One of my nephews looked at my social networking page, www.ryze.com/go/shankR and asked me who is Kitty. I was addressing my ‘blogs’ to Kitty, following Anne Frank. Well, Kitty is the cat that Anne Frank kept as a pet and a friend; she addressed her ‘blogs’ to Kitty. The Diary of a Young Girl is a book of the writings from the Dutch language diary kept by Anne Frank while she was in hiding for two years with her family during the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands. The family was apprehended in 1944 and Anne Frank ultimately died of typhus in the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. After the war, the diary was retrieved by Anne's father, Otto Frank, the only survivor of the family. The diary has now been published in more than 60 different languages.
Anne Frank's diary is among the most enduring documents of the 20th century. She documented her life in hiding from 12 June 1942 to 1 August 1944. Initially, she wrote it strictly for herself. Then, one day in 1944, Gerrit Bolkestein, a member of the Dutch government in exile, announced in a radio broadcast from London that after the war he hoped to collect eyewitness accounts of the suffering of the Dutch people under the German occupation, which could be made available to the public. As an example, he specifically mentioned letters and diaries. Anne Frank decided that when the war was over she would publish a book based on her diary. Because she did not survive the war, it fell instead to her father to see her diary published.
Happy Birthday Shabz
Shabz was born 27 Sept. I should not mention the year. Shabz is a Tamil girl, follower of Islam, engineer by training, expert in English and a writer by profession, lives in Bangalore, though not in the flat she owns in Kanakapura, rides a scooter (she says I am driving my bike, though – that is the only Indianism I have found her using). She is my rakhi sister (see an earlier blog called rakhi sisters and cousin brothers – or some such), although she never tied the rakhi on my hand. She practices yoga and prays 5 times and fasts during the ramzan. [A piece of gratuitous information: In Muslim communities, people are reminded of the daily prayer times through the calling of the azhan. For those in Muslim-minority communities, computerized azhan programs are available. Thank God our Muslim brothers and sisters don’t take recourse to computerized azhan programs.] In her I find the uniqueness of India – a religious faith that does not interfere with one’s geopolitical and cultural context. May her tribe grow.
Interestingly, Shirdi Sai Baba was also born on 27th Septemer (See for a Greater Common God, in these blogs). We don’t know the year.
I was surprised to learn that in Pakistan the classical music tradition is Hindustani. Wah Ustad!
I am now on facebook
I have resisted the facebook mania for a long time and today Manish sent me an invite to view his pictures on it. I said what the heck, and went on to put some pictures of myself out there; I have no clue as to how to go to other people’s pages and view their photos – if you have any ideas, mail me. If you are already on facebook, you can see a few of my pictures. The pictures are brought to you courtesy Ukko Hanninen, a good friend in Helsinki. About him, another day, another blog.
I once saw a cartoon in which a dog is in front of the computer and is saying: On the internet, nobody knows that you are a pet. Alas, that situation no longer obtains.
Ten Days On the Wagon And Counting…
It is early days yet, but I am happy to report that I have been on the wagon for 10 days now. The expression ‘on the wagon’ has an interesting origin: Water wagons were a commonplace sight in US cities at the time. They didn't carry drinking water but were used to damp down dusty streets during dry weather. Those who had vowed to give up drink and were tempted to lapse said that they would drink from the water-cart rather than take strong drink. Getting off the wagon means to lapse into drinking after an attempt to stop drinking. I hope I would never get off the wagon.
Wish me good luck and do what you can to keep me in good spirits, lest I lapse.
Tuesday, September 28, 2010
Worst Fears; Table Cases; Ayodhya Verdict…
Reality is a strange thing. While things often don’t turn out to our liking, disappointments are the order of the day, and our optimistic outlook doesn’t pan out, it is also true at the same time that our worst fears don’t come true either. Take the Gaulles in Asterix comics, for instance: their worst fear is that the sky will fall on their heads. That doesn’t happen to them or to any of us.
The past one week I was in the grip of some worst fears, and I was dreading a meeting with my boss: as it turned out, the meeting went without any fireworks and it was actually an agreeable sort of a meeting. Without getting into the inconsequential details, let me just say that what I feared most, what anybody in any corporate fears most, did not happen.
Table Cases
Vijayawada is in the news for all the wrong reasons once again. If it not floods then it is bloodshed and arson that gets Vijayawada in the news. With the exception of course – of the annual commotion at the Kanakadurga temple. But that is not news: it is an annual occurrence, with devotees thronging the place in more and more numbers year on year, which is only to be expected with increase in population. Now Vijayawada is in the news for a brutal killing.
Yesterday’s murder of Chalasani Venkateswara Rao (Pandu) took place in Hyderabad but the backdrop of it is Vijayawada’s faction feuds. The victim, Pandu, himself is accused in many murder cases – those who live by the sword die by the sword. A soft skills trainer once told us of his friend who was in politics; this friend of his had an interesting description for the breed – Table Cases (people who end up on the post mortem table).
Ayodhya Verdict
The stay on the high court verdict on the Ayodhya dispute is lifted and it is expected to be released on 30th Sept, 2010. The sooner the judgment comes out, the better. The important thing for the leaders of both communities now is to respect the verdict of the court, and appeal in the Supreme Court if they wish. The law should be allowed to take its course. There are indications that the verdict will be in favor of the Hindu community; so be it. It is actually a good thing because Muslim leaders like Mr Asaduddin Owaisi have already committed not to raise cain in the streets, and approach the Supreme Court.
Even if it goes in favor of the Muslims, one would hope the Hindu community leaders would have the sanity to settle the matter within the legal framework, and not take to the streets. Everyone in India wants that the BJP and VHP don’t make a big fuss over this issue; there is already a sense of fatigue over the way they have tried to garner votes on this issue. Indeed, other than the Ayodhya issue, there is no difference between the Congress and the BJP in economic and policy issues. That is why the party with a difference tries to keep the noise levels high.
Counting my blessings
Two pairs of shoes (though one needs repair); father in heaven and mother under the roof watching over me; loving sisters – 3 numbers and brothers – 4 numbers; a job without stress, though not well paying; presence on the face book; space on blogspot (9 followers and counting); laptop with an external keyboard, and a pen drive; ten days on the wagon and all set for a life-long ride.
Life in C minor
Like a colourless flower, the woodrose
Like flat beer that doesn’t rise up in froth
Like an empty stadium when two B-teams are playing
Life, like a song in C minor
Like a friendship that hasn’t grown sour but distant
Like a meager bowl of lukewarm soup
Like a sky that thunders but does not rain
Life, like a tune in C minor
Reality is a strange thing. While things often don’t turn out to our liking, disappointments are the order of the day, and our optimistic outlook doesn’t pan out, it is also true at the same time that our worst fears don’t come true either. Take the Gaulles in Asterix comics, for instance: their worst fear is that the sky will fall on their heads. That doesn’t happen to them or to any of us.
The past one week I was in the grip of some worst fears, and I was dreading a meeting with my boss: as it turned out, the meeting went without any fireworks and it was actually an agreeable sort of a meeting. Without getting into the inconsequential details, let me just say that what I feared most, what anybody in any corporate fears most, did not happen.
Table Cases
Vijayawada is in the news for all the wrong reasons once again. If it not floods then it is bloodshed and arson that gets Vijayawada in the news. With the exception of course – of the annual commotion at the Kanakadurga temple. But that is not news: it is an annual occurrence, with devotees thronging the place in more and more numbers year on year, which is only to be expected with increase in population. Now Vijayawada is in the news for a brutal killing.
Yesterday’s murder of Chalasani Venkateswara Rao (Pandu) took place in Hyderabad but the backdrop of it is Vijayawada’s faction feuds. The victim, Pandu, himself is accused in many murder cases – those who live by the sword die by the sword. A soft skills trainer once told us of his friend who was in politics; this friend of his had an interesting description for the breed – Table Cases (people who end up on the post mortem table).
Ayodhya Verdict
The stay on the high court verdict on the Ayodhya dispute is lifted and it is expected to be released on 30th Sept, 2010. The sooner the judgment comes out, the better. The important thing for the leaders of both communities now is to respect the verdict of the court, and appeal in the Supreme Court if they wish. The law should be allowed to take its course. There are indications that the verdict will be in favor of the Hindu community; so be it. It is actually a good thing because Muslim leaders like Mr Asaduddin Owaisi have already committed not to raise cain in the streets, and approach the Supreme Court.
Even if it goes in favor of the Muslims, one would hope the Hindu community leaders would have the sanity to settle the matter within the legal framework, and not take to the streets. Everyone in India wants that the BJP and VHP don’t make a big fuss over this issue; there is already a sense of fatigue over the way they have tried to garner votes on this issue. Indeed, other than the Ayodhya issue, there is no difference between the Congress and the BJP in economic and policy issues. That is why the party with a difference tries to keep the noise levels high.
Counting my blessings
Two pairs of shoes (though one needs repair); father in heaven and mother under the roof watching over me; loving sisters – 3 numbers and brothers – 4 numbers; a job without stress, though not well paying; presence on the face book; space on blogspot (9 followers and counting); laptop with an external keyboard, and a pen drive; ten days on the wagon and all set for a life-long ride.
