Tag: Khatta Meetha

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Phoren or Indian

The H1NI1 outbreak in India surely owes its origins to foreign countries. Many of the positive cases in India are people who have travelled abroad.
Among warnings issued to people to prevent H1N1 infection is to avoid foreign (phoren) travel.

I can’t speak for other parts of India but in Pune certainly, foreign (phoren) returnees are always looked upon in awe. Lets say till this H1N1 outbreak. Suddenly nobody thronged to visit people returning home from visiting their kith and kin or their foreign holiday.
Those who did, were openly asked questions if they suffered from symptoms, did the people they stayed with suffer symptoms and so on….
Discomforting? Certainly…
Embarrassing? Probably…
Arrogant? Certainly not…

The dilemma is worse with visiting foreign (phoren) relatives (particularly those keen for a desi experience in their northern hemisphere summer).

This weekend there are many more people moving around wearing masks on their faces. Pune girls/women are not new to such facial protection used as they are to tying long scarves or dupattas around their heads.
As we try to protect ourselves will the namaste/ namaskar (an Indian form of greeting people with folded hands) be a more hygienic form instead of the foreign (phoren) hand-shake?

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Numbers of Note

Came across some interesting figures. Click at relevant places to read the entire story.

One quintal of sugarcane yields about 9 kgs of sugar.
One tonne of sugarcane yields about 120 kgs of jaggery.
One barrel of crude oil (about 160 lit) yields 5 to 19 litres of petrol subject to quality of crude, refining process used and refiners specifications.
Organic milk contains can contain up to 71% more omega-3 fatty acids compared to conventionally produced milk, a study by the University of Aberdeen showed.
Calorific value of domestic coal in India has fallen to about 3,500 kcal/kg from about 5,900 kcal/kg in early 1960s, according to Power Ministry estimates.
India was placed in third spot as third best place to survive the economic crisis by a Servcorp International Business Confidence survey.
Digest these numbers for now.
Best wishes.
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U Turn

Just watched the Marathi play ‘U Turn’. Its not for me to answer why many new Marathi plays have English titles but that in any way does not take away from merits of this play. The play explores loneliness of a spouse when a husband-wife are not together any more- either due to death of one partner or divorce. Some choose to go in for a ‘companion’ yet will society or more pertinently will their family members accept this arrangement?

U Turn explores the developing relation between a divorced Major of the Indian Army (played by Dr Girish Oak) and a widow (Ila Bhate). The strict, no-nonsense disciplinarian Major is very lonely and has advertised for a companion in a newspaper. Rama Gokhale happens to ring his door bell and from there on both go on an emotional roller coaster. Rama often delved into the days gone by whereas the Major firmly stayed only in the present. Both dote on their only children who inturn have often expressed concern for their parent’s loneliness.
As the couple enters this new relation that has as not yet really received social sanction, they naturally assume full support from their respective kids. Rama befriends and opens her heart to Madhu, the Major’s daughter who is in the final stages of pregnancy, ready to offer all support necessary at this delicate stage. The Major goes all out to learn of the well being of Sahil, Rama’s son when news of terrorist attacks in London reaches them- which is where Sahil lives.
All through this phase, Dr Oak and Ila Bhat beautifully depict the subtle changes in the Major and Rama’s personalities, their fears, joys, anger and grief as the situation unfolds before them. Do the children really accept their parent’s new found partner and joy? Can the parents handle the reaction? Do they live for their children or should they think of themselves now that their children are independant adults? Does this couple follow the direction of the time trodden path or do they take a U Turn?
The cast, director and other team members have won several awards at the state level. This two act two character play is heavily recommended.
Be Happy!
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Shoe gate

Its election time and in the current financial environment, politicians should be ready for the worst and I don’t mean only in terms of tough journalists’ questions and an irate and disgruntled vote bank.

Along with former US President George W Bush who had a shoe thrown at him other global leaders too have faced the same fate. The same offending flying object made its way into our Home Minister’s press conference yesterday.

Channels and other media are thoroughly dissecting this incident so let us just think what it means going forward…

  • Security prior to entry to hallowed precincts to be graced by the political VIPs will be toughened. In addition to leaving behind our belongings, we would have to leave our footwear outside. But what of other tools like pens, stinky socks etc…
  • Politicians must undergo training sessions to learn ‘duck and smile and stay cool’ techniques before addressing a press conference. By the looks of things, the current lot have done very well.
  • In addition to learning tricks of journalism, newbie journalists and old ones too must undergo training to improve accuracy in throwing shoes.
  • Boost decision making skills for journos- is one shoe enough, go for both of a pair or also take up the neighbour’s shoes. Others must train to hold on to their ‘soles’ if an emotional journo tries to grab their shoes.

