1984 - THROUGH MY EYES

I was just watching this documentaryon NDTV 24x7, on the riots of 1984 and the story of an australian lady married to a sikh and their life thereafter.When everyone is reminescing those gory days in the silver jublee year of the mishap, I can't help but reflect on the same time in my life.

I was practically brought up in Delhi, my father having moved in there in 1978, following his transfer.We moved into a house in West Delhi, an area called Janak Puri and I still remember the house in every detail. Green and blue walls in the two rooms that we had and a small kitchen which my mother, who is passionate about neatness and order, had arranged  in the most user friendly way possible.We were admitted into a popular school nearby and life just seemed the way it should be with four of us in the family playing our roles to perfection.

It was October 31,1984, and doordarshan was the only channel available.We came back from school and there was a rumour that something had happened to Mrs.Indira Gandhi.She was killed - "assasinated" was not a term very popular then because the only assasination that we knew till then was of the Mahatma.I was 10 years old and only thing on my mind was -hopefully I wont have to attend school the next day.My parents had been trying to know more  by catching the news on the radio but all that they could gather was that Mrs.Gandhi was shot at and critical.

At 6 pm, my father switched on the the black and white "Crown" tv we had with us and we all were gazing at the now very famous logo of doordarshan beginning to roll on the screen.And then the news began and the news reader finally confirmed the death of Mrs.Gandhi.We kids were glad that the holiday was confirmed.But how long the holiday would extend and that it would be embedded in the memory as the worst nightmare was not something we knew.
As the night approached, the mood got darker.The rumour got thicker that Hindus were angry at the happening and the Sikhs were in danger of being attacked. But the mind always thinks that such news and violence are not something that you would become a victim of.And so we thought this would be something we would read in the newspaper the next day and everything would pass off.But it was not to be.
It was a bright sunny day but we had no clue of the dark clouds that would hover on us later that day. I think, it was around 10:30 am when we started hearing the shouts and a cacaphony of voices with a lot of anger in it.I remember my mother immediately making efforts to check that all the latches were secure. We were in a locality where we had bungalows in a circle and a park inbetween where we used to play. It was an area dominated by Sikhs and there were lots of Sikh families in the houses around us.I still remember vividly a group of people attacking the first house in the row opposite to ours on the right............ they broke open the gates and men started running away with VCRs and TVs , making the most of the oppurtunity in hand.And then the angry mob pulled out the Sikhs in the house holding them by their turbans and started beating them mercilessly.A mob has no mind of its own and so they were guided by the heat of the situation and in moments,the victims were bleeding from every part of the body.
In some time, the mob became uncontrollable and started searching for every house which had a sardar inside.Unfortunately, with the symbol of Sikhism adoring every house which they occupied, the task was only made easy for these rogues.In some time, we suddenly started seeing flames rising from the houses .......the houses were just mercilessly being burnt.........and suddenly there were blasts .....loud and ear shattering.......the mob had resorted to an easy way to set things on fire......they were opening the gas cylinders and setting fire.The number of houses in flames just kept increasing......the shrieks and cries for help and mercy were ringing in the air.......even as i write this, I can clearly hear those voices of pain and agony.Also, the sound of bursting cylinders became more and more frequent and we were told later that the Sikhs were being tied to the cylinder to make sure that they were killed along with the blasting cylinders.How true was this..is something I never came to know .......and would never like to know because the devil is not what I want to remember any human being as.
One particular sight I clearly remember, is that of the house of the Handas which was close to the market area being attacked.The lady of the house was on the terrace with a cordless phone in her hand and kids of my age with her and shouting "bachao... humein maaf kar do..in bachchon ko maaf kar do" while the mob with no feelings set the house and curtains in flames........while her wails of pain and fear kept growing with the flames which wrapped their once beautiful house.
We were now experiencing real fear.My father asked my mother to pack all the money,jewellery and valuables in a small bag and all of us were holding each other fearing the worst to happen.We had suddenly and unknowingly become a part of one of the worst violence to hit Delhi.God had mercy and we realised it that day when the mob moved away after 12 long hours but somehow we were left untouched.
We faced fear and violence in the bare naked form........and believe me its not something anyone wants to face or recall.
Time has passed and 25 years down the memory lane .....I see that many wounds have healed......the houses have been reconstructed with no evidence of the damage done.........but the scars of the wound remain hidden deep inside ............forever!

THIS CHAIWALA IS NO SLUMDOG.......BUT SURE HAS A MILLIONAIRE'S HEART!

