Imagining Dubai

Trees are being cut in Bengaluru (also Bangalore) as if it nobody’s business. Decades old trees are vanishing overnight. The roads could be made around it if they want but then policy makers have been touring abroad and bringing alien model of development here. They need to know that Dubai is constructed on a desert. Also if you go to My Photos (www.photodepalan.blogspot.com) all these beautiful trees are to go within a week. Offcourse the priority need to be on MRTS but some innovation like BRT in Delhi is welcomed (this blogger sincerely hopes that the CM and her cabinet take decision on further extending BRT to other parts of Delhi. These are the reasons why common people favor Sheila Dixit).

“Imaging India” is a book that is being discussed in the Net a lot. It is written by Nandan Nilekeni (one of the guy who runs the successful IT Company Infosys). It seems to be about ideas that shape India, interesting premise but a very costly book. This blogger would wait for the pirated version on the pavement, so has postponed the buy for atleast 5-6 months.

The Chief Minister we all admire

This blogger has been a great admirer of Sheila Dixit, the Chief Minister of Delhi. Also seen her few times in my stay at Delhi. Although i was not very comfortable in Delhi (and so did my best to gain and experience as much as possible as along i stay there). Sheila Dixit is an amazing woman, one of the very few Chief Minister we all admire.

Yeh hai Mumbai meri jaan !!

That is a line from the song from a Hindi movie of 60s (acted by very popular comedians of yest years Johny Walker). This blogger too finds Mumbai quite a different city as compared to other metros. It is “maximum city”; a city that exposes extremities of human experiences at short notice, every time it stretches imagination. It is a city of unbelievable human degradation and fabulous rich coexisting without much of a paradox. Every street corner, every experience making one feels quite insignificant. Nothing alive, it seems, has any value, there though is high premium on everything else. The nonchalance in conversation, the accent, tone, the ease, is what hits the outsiders first. Maybe a caution for things to expect if not careful, on the other hand it could even be an invitation- simplifying the complication of pretense. It is a city with many masks. I guess it touches something primal, it probes. It leaves you to choose. You can like the city you can hate but it will definitely influence you.

I had probably turned 14 when we first visited Mumbai (then Bombay -I always liked the sound of this name!). We were in Pune so during holidays it was decided to go to Mumbai. We stayed in Colaba (significant Army presence), I recall walking to Gateway of India and admiring Taj Hotel building, later to Birla planetarium and aquarium. It was a great experience. Next few years visited Mumbai many times. In last few years also I had visited Mumbai many times, last one being a month back. Infact I plan to go again early next year as I realize that I need to spend more time at BNHS (Bombay Natural History Society for the uninitiated). Most of my visits are only for few hours as I cannot afford to stay for too long. I generally stay at Pune and so catch the 5.30pm train back from CST (earlier VT). Once I came from Chennai to Mumbai for a job interview, bathed in Railway station toilet (it’s yuck) gave the interview roamed around in chowpathy and caught the night train to Chennai (unreserved compartment ofcourse). Those were hectic days for me. And what happened to the interview…well during the interview one guy in the panel said abruptly that we are wasting time, I promptly agreed with him. So that was it!

Somehow I never could like Mumbai, the city has been quite harsh or maybe I have spent far too less time to judge. It remains an intriguing place.

Post Script: Many of Indian English writings has Mumbai as the focal point right from Naipaul, Mistry, Rushdie, Chandra, Mehta, De…and many more. Mumbai needs different minds to grapple. The best movie on realities of Mumbai street remains Meera Nair’s “Salaam Bombay”, Ram Gopal Verma’s spectacular Satya captured the other reality lurking and exploding on the street, Mani Ratnam’s hugely successful “Bombay” tries to humanize the riots (it did had some brilliant songs). There are many movies, documentaries, fiction, non fiction, poems….so on about Mumbai, obviously there is something special about this place.

Bloggers are invited to my new blog www.photodepalan.blogspot.com where i will be posting the photos i take from Nikon D-60 (its a beauty), sample this snap. Amazing stuff....

Condolences

It is saddening that some brave people had to sacrifice their life protecting innocent from marauding psychopaths. Police Officers like Hemant Karkare, Vijay Salaskar, Ashok Kamte, Maj. Unnikrishnan, Hw Gajendra Singh …..and others (I particularly am saddened by the death of young Major, few decades back if we were in Bengaluru he would be family friend who would be invited for weekend get together-it’s the mallu thing. The images of his funeral in TV were quite depressing, I couldn’t hold back my tears. These events affect me deeply the reason why I change channel to Pogo’s Hole in the Wall. I guess it better to go a long break).

I hear that proper equipments were not being sanctioned, the reason why ATS Chief was killed was lack of bullet proof vest, if it is true then it shocking. Also the cops were carrying vintage .303 rifles (I read in the Net that .303 was developed in 1880s)!!!. The inherited steel structure (read bureaucrats at Home Ministry) is nothing but plastic, buckling where the political weight is. It is also appalling case of negligence that few people could breach Indian maritime boundary with boats loaded with weapons, and no it’s not some obscure coast but India’s commercial capital. Understanding that India’s huge coastline maybe difficult to guard but breach at Mumbai is an amazing case of incompetence. Foreign Minister was quoted as saying “elements from Pakistan” are involved, it looks likely. But why isn’t the DG of NSG calling a press conference and make the evidence public and make it formal rather than wild theories spread by some sections in media, some even implicating Taj employees others even flashed that terrorist have been given safe passage to escape!! (....well these kinds of incidents are better than reality shows for some, atleast they don’t have to chase the boy with leaf growing out of his ear!!. It is prime time jingoism masquerading patriotism, the sale pitch is understandable). Pointing fingers at Pakistan if there is concrete evidence is the right step to take but what about negligence within, who will be held responsible?. It though is clear that rogue elements in Pakistan are a threat to world peace.

This blogger as any other common Indian feels that it is high time that India has centralized unified response to such crisis, there is a need for reduced action time. There is an immediate need for creating central agency or upgrading NSG to face increasingly technology savvy and vicious forms of terrorist threat. There is also an immediate need for crisis management cell that is given all power to deal with the situation in a professional manner. NSG though has done a commendable job. It gives lots confidence to common people for the State.

