After the massive propaganda about the fantastic (!!) work done by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, now we are told that the National Highways Authority of India is totally logjammed with unplanned and excessive expansion of roads.
Where are those Bhakts who were shouting hoarse about how the NHAI achieved the highest ever award of 51,073 km of road projects and highest ever construction of 28,531 Km over a four year period from 2014-15 to 2017-18 ?
#NHAI
#RandomThoughts Nothing gives more pleasure in the morning than having a couple of rightly done poached eggs at breakfast with toasted bread and a cup of black coffee.
Eggs can be had boiled , scrambled and as omelette too. It remains as tasty. In fact hard boiled and semi boiled eggs have their own set of supporters . And scrambled eggs or an omelette can be innovatively done with additions. But , as a test of culinary skill , poached eggs are way ahead. Because it's so simple to prepare them but so difficult to get the right shape , texture and taste.
A truly done poached egg should neither be burnt at the bottom, nor the yolk should be running around when poked. Again, they can be done with oil which is easier and on water , which really needs finesse and a good flat pan with thick bottom. Importantly, it also depends on the mood of the cook .
The yolk should resemble molten butter and retain the smell. Just a dash of salt and pepper and well , you have your minute of unalloyed joy as your taste buds welcome it to a hungry stomach .
Bon appetit and have a wonderful day. #vignettesoflife
The summer morning
came dressed
in a thin veil
of mist
sequined with
shimmering dewdrops
to be conquered
by the lustful sun rays
in a passionate kiss
of surging heat
to total capitulation
on the green meadows
#JustArunangshu
#Randomthoughts OK , so I have often drooled about the Kolkata Rosogolla and has been generally letting a sigh about how they are priced higher in Mumbai . But today something I noted makes me change the perception to the opposite side.
The price of Dahi (Sour Yoghurt ) in Mumbai is generally Rs 80 per kg at the neighbourhood milkshops. So imagine my surprise when after buying a pau (250 gm) of Dahi ( sour , not mishti) , I had to shell out Rs 50 . On enquiry , the shopkeeper said with a smirk - "200 taka kilo Dada " . That set me thinking , about perspectives , economy , market forces etc.
Though Bengalis are famous for their sweets made from milk , the use of Dahi as a food item is not widespread in them. Of course, they love their 'Mishti Doi' which is actually a form of custard . In other parts of the country , Dahi is a regular food item and people have it everyday with their meals . For me personally, it is a staple breakfast item .
As I dwelt upon this experience , I wondered on the price differential of Dahi in Mumbai and Kolkata markets and the huge arbitrage for the taking. I don't know why the cost of Dahi should be so high in Kolkata , compared to other places . I can just guess that it follows the simple and basic rule of economics - Demand - Supply equilibrium. Also how this factor changes with geography and cultures. Dahi is not in demand here . So it is produced in lesser quantities and most of the raw material is diverted to other products like Rossogolla , sandesh etc. Low production of Dahi creates more demand for it and jacks up the price.
Am I right as a budding Nobel laureate ?☺️😊
Long back in my school days, we had to study a subject called "Moral Science". It was basically about God, good habits, ethical behaviour and compassion. Being in English medium, the lessons were heavily influenced by Christian tenets. Don't really know whether it has helped me or my class mates in life, but that is another story.
One of the things that was prominent in those lessons was the value of truth. We were always told to be truthful as truth and only truth prevails. But over the years , I have found out that truth may prevail but it can be be very uncomfortable and also dangerous, at some times. In effect, truth is like a medicine , which is bitter at times.
So, like medicines which may have side-effects, truth is often diluted and packaged in capsules to ensure that it doesn't damage. Sometimes, the absence of truth and even half-truths are used as palliatives. The excuse given is of course that it is for the greater good.
But like everything, truth has two sides to it . So the concept of alternate truth emerged. Earlier under the traditional information systems truth was what people got to know. It was accepted without much questioning as the alternate truth reached us quite late. By then, the truth which we accepted became such an integral part of our lives that dismantling it would be inconvenient for us. So, the alternate truth was resisted to maintain the status quo.
With the digital revolution, information is instantaneous. And not very surprisingly , it is now the time of alternate truth with its cousins, untruth and falsehood to rule the roost. Because truth, as mentioned earlier, is bitter and therefore psychologically not acceptable.
#Randomthoughts Travelling by Duronto from Howrah to Mumbai CSMT. The ticket includes the price of two breakfasts and a lunch and dinner each during its scheduled 26 hrs run. I find a huge amount of food going waste and passengers generally complaining of tasteless fare served to them. On discussion found that this is a general trend .