Life has different ways and means of teaching you a lesson.And for me this time its came from a chaiwala whom I have befriended in this alien island of Port Blair. Its become a daily routine to have tea at his stall since the day I discovered this chaiwala at the clock tower, a prominent landmark in the Aberdeen bazaar here. Its a small inconspicuous stall at a very prominent location. The place is most frequented by the traffic policemen who are stationed there and dont mind a tea to keep their spirits high and keep them tuned to their tough job.
The first time I was introduced to the shop by my good friend, Dr.Rajeev, I was hardly impressed by it.But the moment I tasted the vadas,which had an alcohol like addictive taste to it, my opinion changed.Just the right taste and no dripping oil in the preparation and it requires a really strong will to save oneself from stopping at eating just one. Me and my friend are yet to succeed in that effort till now.
A couple of visits and the chaiwala started recognising me and besides the tasty wadas and hot tea there was always a happy smile greeting me.Unfortunately, I am not the first to make the move in most conversations and so it was the chaiwala who broke the ice in my next visit.As usual the talk started with the question of what do i do. And once I blurted that I was a doctor, his smile travelled from ear to ear and the predictable question of how I landed up in this island was followed by my well rehearsed answer.Reciprocating the gesture, I asked how long had he been doing the job.He didnt exactly remember the years but said it was more than 25 years since he got into it. And then he said with his warm smile, if all become doctors and engineers who will be left to cater to the basic need of food and hunger. More than what he said it was the fact that he was doing his job with pride and dedication which attracted me. He told that his daily chore begins at 3 am grinding the batter for the vadas and the hot idlis for the early morning breakfast. The day continues with the serving  of hundreds of cups of tea and coffee, rejuvinating the people of Port Blair to get back to their work. He has been following the same routine with no regrets and has mastered the art of  handing every cup with a smile on his face although he has no perishable paper degree to certify his expertise  in hotel management.
Many flock the shop for his tasty delicacies but what is different is that there is no accounting of the vadas you eat or the number of cups of tea you gulp down. He just serves you his preparation with a smile. In fact, you can just pick up what yours taste buds demand and as many as you like. He trusts the customer on his word and charges only for what the customer says.But no one cheats, all pay........thats the reward his trust and dedication brings, I guess. There is a strong bond  this guy shares with a panwala and another associate of his, who run the shop as a trio.The Ambani brothers have a lot to learn from these guys because they reveal a simple trick to make the business tick - friendship and trust- two words which dont knock at the Ambani house.
My first cup of tea and coffee was complimentary from him but since then it has been more for his smile and hospitality and  the inspiration for working with dedication and happiness which draws me to my favourite chaiwala. I think it this spirit which trickles into his vada and tea, and brings all and sundry in this small island to the clock tower to taste it, at least once a day. His conversations with every visitor are no more than a few routine questions about the well being, but they lift up my spirits enough to make me move into the next day with a wish to emulate this chaiwala in my job, as I deal with the sick people who flock my OPD.Surely, this chailwala is no slumdog..........and serves more than just tea and vadas!

ANALYSIS OF A DEVELOPING NATION

Its another weekend in the room alone and away from my family (Its been almost two months since I moved into Andamans living the forced bachelor's life) and idle mind does come up with some sensible thoughts occassionally. I was just thinking that India is referred to by derogatory words like "third world" and "developing nation" but  there are certain aspects where this country and its people have made really fast advances. For one, the communication sector. Its been around 20 years since the communication wave started to build and we almost have every part of the country connected with the cell phones now. I am in fact, right now far away from the heart of the country in a teeny weeny island in the Indian Ocean and writing this blog with a small modem to keep me wired to the cyberspace.So, how come on one hand we have a farmer who is commiting suicide not having enough money to cater to the basic needs of his family while at the same time ,we also have a rickshaw wallah pulling out a mobile and listening to FM and talking to his near and dear ones while he goes around with the daily chore.
I guess the answer lies in the effort of the government and also the mindset of the people. Competition creates the best oppurtunities for the needy and that sure has helped in bringing the call rates from astronomically high costs in the past to less than a rupee for long distance telephony in the present. The entrance of the private sector surely makes the competition tough as the rates have to be kept low to make the service attractive and simultaneously one has to maintain high quality of service so that the faith in the company and the product stays on.
Now for the mindset of the people.I don't know if its a world phenomenon or a man thing- but gadgets have a thing to impress. You want to use and fiddle with every new mobile handset that you see. A man may not have learnt the numerics in school but he would make no mistake in quoting the right number of the nokia model in the market. I guess gadgets have some x factor like the females. You may not own it but you will not forget to notice it- I guess that's a universal truth for females and gadgets.I guess because of this fetish for gadgets, every man (who in most of the households decides where the money is spent) builds up enough to invest in the purchase of a mobile phone irrespective of his need or earnings.
Another thing which has an omnipresence is the video and cd industry.The technology in the tv and video industry has changed manifolds- with first the vcps,vcrs, video cds and now dvds. But be it village or a city,all have kept up to the times. You will get the pirated movies in all the latest formats in every nook and corner of India with the availability of the latest player for putting it to use. Its all because of the common man's deep rooted interest in getting the latest with the times in entertainment which makes this possible.
So, my idle mind thinks that two key things to make progress happen are : desire and interest.The mobile and dvd industry are sureshot proof that if we put our desire and interest together, we can achieve a lot.But unfortuntely, the two feelings are restricted to very few aspects of life and that leaves us tagged as "developing" nations. Till we develop the desire and interest in every field of life,we can only be considered as "developing" nation and that is one tag we shall find very difficult to get rid off.