This blogger understands that it is very difficult to stop terrorist attacks of the kind seen at Taj, it could be any iconic building, establishment or figure (I guess that the reason why even Amitabh Bachchan felt insecure), but there should be zero tolerance for negligence or dereliction of responsibility. This blogger though is very concerned about shoddy investigation; the reason why I strongly feel that it should be taken away from political influence since they use it for settling personal scores (Godhra is a minor example). How many blasts cases have been solved?. It is appalling that investigation areas are not cordoned off, even this blogger who doesn’t have much knowledge about forensic knows that evidence get contaminated!!. There is an urgent need for modernization and putting some procedure in place.

Audacious and unprecedented

What is happening in Mumbai has never happened before in this country, these random attacks on hapless people by gunmen with impunity are unheard of. This blogger like most people is pained, aghast and very angered by the events unfolding in Mumbai. How the collective anger finds its expression is the concern. Will the extreme elements in the society find support in the people as a reaction?. Quite likely, the communal forces will be getting more vocal. Will the anger be against the minorities-muslims or beleaguered neighbor Pakistan?. These also looks very likely. The common people are going to be put into severe testing in the coming days…

Will the government use this opportunity to strengthen and give autonomy (non political interference) to investigative agencies?. Quite unlikely as politicians don’t like to give away their clout. It is difficult to prevent such events but investigation can at the least be earnest and fast, before all kinds of theories are floated by vested interests. It is a daunting task.

People are very angry and collective anger of people can be very dangerous. Something is going seriously wrong.

Howzzat for irresponsibility !!

Bengaluru (or Bangalore) hosted the international one day cricket match between Indian and England the other day. It is amusing that they decided on day and night match. I guess amusing is not the right word, blatant irresponsibility is. The city is enforcing atleast 2hours power cut on its people, in the outskirts people go without electricity for as much as 6hours. Small scale industry, students so on go through immense hardship but despite all this the authorities found it alright to spend huge amount of electricity for this game. At the basic level it is indecency, complete disregard for common people and at another level it is a joke, an ancient one that.

Most people who have spend some time in bengaluru know that more than often it rains in the night, in particular this time of the year. On the day of the match it was very clear that there would be shower (clue is dark clouds, just have to look up). But they still carried on, I guess once they decide they don’t change, I also guess that is what they call discipline, expectedly rains interrupted and the game was stopped for many hours and all this time the flood lights were on (they did switch the lights the day before too, to check I guess). If some one calculates the electricity waste it would be thousands of watts. And then they bring out ads telling us how to save electricity. They also construct huge dams, create environmental havoc, displace societies…all for the “demand” for electricity. Quite amazing.

One wonders what is in this game that couldn’t be played in the sunlight or is it part of India shining?!!. Take it literally !. I am not saying day and night cricket shouldn’t be played but some prudence, some responsible behavior…

More about happenings in Bengaluru: few weeks back there was a huge traffic jam due to some political rally. This blogger was stuck for sometime but thankfully was able to sneak out through a short cut (that is the best part of traveling in two-wheeler you can squiggle through. Bangaloreans are ok kind of people relatively calmer in traffic with occasional en re thu, which more than being offensive makes me laugh the thu part- very unique to bengaluru). Also this blogger is not into meeting deadlines (dead serious about that!!) so not in any hurry. But yes I am very concerned about stranded ambulances, I sincerely hoped they are upgraded to take these delays.

The media was up in arms against the political rallies. This blogger doesn’t share the volatile reactions of the media against the political parties. There are many reasons for that most important being- political parties have all the right to hold rallies the problem is mismanagement and lack of proper facilities. Further if I knew about this event I would have avoided that route. This blogger though has strong reservation against city roads being converted into track for marathon. If they want why cant they go to bengaluru-mysuru highway?. Part of the road could be converted into this event thus not blocking the traffic.

Also one shouldn’t read too much into the media’s high moral ground on this issue since they are doing what is good for their business, it is their consumers who are the victims here. They will choose issues that have potential to sell to their consumers. Political party (in this case JDS) holding rallies are equally not bothered about city dwellers since their base is mostly rural, they too are serving their clients. Most people in cities are not much concerned about what happens to rural India (mainstream India has no space for these except when there is some crime. This blogger would also point to the misery caused by exploitative products like say CocaCola-Pepsi, you will not find mention of these) sometimes the favor is returned. The political party’s claim that “rural people face these and bigger problem every day” finds resonance among rural. The stories of school children stranded in buses find resonance among people affected by these events in cities. It is a jungle out there I guess that is how democratic capitalism functions !!. So what do I do? Well I say thu re maga and try to be an optimist!!

Then there was a man named Salim Ali

Yesterday was birth anniversary of one of the most well known Ornothologist “bird man” Salim Ali, he is surely the father of Ornithology in India. It is saddening that in the overdose mediocrities of events and non events- that are made into events someone so very significant is forgotten. Even this blogger was able to remember this date quite accidentally ( i had visited Ranganathita Bird Sanctuary few days back and so thought about reading about Salim Ali as the place had a significant influence of Salim Ali, even having Salim Ali Bird documentation centre- always locked though!!). I strongly feel that Salim Ali’s birthday needs to be celebrated as Birds Day.

Salim Ali was an amazing man, this blogger has read most of his writings (I am also a big fan of Ranjit Lal, he has an amazing ability to connect with the readers particularly the younger ones. Futehally is another well known Ornithologist, there are many more probably I will deal some other time). Very rarely we come across such passionate people. It wouldn’t be wrong to say that Salim Ali single handedly put the foundation of Ornithology in India. The nation is indebted to him for his contribution to Ornithology as also issues related to environment as he wrote once “my chief interest in bird study has always been its ecology, its life history under natural conditions and not in a laboratory under a microscope. By travelling to these remote, uninhabited places, I could study the birds as they lived and behaved in their habitats” (taken from the Net). He was instrumental in saving Bharatpur Bird sanctuary as also silent valley in Kerala.

This blogger can identify more than 50 species of birds, till recently I used to enjoy watching and reading about them but now I intend to take photographs. Very soon I would be creating a new blog on birds, and posting about the birds I “capture” and writing about them. I dedicate this to Salim Ali, man who has influenced me lot.