Will the paradigm change to shoe being mightier than the pen?
What do you think?

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Divine music

Pt Rajshekhar Mansoor of the Jaipur gharana presented a wonderful recital in Pune recently. Despite not understanding fine nuances of classic Hindustani fare,   I was totally mesmerised by Panditji’s rendition of uncommon ragas. Compositions in Bhimpalas, Barari, Gouri and Basanti Kedar had us enthralled. A report cited Panditji as saying, ” the only thing a musician can do is to humbly and with dedication request the ragas to come to him. The ragas then decide whether they will come to the musician or not… No one can master them, we are learners and will remain so forever.”

Though Spic Macay works to introduce traditional Indian culture to our youth, majority of the audience was over 50! 

Panditji’s devotion to the art shone through as he did not let poor organisation by Spic Macay and FTII bother him. I hope the organisers take note of their blunders. 
Take care all!
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For couch potatoes and others

All of us do devote some time each day in front of the TV be it for the ‘K’ serials or news or other entertainment/knowledge programs.

These are some of my favourites. Do pause a moment if you come across them while surfing and judge for yourself:
No Reservations by  Anthony Bourdain and 
Samantha  Brown’s Passport to Europe, Great Weekends etc. Both these are aired on Discovery Travel and Living and worth every minute not only for the places they describe but also for the wit and expertise with which the hosts take us along in their journey.
Newsnet 2.0 on NDTV Profit hosted by Rajiv Makhni. A hilarious collection of videos that is sure to send your stress packing! 
Hard Talk on BBC World. Certainly not a new program but its new avtaar in no way takes away from some hard hitting Q and A session.
All About Ads on NDTV profit. An informative program even for those not into an advertising career.  CNBC TV 18 airs a similar program called Story Board but to my mind AAA takes the cake.
For those inclined to experimenting in the kitchen: Nigella Lawson’s series  on Travel and Living (Nigella Feasts or Nigella Express) is unbeatable. The recipes turn out just as they are supposed to be- yummy! 
The list can go on but then it would hardly leave time for your own selection. 
Go on! Yenjoy!
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2008: Rewind

I see that papers and TV channels are flooded with everything that 2008 had to offer and what it did not. The highs and lows as it were. The  faces that made or broke the year.

Besides all these, here are some more changes in the year gone by:
Tru Mart stores all over have gradually gone to seed and finally shut down. A pity really considering that they had a good thing going. I guess the great minds at Indiabulls must surely have a sound business plan but then its surely taking a long long time in crystallising at least as far as this particular store chain goes. By the looks of it, others are innovating to stay afloat and the public is surely not complaining if from the crowds I had to jostle at Big Bazaar are an indicator!
The number of RJs on Spin channel (the one we hear in India) on World Space has gradually been declining all through the year. That has not affected music quality but I must add that friendly chatter does make all the difference. I hope this article has nothing to do with these changes!!
The agitation against non Marathi Indians in the state has deeply affected each one of us. We find that there is a dirth of experts required to do jobs like exterior painting of homes/buildings (you see some contractors still require workers to dangle precariously from the roof on a rope – not something for the Marathi manoos to do!), skilled carpenters, gol gappa (pani puri) puri makers just to name a few. Surely all Indians have a right to work in all parts of India?
A staple reading diet of all teen aged girls and of many mothers too, Mills and Boon now plans to call Indian writers. Now that’s certainly something to stir the imagination!
The Pune Police seem to be making some headway in getting vehicle drivers to realise that red signals mean stop else it invites penalties. But then majority Puneites have travelled the world, follow traffic rules to a T in USA (Pune is top supplier of students to the country I am told) but revel and take pride in not following them in India. 
I could go on and on but lets leave somethings unsaid!
In the 365 days ahead (make that 362 considering its January 3 today!) , let us work to become more alert citizens, take active interest in maintaining civic amenities, ask questions about new faces loitering about or activities in the neighbourhood. We demand good governance but should also remember to be responsible citizens. 
Hope 2009 has lots of wonderful things in store for all of us. Good health, good stamina to put in that extra bit, the creative spark to add the special zing to our projects. Success and prosperity has to follow.
Ciao!
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Wish List for 2009!

May you get a clean bill of health from your dentist, your cardiologist, your gastro-enterologist, your urologist, your proctologist, your podiatrist, your psychiatrist, your plumber and the I.R.S. /IT DEPT

May your hair, your teeth, your face-lift, your abs and your stocks not fall; and may your blood pressure, your triglycerides, your cholesterol, your white blood count and your mortgage interest not rise.

May New Year’s Eve find you seated around the table, together with your beloved family and cherished friends. May you find the food better, the environment quieter, the cost much cheaper, and the pleasure much more fulfilling than anything else you might ordinarily do that night.