THE TWITTER SONG!

Just thought of saying it in rhyme

what news channels are airing all the time

mr. tharoor used the twitter

but alas for him, all went bitter

using the word "cattle class"

has pricked his life like shreds of glass

tharoor thought it was just a tweet

but his party didnt find it sweet

still dont know what happens next

but mr.tharoor please mind your text!

My take on the INDIAN SWINE FLU!

The thoughts below are purely original (I swear!).ANY RESEMBLANCE TO ANY PERSON OR ANIMAL, LIVING OR DEAD, IS PURELY INTENTIONAL.
Has anyone ever wondered why the swine flu not start in India and how come it spread so fast once it was here.
Com'on guys,what's there to wonder!There are enough swines in both human and animal forms in this country which probably made the flu think of another destination to get noticed and once it was here.... with so many swines (more human than animal),from politics to workplace already on their job,it took just a jiffy for the numbers to mount!
Ain't I right??? :)

The Conversational SMS!

Its been ages since I posted something on this blog, the reason being ...........hmmmm...... there is none actually....as we say in hindi बस ऐसे ही. To think of it, there are so many words and phrases that we use so routinely in hindi which to go by the meaning of it really doesn't mean anything but conveys the message to the person involved in conversation.
Let me try to put some of them here....
In Delhi one of the most common words that friends use everytime they meet is ...और (aur) which means "and" but then actually means " what's new in life? "
The answer to this by a dilliwala would be "बस" (bas) which really means "enough" but stands to convey " everything's fine".
Another common way of starting any sentence almost always is with " अच्छा" (acchha) which anyone knowing a bit of hindi would know means good but it is actually a way to take a breather to organise your thoughts before conveying them. A favourite word of those desirous of using english in their conversation but still are miles from knowing it well is "means". I can't really tell what they intend to convey by using it, but it definitely tells the other guy that there is still a lot of hardwork required before his friend can sail on the sea of english language.
So,I guess every language has some of the SMS lingo involved in the regular talk and not all the credit can be taken by the invention of cellular phones......don't you think so?

PINK SLIPS REQUIRED ....PLEASE!

In times of recession, everybody is talking about cost cutting and saving what they have. I still see a lot of things which no one seems to be talking about but which, in my individual opinion, has nothing to do with growth and can really be put in the background for a while.
Lets start with the game that Indians just can't stop talking about- CRICKET. I really see no difference in the Casinos of LA and the T 20 matches of India - both have something to do with addiction and wastage of money.At least in the casinos, one honestly accepts there is a splurge of money and no one calls it a game of "national importance". Is it not criminal to waste BIG money on individuals playing with bat and ball while every person from Chichpokhli to China is busy trying to generate some cash.
One game that I have never failed to understand is GOLF. I really see nothing logical or interesting in wasting time and large acres of land in trying to put a SMALL ball in an even SMALLER hole situated somewhere in an expanse of a 100 acres!! ABSURD is what I think of this game. Don't those who protest against the SEZ and cry about it eating up the farmer's land think its more of a wastage to let go large acres for such a meaningless sport.
And surely, one sport which has meant only loss in terms of fuel and lives is GRAND PRIX. I don't think any activity which means a meaningless waste of fuel for some Tom, Dick and Harry's passion for speed deserves any sort of recognition and infact, in my opinion, should be declared unlawful . And just think of the number of people who have shamelessly lost their lives trying to follow their dream (rather nightmare!) racing the manmade animals of iron and steel.
I think a fewPINK SLIPS if passed to the above sports can surely save some money in these troubled times!

Slumdog Thinking!

