30.10.2017
Our old friend Jaggi is desperately trying to keep his media profile up , at a time when surprisingly his other mates Ravi and Ram are being discrete. Perhaps the other two have made enough of their pile and counting the silvers. That makes our Jaggi more eager to thrust himself at the forefront.
So , he picks up a safe issue to poke his nose in . He tweets about the national anthem and obliquely , very cleverly counters the recent Supreme Court ruling on the subject.
He is actually itching to be in the limelight and be a bigger power broker . And he is trying to exploit emotive issues like a seasoned politician. A case in point is the missed call campaign for “Rally for Rivers”. It is not only a hoax but also an exercise in collecting relevant data of prospective supporters.
This self styled guru speaks English and wants to build his client base among the urban Indians. Contrary to what one may assume , this section of the populace is gullible enough. Many of the people in my circle of people are supportive of any campaign to save the natural ecosystem . They also believe that they are doing a great job for the nation and the environment by giving missed calls, thinking this will save rivers.
These gullible urban people make great followers for him . The Rural north India is not the target of this self styled guru as it doesn’t speak English. Once the mobile numbers enter the data base, subsequent programs of the Foundation can target specific people by simply sending an sms. These people are the ones who will fall in line with comparitive ease as these people were simple enough to believe a missed call can save rivers.
A specious argument is being preferred saying that a majority vote is required to impress the government. Now, the government has itself invited proactive programs and ideas to save rivers. They are not resisting the idea. So where is the need to pressurise or prove majority. Can you see the obvious attempt to ride piggyback.
Secondly the campaign will at best get 3 crore missed call which is 2% of the population and nowhere near a mojority as propagated. If the intention was to impress the government, a simple memorandum with a workable plan after a country wide tour by our Jaggi would have been enough. But he wants to be a Jagga . And he knows that in a country which believes mythology as Science and blind rituals as religion , his suave urban appeal will stick on to many . After all , if a charlatan and sex offender like Gurmeet can build up a huge empire and naje people create mayhem on his arrest by court order , then this guy looks a soft rabbit in comparison . What lies beneath is altogether another matter.
29.10.2017
#Randomthoughts Kishore Kumar was h such a great playback singer himself , apart from being an amazing actor too. In fact , he could change or modulate his voice to suit the different heroes he did playback for. The best examples are Dev Anand, Rajesh Khanna and even Rishi Kapoor. So it will come as a surprise to many of us that there are indeed a few songs picturised on him that are sung by other singers.
I was just listening to one of them - Muchhe Jaaoa Dinguli ... from the Bengali film Lukochuri , which has been sung by Hemanta Mukherjee. The song is played in the background and he is not shown lipping it.
On making a Google search I found a very good article published in the newspaper The Hindu last year on some songs that others sang playback for Kishore Kumar , the actor.Quite interesting to go through.
The link is given below.
http://www.thehindu.com/features/cinema/When-Kishore-da-had-others-sing-for-him/article14553177.ece
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Yesterday England won the final match of the U-17 football WC against Spain in a most dramatic fashion. The 5-2 scoreline of their win will remain a statistical point in future which will reflect that the match was a delight for the spectators as goals flowed freely. But what will perhaps never be properly appreciated later, after many days , is the fact that Spain was up by 2-0 and the comeback by the England and the overwhelming manner by which they ran over their opponents . Spain suddenly seemed to lose their free flowing rhythm which helped them to reach the finals and made them the favourites to win the trophy.
Congratulations to the English players for winning the championship. The AIFF should also be congratulated along with the central and state governments and various municipal corporations for the successful organisation of this football festival. And the FIFA deserves a big thank you from the Indians to allow a World Cup tournament being held in the country.
The coverage of the tournament was not adequate , as befitting it's status and many were unaware and unconcerned about the matches. That reflects poorly on our failure to build (or rather destroy ) a proper sports culture as a nation. The collective national obsession with cricket and it's super commercialization may be the prime reason for this. Sports, by itself is not considered a way of life for Indians . Probably it was never so down the ages.
Many of these junior players who represented different countries will be graduating to the senior team in a couple of years and some may even become superstar players in future. Perhaps we will see quite a few of them in the next FIFA world cup.
And let us hope that some day India will take part in the Football World Cup proper, both junior and senior by its own ranking and not by virtue of being a host. But before that , it will not be a bad idea to aim for organising events like the FIFA World Cup or the Olympics.
28.10.2017
We have returned back home from our week long trip . Well , it has been a mixed experience , to be frank . The fun and holiday spirit was definitely enjoyable but some things also fell short of expectation . Probably because the concept of holiday travel have now changed for people like us.