Life in C minor
Like a colourless flower, the woodrose
Like flat beer that doesn’t rise up in froth
Like an empty stadium when two B-teams are playing
Life, like a song in C minor
Like a friendship that hasn’t grown sour but distant
Like a meager bowl of lukewarm soup
Like a sky that thunders but does not rain
Life, like a tune in C minor
Sunday, September 26, 2010
I Will Show You Fear In A Handful Of Dust
Remembering T S Eliot
This day, the 26th of September, in 1888, T S Eliot was born. Let us celebrate it with a few excerpts and comments: first, The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock. This was the poem that launched him into the modernist poety movement. An excerpt:
No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be;
Am an attendant lord, one that will do
To swell a progress, start a scene or two,
Advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool,
Deferential, glad to be of use,
Politic, cautious, and meticulous;
Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse;
At times, indeed, almost ridiculous —
Almost, at times, the Fool.
The crux of the poem – called Prufrock for short – lies in the reference to Prince Hamlet, the tragic hero of Shakespeare’s drama, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Shakespeare’s Hamlet has been interpreted by modern critics as a character who foreshadows modern man’s moral dilemmas (“To be or not to be…”) Here, Prufrock says he is not such an important character, but merely an attendant, or may be a Fool (the court jester).
The famous line: “I have measured out my life with coffee spoon” is also in this famous poem.
His most famous work, The Waste Land, details the journey of the human soul searching for redemption. The Waste Land is known not only for its probing subject matter but also its radical departure from traditional poetic style and structure incorporating historical and literary allusions as well as unconventional use of language. Some excerpts:
There is shadow under this red rock,
(Come in under the shadow of this red rock),
And I will show you something different from either
Your shadow at morning striding behind you
Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you;
I will show you fear in a handful of dust
[The burial of the dead]
Evelyn Waugh took the expression Handful of Dust as the title of his novel, and quotes these lines in the epigram. Another excerpt from this classic poem:
When Lil's husband got demobbed, I said—
I didn't mince my words, I said to her myself,
HURRY UP PLEASE IT'S TIME
Now Albert's coming back, make yourself a bit smart.
He'll want to know what you done with that money he gave you
To get yourself some teeth.
He did, I was there.
You have them all out, Lil, and get a nice set,
He said, I swear, I can't bear to look at you.
And no more can't I, I said, and think of poor Albert,
He's been in the army four years, he wants a good time,
And if you don't give it him, there's others will, I said.
[A Game of Chess]
And here is one of the few rhyming lines in Wasteland:
O the moon shone bright on Mrs. Porter
And on her daughter
They wash their feet in soda water
Et, O ces voix d'enfants, chantant dans la coupole!
[The Fire Sermon]
And a reference to ancient Indian texts:
Then spoke the thunder
D A
Datta*: what have we given?
My friend, blood shaking my heart
The awful daring of a moment's surrender
Which an age of prudence can never retract
By this, and this only, we have existed
Which is not to be found in our obituaries
Or in memories draped by the beneficent spider
Or under seals broken by the lean solicitor
In our empty rooms
[What the Thunder Said]
T S Eliot’s mentor, Ezra Pound, was influenced by Chinese/Confucian philosophy. Pound called Eliot Old Possum, for reasons best know to the two of them.
*Datta: What have we given?
We, Indians, have given a lot to the world, not among the least of which is Naren Datta, aka Swami Vivekananda - see the other blog of the day.
This day, the 26th of September, in 1888, T S Eliot was born. Let us celebrate it with a few excerpts and comments: first, The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock. This was the poem that launched him into the modernist poety movement. An excerpt:
No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be;
Am an attendant lord, one that will do
To swell a progress, start a scene or two,
Advise the prince; no doubt, an easy tool,
Deferential, glad to be of use,
Politic, cautious, and meticulous;
Full of high sentence, but a bit obtuse;
At times, indeed, almost ridiculous —
Almost, at times, the Fool.
The crux of the poem – called Prufrock for short – lies in the reference to Prince Hamlet, the tragic hero of Shakespeare’s drama, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. Shakespeare’s Hamlet has been interpreted by modern critics as a character who foreshadows modern man’s moral dilemmas (“To be or not to be…”) Here, Prufrock says he is not such an important character, but merely an attendant, or may be a Fool (the court jester).
The famous line: “I have measured out my life with coffee spoon” is also in this famous poem.
His most famous work, The Waste Land, details the journey of the human soul searching for redemption. The Waste Land is known not only for its probing subject matter but also its radical departure from traditional poetic style and structure incorporating historical and literary allusions as well as unconventional use of language. Some excerpts:
There is shadow under this red rock,
(Come in under the shadow of this red rock),
And I will show you something different from either
Your shadow at morning striding behind you
Or your shadow at evening rising to meet you;
I will show you fear in a handful of dust
[The burial of the dead]
Evelyn Waugh took the expression Handful of Dust as the title of his novel, and quotes these lines in the epigram. Another excerpt from this classic poem:
When Lil's husband got demobbed, I said—
I didn't mince my words, I said to her myself,
HURRY UP PLEASE IT'S TIME
Now Albert's coming back, make yourself a bit smart.
He'll want to know what you done with that money he gave you
To get yourself some teeth.
He did, I was there.
You have them all out, Lil, and get a nice set,
He said, I swear, I can't bear to look at you.
And no more can't I, I said, and think of poor Albert,
He's been in the army four years, he wants a good time,
And if you don't give it him, there's others will, I said.
[A Game of Chess]
And here is one of the few rhyming lines in Wasteland:
O the moon shone bright on Mrs. Porter
And on her daughter
They wash their feet in soda water
Et, O ces voix d'enfants, chantant dans la coupole!
[The Fire Sermon]
And a reference to ancient Indian texts:
Then spoke the thunder
D A
Datta*: what have we given?
My friend, blood shaking my heart
The awful daring of a moment's surrender
Which an age of prudence can never retract
By this, and this only, we have existed
Which is not to be found in our obituaries
Or in memories draped by the beneficent spider
Or under seals broken by the lean solicitor
In our empty rooms
[What the Thunder Said]
T S Eliot’s mentor, Ezra Pound, was influenced by Chinese/Confucian philosophy. Pound called Eliot Old Possum, for reasons best know to the two of them.
*Datta: What have we given?
We, Indians, have given a lot to the world, not among the least of which is Naren Datta, aka Swami Vivekananda - see the other blog of the day.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
The First 9/11 Explosion In The USA, 1893
The first 9/11 explosion occurred in Chicago in 1893 when Swami Vivekananda addressed the World Congress of Religions and opened his address with "Sisters and brothers of America”. He got a standing ovation from a crowd of seven thousand, which lasted for two minutes. The explosion has had reverberations over a century and more; the most recent celebrity convert to Hinduism is Julia Roberts. However, one doesn’t convert to Hinduism, one goes on following one’s path and realizes that it is one of the many paths. You are unique, just like everyone else: that is the essence of Hinduism. Be that as it may, the New York Herald wrote, after Swamiji’s address, "Vivekananda is undoubtedly the greatest figure in the Parliament of Religions. After hearing him we feel how foolish it is to send missionaries to this learned nation."
During his brief address, he declared to be proud to belong to a religion which taught the world tolerance and universal acceptance. He stated that “We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all religions as true.” So Julia Roberts can go on being a Christian if she was one and she would still qualify to be a Hindu. There is nothing new you do, except go on loving other humans and being charitable to all of God’s creation – to be a Hindu. One doesn’t need to wear saffron or the vermillion mark on the forehead.
Swami Vivekananda addressed the World Congress of Religions a dozen times in the two weeks it was in session, the last time on 27th September.
Unfortunately in India, intellectuals of all shapes and shades urge us to shun religion (read: Hinduism). There are indeed many evil practices, like Sati, dowry, caste system; but these are not the essence of Hinduism. Hinduism is about serving the nara-narayana, the God residing in other humans. This principle is missed by the God’s own party which proclaims that they are true adherents of the Swami’s philosophy. They ended up in a mess of religious bigotry, while claiming that they are the torch bearers of Hindutva. Just as one doesn’t judge Islam by the 9/11 suicide bombers, one should not judge hindutva by the perpetrators of the post Godhra hate campaign.
Bala Gangadhar Tilak said: "Vivekananda saved Hinduism, saved India." Subhash Chandra Bose said: “I cannot write about Vivekananda without going into raptures. Few indeed could comprehend or fathom him even among those who had the privilege of becoming intimate with him. His personality was rich, profound and complex... Reckless in his sacrifice, unceasing in his activity, boundless in his love, profound and versatile in his wisdom, exuberant in his emotions, merciless in his attacks but yet simple as a child, he was a rare personality in this world of ours.”
Rabindranath Tagore, the poet told Romain Rolland: "if you want to know India, read Vivekananda, in him everything is positive and nothing is negative." The great electrical engineer, Nikola Tesla, after listening to Vivekananda's speech on Sankhya Philosophy, was much interested in its cosmogony and its rational theories of the Kalpas (cycles), Prana and Akasha. His notion based on the Vedanta led him to think that matter is a manifestation of energy. After attending a lecture on Vedanta by Vivekananda, Tesla also concluded that modern science can look for the solution of cosmological problems in Sankhya philosophy, and he could prove that mass can be reduced to potential energy mathematically.