The whole world is talking about the "slumdog" from India and so naturally I can't resist writing something about it. I think we need to give the whole credit to the American director for having thought of making a movie written by an Indian, based in India and totally done in Bollywood style.After all, how many directors can we think of, from India, who can go to France and make a movie almost fully in French and win the hearts of the people with it.I don't think anyYash Chopra or an Ashitosh Gowarikar would even dare. And even if they did, they would not win the same accolades because the world abroad is a a biased place.Can you imagine a movie called SLUMDOG AMERICA madeby an Indian,making it big in the Oscar circuit and working its way up to getting some 10 nominations in the Academy??? I think we are still a nice 50 years away from something like that happening in this world.
That apart... I have not much positives to talk about this film and the filmmaker.There is really nothing different in this movie for it to be talked about so much. It has the same masala of puppy love, brothers separating to take the good and evil paths and love reigning supreme in the end...........it has BOLLYWOOD written all over...and every Indian has seen this story on the screen and pirated cds and dvds sometime in their lives.Now about the music.... well its good and nice but please... we have heard something closely similar in Khalnayak (just hear ringa ringa and compare it with choli ke peeche). And Rehman has done far better work in his life which did not get noticed earlier because he made it for Indians and for an Indian director.
I am more angry at the fact that a much much better and sensitive movie,Taare Zameen Par(TZP), lost out in the race much earlier because it was an Indian Khan and not an American Boyle who directed it. I bet by now all of you would have seen TZP and I am sure all of you ended up choked and moist eyed at the end of the movie.
Dear judges of the Academy,don't you think a movie which moves you so and makes you think twice before you scold your kid for not doing well in the exams deserves a tag of Oscar rather than some SLUMDOG running in shit to catch an autograph of Superstar Amitabh.I guess, its the slumdog attitude of the Academy of Motion Pictures which makes them appreciate David Boyle's work. They relate the slums and underdevelopment, poverty and cheating to India and when that is shown on the screen.........well, thats worth all the appreciation for them.
I really want your response to this thought. Please don't be silent readers of my blog and do leave a few comments -sweet, salt and bitter... all are welcome :)

Budget : Lalu style!

Ten Things Indians Can Do Without!

I was just sitting idle the other day and one thought that suddenly came to me was what is it about us Indians that puts us apart.Well, the mind kept ticking and I then realised there were quite a few things which makes us what we are.
1. Our obsession with the colour white. I don't know what it is with us but the moment we see anyone with fair skin we start oggling and salivating like a hungry dog does on seeing a bone.I think most species have only hatred associated with colour of the skin of people, but for us it is different and that sure puts us apart.
2. Our second obsession is with covering everything .Where in the world would you find so many varieties of sofa covers,dining table covers, car seat covers,remote covers, washing machine covers,TV covers, covers for cell phones..... you name it and we have a cover ready for it.No matter whether we use it or not, WE HAVE TO COVER IT (except for one thing which if covered while at work would do something really good to control the population... sorry for being a bit cheeky ;)) In fact, I think we have more varieties of the covers rather than the product itself.
3. We love BURPING! And the louder it is, the more satisfying it is. I don't know why the person next to you has to suffer because of your passion for food.
4. And this one is thanks to the men alone........ the habit of grabbing their twin jewels in public!The beard and the face isn't enough to let the people know your sex, the signature act is.... the "ball-grabbing" act!
5. And all know kiss and piss story..... no to kissing but yes to pissing in public..... in fact the Indian male bladder is almost passionate about emptying itself in public!
6. Who can forget our obsession with loudspeakers anytime we think of God. I guess, we leave no stones unturned to make God HEAR us. Its almost like making God listen to you at gun point. The less the melody in the voice of the "devotee", the louder the music has to be.
7.This one sure is a thumbs up for the Indians.Our celebration of marriages in the grandest possible way like no one else.Thanks to the likes of Suraj Barjatya and Yash Chopra the big loud and pompous Indian wedding is known all over now and may be that plays a part in making the marriages last longer than most places in the world.
8.We have an uncanny knack at picking habits and accents. It would take a decade for an American to get the Indian accent, but it just requires a few hours of interaction with an American for us to catch the American accent and to love their pastas and pizzas.... :)
9. We know how to litter well. Be it India or America, we always mark our zone with loads of litter and filth. I guess that's what has played a major part in developing immunity to diseases in India.
10. Well lastly, I guess its the habit of making a mockery of anything Indian that contributes ironically to us being Indians.That's true for me and I proved it by writing this write up....:)
Whatever be it..... the bottom line is .. MERE BHARAT MEIN HAIN SAB PARESHAAN PAR PHIR BHI HUM KAHEIN : MERA BHARAT MAHAAN!