Don't understand what or whose purpose is served this way. From a guesstimate, the total food wasted on one run of this train could have fed one meal to children at some mid size orphanage. Passengers travelling in AC class may afford to waste food but that does not mean this should be encouraged to happen by design or otherwise . #Justsaying
I have no problems with people adding Chowkidar before their name as a badge of honour or qualification. Obviously, there are no limits to idiocy and hypocrisy. But one good thing is that they are not leaving any doubt of their credentials and you know what you can expect from them. Actually, dangerous are those snakes in the grass who are not adding the honorific degree of Chowkidar before their name, yet rooting for it.
Morover, it is pathetic to see senior ministers like Rajnath Singh , Sushma Swaraj , Nitin Gadkari , Maneka Gandhi etc. affixing Chowkidar before their names. These are the same people who belonged to the cabinet which released Masood Azahar, lest you forget.
#RandomThoughts The Holi festival (as in the present form ) is an example how a thing of joy can be shorn of its beauty and become ugly. Essentialy, this festival is celebration of something which is essentially a mild season or the spirit of love, friendship and romance. Playing with colours and enjoying a day out of the ordinary mundane life with a relaxed and somewhat unconventional way with mirth and slight indiscipline. Meeting and greeting people from the family and friends, even strangers. Eating, drinking and be merry.
But as it happens with everything good and beautiful the crass commercialisation and the demands of popular culture has now subverted it into a sort of lumpen orgy. What was designed to be a riot of colours is now a show of pomp and power, even physical.
I'm not against any festival. Actually I am game for Holi and a splash of colour too. But, the loudness of it puts me off nowadays. Maybe , beause I'm getting older. #JustSaying
যখন চারিদিকে কিছু লোক কে বলদের মত যুদ্ধ চাই , যুদ্ধ চাই বলে চীৎকার করতে দেখি , তখন সত্যি ই মনে হয় এই নির্বোধ জনতার বোধোদয় শুধু একটি উপায়ে ই সম্ভব । সেটি হল স্ত্রী পুরুষ নির্বিশেষে প্রত্যেকটি শারীরিক ভাবে সক্ষম অনুর্ধ পঁয়ত্রিশ বছরের নাগরিকের জন্য বাধ্যতামূলক ভাবে তিন থেকে পাঁচ বছরের সৈনিক হিসাবে যোগদান । এবং তার মধ্যে দু বছর সীমান্তে বহাল করা ।
যখন নিজের বাড়ির ছেলেমেয়ের ওপরে যুদ্ধের আঁচ লাগবে তখন লোকে ঠিক বুঝবে কত ধানে কত চাল। সব হাওয়া কোথায় দিয়ে বেরোবার রাস্তা খুঁজবে তা নিজেরাই বুঝতে পারবে না । কোন কাজ নেই শুধু অনর্থক চেঁচামেচি করে দেশভক্তি দেখানো , তাই না ?
আমার ছেলে ভালো পড়াশোনা করে ইঞ্জিনিয়ার হয়ে ব্যাংকে চাকরি করে সুখে থাক । পারলে বিদেশে গিয়ে বসবাস করুক । লাল টুকটুকে গাড়িতে বউ কে নিয়ে হাওয়া খাক । মেয়ে হলে একটা চাকরি করুক আর আরো ভাল চাকরি করা মোটাসোটা নাদুস নুদুস ছেলের সাথে বিয়ে করে সুখে থাকুক । আর আমি যুদ্ধ যুদ্ধ করে আমার শিথিল ইন্দ্রিয় কে চাঙ্গা করি । এটা মামদো বাজি হচ্ছে ?
সেনা বাহিনীতে কার্যরত কোনো মানুষের পরিবারের লোকজন কে কোনো দিন যুদ্ধ চাই বলতে শুনবেন না । কারণ তারা জানে যুদ্ধ করার মাশুল কি ।
I find many trains are tagged as Superfast and extra charges are levied for this particular feature. But do they really deserve this tag actually ? Has there been a study on their average punctuality ? If it is below 75% then shouldn't the label of Superfast and extra charge be treated as misleading and cheating of the consumer ? As it stands Indian Railways is a monopoly and therefore they are in a position to do whatever they want to .
Can this be a fit case to file a PIL ? I wonder.