On Science, the Swami said: “Science is nothing but the finding of unity. As soon as science would reach perfect unity, it would stop from further progress, because it would reach the goal. Thus Chemistry could not progress farther when it would discover one element out of which all other could be made. Physics would stop when it would be able to fulfill its services in discovering one energy of which all others are but manifestations ...
“All science is bound to come to this conclusion in the long run. Manifestation, and not creation, is the word of science today, and the Hindu is only glad that what he has been cherishing in his bosom for ages is going to be taught in more forcible language, and with further light from the latest conclusions of science.”
Most of this is sourced from the internet; but what I can say from my own heart is this: I cannot read a few lines of Swami Vivekananda’s teaching without my hair standing on end and my eyes getting moist. He is the ubermench. One wonders what would have happened if he came face to face with Friedrich Nietzsche, who said: “A casual stroll through the lunatic asylum shows that faith does not prove anything”.
Nietzsche held religious people in great contempt: “After coming into contact with a religious man I always feel I must wash my hands.” Alas, we never would know what Nietzsche would have done after coming into contact with Swami Vivekananda, if he ever did.
Interestingly, Swami Vivekananda died on American independence day – July 4th, 1902.
During his brief address, he declared to be proud to belong to a religion which taught the world tolerance and universal acceptance. He stated that “We believe not only in universal toleration, but we accept all religions as true.” So Julia Roberts can go on being a Christian if she was one and she would still qualify to be a Hindu. There is nothing new you do, except go on loving other humans and being charitable to all of God’s creation – to be a Hindu. One doesn’t need to wear saffron or the vermillion mark on the forehead.
Swami Vivekananda addressed the World Congress of Religions a dozen times in the two weeks it was in session, the last time on 27th September.
Unfortunately in India, intellectuals of all shapes and shades urge us to shun religion (read: Hinduism). There are indeed many evil practices, like Sati, dowry, caste system; but these are not the essence of Hinduism. Hinduism is about serving the nara-narayana, the God residing in other humans. This principle is missed by the God’s own party which proclaims that they are true adherents of the Swami’s philosophy. They ended up in a mess of religious bigotry, while claiming that they are the torch bearers of Hindutva. Just as one doesn’t judge Islam by the 9/11 suicide bombers, one should not judge hindutva by the perpetrators of the post Godhra hate campaign.
Bala Gangadhar Tilak said: "Vivekananda saved Hinduism, saved India." Subhash Chandra Bose said: “I cannot write about Vivekananda without going into raptures. Few indeed could comprehend or fathom him even among those who had the privilege of becoming intimate with him. His personality was rich, profound and complex... Reckless in his sacrifice, unceasing in his activity, boundless in his love, profound and versatile in his wisdom, exuberant in his emotions, merciless in his attacks but yet simple as a child, he was a rare personality in this world of ours.”
Rabindranath Tagore, the poet told Romain Rolland: "if you want to know India, read Vivekananda, in him everything is positive and nothing is negative." The great electrical engineer, Nikola Tesla, after listening to Vivekananda's speech on Sankhya Philosophy, was much interested in its cosmogony and its rational theories of the Kalpas (cycles), Prana and Akasha. His notion based on the Vedanta led him to think that matter is a manifestation of energy. After attending a lecture on Vedanta by Vivekananda, Tesla also concluded that modern science can look for the solution of cosmological problems in Sankhya philosophy, and he could prove that mass can be reduced to potential energy mathematically.
On Science, the Swami said: “Science is nothing but the finding of unity. As soon as science would reach perfect unity, it would stop from further progress, because it would reach the goal. Thus Chemistry could not progress farther when it would discover one element out of which all other could be made. Physics would stop when it would be able to fulfill its services in discovering one energy of which all others are but manifestations ...
“All science is bound to come to this conclusion in the long run. Manifestation, and not creation, is the word of science today, and the Hindu is only glad that what he has been cherishing in his bosom for ages is going to be taught in more forcible language, and with further light from the latest conclusions of science.”
Most of this is sourced from the internet; but what I can say from my own heart is this: I cannot read a few lines of Swami Vivekananda’s teaching without my hair standing on end and my eyes getting moist. He is the ubermench. One wonders what would have happened if he came face to face with Friedrich Nietzsche, who said: “A casual stroll through the lunatic asylum shows that faith does not prove anything”.
Nietzsche held religious people in great contempt: “After coming into contact with a religious man I always feel I must wash my hands.” Alas, we never would know what Nietzsche would have done after coming into contact with Swami Vivekananda, if he ever did.
Interestingly, Swami Vivekananda died on American independence day – July 4th, 1902.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
The Power of Positive Text Messages: Ali in Diwali – Ram in Ramzan
Usually, a lot of jokes are traded on SMS. The right word for it is of course ‘text’ or ‘text message’. Sometimes, malicious messages are perpetrated – to flare up communal passions: these messages talk of some hundred people of one community being killed by another community. There is little truth in them; but some people are easily affected by the written word, even if it is as ephemeral as a text message. On the other hand, there are positive messages that try to build unity and a sense of brotherhood (well, sisterhood) among people. Nivedita sent me one such: “Who is a Hindu? Who is a Muslim? There is Ali in Diwali and Ram in Ramzan. We are all one. Send this message to all your friends on the eve of 24 September 2010.”
Well, the judgment is now postponed by a week. More power to the positive vibes that will surely be generated by the text message, which I hope reaches the vast millions of mobile users. For my bit, I wanted to put it up on this blog and urge all of you to share this lovely message with everyone on your social networks. Obviously, it is a rather childish play on words, but then it delivers a powerful message and creates positive vibes. The courts have banned bulk sending of text messages, but this message should be put up on a ticker on all major cable channels.
As I was waiting for my ‘motor bike driver’ who brings me to this office out of which I work, I saw a ‘muslim’ boy (I put that in quotes for reasons that will become clear presently) with bowl of coals and incense in his bag. He would go to the cash till of the shops and put some incense in the bowl, and blow the smoke in the direction of the till. The shopkeepers give him a small sum. I don’t know about other parts of India but this is a common occurrence in Andhra Pradesh. The shopkeepers are all kinds, by religion, but Indian in essence. The boy is an Indian, a Hyderabadi, and a muslim – in that order. In one rare case, in the auto I was riding, I saw the auto driver wave this incense-boy away. That never used to happen in the past: fault lines are beginning to occur in our age old traditions.
Vivekananda said that throwing religion out of the window is not the solution for the problems we are facing. We are not following what is set down in the religious code (al qaida) in spirit and letter. All religions teach us to be humane; to give shelter to the homeless, to give food to the hungry, to give solace to the desperate. Do we, as Hindus, as Muslims, as Christians, follow any of this in spirit? Do we care for the people sleeping on empty stomach by the roadside. Do we care for those who set up leper colonies in the midst of the city, by the side of a hospital or railway station? We don’t. But we talk glibly about religion being the stumbling block to progress. We need to focus on material progress but it has to be tempered with spirituality; otherwise we cannot call ourselves human.
America has a hard core Bible belt (similar to the cow belt in India). Did it stop the progress of the U.S. A. to the position of the only super power? The banks in Pakistan don’t pay an interest on the savings accounts; many middle class people believe (and rightly so) that it is against Islam to collect interest. I don’t know what the investment bankers do, but ordinary people don’t want interest. Did this stop the progress of Pakistan to become a nuclear power? Come on, keep aside the jingoism and anti-paki feelings we all have: Pakistan is a powerful nation, a force to reckon with in Asia. Imagine a world where India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh join forces and not fight one another. The world better watch out!
But back to text messages: there is one that Vasant sent me. “Whiskey mein base Vishnu; rum mein base ram; gin me hain Janki aur beer mein hain veer hanuman – ab kya pioon main?” This is not really a positive text message, it is more of a joke. Still, it is not malicious; no one is making fun of the Hindu Gods. A really God-loving person will stop drinking all these and stick to champagne.
However, a malicious message would be like this: “Holi has a Hole in it; Ramzan has rum; and X-mas is X-rated. All religions should be thrown out the window.” (no one sent me this one; I cooked it up. Please don’t spread this). This kind of a message would only create negative vibes and has to be suppressed.
Well, the judgment is now postponed by a week. More power to the positive vibes that will surely be generated by the text message, which I hope reaches the vast millions of mobile users. For my bit, I wanted to put it up on this blog and urge all of you to share this lovely message with everyone on your social networks. Obviously, it is a rather childish play on words, but then it delivers a powerful message and creates positive vibes. The courts have banned bulk sending of text messages, but this message should be put up on a ticker on all major cable channels.
As I was waiting for my ‘motor bike driver’ who brings me to this office out of which I work, I saw a ‘muslim’ boy (I put that in quotes for reasons that will become clear presently) with bowl of coals and incense in his bag. He would go to the cash till of the shops and put some incense in the bowl, and blow the smoke in the direction of the till. The shopkeepers give him a small sum. I don’t know about other parts of India but this is a common occurrence in Andhra Pradesh. The shopkeepers are all kinds, by religion, but Indian in essence. The boy is an Indian, a Hyderabadi, and a muslim – in that order. In one rare case, in the auto I was riding, I saw the auto driver wave this incense-boy away. That never used to happen in the past: fault lines are beginning to occur in our age old traditions.