PS: to commemorate the occasion this blogger decided to be with the nature for a day so went to Bannarghatta sanctuary today. I have traveled to most wild life sanctuaries in India as also zoos. The zoos are really a tragedy, one wonders when will this country have zoos of the standards found in Singapore or Sydney. The way a society treats its animals and nature defines how developed it is.

Existing in the world of Nuclear Bombs

Revenge of the Roaches

I see this roach

emerging from cup of vaporized tea

swiping its antennae through the mandibles

stretching its wings a bit

as if yawning after a feast.

I reach for something hard to swat

just that instance it explodes

into a huge ball of fire

mushrooming out to engulf the city

there are millions of them

no longer hiding in the drainage and crevices

but proudly marching the streets

devouring houses devoid of people

laying eggs in the sockets of vanquished humans.

(my fond dedications to “leaders” in the Left and Right spectrum of political parties for fighting for Bharat Mata’s inalienable “sovereign right” to explode nuclear bombs)

Can we miss them!!

I wrote in the last blog about dancers in the popular genre (read movies) but find myself guilty of not mentioning two names. One is enchanting Prabhu Deva. He is a class act. The movies are just an excuse, he is waiting to explode into some “number”. I saw him first while I was in college in the hugely popular Tamil movie “Gentleman”, the chiku bak rele song was a rage among youth. When Prabhu Deva dance time and space give way to his body, it is an ephemeral act only meant for connoisseurs. He got the tag Michael Jackson of India by media, this blogger though believes it is other way round Michael Jackson is Prabhu Deva of US !!.

Next is another class act: Hrithik Roshan. Apart from being a great dancer he is also a tremendous actor, one of the most popular. That is terrific.

(the above snap taken from the Net. It is not a Nazi symbol but something considered auspicious by Hindus)

Post Script: There are some dance troupe I admire one is that of legendary Chandralekha, they used to show it on Sundays in DD, and also Mallika sarabhai.

There is one short story written by Anita Desai I read long time back (not able to recall the name) that deals with life of tanpura artist. “Small remedies” by Sashi Deshpande, about an elderly classical singer was an excellent book.

Bharat Ratna to Bhimsen Joshi, some recollections…

Bhimsen Joshi is one of the greatest legends of Hindustani Classical music. This blogger had decided more than a decade back to listen to these great masters live as and when I get the opportunity. I have listened to most of them like Pt. Ravi Shankar, Ustad Amjad Ali khan, Pt. Chaurasia, Ustad Bismillah khan (a very rare recital at Benaras), Zakir hussain, Yesudas, Pt. Jasraj, Pt Shiv Kr Sharma and so on. As also great dancers like Birju Maharaj, Padma Subramanium, Kelucharan Mahapatra, Sonal Mansingh, Leela Samson, Reddy’s, Astad Debu (I particularly enjoyed his emulation of grasshopper. He is an amazing man), Bharati Shivaji, Madhavi Mudgal and many more. I am a big fan of Uday Shankar dance troupe the dances sequences in "Kalpana" was incredible. I also follow the events in Kalashektra, Rukmini Devi Arundale was an amazing lady (infact my room wall has a black/white photo of her in Bharatnatyam). From popular people and genre, I

like Vijaythimala, Hema Malini, Shobana. I think Madhuri Dixit (a song where she is dressed as fisherwoman, don’t recall the song but it is picturised in studio was amazing) and Aishwarya Rai (in Taal and Guru) are natural dancers. I am also an ardent follower of folk dances (I should write about it sometime later).

I also follow modern forms of dances, long back I happen to witness dances using light and sound, lots of dancers from abroad performed (I also liked Aditi Mangaldas rendering of Neruda). It was an amazing experience. Specifically about Kathakali I will write sometime later, I learned it for few months just to understand the form. Now though I prefer CDs but yes I would love to listen Gangubai Hangal live, missed an opportunity last year. One of my biggest regret is never to have listened to MS Subbulekshmi katchery.

Unfortunately I also was not able to listen to Bhimsen Joshi live; I read that he has not been keeping well last few decades. I recall listening to him in DD when in school. I was not much into classical music but my neighbor’s daughters were learning Hindustani, they used to drop in to watch TV and so had to sit with them sometimes. I had started to like Bhimsen Joshi.

I am quite influenced by music. Not much into singing but to my own surprise I was selected to school music team in my pre teens!!. We learned songs in different languages and I was part of the group that sang on Independence Day celebrations. I never took up singing though. Much later when studying in college a friend who stayed in the neighborhood was seriously into Carnatic. I used to visit him very often, he was one of the smartest boy around, good in studies (doing MBBS from reputed Trivandrum Medical college, one of the toppers. Since I liked medicine used to go through his texts). A vadyar used to come all the way from Nagercoil to teach him Carnatic. One Sunday happened to be in his house while he was practicing Carnatic, just for fun sang few lines. Now it so happened that Vadyar was listening and he said I had flair for singing. So I too started learning Carnatic!!. It is quite arduous but interesting, I stuck to it for few months. It didn’t make me a singer but gave a fine ear for Carnatic. Those days Malayalam movies was going through spectacular time. Most movies had songs based on Carnatic, even protagonist playing singer, that were huge commercial hits and also maintained high aesthetic standards like Sargam, Bharatham, Kudumbasametham, Sadyam, Chitram, Kamaladalam and so on. They were all superhits. These movies make me seriously nostalgic sometimes.

On Western Classical Music: I was not much aware about Western Classical. Quite accidentally listened to an orchestra in Chennai, found that it was by Beethoven. I had read about Beethoven (probably in school) but rarely heard !!. Much later when I was in Delhi thought of exploring this form of music. Max Muellar Bhavan conducted a two days study/seminar on Western Classical Music (I guess in 1997), it was a great experience. An Indian man probably in his mid thirties (I found that two years later the man had died, it was shocking) had immense knowledge on this subject. He made it interesting by interjecting the talk with music, explaining the nuances and even showing film clipping (like on Mozart). I really got stuck to Western Classical, attended many performances. I absolutely love Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Tchaikovsky (strictly in that order!!) as also Brahms and Chopin.

