has drawn the contours
of mountains and oceans
and decided the heights and depths.
No doubt
you the one who sprayed
lemon yellow on pansy flies
and pastel pink on wildflowers.
Then it must be you
who squeezed the blood
out of her tender body
thrashed again, bludgeon to the tar
and thrown lifeless next to the
speeding tyres.
Her tiny hands still trying to reach
the pencil she had dropped.
Her white socks clotting red
on her disfigured little legs.
Her eyes firmly shut
unaware that you still are God.

(for the kid who died in an accident sometime back)

This is a request to Government to please enforce some stricter laws that protects the dignity of dead. The hooligans in media shouldn’t be allowed to ‘capitalize’ on gruesome scenes. Some channels do blur the scenes but many would want it to be grotesque for the audience (I read sometime back that the cameraperson tried to the remove cloth covering of the body to get the shot, these scoundrels can go to any extend). The selling pitch here is shock factor, apologies to Voltaire- wonder how many of these media person’s have even heard his name (also my sincere apologies to Khali)!!. This blogger strongly believes that privacy of individual is paramount and significant as much as hyped freedom of expression. Two reasons, one is we don’t live in ideal world of Voltaire, it is the crassness and hype. Second, India particularly is a skewed society with huge gaps, the media therefore is an extension of power, and narrow interest. Of course there are exceptions and have made significant contribution to democratizing society.

Dead don’t speak, the onus is on the society that claims to be civilized to prevent these barbaric practices in the name of media freedom. Every person who has died in public place in most unfortunate circumstances has the right to dignity (why I insist on this is, here the body is not under care of relatives or other civilized surroundings. It is reduced to voyeuristic object). Dignity of the dead cannot be trampled in the name of reporting. If you find it necessary to show gruesome sights to the world you have to show some restraint. Restraint though is not the vocabulary found in dictionary of market driven barbarians. It’s time to draw the line. Tomorrow it could be you or me….