Vivekananda said that throwing religion out of the window is not the solution for the problems we are facing. We are not following what is set down in the religious code (al qaida) in spirit and letter. All religions teach us to be humane; to give shelter to the homeless, to give food to the hungry, to give solace to the desperate. Do we, as Hindus, as Muslims, as Christians, follow any of this in spirit? Do we care for the people sleeping on empty stomach by the roadside. Do we care for those who set up leper colonies in the midst of the city, by the side of a hospital or railway station? We don’t. But we talk glibly about religion being the stumbling block to progress. We need to focus on material progress but it has to be tempered with spirituality; otherwise we cannot call ourselves human.
America has a hard core Bible belt (similar to the cow belt in India). Did it stop the progress of the U.S. A. to the position of the only super power? The banks in Pakistan don’t pay an interest on the savings accounts; many middle class people believe (and rightly so) that it is against Islam to collect interest. I don’t know what the investment bankers do, but ordinary people don’t want interest. Did this stop the progress of Pakistan to become a nuclear power? Come on, keep aside the jingoism and anti-paki feelings we all have: Pakistan is a powerful nation, a force to reckon with in Asia. Imagine a world where India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh join forces and not fight one another. The world better watch out!
But back to text messages: there is one that Vasant sent me. “Whiskey mein base Vishnu; rum mein base ram; gin me hain Janki aur beer mein hain veer hanuman – ab kya pioon main?” This is not really a positive text message, it is more of a joke. Still, it is not malicious; no one is making fun of the Hindu Gods. A really God-loving person will stop drinking all these and stick to champagne.
However, a malicious message would be like this: “Holi has a Hole in it; Ramzan has rum; and X-mas is X-rated. All religions should be thrown out the window.” (no one sent me this one; I cooked it up. Please don’t spread this). This kind of a message would only create negative vibes and has to be suppressed.
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
the arcane world of manual labour...
How to Withdraw Cash from an ATM
It is so simple, right? You insert the card and do what the machine tells you to do. But there are intricacies if you are writing instructions for someone how to withdraw cash from an ATM. Firstly, where do you insert the card? There is slot on which it is written “Insert your card here”. By the way, what card do you insert? It could be your ATM/debit card or a credit card. Then you choose the language for the transaction (we say, oh, obviously English: but there could be a money-bag who has piles of cash but does not know English.) And so the story goes on… You could fill 4 pages before you come to “Collect your cash.’
I am talking of an arcane discipline called technical writing here: a technical writer has to look at a procedure from all angles – error conditions, the systems prompts from time to time, and so on. Many people think that any idiot can write these instructions; but it requires a special kind of idiot. One who thinks how things could go wrong at various points in a workflow. Take the case of an ATM. Sometimes, there is a notice saying that it is not working. But you can still insert your card, and at some point in the transaction, the machine tells you it cannot dispense cash – that is, after you have entered the pin, amount, chosen the account type and all that hype.
This essay is occasioned by a written test I had to take for a job as a technical writer: they said don’t make it more that 4 pages. Being a seasoned technical writer, even I thought initially, why it should take so long, but in the end I did end up using the upper limit to the document. There are a lot of job opportunities in the technical writing field: I recommend that for anyone with a flair for the language and an aptitude for technology. It is quite lucrative: it sometimes pays on par with software development.
Old hands in technical writing joke that it is a kind of 'manual labour' because it involves writing manuals!
Run up to Ganesh Nimajjan (Immersion)
Some Ganesha festival committees complete their puja a few days before the big Nimajjan day – which this time happens to be the 22nd of September. It has to do with Police permissions and that kind of bureaucratic hoopla. The Ganesh down the street was moved last night with huge fanfare. They started the drums and procession at 10.30 pm and at 12.30 am, it was still at the other end of the street. Late at night, some revelers came back with less of music but sufficiently ecstatic.
This season has been peaceful. In the good old days, there used to be riots and all associated with the Ganesh pandals. The police are alert, they are better equipped, and they rounded up people whom they suspect might create trouble. The specialty this time around was some old and middle-aged women dancing away to glory in front of the truck on which the idol was being carried. I haven’t seen this before, although for several years now, I have been outside Hyderabad during the Nimajjan season. Sighted among them was on big fat young lady.
When asked why don’t you carry on quickly, the ‘organizers’ of the procession said: sir, it’s only once a year.
It is so simple, right? You insert the card and do what the machine tells you to do. But there are intricacies if you are writing instructions for someone how to withdraw cash from an ATM. Firstly, where do you insert the card? There is slot on which it is written “Insert your card here”. By the way, what card do you insert? It could be your ATM/debit card or a credit card. Then you choose the language for the transaction (we say, oh, obviously English: but there could be a money-bag who has piles of cash but does not know English.) And so the story goes on… You could fill 4 pages before you come to “Collect your cash.’
I am talking of an arcane discipline called technical writing here: a technical writer has to look at a procedure from all angles – error conditions, the systems prompts from time to time, and so on. Many people think that any idiot can write these instructions; but it requires a special kind of idiot. One who thinks how things could go wrong at various points in a workflow. Take the case of an ATM. Sometimes, there is a notice saying that it is not working. But you can still insert your card, and at some point in the transaction, the machine tells you it cannot dispense cash – that is, after you have entered the pin, amount, chosen the account type and all that hype.
This essay is occasioned by a written test I had to take for a job as a technical writer: they said don’t make it more that 4 pages. Being a seasoned technical writer, even I thought initially, why it should take so long, but in the end I did end up using the upper limit to the document. There are a lot of job opportunities in the technical writing field: I recommend that for anyone with a flair for the language and an aptitude for technology. It is quite lucrative: it sometimes pays on par with software development.
Old hands in technical writing joke that it is a kind of 'manual labour' because it involves writing manuals!
Run up to Ganesh Nimajjan (Immersion)
Some Ganesha festival committees complete their puja a few days before the big Nimajjan day – which this time happens to be the 22nd of September. It has to do with Police permissions and that kind of bureaucratic hoopla. The Ganesh down the street was moved last night with huge fanfare. They started the drums and procession at 10.30 pm and at 12.30 am, it was still at the other end of the street. Late at night, some revelers came back with less of music but sufficiently ecstatic.
This season has been peaceful. In the good old days, there used to be riots and all associated with the Ganesh pandals. The police are alert, they are better equipped, and they rounded up people whom they suspect might create trouble. The specialty this time around was some old and middle-aged women dancing away to glory in front of the truck on which the idol was being carried. I haven’t seen this before, although for several years now, I have been outside Hyderabad during the Nimajjan season. Sighted among them was on big fat young lady.
When asked why don’t you carry on quickly, the ‘organizers’ of the procession said: sir, it’s only once a year.
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Oedipus Complex, Electra Complex, and Sundry Cerebral Aberrations
It is unfortunate that the Oedipus is associated with a certain kind of obsession with one’s mother: poor Oedipus did not know that it was his biological mother whom he married. However, it would not have happened if he considered the age of the woman he was marrying: in India, given that the woman is older, such a situation would not have arisen. Then there is the misnomer: Electra complex.
It is more likely that Agamemnon had a thing for his daughter Electra; that is the way of the world. Does a young girl have ‘feelings’ for an old man? I doubt it. Even if she has, she would learn to sublimate those feelings over time and free herself of the force of attraction for a father or a fatherly figure. It is more likely to call a ‘thing’ between the father and his little girl of a complex the Agamemnon complex.
Harold Robbins: Are you afraid of the dark?
“Are you afraid of the dark” is a simple story of a girl who gets molested by her father as a child, and becomes a serial killer. She has a multiple personality disorder – schizophrenia in conventional lingo. However, she is extremely skillful. Once she commits a murder, she covers her tracks and moves on to the other coast for another escapade. She is kind to her victims in that she lets them have ‘fun’ one last time before finishing them off. Ironically, at the end the novel, she goes on to another adventure, with a song on her lips.
There are many fathers in India too, who ‘misbehave’ with their daughters, but go scot free. The daughters don’t turn out to be serial killers, though. Indeed there are no serial killers in India. There seems to be a hell of lot of difference between U.S. and us. And thank God for that!
Akashamanta: Trisha and Prakash Raj…
There is a Telugu movie, “Akashamanta” (as big as the sky) in which Prakash Raj (Prakash Rai for those in Karnataka) has a beautiful daughter (Trisha). She goes to Delhi for studies and returns with a Sikh boy whom she loves. Now, Raj has some reservations about giving his daughter away to someone outside the community; to someone so far away from the town where he lives. And mainly, although it is not made explicit in the movie – it is about giving away his daughter in marriage at all. Does it mean he has a thing for her? No, not according to the script and screenplay.