There is so much in the world!!!.And the best part is these experiences don’t cost anything!!. Rokda nahi mangtha baap!!

America rises with OBAMA !!

Finally America has come out of the morass they have been in last decade or so. Something incredible has happened: a rank outsider, and that is understatement for someone who is almost like a foreigner. I guess almost is an interesting word here since Obama is quintessentially an American, but that makes it amazing. (Despite tall claims of democracy India is mostly closed to socio-cultural outsiders, for most it is an uphill task in daily life too. Though thanks to elections there have been some political leaders who can claim to be outsiders like Mayawati. Entrenched societies have their advantages and disadvantages. Ridiculous comments on Sonia Gandhi as a foreigner during last elections fall into this context). Obama’s win is an occasion that changes the perception of USA for the better.

It is a win for America. It is a win for all that is beautiful about America. It is a symbolic win for humanity. Having said that reality check is: Obama is an American President and therefore he will have to stand for national interests (like for instance Al Quaeda remains a serious threat). One is not expecting any radical changes but yes some significant changes for better. Hopefully this will be a step for multilateralism in dealing with issues facing the world. Hopefully this is a change towards empowering UN. (Also in the Indian context this blogger hopes that the “nuclear deal” with US doesn’t mean that Indians will get away with nuclear testing. India will have to follow the international rules including CTBT. The commies might call this “sovereign right”-symptoms of schizophrenia no doubt. But then commies are good as opposition they should never be in power. It is dangerous. India’s sovereign right should not precede interest of the humanity. The deal should be nullified if Indian tries any nonsense. And yes for the record as an Indian this blogger asserts that most Indians never had any deep love for Bush. On these matters Singh is not King!!. No apologies there). This blogger strongly holds the view that the rise of authoritarian China is a serious threat to world. Also happenings in Burma is a challenge to conscience of the humanity. If someone could explain what is the crime of Aung San Suu Kyi?.

Obama’s win (indeed win for Democrats in particular leaders like Nancy Palosi) surely need to be seen as assertion of America’s rightful place in the world we live in. Nations don’t become powerful by military nor economic might, it becomes powerful by ethical force. The force of righteous, the force of liberty, the force of people to stand up for rights of common people. By this vote Americans have proved that.

Carnage in Assam

Bomb blasts in Assam is work of depraved mind. Strongly condemn these heinous acts on hapless people. This blogger believes that going with elite culture of incompetence (very high on merit though) the chances of culprits being caught is very negligible. There will be discussions, allegations, counter allegations and finally praising the "bravery and resilience" of common people.

Ever wondered why investigating agencies don't have autonomous power?!!. Why they work under the politicians??!!. What has government to do with investigations; it is the job of professionals. Why the Investigation report has to go through government machinery and not directly to judiciary. What has been done to umpteen reports on police reforms? (this blogger recalls National Police Commission that was set up for the same but was disbanded in early 80s, the recommendations of NPC probably are in dustbin). Why do investigating agencies mostly lack able manpower and latest technology (except maybe when Delhi or Mumbai is the target)?. It is not about creating new laws, there are enough laws, it is about empowering the investigative agencies. Two years back PM set up Police Act Drafting Committee (PADC) under Soli Sorabjee. The terms of reference of the PADC was drafting of a new Police Act to meet the challenge of the "growth and spread of insurgency/militancy/naxalism etc." Secondly, it must help bring an attitudinal change in the police including its working methodology to elicit cooperation of the community and to meet its expectations from the police in a modern, democratic society. Thirdly, it must provide for the use of scientific investigation methods to tackle "futuristic trends and organized crime including cyber crime and technological additions in the hands of criminals etc.". All great thoughts but what happened to these??. The general elections are near so I guess we can forget about.

Terrorism is a serious issue and thousands of common people are killed, maimed and live in fear. Instead of taking concrete steps to tackle these and using this opportunity to reform Police, the State is found to play politics and 'leaders' filling the sound bites for media (they it seems use these occasions for publicity). What a shame.

Anand wins again !!

This blogger is an ardent follower of chess and so was hooked to Anand-Kramik matches. These are the opening moves in all the eleven rounds. You will notice that d4 is the popular first move of the white except in the last game where Anand needed a draw, the black move is d5 or Nf6 and the second move is c4 (white), c6 or e6 (black). (This blogger finds it very interesting, when we were kids we used to start with b3,Bb2 and then Nc3. It was quite later I came to know about the advantages of d4. Now my favorite starting is d4, Qh6, Bc4 and try your luck on opponent's f7 and checkmate!!. Sometimes opponent makes the mistake of e5,g6…it great fun after that creating havoc by nixing Bh8 and so on).

I. Kramik (white) d4 d5, 2.c4 c6 (draw)

II. Anand (white) d4 Nf6, 2c4e6 (draw)

III.Kramik (white) d4 d5, 2.c4 c6 (Anand won)

IV. Anand (white)d4 Nf6, 2c4e6 (draw)

V.Kramik (white) d4 Nf6, 2c4e6 (Anand won)

VI. Anand (white)d4 Nf6, 2c4e6 (Anand won)

VII.Anand d4 d5, 2.c4 c6 (draw)

VIII.Kramik (white) d4 Nf6, 2c4e6 (draw)

IX. Anand (white) d4 d5, 2.c4 e6 (draw)

X.Kramik (white) d4 Nf6, 2c4e6 (Kramik won)

XI. Anand (white) e4c5, 2.Nf3d6(draw)

Anand wins the championship 6.5-4.5.

Kramik did have advantages in VIII and IX games, but the intriguing game was Round X where Anand lost. These guys are genius able to predict quite ahead wherein this blogger never knew Anand was in loosing position!!!. The only indication was Knight was stranded at a4. But these guys are so precise that they don't anticipate any mistake and decide on terminating!!.

In last few years this blogger has played hundreds of chess games on Net with people from different part of the world, nobody ever gives up or agrees on draw as these guys do. We even play when King and few pawns with the hope of converting to queen or the time factor!!!. I am astounded by the level of amazing competence at the top level of chess. What brains.

There you go again !!!

This line made famous by Reagan during election debate was defining moment in American history. The beginning of absurd, the beginning of ludicrous. The rest as they say is all Bush !!

