The Parsi way of life

Currently I am reading the 'infamously' famous book by Rohinton Mistry " Such A Long Journey"... Though I must admit that I picked up the book coz of all the hype and hoopla surrounding the book... However, having gone through the greater part of the book, I must admit that its definitely worth a read...

The story revolves round the protagonist Gustad Noble who is a middle aged Parsi gentleman and how he has to deal with various events that unfold around him... The story vividly captures Bombay of the late 60s and early 70s... The rain, the chaos, the sea of humanity and above all the sheer callousness and indifference of the common man, the state machinery, the neighbourhood etc etc which drives the protagonist to insanity and back... What keeps him reined in is the fact that he has a sweet family of 3 kids and a loving wife... However fate is not also kind on this front often  playing truant ... 

Since my masters day in Bombay, I have often been fascinated by the Parsi community and their way of life.. I have come to understand the fact that Parsis are a very close knit community whose population are sadly on the decline as the proportion of elderly people far outweigh those of the young mass.. However, I fondly recount memories of my interaction with people from this small community (mostly faculty at the institute, students or friends)... Apart from being very warm in their interaction, they are also quite a hospitable lot... Treating you to food and dine as generously as you may rarely have seen elsewhere... 

I still remember visiting the Dadar Parsi colony or the Parsi community towards Colaba or Anderi... The serenity, tranquility  and calmness about these settlement was something which attracted me to them... The houses, typically in these colonies, dated far back in history... though old and dated, they were maintained quite well and had a very haunting old world charm in them...The colony would typically have a very thick green cover with age old tree lining the road which gave it such mystical aura especially during the rainy season...

What lingers in my memory, like the fresh aroma of hot coffee made from freshly ground coffee bean on a very wet rainy day, is the charm of the community, their way of living and how the parsis have lent a charm of their own to Bombay in this enduring love affair  from as early as 10th century A.D and have made mainly  it their home... (a fact which is reflected in the statistics which estimates that globally there are only 100, 000 parsis and as per the 2001 census of India, 69,601 live in India - mostly in and around Bombay)

So go on and read the book if you want to have a flavour of this small but magnificent community which lends, to a great extent, the old world charm to the great city of Bombay...

A son is a son till he has a wife...

Was talking with a friend who was enquiring my well being and also about the expected date of the arrival of my long awaited, cherished bundle of joy... our baby...

I told him about the date (which happened to be somewhere in late December)... And some how spontaneously he asked (good intentionedly, of course): " So is it a boy or a girl?" I was somehow found wanting for answer as it has never even crossed my mind to check for the sex of the growing child in the umpteenth check up that my wife had with the doctor...

It is not out of a sense of pride or advocating for a burning social cause (like the case of female foeticide) which prompted us (myself and my wife) for not to go for such test... It was just a sense of joy and fulfillment which has kept us on our tenterhooks anticipating the arrival of our 1st child in to this world... boy or girl be damned...

While I have been an etic observer of the obsession that we as a country have for a boy child, it has always struck to me as a quintessential patriarchal passion which saw the birth of a male child as something auspicious or of someone to hold aloft the family torch etc etc... However, the real impact of the obsession hit me after we declared to the world about our forthcoming joy in to the world... That's when we heard whispers from relatives, friends et al to somehow sneak in the imaging chamber, coax the doctor to know the gender of our yet to be born offspring...

While I could go on and on about rattling statistics about the rampant female foeticide in the country (especially the northern part), how we as a country have brought ourselves to the brink of eliminating the female species with our obsession for the male child etc etc; I will desist from doing so...

As they say the proof of the pudding is in eating it, so is it in this instance too... In my opinion, the obsession to have a boy child stems from one of the basic emotion of humans.. fear... fear of loneliness in the old age, fear of being left abandoned in the evening of one's life, fear of having none to take the family name forward etc etc...

However, I have found such logic most 'illogical' and irrational... As I have seen umpteenth example of households full with boys and still the parents finding their way to an old age home in the late years of their life to lament the loneliness alone and wait for their death..

I think this perspective has to undergo a paradigm shift in our society and what should become a priority ultimately is the fact that we should strive to make a better human being  out of tour children and ensure that they become good citizens, better family man and somebody who would make you and your family name proud - boy or girl not withstanding...