But the kind of discomfiture he displays when she is hugging and kissing young Jogi (the boy she brings from Delhi) makes one wonder what exactly his feelings are towards his daughter. It is a superb performance from Prakash Raj-Rai: hats off to him. He brings something to the table which was not scripted. He leaves a lot to our imagination (and goes beyond the ‘script’). He cannot digest the idea of his ‘little girl’ in another man’s embrace. Fathers who cannot digest such thoughts should shun all such thoughts. It is not impossible; meditation can help, if not medication.
I should have been a pair of ragged claws
One of my uncles (the husband of an aunt) used to work in the medals section of the Electrical and Mechanical Engineering division of Indian Army. Some times I wish I had become a typist in some government organization, like the army, or in a bank. I once in fact appeared for an interview for the position of a clerk-cum-typist but failed in the typing test. Be that as it may, my point is that intellectual work doesn’t interest me any more; if it did, I would have been ungainfully employed in some university teaching uninspiring literary works to disinterested students.
This obsession with ‘manual’ work took shape (root) in me over the years as a technical writer. There is nothing exciting about the job of a software manual writer – it is as tedious as manual labor. In fact, my friends in software development and quality assurance used to complain about the lack of creativity in their jobs: they used to feel that they have prostituted their skills (that they acquired during their days in the engineering colleges). Then consider how I should feel, having studied literature, writing instructions like: “press this, or that, or both”.
In call centers too, there are people doing tedious jobs, assuming ‘Christian’ names and personas – answering angry, rude callers from around the world. But somehow there is a kind of aura associated with those jobs. They seem to throng the pubs, and are driven around in fast ‘jeeps’ (Toyota Qualis or Tata Sumo). Some of them ride fancy bikes. The boys and girls mix freely, the girls smoke and drink, and it is assumed that they rock and roll a good deal.
It is more likely that Agamemnon had a thing for his daughter Electra; that is the way of the world. Does a young girl have ‘feelings’ for an old man? I doubt it. Even if she has, she would learn to sublimate those feelings over time and free herself of the force of attraction for a father or a fatherly figure. It is more likely to call a ‘thing’ between the father and his little girl of a complex the Agamemnon complex.
Harold Robbins: Are you afraid of the dark?
“Are you afraid of the dark” is a simple story of a girl who gets molested by her father as a child, and becomes a serial killer. She has a multiple personality disorder – schizophrenia in conventional lingo. However, she is extremely skillful. Once she commits a murder, she covers her tracks and moves on to the other coast for another escapade. She is kind to her victims in that she lets them have ‘fun’ one last time before finishing them off. Ironically, at the end the novel, she goes on to another adventure, with a song on her lips.
There are many fathers in India too, who ‘misbehave’ with their daughters, but go scot free. The daughters don’t turn out to be serial killers, though. Indeed there are no serial killers in India. There seems to be a hell of lot of difference between U.S. and us. And thank God for that!
Akashamanta: Trisha and Prakash Raj…
There is a Telugu movie, “Akashamanta” (as big as the sky) in which Prakash Raj (Prakash Rai for those in Karnataka) has a beautiful daughter (Trisha). She goes to Delhi for studies and returns with a Sikh boy whom she loves. Now, Raj has some reservations about giving his daughter away to someone outside the community; to someone so far away from the town where he lives. And mainly, although it is not made explicit in the movie – it is about giving away his daughter in marriage at all. Does it mean he has a thing for her? No, not according to the script and screenplay.
But the kind of discomfiture he displays when she is hugging and kissing young Jogi (the boy she brings from Delhi) makes one wonder what exactly his feelings are towards his daughter. It is a superb performance from Prakash Raj-Rai: hats off to him. He brings something to the table which was not scripted. He leaves a lot to our imagination (and goes beyond the ‘script’). He cannot digest the idea of his ‘little girl’ in another man’s embrace. Fathers who cannot digest such thoughts should shun all such thoughts. It is not impossible; meditation can help, if not medication.
I should have been a pair of ragged claws
One of my uncles (the husband of an aunt) used to work in the medals section of the Electrical and Mechanical Engineering division of Indian Army. Some times I wish I had become a typist in some government organization, like the army, or in a bank. I once in fact appeared for an interview for the position of a clerk-cum-typist but failed in the typing test. Be that as it may, my point is that intellectual work doesn’t interest me any more; if it did, I would have been ungainfully employed in some university teaching uninspiring literary works to disinterested students.
This obsession with ‘manual’ work took shape (root) in me over the years as a technical writer. There is nothing exciting about the job of a software manual writer – it is as tedious as manual labor. In fact, my friends in software development and quality assurance used to complain about the lack of creativity in their jobs: they used to feel that they have prostituted their skills (that they acquired during their days in the engineering colleges). Then consider how I should feel, having studied literature, writing instructions like: “press this, or that, or both”.
In call centers too, there are people doing tedious jobs, assuming ‘Christian’ names and personas – answering angry, rude callers from around the world. But somehow there is a kind of aura associated with those jobs. They seem to throng the pubs, and are driven around in fast ‘jeeps’ (Toyota Qualis or Tata Sumo). Some of them ride fancy bikes. The boys and girls mix freely, the girls smoke and drink, and it is assumed that they rock and roll a good deal.
Congress Loyalists Have A License To Mint Money
Mrs Sonia Gandhi said in so many words that Dr Y S Rajasekhara Reddy was minting money – by foul means than fair – during his term in office; but he remained loyal to the party, and so she allowed him to go on. Indeed, he made him CM for a second term, in contravention of the precedence of making the Pradesh Congress Committee chief the CM. That the Congress is a corrupt party is a well-known fact: Mr Rajiv Gandhi himself bemoaned the state of affairs at the centenary celebration of the party in 89 or so – saying that it has become the shelter for power-brokers and wheelers and dealers.
Mrs Sonia Gandhi seems to have resigned herself to the fate of overseeing a corrupt-to-the-core Congress party, and getting a semblance of order into the affairs. She is also in the unenviable position of not having the mass appeal such as her late mother-in-law, or even the charisma of her late husband. She is handicapped by limited knowledge of Hindi, which is all important in Indian politics. She has the tag of a ‘foreigner’ attached, and to the middle class India, it conjures up an image of colonial rule. Except for her illustrious surname (and some family cash resources), she has nothing much going in her favor.
Mr Jaganmohan Reddy knows this fully well. He thought he could ‘blackmail’ her in terms of raking up a sympathy wave (as did Mr Rajiv Gandhi) and forcing her ‘hand’ to make him the CM. The mistake he did was to agree to Mr K Rosaiah’s name in the wake of his father’s death: he thought it was only a temporary arrangement, and that he would be anointed sooner than later. He got desperate when it appeared that Mr Rosaiah was well entrenched in the CM’s gaddi. That was when he made his first wrong move, and the costliest wrong move – in a series of suicidal moves: defying the party high command and proceeding with the second leg of his Odarpu Yatra (consolation tour).
Now, as long as you remain loyal to the party (=high command) you can go scot free with any number of misdeeds: all will be forgiven, except defiance. For one thing, Jagan is a young man in a hurry. And then again, he is not sure of what will be the outcome of the 2014 elections – there is the T-issue, there is Chiru looming large, and many imponderables. He had to act, and act now. It was a catch 22 situation for him: damned if he acts, damned if he don’t.
The high command responded with an invite to Chiranjivi to 10 Janpath: Chiru took the cue and played along. He knows full well that in the long term, a Congress party sans Jagan puts the political calculations in his favor, whether or not he enters into an alliance with the Congress. That is the story thus far.
What is going to unfold in the near to mid term?
Jagan is going to run out of steam; he is not going to be expelled from the party. He cannot topple the government (if he could, he would have done that long ago). Launching his own party at this juncture is pointless, because there will be no elections until 2014.
Speculation that he will join the BJP is all nonsense: what has he to gain from such a move? Precious nothing. The BJP’s 4 percent vote share in the state will not equal the muslim votes Jagan is going to lose if he joins hands with them. Then again, he will not be crowned king in that party.
The speculation arises from the thinking that the Gali brothers are a kind of bridge between Jagan and BJP. True, but the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) bosses are not happy about the influence the Gali brothers have on the party in Karnataka – and with Ms Sushma Swaraj at the center.
In the near term, nothing is going to happen; in the medium term – a new CM (from Telangana) will be named: it could be Dr J Geetha Reddy.
Mrs Sonia Gandhi seems to have resigned herself to the fate of overseeing a corrupt-to-the-core Congress party, and getting a semblance of order into the affairs. She is also in the unenviable position of not having the mass appeal such as her late mother-in-law, or even the charisma of her late husband. She is handicapped by limited knowledge of Hindi, which is all important in Indian politics. She has the tag of a ‘foreigner’ attached, and to the middle class India, it conjures up an image of colonial rule. Except for her illustrious surname (and some family cash resources), she has nothing much going in her favor.
Mr Jaganmohan Reddy knows this fully well. He thought he could ‘blackmail’ her in terms of raking up a sympathy wave (as did Mr Rajiv Gandhi) and forcing her ‘hand’ to make him the CM. The mistake he did was to agree to Mr K Rosaiah’s name in the wake of his father’s death: he thought it was only a temporary arrangement, and that he would be anointed sooner than later. He got desperate when it appeared that Mr Rosaiah was well entrenched in the CM’s gaddi. That was when he made his first wrong move, and the costliest wrong move – in a series of suicidal moves: defying the party high command and proceeding with the second leg of his Odarpu Yatra (consolation tour).