Post Script: also read an interesting article in today's Guardian Newspaper "How these Gibbering numbskulls came to dominate Washington?" by George Manbiot (go to the Link) . This true if you look at most discussions in TV channels, the world is catching up to America!!!. Most discussions are now about some cool people talking about cool issues in very cool attire (rarely, when there is no other go, also going in for grave issues affecting most of us seriously with utmost cool, that it makes us feel extremely guilty for taking these seriously in first place!!). Deep freeze!!.

Abs Fabs wins Mysuru Derby !!

It was one the spectacular high stakes race this blogger was witnessed to in recent times (this blogger had the fortune to be in Pune to witness Pune Derby recently but the field was small and the winner was not entirely unpredicted). Abs Fabs looked resplendent in the paddock but not fancied in the betting ring. This blogger had a hunch on this filly, it had given a good track earlier and with Mallesh Narredu astride she was in with a chance (made some two thousand odd on this one!!, painting taken from Net). Narredu arguably the best jockey in the country, he is astounding. He has been a consistent jockey for nearly two decades (awards like Arjuna gain in stature by awarding sportsperson like him). The very unpredictable Archipenko was hot favorite, late entrance should have cautioned the punters. It clipped and came a cropper negotiating the home run. Constantly gaining Star Presentation of famed Ramaswamy’s stable was no much competition to the final gallop of Abs Fabs and as suggested by some learned punters soft under foot conditions did help the filly. Abs Fabs won in style by 2-3/4 length.

Horse racing are spectacular thing to watch and Mysuru Race course the best in the country in terms of location and setting. There is much more to horse racing than punting, it is an amazing sport (compare that with dumb sport of putting the ball in the hole also referred to as golf!!. I am told that most important business decisions are taken on golf course, such dexterity such ease. No wonder the world is facing financial crisis). The punters in Bangaluru though can be nasty breed (but surely cannot match Delhi-the worst kind, Pune are mostly decent lot), the blogger express strong protest to the management that despite the order on smoking they are allowed with impunity and cigarettes even sold inside the club. The BTC will do itself justice if it assigns area for smokers at the earliest, and enforce the law. The Chairperson of BTC stands accused of violating government ruling.

BTC is a private club and therefore holds the right to decide whom to allow, instead of depending on Police it should have its own security (like the one in Pune), who are authorized to take actions. BTC is in mess, and thankfully they are asked to shift (hopefully the land acquired will be converted into some sort of biodiversity park, the least that is expected when so many trees are cut to widen roads so that people can go fast and do god knows what!!). BTC needs to be proactive; the lackadaisical approach is costing it dearly. If it has to attract tourists then such facilities need be provided, the issue of cleanliness is important and people be recruited round the clock for this purpose and offenders cautioned. With so much of muck and spit around, one cannot think of attracting discerning tourists, surely they are not used to these disgusting sights nor do they have immune system like punters!!. The way things are handled now (like BCCI) is for short term gains, they seem immune to people’s comfort (they discovered in Mohali that there is no shade for audience, nor transport!!. They also discovered from the squeaks of the sofas at Mohali that audience “cannot be taken for a ride”!!), it’s about money and greed. That sums up the great Indian merit driven society ride.

Margaret Atwood's article in New York Times

There is a very interesting article this blogger happen to read this morning in New York Times by the prolific Canadian writer and poet Margaret Atwood. It is an interesting take on Financial crisis (incidentally this blogger was never bothered about any of these ups and downs of stock exchange and depressions in economy. I rather find it very amusing particularly the way people panic. Quite amazing Homo Sapiens !!!)

Bloggers are suggested to visit http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/22/opinion/22atwood.html?_r=1&oref=slogin or can go to New York Times website at http://www.nytimes.com/ (and please for godsake don’t start reading articles titled “Could Obesity in pregnant woman influence her child’s political outlook?”!!!!!!!!!!!. It is no joke. Americans are strange people sometimes really scary. Wallowing in absurdity can be an affliction that goes well with greed and irresponsible behavior).

Atwood emphasis on “there is such a thing as the common good”. She writes "Debt — who owes what to whom, or to what, and how that debt gets paid — is a subject much larger than money. It has to do with our basic sense of fairness, a sense that is embedded in all of our exchanges with our fellow human beings". The article end with these lines: “Is there any bright side to this? Perhaps we’ll have some breathing room — a chance to re-evaluate our goals and to take stock of our relationship to the living planet from which we derive all our nourishment, and without which debt finally won’t matter.”

There is also a poem by Atwood I read in the Net titled “More and More”, part of which I copy here:

…This kind of hunger draws
everything into its own
space; nor can we
talk it all over, have a calm
rational discussion.
There is no reason for this, only
a starved dog's logic about bones.

Hunger for living through credit card is in for a long pause. Nobody is regretting atleast not this blogger. Lots of unnecessary people were having lots of unnecessary money to buy lots of unnecessary things. No longer unnecessary money , no longer unnecessary buying, no reason to panic, nothing has changed. The sunset is as beautiful!!! (the above sketch taken from NYT is pertinent).

Spectacular launch

It was a perfect launch of Chandrayaan, this blogger had the opportunity to watch it live. All the Channels were hooked on to this event at 6:20am. 5 minutes to go, 60seconds to go…excitement was palpable. One anchor when asked about impression of scientist said that they all look “cool cucumbers”!!. The launch vehicle followed the prescribed path perfectly. I guess there were tense moments till the first leg got over then there were celebrations, but the commentary by ISRO (thankfully in Hindi and English) assured everything was fine. It was a great experience for this blogger.

PSLV had eleven consecutive perfect launches so far, now that is spectacular. Also putting into perspective that its first launch was a failure. This blogger was witness to that in 1993 in VSSC, but the best part was they analyzed and reanalyzed the data for weeks together to find the fault, this blogger had the opportunity to watch some of them. Another interesting fact is much much before the actual launch they bring out in-house magazine detailing weekly progress (this blogger went through that in their library-excellent library that one). They are very meticulous and systematic, the kind I have never come across before.