I had heard of a famous quotation long ago and I will try to quote it here.. 

"My son's my son, till he hath got him a wife, But my daughter's my daughter all days of her life"
[1670 J. Ray English Proverbs 53]

Although a broad generalisation, but is  a good point for us to start to do away with our age old bias and obsession for the boy child and start looking at children more objectively in what they become in life through nurture than what they are by nature..

The "Uncommon" Common Wealth Games

The burning topic of discussion, as of today in the country , rotates neither around religion (has manged to bury the expected charged emotional outburst over the yet to be declared Ayodhya verdict), nor around cricket (people have started missing their daily doses of the Champions League cricket) nor is it to do with the naaxalite menace (the home ministry must be heaving a sigh of relief)....

So what is it that has kept the attention of more than a billion people riveted and engaged in the last of couple of weeks (dare I say a couple of months)... Well the common thread that has bound the country is the "uncommon" Delhi Common Wealth Games 2010...

In what was supposed to be an event which will improve and enhance the face value of the country (in a way what the World cup football did to South Africa or the Beijing Olympics to China) the Delhi Common Wealth Games has failed to come anywhere close to such milestones and has really went on and did the reverse...sullying whatever  the current image the country has abroad..

Sadly, the fact remains is that the entire game from the beginning is marred with controversy starting from the alleged bribing of Commonwealth nations to hand over the bid to India to the delay in work, corruption in building the stadia, the games villages, the sub standard work, bridges collapsing, et al et al..

Enough dissection has been done by media (both print and visual media) on the miasms behind such fiasco..

I will however try to list down a few which in my opinion are the root cause of such a sad state of affair that we are witnessing today:

1. Traditionally in India, sports federations are handled by politicians rather than sports persons (which is just the reverse in other countries which has taken various games to the next level with clean administration and planing). The politicians are as much to blame as the sports persons. While the politicians rollick in the loot, the sports person abstain taking a high moral ground of we-are-better-than-them -and will-not-stoop-to- -indulge-with - them attitude (is it not true for everything else which is rotten in our country starting from politics to the rotting grains of the PDS system). Having handed over the reigns of power for administration to politicians, I think we do not , least the sport persons, stand any high moral ground to dismiss them
2. While the country bays for the blood of Suresh Kalmadi, I think its Mani Shnaker Aiyar who should be made accountable. Among other things, to satisfy his ego and to get even with Kalmadi ,he delayed the project by 2 years which escalated the cost. Besides all the  malaise, that he is pointing out so eloquently on T.V shows today, could have been addressed by him when he was the sports minister. True, Kalmadi is also not among the Innocent and the sinless.. But we should also make Aiyar accountable and question his responsibilities when he appears for T.V shows with a smirk on his face and I-told-you-so attitude
3. The Congress party (this includes the Prime Minister and Sonia Gandhi) which could actually boasts itself as the most democratic party where differing voices may emerge and on top of that no action being taken to clear the mess because of these differences in opinion and subsequent inaction
4. Lastly as a nation its our chlata hey attitude which is to be blamed for the mess that we are in. The jugadu approach (to patch together something at the eleventh hour so that thing can somehow be managed) and the common motto which says that aaj kare so kal, kal kare so parson,, itni bhi jaldi kya hey yaaro jab jina hey abhi barson...(Which roughly translates in to "What you have to do today can be differed to tomorrow and the day after. We have nothing to fear as there is a long life in which all work can be done")

 Without adding on to the huge amount of cribbing and anger related to the Common Wealth Games fiasco, I will just end the post with an experience of mine...

One of my relative was a national level player in a state and after his retirement when he showed his keenness to enter in the administration of the game he loved, there was stiff resistance from the power to be which consisted mostly of politicians... but because of the good faith that he enjoyed in the games fraternity, he somehow made it to the association... I have marked very closely since then of his journey... of how he struggled equally with politician and sports persons in ensuring some credibility and standard for the game and the state association... While other members (mostly politicos) were busy getting their favoured player (s) in the final squad by various unscrupulous means, this relative of mine even denied his son a chance to play for the home city (let alone the state) because he (the son) could not clear the qualifiers... While others were busy providing false Sports certificates to people for admission in to colleges, educational institutions and jobs (in return for a kickback ofcourse); his son struggled to make it to a good college and studied in a lesser known college...