To start with , Dehradun and Mussorie disappointed me , to some extent. As I have lived in the vicinity of Darjeeling, Sikkim and Bhutan and travelled these places, the comparison is overpowering . But even then I must say to me Dehradun looked like a big problem waiting to happen . The rampant constructions and exploitation of the land there is creating a terrible mess. The number of vehicles plying and the indifferent garbage disposal system only adds up to its woes. But then , the cantonment areas looked much better and the institutional campuses were well maintained, I must admit. And most people in the city have no idea or bother about the history associated with the landmarks or the town itself. At least I got that impression. That may also be my bad luck or lack of a good guide.
Mussorie again is overhyped and seemed like a mini version of Shimla and distant cousin of Darjeeling. The place is no doubt beautiful, romantic and still abounds with natural beauty , in spite of crass commercialization. The best way to enjoy such places is to book room in a resort type hotel and walk around the place , soaking in its charm , trivia , tales and history. Unfortunately, we didn't follow that style. So again , I should not hold anybody responsible.
Rishikesh was an excellent place to visit and I regret that I did not stay here . Like Mussorie , one needs to stay here for some time. The place is popular with foreigners and there are a lot of different activities thst can be indulged into. Foremost among them is spiritual pursuits and Yoga. But a word of caution may be well in place - the total commercialization of Yoga is very evident here and perhaps a lot of charlatans are making their pile here. So it is necessary to have a reference from a trusted and experienced person. The same goes for various spas and ayurvedic treatment centres.
Haridwar fully satisfied my urge to connect with the India that is Bharat. People like me have discounted this India from our lives by compulsion, accident, design or vicissitudes of life, however we define the excuse. So sometimes it is necessary to reconnect and feel the difference both ways ; what we are really missing and what we are privileged not to bother about. For me , it was a great experience . Actually all such trips are.
Overall , in spite of mixed feelings , we were both fit and fine and did not have to face too much troubles . The foods suited our palate and stomach . The weather was great to roam about without woollens and yet no sweat. So there goes another trip into the albums of memory .
27.10.2017
The last day of our trip was spent lazing around Haridwar. Shops and ghats. The weather was chilly in the morning with a light breeze making it seem like maximum winter by Mumbai standards. So it was quite enjoyable to bask under the sun and watching people bathe at different ghats from a vantage point .
So me and wife spent the time watching people in various state of undress, rather overdressed in some cases, having their dip in the river Ganga , washing away their sins. We could not but help appreciating the deft and quick way of changing dress by the women , particularly. Had I been alone , it would be termed as ogling but with a wife supportive of my idiosyncrasies of watching human behaviour , it was quite revealing , I say.
But frankly speaking , I was really appalled to see the littering of the river with everything possible . People were throwing flowers, leaves, dresses, hair, milk, sweets , coins and even currency notes in the river. Without meaning any hurt to religious sentiments , I must say with a heavy heart and conscience 1that it will be a long time for Indians to appreciate the environment and ecology issues because of the culture that encourages pollution by religious rituals .
We also visited the seven storeyed Bharat Mata mandir , just on an exploratory spirit. Two things struck ironic and funny to me . So sharing them with pics. Now this temple has seven storeys each depicting a theme . On the third floor were the clay models/idols of various famous women of India. On one panel, we found Annie Besant and Sister Nivedita. Their deification was complete with people offering coins and notes as "Chadavaa" . I could only wonder about their cooption into the pantheon of saints .
Similarly , the second floor has the collection of Indian brave hearts and right there , in a panel resides , Netaji, Hedgewar and Gandhiji , side by side. Perhaps the only place. See the pic below.
26.10.2017
The ghats of Haridwar are filled with crowds . Probably the occasion of Chhath festival have increased the crowds or maybe it's always like this. I am visiting Haridwar after 34 years so the change in the town is visible. But some things like the ghats have not changed . The same shops, dharmshala, temples, sadhus, cheats, beggars still throng the ghats along with numerous devotees . We reached here by late afternoon and had a review of the ghats and the markets till a few minutes back.
Some things we did meanwhile were a lot of walking , eating kachori and rabri , buying woolen garment (don't ask me why) and even ride a cycle rickshaw (after many days with my wife).
Tomorrow , we will roam around this town properly . We are not too much religiously inclined so our trip is more devoted to watching people and tasting different foods of the place we visit. Haridwar is a most interesting place to study north India , if you can negotiate the crowd, dust , cows and their droppings. And by the way , the place seems to be a favourite destination for Bengalis. They are everywhere and many signboards are in this language too.
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22.10.2017
Had a somewhat new experience yesterday which highlighted the great changes that have taken place in our lives over the last few decades. Reaching Delhi, we proceeded to our hotel Ginger, Rail Yatri Niwas , previously booked. I had chosen this hotel primarily because of its vicinity to the station as we had to board a train next day, quite early in the morning.
We reached the hotel around 8.30 p.m. At the reception, I produced my reservation slip and was asked to produce an identification card. I submitted my Aadhar card. But to my surprise the reception clerk wanted some I-card for my wife too. This had never happened before .