I guess ISRO will have to shift to GSLV from PSLV in near future as the payload increases that will be huge challenge for moon mission. But then ISRO has successful history of GSLV too. This blogger congratulates scientists at ISRO for this spectacular launch and hopes that Chandrayaan has safe landing in moon.This blogger will be hooked to the the progress in this event.

Madhavan Nair and his team have achieved something incredible, understand that the expense is one-tenth that of NASA, they were working with shoe string budget. It also a matter of extreme pride for this blogger that there are lots scientists in ISRO (including the Chairperson) who are alumni of Government College of Engineering Trivandrum. Unlike IIT ians engineers from Government colleges and RECs are mostly grounded and take the less trodden path. This is a tribute to them. While in JNU i recall the relation with next door IIT was quite fractious !!. I guess I have started to romanticize the right moment to stop this blog!!!

Chand pe jayenge!!

So finally Indians are sending a mission to moon “Chandrayaan”. I hope it reaches moon without any hiccups, it will be a brilliant scientific achievement. These kinds of events also add to excitement towards pure science- an area that is neglected, as also towards Astronomy. Aerospace is another stream of study that is very interesting.

The White Tiger

Generally one shouldn’t be reading a book just because it has won an award, but then Booker Prize is not an ordinary award, and then the book is written by Indian and the story is based in India. These are sufficient reason to buy the book. First I went to all pavement sellers around and they said pirated version has not come out cursing I went to a book stall and had to shell out 400/- (don’t know why they put it as 395/-, why not 399/- like Bata shoes!!). White Tiger is a different kind of book, quite innovative and very contemporary. It is in form of letters written by an “entrepreneur” to visiting Chinese premier. It is a brutally frank book about the elites of Indian society “the people of light” from the perspective of person “from darkness”. The whole premise is very interesting. I liked many parts in the book like for instance the exchange between puddle of spits!!. Also the prescription of good driver in cities “you need to have aggression in your blood”!!.

This blogger has been a pedestrian in Delhi roads for nearly ten years and so can associate with what Arvind Adiga is trying to bring out. Incidentally few hours before the “famous” BMW hit and run I was very much on that road. One reason I don’t go out late night is that it is dangerous, it is the time when people in Delhi become animals. They drive reckless and fast, and then you could also easily be mugged up. It has happened to many people whom I knew (in one case the fellow was dumped in Duala kuan for dead and spend many hours lying unconscious, in the morning a passerby notified the cops. He spent months in hospital to recover). This blogger has been lucky to have escaped with few cuts and some deep gashes, nothing serious. Also 10-11pm there are few to no buses, and auto asks for many times the actual fare. Being a pedestrian in Delhi is one of the most dangerous occupations, recently though I have upgraded to two-wheeler, it is my turn to curse the pedestrians!!! (just kidding I am quite calm while driving, I enjoy the chaos!!. It is difficult to be angry in the traffic since the situation is funnier. Also this blogger is never in a hurry. Flip side though is one tends to get wheezing). Despite heavy traffic Bangaloreans are not that bad on road, I found that in Mumbai vehicles stick to their lanes which is a miracle!!. Cars also have become quite sophisticated, recently I traveled on Mumbai-Pune highway in Indica, it was such a smooth drive- almost like flying.

I took two whole days to finish the book, the best part of the book is that I didn’t have to take up the dictionary even once!!. Another reason for liking this book was all the places mentioned in the book are known to me and the situations very plausible. That also creates a problem since people don’t use English, but then when you are writing in English you don’t have any other option. So characters have to speak in English!! (I recall a decade back when I was drafting this Short Story “Beginning at the end” there is a letter from a village that I had to add and I wrote atleast ten times to get the feel even then I thought it lost the essence in English!!). It is sometimes difficult for the reader like me to juxtapose these opposing realities. I had to translate into Hindi in my mind and then imagine the situation. Despite these- which any English writer will face, this is a brave attempt that doesn’t play with clichés to impress West. I recommend the book for its dark humor, it is worth the money and yes richly deserves the award.

Arbitrary dismissals are very shocking…

The recent dismissal nearly 2000 workers from Jet Airways is shocking. The reason being the way it was handled, there are some rules and norms to be followed I guess. To be told out of the blue that you are out of job can be very distressing, anyway it is not something rare, sensitivity has no space in profit driven world. This bloggers accepts the fact that employers are within their right to dismiss employees but there should be safeguards against arbitrary actions. Also the government is not in the business of “bailing out” companies nor reduce taxes as and when some corporate demands or take policy decision for the sake of few companies. This is defined as corruption. Policy decisions are taken keeping in mind the overall context not narrow exigencies, I as a citizen would like to know more on these decisions. The companies will have to find their own way or perish. Aviation companies closing down is nothing new. A decade back there were Damania, East West Airlines and so on. What happened to them?. Industry will survive companies may collapse, it is not a miracle it is just that people who want to travel by air will find a way. Also how come the employers or the people owning these firms not responsible for the loss, clearly they are also the “flab”. Some might say their flamboyant lifestyle is their personal issue but then since when was profit earning of few companies concern of state.

Post Script: the latest news is that sacked employees are taken back, this blogger is confused as to how the Business are run!!. The hoarding above is quite ironical!!

Nothing incredible about this !!!

This is a scene from Marwar Junction in Rajasthan. Quite a common sight here but for westerners this is incredible India!!. Not finding animals on the street of Europe and USA also makes these places incredible for Indians!!!. Wonder what animals think about it?!!. Anyway animals do have a freak out time in Rajasthan. Some years back in Jaiselmer I came across a man with a cart collecting left over food for animals. In a park I came across a woman feeding powered sugar to ants!!.

Post script. Continuing with the earlier blog…what we study about history is not about common people. Assume that blogging existed thousands years back, we would know so many things about people, rather than read about wars and nonsense about rulers and invader-psychopaths. We could read about a dude giving his view on whether Gupta period was really golden age, another will be writing about Britishers and the freedom struggle from his perspective. It would have been amazing. Blogging is beginning of history in many ways, it is an epoch. History is no longer the perspective of few people. It has become vibrant. Centuries from now probably history will be seen in terms pre-blogging and post blogging era. It is a far fetched thought but cannot be ruled out entirely. The world is going through an amazing time.

Two questions, dho sawal, randu chodiyam, eradu prashna !!!