#BitterPill This whole concept of mediation for building of a proposed Ram mandir sets a dangerous precedent. It is surprising how the apex court has, in all its wisdom, has allowed and in fact facilitated such an idea . To a layman like me , it is an arbitration process which is almost a glorified version of Panchayat .
Before going into the legality , merits, demerits, reasons and rationals for this arbitrary decision of arbitration , one should not forget the underlying crime that is connected to the whole matter. A situation is being created with a native sly cunning to make everyone forget the events which shook India on the 6th Dec 1992.
Before any decision to build anything is taken at the site , it is necessary to book the people who blatantly flouted law and instigated the vandals to break an archaeological monument. Why that case is dragging on even after 26 years and not being fast tracked need to be answered first.
An arbitration is resorted to with the express intent of an out of court settlement by all parties involved . Not on matters which test the very basis of our constitution. Such arbitrations can't be a short cut to the problems arising from a lack of judicial intent for a solution. Who will ensure that the judiciary will not cite this as a precedent to abdicate its responsibility in future ?
Come to think of it, 8 years back , I even tried my hand at Indipop rap. Edited and recycled thanks to fb memories.
दिल का connection,
मेरे दिल का connection ,
है तुम्हारे साथ ,
हां हां सिर्फ तुम्हारे साथ
Let's hit it out to find
क्या है बात, जो बिगाड़े मेरे रात
Dreaming only of you,
changed मेरी life का view
अब पकड़ो मेंरा हाथ
और चलो मेरा साथ
life is calling, yeah
life is calling you.
आया है यह दिन
do you think just for nothin,
just make it so रंगीन,
baby let's make some प्यार.
❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️
Have you ever wondered why we Indians do not have a culture of science fictions in literature or movies in our country. In contrast, Jules Verne started writing his futuristic novels way back in 1870. Mary Shelley, a female writer, wrote the novel Frankenstein in 1818 , which can be called the first tale in the proper sci-fi realm.
Whatever passes of for science fiction in our country is copied and pasted from the foreign source. There are of course some notable exceptions,particularly in regional languages. I personally can talk about Bengali language where some good science fiction literature has been created. The first name to come in mind in this regard is Satyajit Ray who of course was a genius. But then exceptions always prove the rule.
Even in the body of work that we have in the sci-fi domain, none are audaciously ahead of time or invoke an awesome flight of fantasy to germinate the seeds of endless possibilities. It must be admitted that the mainstream literature and movies in our country have avoided sci-fi fantasies probably because the creators themselves do not have a scientific temper in the first place. Original stories and novels in the realms of space travel, time travel, genetics, medicine, sea exploration geological explorations and inter galactic adventures are hard to find . And even if they are written then the target audience is juvenile , not mature adults.
Even if you watch the movies and TV serials you will find that very lame and hackneyed adaptations of ideas rule the roost . For example think about the Shaktimaan TV serial or the Krish series of movies. There is nothing new in the stories or the concepts which any body exposed to the world movies have not seen before.
On the other hand, we have a plethora of tales on Ichchhadhari Nagins, Jadoo Tona, Jhad Phoonk, Tantrik Babas, Supernatural Chamatkars and plain superstitions. What does this signify ? To me it seems that primarily we shun a culture of science and this restricts us from thinking ahead of time or the use of futuristic technology.
Right from the childhood, we are brought up with generous doses of myths, miracles and unconditional acceptance of what is being handed over to us, by our parents, teachers, elders and leaders. This prohibits us from thinking beyond a certain ceiling. And, that's the reason we have Doctors wearing amulets and tabeezs , Nuclear scientists visiting Babas to seek blessings for promotion or even funds for some research projrct.
In addition, we also have the deeply entrenched caste system and feudalism is dein the psyche of Indians as a national obsession. Just imagine how can a author brought up on a bramhinical thought process even think of a Star Trek with a crew comprising of a Dalit commander under whom a Rajput engineer will work with a Naga astronaut. This is unimaginable to a mind which has been brought up to consider that intelligence is and privilege synonymous upper castes and Aryan origin.
Most young people , I meet nowadays take so many things for granted in this digital age without even giving it a thought how things happen. I feel that there is a dangerous vaccum that's being created between education and knowledge . And people are getting more and more aligned to the use of things rather than the fundamentals. I am of course writing this as a general observation because there are plenty of inquisitive minds too.
Like it or not try to make a thousand justifications but one cannot avoid the fact that in spite of the continuous harping of a glorious past and traditional heritage of knowledge, we are a country definitely poor in thought leadership. What we celebrate as the Jugaad brand of innovation is actually nothing but plagiarism with common sense in the face of necessity.