Calling out my wife , seated on a sofa , across the hall , I joked - "give me your I-card , perhaps they don't think you're my wife." My wife came up to the counter and passed on her ITax Card to the receptionist. What happened next is the reason for writing this post.
The receptionist refused to acknowledge the IT card as proof of identity as it did not carry any address . My wife did not carry her aadhar card , driving license , bank passbook or passport as suggested by him. Moreover , she got annoyed and raised her voice. I could see that her feminist tendencies raising the hackles. Moreover , since the last few years , she thinks that being a lawyer's mother she can tackle any rules and regulations in her stride and take legal action on anybody who comes across her way . But the receptionist remained adamant and I must say he retained his cool and remained polite , a novelty considering it was Delhi and a Rail service.
I am myself a short tempered person but realised that the matter was not heading anywhere with the stonewalling by the receptionist taking refuge behind some rules which we were perhaps not aware. And you can't really do anything against a polite official ( a lesson learnt). It was already getting late and we wanted to snatch a couple of hours for a short Delhi tour. So I asked the guy if some scanned copy would do . He agreed to this idea as a concession.
Next job was to contact our son at home , get him open his mother's cupboard , rumage through her bag get her passport out , take photos and send it to me , via Whatsapp message. All this took five minutes or so . And we were handed over the room keys in another five minutes, me relieved but my wife furious.
Later , we joked about the whole thing and wondered what the world was coming to. Two adults , well past their prime can't live together in a hotel room without showing proof of their residence. Moreover , we are not sure what will happen if at some places they refuse to accept the scanned copies and demand that the original be produced. What do we do then , live on the footpath ?
But some lessons were well learnt from the episode.
1. Aadhar card is omnipotent . Now our whole lives have been taken over by it.
2. Life has really changed over the last few decades. Nobody asked me anything when I took my young wife to hotels earlier but now don't want to allow my old wife with me unless she proves it .
3. Technology has really eased matters a lot and solutions can be had of problems quickly.
4. It is better to carry a scanned copy of identity card on the smart phone . But what happens if it falls into the hands of others is a concern.
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19.10.2017
My Deepavali wish for all - May the people of my country be illuminated by the light of knowledge that empowers us to see through the smoke screen of propaganda and the sound of fake news . The demons be destroyed along with the evil they spread.
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I am now convinced fully about the lae of averages. See how ten years of having a PM who hardly spoke has been over compensated in three years by a PM who can only speak, speak , speak and do nothing else.
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Extremely saddened and frustrated to see on TV a fire raging at the Jeevansudha building, Kolkata. This building houses the erstwhile Foreign Department , now GMU of SBI . I have so many happy memories of working there . Hope the damage is contained and the fire is brought down at the earliest.
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My Deepavali wish for all - May the people of my country be illuminated by the light of knowledge that empowers us to see through the smoke screen of propaganda and the sound of fake news . The demons be destroyed along with the evil they spread.
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18.10.2017
TINA and MINA
Some people who come with the oft repeated counterpoint of – “Then who do you think should be the leader?” wants us to believe that only a single person is responsible as well as capable to lead our country. This sort of arguments actually brings out the closet supporters of dictatorship, who try to layer their obnoxious ideology with a coating of Majoritarian model of democracy. The thing which is conveniently forgotten is that democracy is not only a rule by majority but by the people where the minority, the marginalized and the individual too have their say without feeling that their interests are being hampered in doing so.
Concentration of more or less unchecked power over 1.25bn people in the hands of one man cannot be a comfortable feeling. Some may coin new terms like “new normal” and apply it to whatever is happening around. But the fact remains that it is not only normal in a democracy; it is dangerous. No single person should be vested with so much power. One-man rule is ultimately a recipe for intrigue, instability and breakdown of institutions. It also results in arbitrary decisions like demonetisation being taken, without a proper analysis or preparation.
Woke up to an unusual foggy (or should I smoggy) morning. It is happening since the last few days, but today the visibility was very bad . At 6.30 in the morning, as I was on my morning walk, I could not see anything beyond 250 metres. Why this is happening can be probably explained by experts . I have my own theory ; this smog may be a result of the recent incident of fire on the Butcher island. The difference between the day (hot) and early morning (cold) is causing the suspended particles to form a dense fog .
Don't know how the situation will be for the next few days with firecrackers adding to the woes. Hopefully a short spell of rain or gusts of wind will improve the situation.
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A marked departure that I notice this Diwali is the sudden reduction , almost to the point of absence , of those pseudo-nationalist messages exhorting us to boycott Chinese goods. What an irritant they have been, I say. And to get such messages from those whom you love, adore or respect was more frustrating.
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Think about this -
First you give your children the most sohphisticated mobile phone with internet and then call the police to save your kids from the blue whale.
And don't be under the false impression that all these things happen to others. We are not like that is just a false belief that you hold.
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I always believed that the term Bong-Bhakts was an oxymoron.
But now I realise that there are many Bongs who are simply morons.
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