May what you see in the mirror delight you, and what others see in you delight them. May someone love you enough to forgive your faults, be blind to your blemishes, and tell the world about your virtues.

May the telemarketers wait to make their sales calls until you finish dinner, may the commercials on TV not be louder than the program you have been watching, and may your check book and your budget balance – and include generous amounts for charity.

May you remember to say “I love you” at least once a day to your spouse, your child, your parent, your siblings; but not to your secretary, your nurse, your masseuse, your hairdresser or your tennis instructor.

And may we live in a world at peace and with the awareness of God’s love in every sunset, every flower’s unfolding petals, every baby’s smile, every lover’s kiss, and every wonderful, astonishing, miraculous beat of our heart.

Happy New Year!

I would like to attribute this mail that was forwarded to me to the original author. Do let us know if you have this information.

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Rat Race…

The alarm tinkled but he shut the mobile up. He had an hour before his day began. He would steal five minutes from that. He had made so many compromises so far, how did an extra 5 minutes of sleep matter?

This was the only period in Vijay’s control. The moment he got out off bed some unseen force took charge of his life. He had his big car now yet he longed for the train journey to work. He would have to wait for another year or his next job for a driver.

His boss was a tyrant. Targets, deadlines, office jealousies… Unpretentious Ravi always seemed to please the boss. And Anita took full advantage of her sex to avoid any additional tasks. The earlier boss had moved up acting the Pied Piper for his old team! Vijay had again lost out to Hussein in that race.

Vicky their son, had to be dropped to school everyday on his way out. Asking his wife Sonya to do so meant inviting another round of arguments. Cosmo women fought tooth and nail to share every duty. Vijay wondered if village women were half as vocal or their voice ever heard.

Sonya’s job paid for the EMI on this swanky flat. His pay packet took care of the car, plasma TV and European holiday installments. His fat salary shriveled to peanuts even before it reached the bank.

With both of them working, Vijay’s elderly parents looked after Vicky. Sonya argued they too would benefit from Vijay’s success. Any way it was better than living alone in the village and looking after the fields.

Weekdays zoomed past, each day undistinguishable from the other. Weekends meant putting in that extra bit at work, the new boss expected it. Sonya would never understand. Lazy Sunday mornings were his only luxury before getting down to more work.

Behind closed eyes, strains of a Kishore Kumar melody stirred his mind. He rarely played the harmonium these days. Where was it anyway? Sonya must have junked it somewhere. Vijay had been an avid mountaineer in college often leading expeditions. Now he had difficulty in figuring out the easiest route around vehicles on the road. Amma faithfully dusted his books and read out stories to his son. Vijay remembered playing carom and cards with Dad but he had forgotten when he last played cricket with Vicky. Did his parents deserve to care for a child at sixty plus?

Suddenly he was gripped with the futility of it all. Where was he running? What for? Vijay was pushing forty and Vicky’s childhood would not last forever. He had to be a part of it. His parents needed to retire.

Through swirls of mist he saw yet another EMI for Sonya’s diamond necklace and a corner office beckoning him. Vijay felt himself being sucked into a vortex of his creation. The snoozing alarm tinkled again urging him on in the rat race. He shrugged away his blues and dragged himself out of bed remembering Robert Frost’s lines “The woods are lovely, dark, and deep, But I have promises to keep, And miles to go before I sleep, And miles to go before I sleep”.


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How to Dance in the Rain

Most forwards on our inbox are not worth reading. Following is beautiful and poignant forward I have received. Be sure to read till the end:

It was a busy morning, about 8:30, when an elderly gentleman in his 80’s arrived to have stitches removed from his thumb. He said he was in a hurry as he had an appointment at 9:00 am. I took his vital signs and had him take a seat, knowing it would be over an hour before someone would to able to see him.

I saw him looking at his watch and decided, since I was not busy with another patient, I would evaluate his wound. On exam, it was well healed, so I talked to one of the doctors, got the needed supplies to remove his sutures and redress his wound. While taking care of his wound, I asked him if he had another doctor’s appointment this morning, as he was in such a hurry. The gentleman told me no, that he needed to go to the nursing home to eat breakfast with his wife. I inquired as to her health.

He told me that she had been there for a while and that she was a victim of Alzheimer’s Disease. As we talked, I asked if she would be upset if he was a bit late. He replied that she no longer knew who he was, that she had not recognized him in five years now. I was surprised, and asked him, ‘And you still go every morning, even though she doesn’t know who you are?’ He smiled as he patted my hand and said, ‘She doesn’t know me, but I still know who she is.’

I had to hold back tears as he left, I had goose bumps on my arm, and thought, ‘That is the kind of love I want in my life.’

The happiest people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the best of everything they have. ‘Life isn’t only about how to survive the storm, but also how to dance in the rain.’

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