It was in my mid twenties that I came across this remarkable book (most probably from the pavement of Chennai, not sure though) The Great Religions –by which men live (Floyd Ross and Tynette Hills). Published in 1956 Beacon Press USA it is quite an old book, the pages are so fragile that I keep it in a plastic cover. I had a fractious relation with religion in my teens, later though I did try to explore this concept and I have traveled to most sacred spots of all the religions that exist in the country. Also read about other religions and animist traditions not found in this region. I recall interacting and asking questions with people on religion and their perspective. It was an amazing experience.

This book tries to bring in the best of all religion and therefore a good reference point. The forward to the book says “it is unfair to measure any religion by its lowest expressions. All religions have their heights as well as their lowlands, and the heights are to be seen clearly in their creators, their founders and their great literature. The measure of religion is its best ideals”. This precisely the point of exploration in this blog- the followers take on religion with reference to two very simple but relevant questions. I started this a year back and could have finished it in few weeks but then earning is important- so had to break into months (geez if only I had won the jackpot at race, anyway i won enough to sponsor my tour!!), also I wasn’t only into these when traveling there are many more interesting thing to work on and observe. Years back I used to do things for my personal understanding now that I have a blog and a camera I am attempting to document these. I am always curios about what common people thought about their surroundings and events centuries ago, unfortunately there were no blogs. Few centuries from now if someone bumps into my blog and gets some understanding I will be honored. In that sense history has just began: The history of common people. Also this ‘inquiry’ is very much influenced by tradition of Greek philosophers- they started with simple questions, and Indian mystics. The intention of religion has always been for common good by enlightened people. It provides solace to people in day to day hardships and unpredictability. It is a reference point that connects individual to the infinite. It provides private space for communion with the almighty. Religion is a force that has guided millions of people throughout the centuries to goodness.

Care was taken to choose people who were ardent follower and practitioner of the religion and not those who were part of power structure or heads-that would be skewed opinion. Although I am putting their snap but I gave them anonymity by not revealing their name. Also, the locations were chosen that had a symbolic reference to the concerned religion in this country. Covering the relegions in india is like covering the world!!. Its amazing. Probably what is left is Shintoism, Taoism, Confucianism...

The two questions asked were:

What does religion mean to you?.....the answers generally had the elements of the religion the person followed. His/her perspective on best of the religion that has percolated into their understanding, and therefore attitude.

What does happiness mean to you?....in the increasingly consumerist world we live in the question is very pertinent. Surprisingly none of the response had any reference to money or material. One wonders whether market is really in sync with human nature, are we creating a schizophrenic society?. Nothing explains complete disregard to people, environment and surrounding. Also note that the western understanding of secularism is anti-religion as a reaction to atrocities and irrationality of faith. But this distancing from religion has put them in the lap of consumerism. It is therefore not a coincidence that in western context secularism goes quite easily with greed and indulgence. Also note no religion ever encourages profligacy bringing it in direct contradiction to consumerism. The attack on religion in the name of secularism needs to be seen in this context also.

Sikh at Harmandir sahib (Golden temple, Amritsar, Punjab)

What does religion mean to you?

The one that helps everyone (jisse sabka bhalla hoe). Guru Gobind Singh ji is our path. This amrith pani (the one that surrounds the Harmandir Sahib where the holy Guru Granth is kept) will spread pureness. It will help everyone. Nam japo or kirat karo (take lords name and do righteous acts)

What does happiness mean to you?

The action that helps everyone brings happiness. Sharing is happiness.

About Sikhism and golden temple: Sikhism was founded by Shri Guru Nanak Dev Ji, (1469-1538). At Sultanpur, he received a vision to preach the way to enlightenment and God. The word Sikh means learner. Golden temple is the most revered place of worship for Sikhs and one of the oldest Gurdwaras. Guru Granth Sahib is the holy text. The Sikhs are to have five K’s, one includes uncut Kesh-hair, making them easily recognizable with turban. Sikhs are spread throughout the world, there are some 30million followers of Sikhism.

Buddhist monk at Dharamshala (McLeodganj, Himachal Pradesh)

What does religion mean to you?

Religion is compassion. If you are compassionate then you become enlightened.

What does happiness mean to you?

Well at this point I am not very happy, I cannot speak. I am getting nightmares about Tibet. I am not getting sleep.

Since most monks are not very communicative, mostly smiling at the question. Not entirely satisfied with above answers I decided to ask the questions to someone who is comfortable with probing. I found this young man, he had come from Tibet in 1997.

What does religion mean to you?

Religion is one that creates holiness that brings spiritualism in one oneself.

What does happiness mean to you?

Right thinking creates right action that produces happiness. You have to think right. (since he had left his family, friends, home, at Tibet and was uncertain about future I asked him isn’t it difficult to have that state of mind)…context of the mind changes, you have to create.

About Buddhism and Dharamshala: Buddhism is based on the teaching of Gautama Buddha (560 to 480 BC). Buddha gave the middle path- a path of moderation, separating from extremes of self indulgence and self mortification. He gave insight into the nature and cause of human suffering which was ignorance, along with steps necessary to eliminate it. These truths were then categorized into the Four Nobel Truth- the state of supreme liberation, a state of Nirvana.

Dharamshala is where there is huge presence of practicing Buddhists. Dalai Lama is most revered around the world.

Muslim at Jama Masjid (old Delhi)

What does religion mean to you?

Religion speaks truth, follow Allah follow truth. That is all I know and I do my prayers.

What does happiness mean to you?

Making other’s happy and giving alms to poor, respecting others. Create your talent (hunar) use it for betterment. Talent (hunar) is created by following usul (I guess the English translation would be rule or way or discipline). Ek usul hotha hai. Hunar usul se atha hai.

(Our man happens to be from surat Gujarat. He claims to be the best pehlwan in the town, he was also bit uneasy about being illiterate. He told me to create hunar through my pen since I was scribbling down what he was saying. Kalam se hunar paidha karo!!.....well don’t know much about that but yes I love blogging).

About Islam and Jama Masjid: Islam originated from the teaching of Prophet Mohammad in the 7th century. The word Islam means submission to God. Muslims believe that God revealed Koran to Mohammad. Jama Masjid is one the biggest and well known mosque in India build by Shah Jahan. There is much material on the Net about Islam, the bloggers may go through that.