However, his struggle has borne fruit today and his honesty and dedication have slowly pushed the netas and babus out from the state association... I see him old and harried with age... But just the mention of the game of his love, and his eyes sparkle with such intensity that it is a pleasure to see his happiness and joy...As if this very moment (and nay the sport of his love) actually justifies his very existence...

There is no dearth of such passionate and dedicated sports persons in the country today... The only question is - are they willing to stand up and make themselves counted?

Till that time we will have to do with watching in frustration  pot bellied politicians giving imbecile statements/explanation  on media on how and why they failed to organise an event of national pride while wasting Rs. 17,000 crore of tax payers' money and 7 precious year of time...

Rajinikanth facts

Came across some hilarious facts about Rajinikanth... Was almost rolling down laughing...

Enjoy while it lasts... or else... you know Rajini's anger na... ;)

1.  There is no theory of evolution. Just a list of creatures Rajinikanth has allowed to live.
2. Outer space exists because it’s afraid to be on the same planet with Rajinikanth.
3. When Rajinikanth does a pushup, he isn’t lifting himself up, he’s pushing the Earth down.
4. Rajinikanth is so fast, he can run around the world and punch himself in the back of the head.
5. Rajinikanth doesn’t wear a watch, HE decides what time it is.
6. Rajinikanth gave Mona Lisa that smile.
7. Rajinikanth does not get frostbite. Rajinikanth bites frost.
8. There are no races, only countries of people Rajinikanth has beaten to different shades of black and blue.
9. Rajinikanth’s house has no doors, only walls that he walks through.
10. Rajinikanth doesn’t actually write books, the words assemble themselves out of fear.
11. Newton’s Third Law is wrong: Although it states that for each action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, there is no force equal in reaction to a Rajinikanth turnaround kick.
12. When taking the GRE or CAT write “Rajinikanth” for every answer. You will score over 8000.
13. Rajinikanth has 12 moons. One of those moons is the Earth.
14. Rajinikanth grinds his coffee with his teeth and boils the water with his own rage.
15. Archeologists unearthed an old English dictionary dating back to the year 1236. It defined “victim” as “one who has encountered Rajinikanth
16. If you Google search “Rajinikanth getting his ass kicked” you will generate zero results. It just doesn’t happen
17. Rajinikanth once ate an entire bottle of sleeping pills. They made him blink.
18. James Cameron wanted Rajinikanth to play the Terminator. However, upon reflection, he realized that would have turned his movie into a documentary, so he went with Arnold Schwarzenegger.
19. There is no ‘ctrl’ button on Rajinikanth’s computer. Rajinikanth is always in control
20. Most people have 23 pairs of chromosomes. Rajinikanth has 72… and they’re all poisonous.
21. Time waits for no man. Unless that man is Rajinikanth
22. There is no such thing as global warming. Rajinikanth was cold, so he turned the sun up.
23. Rajinikanth did in fact, build Rome in a day.
24. Rajanikanth makes onions cry
    
    Few other common facts about Rajini... LOL
    
    
    
    
    1. Rajanikanth can delete the Recycle Bin.
    2. Ghosts are actually caused by Rajanikanth killing people faster than Death can process them.
    3. Rajanikanth can strangle you with a cordless phone.
       
    4. When Rajanikanth enters a room, he doesn’t turn the lights on,……… …. he turns the dark off.
       
    5. When Rajanikanth looks in a mirror the mirror shatters, because not even glass is stupid enough to get in between Rajanikanth and Rajanikanth.
    6. The last digit of pi is Rajanikanth. He is the end of all things.
       
    7. Rajanikanth does not know where you live, but he knows where you will die.
       
    8. Bullets dodge Rajanikanth.
       
    9. A Handicap parking sign does not signify that this spot is for handicapped people. It is actually in fact a warning, that the spot belongs to Rajanikanth and that you will be handicapped if you park there.
       