Now, as long as you remain loyal to the party (=high command) you can go scot free with any number of misdeeds: all will be forgiven, except defiance. For one thing, Jagan is a young man in a hurry. And then again, he is not sure of what will be the outcome of the 2014 elections – there is the T-issue, there is Chiru looming large, and many imponderables. He had to act, and act now. It was a catch 22 situation for him: damned if he acts, damned if he don’t.
The high command responded with an invite to Chiranjivi to 10 Janpath: Chiru took the cue and played along. He knows full well that in the long term, a Congress party sans Jagan puts the political calculations in his favor, whether or not he enters into an alliance with the Congress. That is the story thus far.
What is going to unfold in the near to mid term?
Jagan is going to run out of steam; he is not going to be expelled from the party. He cannot topple the government (if he could, he would have done that long ago). Launching his own party at this juncture is pointless, because there will be no elections until 2014.
Speculation that he will join the BJP is all nonsense: what has he to gain from such a move? Precious nothing. The BJP’s 4 percent vote share in the state will not equal the muslim votes Jagan is going to lose if he joins hands with them. Then again, he will not be crowned king in that party.
The speculation arises from the thinking that the Gali brothers are a kind of bridge between Jagan and BJP. True, but the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) bosses are not happy about the influence the Gali brothers have on the party in Karnataka – and with Ms Sushma Swaraj at the center.
In the near term, nothing is going to happen; in the medium term – a new CM (from Telangana) will be named: it could be Dr J Geetha Reddy.
Ganesh And Grain Drain; Id Ul Fitr…
As children, we used to throw ‘undrallu’ (boiled rice floor balls) on to huts and thatched roofs, because there will be mice (there were rats or mice on our tiled roof as well). As you know, Lord Ganesha’s mount is the mouse. We used to believe that Lord Ganesha would be propitiated if his ‘mount’ is fed with undrallu. It boils one’s blood that food grains are rotting in this country, where, according to www.thehungersite.com, three people die of nutrition deficiency every minute. The Supreme Court asked the government to do something about the situation – like distributing food grains free. Food grains which are otherwise rotting for lack of adequate storage arrangements.
The god-awful government gives two hundred rupees subsidy on cooking gas, to all and sundry; in the process screwing up the bottomline of public sector oil companies. However, it feels that economic principles will be affected adversely if free food is distributed to the poor. Dr Manmohan Singh also told the Supreme Court for good measure not to interfere in policy matters. The policy of this country is dictated by a woman of foreign origins, and we cannot dictate terms to the high priestess.
As I write this, there is a Big Fight on television; someone just pointed out that in the one hour that the battle is on (on television), 171 children would have died of hunger; two farmers would have committed suicide, God knows for what reason. There are seven more (according to the calculation that three per minute deaths occur due to hunger and malnutrition), who go unnoticed by caste-based census! There is food rotting in – actually outside – the storage facilities, and people dying on the streets. And the good doctor Manmohan Singh says: “Let them eat cake!” The rats and bandicoots are not complaining. Lord Ganesha will be happy with this situation too, perhaps. And the middle class, of which I am a proud member, will go back to sleep – having agreed with the vociferous appeals of those on television to stop hunger deaths, for at least as long as there is surplus grain.
I go to www.thehungersite.com once in a while and ‘donate’ a cup of rice: all it takes is to click the button that says donate a cup of rice. And my job done as a columnist, I go back to sleep – having feasted on Undrallu…
Id Ul Fitr and Ganesh Utsav on the same day
It is a double dhamaka for Hyderabad (and other parts of the country): Ramzan and Ganesh utsav on the same day. The good news is, there is no news of communal rioting as of this writing. I did not do the puja properly this year but I think Lord Ganesh would understand. It is actually about Id Ul Fitr that I wanted to write about today…
It was the year 1999. I was in Singapore and a friend from Hyderabad used to hang out with me when I had my daily quota of beer. Then we both would eat dinner together, and vend our way home. Then came the month of fasting. I said to Shahad (his pet name, real name – Rafat): “Look brother, you have given me company when I was drinking although you were not drinking; I will give you company in your fasting, though I am not a Muslim”.
However, I made some modifications to my ‘roza’, namely, not eating in the morning before the first prayer (too lazy to get up at that hour); having coffee and cigarettes during the day (and of course water); and swallowing the salivation. But, I was steadfast in not drinking during the whole month, and eating only in the evenings. The millennium thingie happened that year during the month of ramzan. And Rafat and I were probably the two young people who did not get drunk the night of December 31, 2000. Indeed, after the month of ramzan I continued with my abstinence for another six months. That is the longest dry patch in the past one decade and more.
Suffice it to say that faith moves mountains. Commitment, integrity, and such things are not taught: they come out of oneself – one either has them, in which case they will be manifest at one point or another. Or, one doesn’t have them. Unfortunately, my abstinence lasted only for 6 months. I made the mistake of getting onto an Indian Airlines flight to Hyderabad after that, and the air-hostess ‘auntie’ threw three cans of beer at me; that is where I lost my balance.
Yes, another important thing is balance: it is easy to shoot past the mark; but it is difficult to stand firm in the middle.
The god-awful government gives two hundred rupees subsidy on cooking gas, to all and sundry; in the process screwing up the bottomline of public sector oil companies. However, it feels that economic principles will be affected adversely if free food is distributed to the poor. Dr Manmohan Singh also told the Supreme Court for good measure not to interfere in policy matters. The policy of this country is dictated by a woman of foreign origins, and we cannot dictate terms to the high priestess.
As I write this, there is a Big Fight on television; someone just pointed out that in the one hour that the battle is on (on television), 171 children would have died of hunger; two farmers would have committed suicide, God knows for what reason. There are seven more (according to the calculation that three per minute deaths occur due to hunger and malnutrition), who go unnoticed by caste-based census! There is food rotting in – actually outside – the storage facilities, and people dying on the streets. And the good doctor Manmohan Singh says: “Let them eat cake!” The rats and bandicoots are not complaining. Lord Ganesha will be happy with this situation too, perhaps. And the middle class, of which I am a proud member, will go back to sleep – having agreed with the vociferous appeals of those on television to stop hunger deaths, for at least as long as there is surplus grain.
I go to www.thehungersite.com once in a while and ‘donate’ a cup of rice: all it takes is to click the button that says donate a cup of rice. And my job done as a columnist, I go back to sleep – having feasted on Undrallu…
Id Ul Fitr and Ganesh Utsav on the same day
It is a double dhamaka for Hyderabad (and other parts of the country): Ramzan and Ganesh utsav on the same day. The good news is, there is no news of communal rioting as of this writing. I did not do the puja properly this year but I think Lord Ganesh would understand. It is actually about Id Ul Fitr that I wanted to write about today…
It was the year 1999. I was in Singapore and a friend from Hyderabad used to hang out with me when I had my daily quota of beer. Then we both would eat dinner together, and vend our way home. Then came the month of fasting. I said to Shahad (his pet name, real name – Rafat): “Look brother, you have given me company when I was drinking although you were not drinking; I will give you company in your fasting, though I am not a Muslim”.
However, I made some modifications to my ‘roza’, namely, not eating in the morning before the first prayer (too lazy to get up at that hour); having coffee and cigarettes during the day (and of course water); and swallowing the salivation. But, I was steadfast in not drinking during the whole month, and eating only in the evenings. The millennium thingie happened that year during the month of ramzan. And Rafat and I were probably the two young people who did not get drunk the night of December 31, 2000. Indeed, after the month of ramzan I continued with my abstinence for another six months. That is the longest dry patch in the past one decade and more.
Suffice it to say that faith moves mountains. Commitment, integrity, and such things are not taught: they come out of oneself – one either has them, in which case they will be manifest at one point or another. Or, one doesn’t have them. Unfortunately, my abstinence lasted only for 6 months. I made the mistake of getting onto an Indian Airlines flight to Hyderabad after that, and the air-hostess ‘auntie’ threw three cans of beer at me; that is where I lost my balance.
Yes, another important thing is balance: it is easy to shoot past the mark; but it is difficult to stand firm in the middle.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Sherlock Holmes and the Silent Dog
Like many of the adventures of Sherlock Holmes, there is one involving a murder investigation. Holmes and Watson go to visit the site of murder. When they get back to their Baker Street residence, Holmes asks Watson: "Did you notice the dog at the house of murder, Watson?" Watson answers in the affirmative. "Did you notice anything strange in its behavior?" asks Holmes further. Watson replies: "Nothing strange. It was lying in a corner silently." Holmes thumps the table at it: "That is exactly what I mean. There is a murder in the house, and the dog is not making a lot of ruckus, which it should be doing under normal circumstances." And he goes on to suggest that the landlord of the house is the suspect (and that is why the dog takes it to be business as usual); it turns out in the end that the landlord is indeed the culprit.