Christian Sister at Palayur, Thrissur (Kerala)

What does religion mean to you?

Religion for me is love, doing good for society. Religion gives me contentment and strength.

What does happiness mean to you?

Happiness is about accepting oneself as we are. No comparison with other, envy creates unhappiness. Also happiness is not harming others, making others unhappy, by words and action.

About Christianity and Palayur: Christianity is based on the teaching of Jesus of Nazareth. Christians call the message of Jesus as gospel -good news. Bible is the revealed text. Christianity basically put the foundation of western civilization. Palayur Church is probably one of the oldest church in Asia, established by St. Thomas in 52AD. Christianity is one of the largest religion there are ample material in the Net.

Jew at Jew Market Ernakulam (Kerala)

What does religion mean to you?

Religion is meant for humanity’s goodness. I say my prayers regularly and concentrate on my job.

What does happiness mean to you?

As Freud said (he reminds me that Freud was a Jew!!) enmity to others is cause of all unhappiness. Palestine problem is due to enmity and so are all the problems in the world.

About Judaism and Jews in Kerala: Judaism is one of the oldest religions tracing its history to more than 1000 BC. According ot jews judasim began with covenant (bond) between God and Abraham. Judaism is a religion based on principle and ethics. There is no single body or person but sacred texts (tanakh), traditions and learned rabbis. They faced lots of prosecution in the name of crusades and inquisitions. In Kerala it is believed that Jews came around 700BC some even date it to the period of King Solomon (1000BC) referred to as “black jews”, mostly found in Ernakulum market. The Pardesi Jew or “white Jew” came later during trade links of 17th and 18th century, found in Kochi. It need be noted that most have migrated to Israel.

Baha’i at Lotus Temple (Delhi)

What does religion mean to you?

Religion is a way of living. It provides spiritual guidance. There are two sides of religion: Spiritual and Social. The spiritual remains eternal wherein the social changes with time. Religion is like a book and God sends messengers to add the chapters.

What does happiness mean to you?

There is a song I learned in my school (run by the Bahai faith)
Time to be happy is now
Place to be happy is here
Way to be happy is to make someone happy
To bring little heaven on earth.

About Baha’i and lotus temple: Baha’i is a very young religion founded by Bahaullah in nineteenth century. Baha’i means splendor. The Baha’i faith emphasis on spiritual unity of all humankind, they underline the unity in all religion and shun prejudices. Humanity is seen as collective evolution. Inspired by Indian tradition of reverence to Lotus the Baha’i temple was designed as a lotus in marble the nine entrance symbolizing nine major religions of the world. It is an architectural wonder.

Hindu at Haridwar (har ki pauri. Uttranchal)

What does religion mean to you?

Religion is serving God. Bhagwan sarv vyapi hai (god is infinite, all knowing). Bhakti meh hi puja hai (don’t know how to translate that!!). this world moves with the devotion of pilgrims.

What does happiness mean to you?

There are two types of happiness. One is worldly- like if you pass an exam or happiness in grihasth (loosely meaning family life). Next is in serving God. The inner contentment that comes with devotion to God. Happiness is always with you.

(typical to sadhus in here he defined himself as bogi!!!. And said “ann ka datha sadha sukhi. Vastra ka datha kaml pathi. Meva misht anant sripathi”. He forced me to buy condiments-sugar, flour, butter… for him from a shop!!!).

About Hinduism and haridwar: well…well what to write about Hinduism??!!!. I am a Hindu…whatever that means!!. I do adore many things about Hinduism, most importantly the freedom, the non exclusive nature. It is a way of life. Please read more about it in the Net. Haridwar is a very sacred palace for Hindus, it means ‘gateway to God’. According to Hindus haridwar-har ki pauri to be specific, is the one of the four spots where the nectar from the cosmic churning fell. It is a sacred sight for kumbh mela. Ganges river is like a mother to Hindus.

Jain at Palitana (Bhavnagar, Gujurat)

What does religion mean to you?

Religion is a mean to control negative emotion like anger and greed. A healthy person is a person with healthy mind. A healthy body is useless if the mind is not healthy. Atma is eternal, it is more precious than body.

What does happiness mean to you?
Happiness from devotion, most happiness is momentary. Long lasting Happiness is a process that takes time for the mind to understand. Agla bhav (future state of mind) is very much determined by purv bhav (early state of mind).

About Jains and Palitana: Jainism is one of the ancient religions. True Perception, True/Right Knowledge and True/Right Conduct is the path to attain Moksha.. Jains strongly believe in non violence and are strict vegetarians. Non-violence can simply relate to minimizing new Karmas to get attached to the soul, every soul is considered worthy of respect as it has potential to become pure soul. Since Jains emphasized on non violence, the jobs most Jains took was mostly in business. They are one of the most literate communities in the contry generously contributing to educational institutions and libraries. I read in the Net that although they constitute less than a percent of Indian population they contribute 24% of the tax collected!!!.

Palitana is considered one of the most sacred pilgrim centers of Jains. There are some thousand odd temples constructed on the hill and is dedicated to the first tirthankar (guru) Adinath (rishabdeva).

Zoroastrian (or Parsi) at Udvada (Gujarat)

What does religion mean to you?

Religion gives stability and preserves virtues. Humata, Huktha and Huwarsta- good words, thoughts and deeds.

What does happiness mean to you?
Following religion gives peace of mind that is happiness. Religion gives strength in hardship and difficulty.

About Zoroastrians and Udvada: it is a religion that traces back to 9-10th century BC. Zoroastrian is the religion and philosophy based on the teachings ascribed to the prophet Zarathustra. There is one universal and transcendental God, Ahura Mazda- the one Uncreated Creator to whom all worship is ultimately directed. The energy of the creator is represented in Zoroastrianism by fire and the Sun, which are enduring, radiant, pure and life sustainingg. Zoroastrians usually pray in front of some form of fire.

Udvada is the place where the oldest fire temple is located in India, it is also considered most sacred since it is considered to have highest grade “ritual fire” and is the oldest continuous burning fire in the world.