    10. Rajanikanth’ calendar goes straight from March 31st to April 2nd, no one fools Rajanikanth.
        
    11. If you spell Rajanikanth wrong on Google it doesn’t say, “Did you mean Rajanikanth?” It simply replies, “Run while you still have the chance.”
        
    12. Once a cobra bit Rajanikanth’ leg. After five days of excruciating pain, the cobra died.
        
    13. When Rajanikanth gives you the finger, he’s telling you how many seconds you have left to live.
        
    14. Leading hand sanitizers claim they can kill 99.9 percent of germs. Rajanikanth can kill 100 percent of whatever he wants.
    15. Rajanikanth has a deep and abiding respect for human life… unless it gets in his way.
        
    16. Rajanikanth once shot down a German fighter plane with his finger, by yelling, “Bang!”
        
    17. In an average living room there are 1,242 objects Rajanikanth could use to kill you, including the room itself.
        
    18. Behind every successful man, there is a woman. Behind every dead man, there is Rajanikanth.
        
    19. Rajanikanth destroyed the periodic table, because Rajanikanth only recognizes the element of surprise.
        
    20. Rajanikanth got his drivers license at the age of 16 Seconds.
        
    21. With the rising cost of gasoline, Rajanikanth is beginning to worry about his drinking habit.
        
    22. The square root of Rajanikanth is pain. Do not try to square Rajanikanth, the result is death.
        
    23. When you say “no one’s perfect”, Rajanikanth takes this as a personal insult.
     And Finally, Ladies and Gentleman... Give it to the man... Rajinikanth...

Where there is a will there is a way. Where there is Rajinikanth, there is no way.

A brief Hiatus

Was debating whether to wait for another couple of weeks and write my next posting on 12th  Oct considering my last positing was on 12th July ;) 

But could not resist the urge to write my new posting and fill all of you on the details of my brief disappearance..

The last 2 months have been eventful, to say the least... Would try to list down what I have been doing for the last 2 months as briefly as possible:

1. Was busy selecting my new batch of hospital management course students... 

Important takeaway from this exercise... 

Number of candidates hardly matters if it does not address your requirements of the minimum standard expected out of them

     2. Busy in organising a gala 3 days decennial celebrations of the School of Optometry at our institute  in which I act as the Registrar

Lessons learnt....

Nothing can beat meticulous planning and team work... E mails rarely works in the organisation of any events and be wary of people who promise the world in terms of deliverable... They are the ones who flounder the most... The silent are the ones who mostly triumphs... and... compromise should not be at the drop of a hat... be compromising with reasonable people... not dumb A#@es who will not value it...

      3. Vacationing at home for  a week...

Lesson learnt....

There is something  that money can not buy...

for everything else (including that "something which money can not buy" too) there are parents,siblings and your good old home...

I have returned energised and reinvigorated to take up new challenges...

Challenges... Anybody....;)

My Fellow Traveller

Continuing the tale of humorous incident and anecdote in my life, I am reminded of a hilarious encounter which I had in the very 1st year of my job... It was the year 2006 and I had come home to attend to some domestic work for few days.... I had booked the return journey to Chennai by the Coramondel Express... 

I boarded the train at my home town of Cuttack... While traveling by train, it has always been my habit of booking the upper berth as it helps me to sleep all the way and  also is of little interference to families traveling in the same compartment who require a bit of more space than singleton like us...As I had just joined job newly and was short on leave, I had planned my schedule ahead which looked no short of the blueprint of a war strategy... All my activity which I had to carry out back at home were listed down with timeline for completing them... So much so that I had few works scheduled which I had to address on the way to the station ! 

As a result you can imagine the state in which I reached the railway station... I was worn out, dog tired and ready to fall down asleep at the sight of the 1st closest place for sleeping... I bid my younger brother adieu at the station and headed straight for my seat... It was a relief for me as I could get a seat in the 2nd A/C Compartment despite last minute booking... The A/C was on full blast and the temeprature (though it was freezing inside) was of the right degree to me given my state of tiredness... I threw my bag on the upper berth, hastily climbed up, fell on the seat and immediately  was fast asleep...

A jerk in the train woke me up.. The train had reached the Bhubaneswar station and some passengers were getting in for the onward journey... I saw a fairly tall, dark and well built man making his way to our section... He gave me a broad grin and immediately I knew that it would be a good journey given the friendliness of my fellow traveller...