In the midst of anguish and breast beating cries for revenge , consider something for a moment. How can a fidayeen terrorist carrying 350 kg of explosives in a Scorpio ram it on a bus carrying CRPF personnel in the midst of the most militarised zone in the whole world ?
Some months back we were told that the militant outfit Jaish E Mohammad has been decimated . People bragged about it and even claimed credit for it . Now we are being informed that the suicidal terrorist belonged to the same outfit. That this incident is the result of a massive intelligence failure or a terrible compromise from within the security apparatus is evident even without going into the details. The question is then what is the efficacy of the NSA and his much touted doctrine ? What is the result of the Government's Kashmir policy itself ?
Politicians will do a Kadhi Ninda ( condemnation) and absolve themselves of their responsibilities. Jingoist hypernationals will bay for blood and even ask for surgical strikes inside Pakistan. Any voice of reason will be lampooned as being wimpy . I know very well that it is very difficult to stop suicidal terrorists and more so to defeat the ideology which orients them . But one thing is certain , using brute force only aggravates it unless it is used in the form of mass extermination. Can we do it ? Are we prepared to do it ? If not , then we go back to square one.
Dedicated to Spring season
ललित लवंग लता परिशीलन कोमल मलय समीरे।
मधुकर निकर करंबित कोकिल कूजति कुंज कुटीरे ।।
विहरतिहरिरिह सरस वसंते।
नृत्यति युवति जनेन समंसखि विरहिजनस्य दुरंते॥
ললিত লবঙ্গ লতা পরিশীলন কোমল মলয় সমীরে ।
মধুকর নিকর করম্বিত কোকিল কুজতি কুঞ্জ কুটিরে ।।
বিহরিতহরিসহ সরস বসন্তে ।
নৃত্যতি যুবতী জনেন সমংসখি বিরহিজনস্য দুরন্তে ।।
Jaydev Goswami, poet from Bengal wrote the above lines in Gita Govinda (12th century) . I found these lines to express the ambience of the Spring season in all its sensual glory. The loose translation would go like this :
The lissom clove reeds enhances the sweetness of the soft gentle breeze
Honeybees in droves buzz and the cuckoo sings in groves and cottages.
Hari (Krishna) frolicks and flirts with damsels in this lovely spring
Oh dear, it pains the estranged so much.
Disclaimer : I am not remotely qualified to interpret the layers of intricate meanings of such verses which have a vast canvas of Bhakti ras (union of spirituality with amorous poetry ) . So I will not go into the spiritual aspect of that at all and confine myself to the lyrical aspect only.
Though these lines must have been written in Devnagari or Prakrit probably , I have read them in Bengali alphabets. As part of an old novel that I was reading. The lyrical excellence of the lines struck me and I carried them in my head for long . Later, I chanced to hear a classical rendition of this in music as a song too. This is just a stray and humble foray into the realms of the vast cultural heritage that we carry. If it resonates with even one person , I will take that as a huge support.
There is a section of people who love to glorify Nathuram Godse and his philosophy. And produce logical justifications for his killing of Gandhi. Earlier these voices were subdued . Now with the anonymity and secrecy of group chats , we find them everywhere.
I can only feel pity about these mentally retarded people and their progenies. If they were from the uneducated or socially disadvantaged strata of the society , I would understand. But surprisingly they are from our own social circles and well to do middle class upbringings .
I don't know if it is my fault to have such hateful and spiteful people in my circles . Sometimes I wonder what is the fate of people like me in this world of venomous creepy crawlies all around . #Randomthoughts
#Justsaying You can take people out of rural areas and give them an urban life, but it is very difficult to take out the hackneyed and regressive rustic mindset out of them .
Find this amplified with what happens everyday around me and the interactions I have , physically or virtually ,,.
Just to give an example got this forward in a Whatsapp group of well educated and well placed individuals .
इंदिरा विधवा हुई तो प्रधानमंत्री बनी, सोनिया विधवा हुई कांग्रेस अध्यक्ष बनी, राजनीति बलि माँगती है
ईश्वर रॉबर्ट वाड्रा की रक्षा करें
( Translation - Indira became a Prime minister after being widowed, Sonia became Congress President after being widowed, Politics demand sacrifice, May God save Robert Vadra ).
I know it very well that there will be still some people reading this post who will laugh it off as a joke and there will be a few who will be elated .
The opening paragraph of this post describe them aptly . #BitterPill