Sorry to have taken such a long time to come to the point - There is nothing about Mr Y S Jaganmohan Reddy in the Principal Opposition Paper (POP) or on the popular television channels today. What is wrong with that, you might wonder. According to these papers and channels, and according to their sources, action would be taken against Jagan in the first week of September - we are well nigh the end of the first week, and no such thing is coming forth. Except for causing the death of a couple of more 'fans', the Odarpu hasn't achieved anything so far.
I speculated earlier that criminal proceeding would be taken against those involved in mining and other irregularities. The APIIC boss today said in so many words that those responsible for the 'Emmar kumbhakonam' will not be spared and even criminal action will be initiated as per the report of the investigation committee. Mr Ambati can start looking for a good trial lawyer, and be mentally prepared to eat chippa koodu.
You heard it before - I mean, read it before - in this column that no action will be taken against Jagan, in terms of expelling him from the party. If his fingerprints are found on any of these scams, the action will be criminal cases and not some shim-sham show-cause notice. Even now his camp followers are in the illusion that the Congress high command does not dare take action against them or their leader. The fact is that the high command does not care to take action. They say that digging into the irregularities of the past regime is 'harassment': well they are behaving like the thief who groped his shoulder when someone asked "who is the pumpkin thief". Already a petition in the high court filed by someone not related to the scam was dismissed, and he was roundly asked - why are you interested in this case?
There was some talk of the Gali brothers coming to bail Jagan out: it was rumored that they would even buy out MPs at the center and topple the Congress government. The Nehru-Gandhi dynasty is the biggest shindig when it comes to horse-trading, as we have seen in the case of the nuke deal with America and how the UPA sarkar got the bill through. Nobody can buy out Congress MPs: there is plenty of money with the Congress and there is the 'abhaya hastam' of the high command. And then there is the brand equity of the very name Gandhi. (Unfortunately, Maneka Gandhi and Feroze Varun could not get any dividends out of their illustrious surnames.)
What is going to happen in the near term?
A Telangana leader will be named CM - possibly Dr J Geetha Reddy. The Srikrishna commission report will be referred to a joint parliamentary committee. Negotiations will be opened with the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) on the modalities of state formation. It will be made known that Telangana is going to be created. Even a time-frame for the creation of T-state may be announced. This could pave the way for a TRS-Congress tie-up in the future elections (failing which the TRS would jump into bed with the BJP). However, that is in the long term.
So what do we have in store in the long term?
I have been keeping my political comments to Andhra Pradesh, because I really don't have a grasp of politics at the national level. But I will venture a few big picture speculations today. The Congress could romp home to victory in the parliamentary elections in 2014, in alliance with TRS in Telangana; and with the Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) in the rest of Andhra. It should do well in Karnataka, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Orissa, and overall maintain an edge over the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). They just need to rein in the likes of Mr P Chidambaram, who are helping the saffron cause, as did Mr P V Narasimharao in the 1990s.
The BJP is good as an opposition party: it is right of center in economics, which is good for the country. It will retain its stature as the main opposition party and leave the left parties behind. Leftist economics are really outdated. It will be a much more diminished left presence in the next Loksabha.
Jagan will go back to Bangalore and get into some call center job (or real estate dhanda). I mean, he will go to the boondocks.
Sorry to have taken such a long time to come to the point - There is nothing about Mr Y S Jaganmohan Reddy in the Principal Opposition Paper (POP) or on the popular television channels today. What is wrong with that, you might wonder. According to these papers and channels, and according to their sources, action would be taken against Jagan in the first week of September - we are well nigh the end of the first week, and no such thing is coming forth. Except for causing the death of a couple of more 'fans', the Odarpu hasn't achieved anything so far.
I speculated earlier that criminal proceeding would be taken against those involved in mining and other irregularities. The APIIC boss today said in so many words that those responsible for the 'Emmar kumbhakonam' will not be spared and even criminal action will be initiated as per the report of the investigation committee. Mr Ambati can start looking for a good trial lawyer, and be mentally prepared to eat chippa koodu.
You heard it before - I mean, read it before - in this column that no action will be taken against Jagan, in terms of expelling him from the party. If his fingerprints are found on any of these scams, the action will be criminal cases and not some shim-sham show-cause notice. Even now his camp followers are in the illusion that the Congress high command does not dare take action against them or their leader. The fact is that the high command does not care to take action. They say that digging into the irregularities of the past regime is 'harassment': well they are behaving like the thief who groped his shoulder when someone asked "who is the pumpkin thief". Already a petition in the high court filed by someone not related to the scam was dismissed, and he was roundly asked - why are you interested in this case?
There was some talk of the Gali brothers coming to bail Jagan out: it was rumored that they would even buy out MPs at the center and topple the Congress government. The Nehru-Gandhi dynasty is the biggest shindig when it comes to horse-trading, as we have seen in the case of the nuke deal with America and how the UPA sarkar got the bill through. Nobody can buy out Congress MPs: there is plenty of money with the Congress and there is the 'abhaya hastam' of the high command. And then there is the brand equity of the very name Gandhi. (Unfortunately, Maneka Gandhi and Feroze Varun could not get any dividends out of their illustrious surnames.)
What is going to happen in the near term?
A Telangana leader will be named CM - possibly Dr J Geetha Reddy. The Srikrishna commission report will be referred to a joint parliamentary committee. Negotiations will be opened with the Telangana Rashtra Samiti (TRS) on the modalities of state formation. It will be made known that Telangana is going to be created. Even a time-frame for the creation of T-state may be announced. This could pave the way for a TRS-Congress tie-up in the future elections (failing which the TRS would jump into bed with the BJP). However, that is in the long term.
So what do we have in store in the long term?
I have been keeping my political comments to Andhra Pradesh, because I really don't have a grasp of politics at the national level. But I will venture a few big picture speculations today. The Congress could romp home to victory in the parliamentary elections in 2014, in alliance with TRS in Telangana; and with the Praja Rajyam Party (PRP) in the rest of Andhra. It should do well in Karnataka, Maharashtra, West Bengal, Orissa, and overall maintain an edge over the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). They just need to rein in the likes of Mr P Chidambaram, who are helping the saffron cause, as did Mr P V Narasimharao in the 1990s.
The BJP is good as an opposition party: it is right of center in economics, which is good for the country. It will retain its stature as the main opposition party and leave the left parties behind. Leftist economics are really outdated. It will be a much more diminished left presence in the next Loksabha.
Jagan will go back to Bangalore and get into some call center job (or real estate dhanda). I mean, he will go to the boondocks.
Friday, September 3, 2010
The Color Of Terror Is Red…
Hunger, anger, angst and insecurity and many other feelings may cause people to resort to violence and terrorist acts. There is disinheritance, depravity, loss of land and life and limb, and the list goes on. However, the color of terror is red, as also of all these feelings. Red also indicates danger: Giving it the color of saffron is nothing short of fool-hardiness, which is exactly what the Union Home Minister Mr P Chidambaram has done. In spite of opposition from his own party, he stood by his guns and said that he was trying to get across a point and that he effectively did that. What was the point he was trying to get across?
That terrorists who happen to be Hindus by birth can be called saffron terrorists but terrorists of other persuasions cannot be identified with their religion. That we have to soft-pedal that kind of terrorism with names like ‘jihadi’ (which is a very fine word indeed – meaning ‘dharam yudh’) or cross-border terrorism? Jihad means fight against evil: in the context of India, it is directed against the sovereign state of India, which presumably is the evil. Our neighbor is sponsoring them. No matter the people of that country are not up in arms against India: but we cannot strike out peace with candle-lit dinners, while the powers that be in that country are sending terrorists by the hundreds across the border. And these jihadis are ably abetted by people of a particular group – whether you like it or not. The conspiracy of silence involved in stating that support for what it is – is overlooked by the Indian Outlook. On the other hand, you have the Vinod Mehtas of the world who have candle-vigils for the unholy neighbors. We are at war with Pakistan civilian peace-keepers can’t alleviate the situation. On the other hand, these secularists are driving moderates into the militant Hindu fold.
What is cross border about the D Company operatives: they are well within the borders, alive and kicking. The fact that Dawood Ibrahim himself lives in style in Karachi or Dubai doesn’t make the terror acts he promotes cross-border terrorism. Calling the terrorist acts of people from a particular community ‘jihadi’ terror is actually giving it a legitimacy it does not deserve. It is not my case that these terrorists belong to any religion; their religion doesn’t sanction violence against innocents. So, in giving a particular brand of terrorism ‘saffron’, Mr P Chidambaram is in fact pointing at other acts of terror and is leaving people to think of what color that is! Is that the point he was trying to get across?
What did this government do to have Dawood extradited? What did the NDA regime (led by the Bharatiya Janata Party) do to get him extradited? Precious little. Out of the government the BPP cries hoarse about minority appeasement, about Warren Anderson’s escape; when it was in government – it did nothing about it. And who is watching the fun from the side wings when the saffron brigade and the cross border armies are sledging it out in the middle? That’s white mischief for you.
The way to economic development…
the noble economix doctor bhagwati,
and swami and friends tell us
that the 20 points are old, all dotty
the trick is to model ourself more on U.S.
Let us teach them (over time)
Let us reach them (by road)
What if some fall by the way side, waiting
That means fewer masses to uplift
Let us teach them to fish, by hook or crook or baiting
Let everyone of us get rich – some first, get rich quick
But all in good time.