The gentleman got talking and from his conversation I came to know that he is a black belt (of the highest category) in karate and is a popular fight master in the Southern film industry... He had come on a short assignment to direct fight sequence in some Oriya movie... He narrated how he was made to slog day and night (for the last 3 days) to complete the fight sequence of some new movie... This may be due to the hefty amount he charged for his trade and Oriya film industry being not so affluent industry wanted to get all work done at one go... He looked completely exhausted and ready to drop down for sleep as much or more than I did...

However, his sleep was short lived as there was some confusion and commotion with some passenger who claimed the seat to be his seat... Both of them were arguing ferociously and in the end went to meet the Ticket collector to settle the matter... I could not bear to keep awake to see the conclusion of the fight (my eyes were already heavy with sleep) and hence I went to sleep... It was almost late evening by that time...Although I had a slight cold, I did not take the blanket due to heaviness of the sleep...

I floated to another world in my sleep and saw myriad of strange images, tale and story (as happens when one is totally worn out and tired) which I could not really comprehend.... Suddenly I heard a thud and sensation of somebody shaking me wildly....

I opened my eyes with difficulty and what I saw in front of me was a incredible sight...

The tough man was standing with his arms in akimbo form in front of me, staring at me with bloodshot eyes and talking loudly...

"What is the matter" I asked dazed and bleary eyed barely able to open my eyes to the broad morning daylight around me..

"Ah... 'whats the matter' the laat sahib asks me" he almost shouted down at me... "the matter is, my most honourable master, is that I have not been able to take even one miserable wink the whole of last night" He was furious and it seemed that he will hit somebody as a logical conclusion to his fury

"But what could I do if you did not sleep... am I to blame" I said innocently

"Blame... no.. no... no... no blame.... you are to be given Bharat Ratna award for your feat" He said sarcastically

"Sir" I said, now irritated and angry... " Would you tell me what is the matter and why did you wake me up so rudely"...

"Now the great Nawab Saheb wants to know why I woke up His Highness" His voice sounded more frustrated than sarcastic

"Come on... I will tell you" He said almost menacingly and threateningly... " It is the thunderous sound of your highness' snoring which prevented this humble servant from having any sleep last night..." He said with a disgust and contempt in his voice which was unparalleled..

"I am really sorry... I had a cold yesterday and also due to the freezing coldness in the compartment I may have snored a bit " I said genuinely apologetic of something on which I had no control

"SNORED A BIT" He thundered down upon me... now Sir says that he snored a bit" He was now getting ready to pulverise me, or so I thought.... " Each snoring was like the blast of canon as that of the late Nizam of Hyderabad from the Golconda fort... and no sir (now he was referring to all others wide eyed passengers around him) it was not like it came at all the time... It came in heavy installments... Sir will unleash his canon on me and when I thought that the worse was over and try to get some sleep, it will come thundering down to wake me once and for all".... He said in a frustrating tone. ... " The whole night yesterday I was trying to get some sleep.. what with all the hard work that I had to do and then the seat dispute.. finally when I thought that I was about to get some sleep.. along came Sir... gentleman and all by his look... bulldozing my entire night's sleep with his royal snoring.."

I was really getting embarrassed and tried apologising but he would  have none of it.. Thats when his cellphone rang and he just kept on saying 'yes' yes' in to the phone... He hung up the phone and said almost like a tragedy character right out of the Greek myhtlogy " Now thats what you all call luck... after Sir here succeeded in spoiling my sleep, my producer at Hyderabad calls me up to tell me that we have a day long shooting for the fight sequence which will take most part of night too.. I tried to reason with him and get today off... But he will have none of it and threatened to replace me with some new comer..." He said almost at the verge of tear... 

"Thank you Sir.. Thank you very much for all you did" He said as Hyderabad station neared.. and he went in to his own old histrionics and lamentation.. This was becoming too much for me... so I just turned and faced my back to him as he went on for another 10 mins till his station came... 

That day I realised what a bad cold and choked up respiratory pasage can do and unwittingly make you the possessor of the deadliest WM(S)D (not Weapon of Mass Destruction) but What My Snoring can Do(? To You) ...   ;)

Raju Ban Gaya Gentleman !