That terrorists who happen to be Hindus by birth can be called saffron terrorists but terrorists of other persuasions cannot be identified with their religion. That we have to soft-pedal that kind of terrorism with names like ‘jihadi’ (which is a very fine word indeed – meaning ‘dharam yudh’) or cross-border terrorism? Jihad means fight against evil: in the context of India, it is directed against the sovereign state of India, which presumably is the evil. Our neighbor is sponsoring them. No matter the people of that country are not up in arms against India: but we cannot strike out peace with candle-lit dinners, while the powers that be in that country are sending terrorists by the hundreds across the border. And these jihadis are ably abetted by people of a particular group – whether you like it or not. The conspiracy of silence involved in stating that support for what it is – is overlooked by the Indian Outlook. On the other hand, you have the Vinod Mehtas of the world who have candle-vigils for the unholy neighbors. We are at war with Pakistan civilian peace-keepers can’t alleviate the situation. On the other hand, these secularists are driving moderates into the militant Hindu fold.
What is cross border about the D Company operatives: they are well within the borders, alive and kicking. The fact that Dawood Ibrahim himself lives in style in Karachi or Dubai doesn’t make the terror acts he promotes cross-border terrorism. Calling the terrorist acts of people from a particular community ‘jihadi’ terror is actually giving it a legitimacy it does not deserve. It is not my case that these terrorists belong to any religion; their religion doesn’t sanction violence against innocents. So, in giving a particular brand of terrorism ‘saffron’, Mr P Chidambaram is in fact pointing at other acts of terror and is leaving people to think of what color that is! Is that the point he was trying to get across?
What did this government do to have Dawood extradited? What did the NDA regime (led by the Bharatiya Janata Party) do to get him extradited? Precious little. Out of the government the BPP cries hoarse about minority appeasement, about Warren Anderson’s escape; when it was in government – it did nothing about it. And who is watching the fun from the side wings when the saffron brigade and the cross border armies are sledging it out in the middle? That’s white mischief for you.
The way to economic development…
the noble economix doctor bhagwati,
and swami and friends tell us
that the 20 points are old, all dotty
the trick is to model ourself more on U.S.
Let us teach them (over time)
Let us reach them (by road)
What if some fall by the way side, waiting
That means fewer masses to uplift
Let us teach them to fish, by hook or crook or baiting
Let everyone of us get rich – some first, get rich quick
But all in good time.
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
My Life Is An Open Book Which Nobody Wants To Read
I have been writing these blogs (column – if you are reading Trust News) for nearly 3 months. I have had a handful of people responding to me; you could count them on your hands. They say they enjoy reading them; some violently disagree with what I say; some correct me where I have gone wrong. I am thankful to those who say nice things about the blogs and even more grateful to those who criticize me: but the kind of response that really hurts me is, “Man, you write so much. It’s really great!” They of course mean it as a compliment, but it hurts. It is saying, in other words, “You got all the time in the world; you don’t have better things to do than blog; and I am not going to waste my time reading the stuff.” But this quote keeps me going….
"Alas for those who never sing,
But die with all their music in them!" … Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr
CM Unwell… Manmohan comes a visiting
The Chief Minister is once again unwell and stayed at home, keeping away from regular business. Mr Danam Nagender, who visited them, gave him a clean bill of health and stated that the CM would inaugurate the statue of the late CM Y S Rajasekhara Reddy tomorrow. Let us hope that Mr K Rosaiah gets well sooner than later and makes himself available for tomorrow’s programme. However, how long can he continue in the CM’s gaddi is a big question, particularly now that the government is facing so many challenges – one from Jagan, and another from the separate Telangana forces.
In the meantime, Dr Manmohan Singh laid the foundation stone for the Mannavaram project and said that it was a tribute to YSR a day before his first death anniversary. The Congress party owns up YSR but not his arrogant son.
Dr Geetha Reddy is summoned to Delhi
At this point, one could only speculate as to why Dr J Geetha Reddy is summoned to New Delhi. It is certain that she would meet the supremo and that she would be given a greater responsibility: it could be the CM’s job itself, given that Mr Rosaiah is not in the pink of his health and is not able to handle the Jagan issue. The high command is forced to take steps to checkmate Jagan, which 10 Janpath is loath to do on a daily basis. Madame Gandhi Jr wants Jagan to be taken care of locally, at the state level. There is a possibility of Dr J Geetha Reddy’s name being circulated as the successor, and putting pressure on Mr K Rosaiah to step down ‘voluntarily’ on account of bad health.
If that is not the case, then surely Dr Geetha Reddy will be the top runner for the Pradesh Congress Committee chief’s post. But the timing of Dr Geetha Reddy’s trip to Delhi makes one believe that it would be the CM-ship. There is no urgency to decide on a new PCC chief now – it is a month away. Bringing about a change in the government is of more urgency, in the light of Jagan’s confrontation in the coming few days. The high command is on game point (set point and match point) in Tennis lingo: making Dr J Geetha Reddy the new CM will be an ace that will settle the match in the high command’s favour. Remember, you have read it here first.
Krishnashtami and sundry Hindu festivals
It is interesting that Krishnashtami is celebrated with such great fanfare, and in public, in the north; it is celebrated at home quietly in the south (at least in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka). Ganesh Chaturthi is not much of a festival in the north, but it is such a big event in the Maha Rashtra and Andhra (and other southern states). In Hyderabad, of course the biggest festival is Bonalu (there is Ramzan too). Dasara is widely celebrated but it is a huge event in West Bengal. Diwali is a universal festival that is celebrated across the states, perhaps not so much in J & K. People down south haven’t heard of Karva Chauth; in the north, they don’t know what is Onam, which is of course is a big deal in Kerala. There is pongal in the south; rakhi and holi in the north. All kinds of festivals all around the place!
On the other hand, Muslims have their Id-ul-fitr and Ramzan – wherever they are in the world. So also Christians (Christmas and Easter). And so is the case with other religions. It is only among Hindus that we have so many ‘regional festivals’ a la regional parties. If it weren’t for Diwali – Hindus would not have a common thread running across various regions.
"Alas for those who never sing,
But die with all their music in them!" … Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr
CM Unwell… Manmohan comes a visiting
The Chief Minister is once again unwell and stayed at home, keeping away from regular business. Mr Danam Nagender, who visited them, gave him a clean bill of health and stated that the CM would inaugurate the statue of the late CM Y S Rajasekhara Reddy tomorrow. Let us hope that Mr K Rosaiah gets well sooner than later and makes himself available for tomorrow’s programme. However, how long can he continue in the CM’s gaddi is a big question, particularly now that the government is facing so many challenges – one from Jagan, and another from the separate Telangana forces.
In the meantime, Dr Manmohan Singh laid the foundation stone for the Mannavaram project and said that it was a tribute to YSR a day before his first death anniversary. The Congress party owns up YSR but not his arrogant son.
Dr Geetha Reddy is summoned to Delhi
At this point, one could only speculate as to why Dr J Geetha Reddy is summoned to New Delhi. It is certain that she would meet the supremo and that she would be given a greater responsibility: it could be the CM’s job itself, given that Mr Rosaiah is not in the pink of his health and is not able to handle the Jagan issue. The high command is forced to take steps to checkmate Jagan, which 10 Janpath is loath to do on a daily basis. Madame Gandhi Jr wants Jagan to be taken care of locally, at the state level. There is a possibility of Dr J Geetha Reddy’s name being circulated as the successor, and putting pressure on Mr K Rosaiah to step down ‘voluntarily’ on account of bad health.
If that is not the case, then surely Dr Geetha Reddy will be the top runner for the Pradesh Congress Committee chief’s post. But the timing of Dr Geetha Reddy’s trip to Delhi makes one believe that it would be the CM-ship. There is no urgency to decide on a new PCC chief now – it is a month away. Bringing about a change in the government is of more urgency, in the light of Jagan’s confrontation in the coming few days. The high command is on game point (set point and match point) in Tennis lingo: making Dr J Geetha Reddy the new CM will be an ace that will settle the match in the high command’s favour. Remember, you have read it here first.
Krishnashtami and sundry Hindu festivals
It is interesting that Krishnashtami is celebrated with such great fanfare, and in public, in the north; it is celebrated at home quietly in the south (at least in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka). Ganesh Chaturthi is not much of a festival in the north, but it is such a big event in the Maha Rashtra and Andhra (and other southern states). In Hyderabad, of course the biggest festival is Bonalu (there is Ramzan too). Dasara is widely celebrated but it is a huge event in West Bengal. Diwali is a universal festival that is celebrated across the states, perhaps not so much in J & K. People down south haven’t heard of Karva Chauth; in the north, they don’t know what is Onam, which is of course is a big deal in Kerala. There is pongal in the south; rakhi and holi in the north. All kinds of festivals all around the place!
On the other hand, Muslims have their Id-ul-fitr and Ramzan – wherever they are in the world. So also Christians (Christmas and Easter). And so is the case with other religions. It is only among Hindus that we have so many ‘regional festivals’ a la regional parties. If it weren’t for Diwali – Hindus would not have a common thread running across various regions.
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