My pre matriculate period was marked by frequent change of school and I got a chance to study in  both English and local vernacular medium schools which has left a trail of happy memories with me...

One of the memorable incident happened when I had come back from The Gambia, West Africa and joined 9th Standard in a local English Medium School in Cuttack..

We had a great English teacher who was a retired person from a reputed English medium school. This gentleman was in to his late 70s but still came to teach us due to his passion and interest in teaching... He introduced us to the realm of serious English literature while he taught us Shakespeare, poem by famous poets and short stories ( all part of our board exam curriculum) with such skills and expertise that we would eagerly look forward to his class each day. His theatrical expression, ability to connect with the students, knowledge of the subject made him a dear teacher to everybody...

Once he was teaching us the famous poem "She Walks in Beauty" by P.B Shelly where the poet goes on to describe the beauty of a female face though flowery comparison and similes...

Pre-lunch he started the poem but by lunch time was only half way through it (what with his detailed explanation of each words of the poem and its real and poetic meaning). He promised to finish the session with his usual question and answer session for the students at the end of the poem...

One of my dear friend by the name Raju had special tiffin that day during lunch as his mother had prepared special food for him as it was his sister's birthday. The lunch consisted of  special preparation (from home) of rice, sambar, chutney with rice cake... Being a food lover he could not resist and had a bellyful of the same without sharing any of it with us. We were surprised as usually Raju was a very jovial guy and shared most of his tiffin with us which we also reciprocated.. But no Sir ! today was different as we watched helplessly Raju devouring the entire stuff in glee...

Post lunch, as is the common experience world wide, is a drowsy affair to say the least... God may have mercy on the teacher who has a post lunch class as you would require more than study matter to keep the students awake (what else could keep them awake... Now that I have awakened your imagination, happy hunting...) Anyways coming back to the main point, that afternoon session, to my memory, was the drowsiest of all the classes that I can remember... Sir was at his lowest spirit due to the heavy lunch and somehow managed to complete the poem... By that time most of the people were already dozing asleep and/or dozing...

Sir started his usual question answer session and Raju by that time has started his afternoon slumber somewhere near the back seat with strict instruction (as usual) for us to wake him up if there was an emergency.. But peeved like we were in his non cooperation in sharing that tasty heavenly food, we decided to make it an exception that day..

Before I come to the last part of the story I must tell you that Raju was one of the favourite of Sir in the class...

In the flow of the session. Sir innocently directed a question at Raju being unable to see Raju clearly due to his (Sir's) failing eye sight; ( he also was considered very Innocent by Sir) thus:

"Beta Raju, now tell me what are the dark features (meaning hair) on a woman's face" Raju , busy in his slumber, did not respond to him and as he (Sir) was repeating it for the 2nd time someone from the fairer sex in the class nudged him ( as is the wont of the fairer sex to be always fair.. ;) no pun intended)...

He suddenly awoke with a start, barely heard the questions and started answering the question assuming the face in question to be his face ( you know how stupid we can become when we suddenly start from the sleep and try to act immediately.. get the picture.. right...)

So read on the fun part for rest of the conversation:

"Hair" Said Raju

"Good" Said Sir

"Eyebrow" Said Raju

"Very Good" Said Sir

"Eye Lashes" Said Raju

"Excellent" Said Sir

"Moustache" Said Raju

Sir was dumbstruck... It was as if a lightning has stuck him.. and that too from his favourite student..

The whole class was laughing uproariously by now... Thats when  when came the final parting shot....

"Beard - which can be partial in case of french beard or full as in beard kept by sadhus" Said Raju showing off his prowess in the way he can go to details in depth...

All of us were laughing holding our bellies and ready to roll on the floor and die laughing...

Sir's face was a face seen to believed... He was livid with rage and started trembling (showing his pale false teeth which was fitting poorly)... In a fit of anger he left our class vowing never to return again...

A few days later we heard Raju has also gone missing and his parent discovered him at some Ashram in West Bengal where he had taken diksha to become a sage... Though he came back (with the "beard" and all) but again we heard he ran off vowing never to return.. Nor did Sir....