Happy Independence Day India!

Like so many Independence Days, today too I woke up listening to the same old patriotic songs from bygone Bollywood movies blaring through the loudspeakers – मेरे देश की धरती सोना उगले, वंदे मातरम and ऐ मेरे वतन के लोगो.

Then the familiar feelings and thoughts came back – as on all past Independence Days. Why do we have a day off on this date? Majority of us treat it like any other holiday – lolling about in beds, completing our pending chores from the week or visiting friends. Why cannot our offices use this day – maybe on a voluntary basis – to plan some concrete measures for the benefit of the society which we can then implement in the later half of the year? But the gloom lasted only for a while. I have decided that I will not spend the day doing normal chores.

I have started by sending the customary SMS to all my friends. The difference this time was that I didn’t send any forwarded message – I constructed my own and sent it.

Then I switched on the TV in the hopes of watching some decent footage of the 1947 Independence Day. No luck! Half the channels were airing the Prime Minister’s speech in which he was either claiming that they were ready for half the disasters currently plaguing India or claiming that they were busy making plans for the other half. And the remaining channels were airing some news about BJP’s Rajnath and Vasundhara Sindia. I guess India’s filthy politicians (now isn’t that an oxymoron?) will keep squabbling for their petty turfs even if the Apocalypse comes!

History channel looked promising enough as the TV Guide showed a program “Colours of War – Tryst with Destiny”. Unfortunately it raised my BP to dangerous levels as I watched “stiff-upper lip” Brits enjoy such luxury that they couldn’t have hoped to enjoy back home – all at the natives’ expense. The program showed very little of India’s freedom struggle and even gave an impression that the Brits left India solely to honour their promise of giving India her freedom in exchange for help in fighting 2nd World War! What a funny idea!

On top of it, the gruesome partition scenes boiled my blood and I cursed the Brits for dividing the nation in two - leaving millions to suffer. I don’t normally use any expletives but as I watched Mountbatten’s (I don’t care if this spelling is wrong and I hope to God it is. That’s my tiny revenge!) wife visiting the refugee camps, I lost my cool. What cheek!

There was a silver lining to the cloud though – it was a different feeling watching many of India’s leaders from that era apart from Nehru and Gandhi – Sardar VallabhBhai Patel, Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar and Maulana Abdul Kalam Azad to name a few. I remember seeing them last in the history books and the walls of the school classrooms. :-(

I am not overly superstitious but when the program showed a rainbow that appeared across the skies the day India gained her freedom, I felt that the Gods themselves have blessed the birth of our free nation. Whatever our shortcomings and fallies – I know now we will triumph in the end. We will keep our Tryst With the Destiny :-)

काल जन्माष्टमी! देवाच्या ह्या अवताराबद्दल मला नेहमीच एक कुतूहल आणि माया वाटत आली आहे। ह्या बाळाचा जन्मच कसला विलक्षण। कंसच्या लाडक्या बहिणीचं लग्न होतं काय, 'देवकिच्या पोटी जन्म घेणारा आठवा पुत्र तुझा वध करेल" अशी आकाशवाणी होते काय आणि कंस वासुदेव देवकिला कोठडित डाम्बतो काय। लहान असताना मला आपलं वाटायचं कंस पण मुर्खच - पहिलंच मूल जिवंत ठेवलं असतं तर आठवा मुलगा जन्माला आलाच असता कशाला? पण वय वाढलं आणि समजलं की देवाने निर्दालन करण्यासाठी दुष्टाचे पापाचे घडे पण पूर्ण भरावे लागतात। सनी किंवा बोबी देओलच्या पिक्चर्स सारखा "फैसला ऑन द स्पॉट " नसतो.

पण आठवा मुलगा जन्माला आला खरा। आणि कोठडीवरच्या पहारेकर्याना झोप लागली। कमबशीबी लेकाचे! साक्षात देवाचा जन्म पहायचे भाग्य लाभले असते पण तेव्हाच झोप लागली। कोठडीचे दरवाजे आपोआप उघडले ते मुठी चोखणार्या तान्ह्या बाळ्क्रुष्णाला गोकुलात नेणारया वसुदेवासाठी। वाटेत पसरलेली यमुना आणि तूफान पावसामुळे तिला आलेला पूर, देवाचे निळेशार पाय लागावेत म्हणून उंच उंच उसळणार्या तिच्या लाटा आणि सगळ्या जगावर मायेची पाखर घालणार्या देवावर छत करणारा शेषनाग! ज्या पंचमहाभूतांच्या तांडवाला ते द्रृष्य दिसले ते भाग्यवान!

मला क्रृष्णाच्या आणि येशू ख्रिस्ताच्या जन्मात नेहमीच एक साम्य वाटत आलं आहे. तो गोठ्यात जन्माला आला आणि हा तुरुंगात. त्याला राजा हेरॉड पासून धोका होता. ह्याला कंसापासून. सगळंच अद्भुत!

एका जमिनीत रुजून दुसरीकडे वाढणार्या रोपट्यासारखं हे बाळ वाढलं ते गोकुळात. आणि मग सुरू झाल्या एकेक लीला - पूतनेचा वध, कालियामर्दन, गोवर्धन आणि लोण्याची चोरी. हातात लोण्याचा गोळा,चेहेर्यावर खेळतं मिश्किल हसू, कुरळया केसावर डुलणारं मोरपीस आणि कमरेला खोचलेली जगाला वेड लावणारी बासरी - ज्याना निर्गुणाची उपासना करायची त्याना करु देत. मला मात्र हे सगुण रूपच आवडतं.

मला स्वतःला रामावतार कधीच भावला नाही. इतकं सद्वर्तन फक्त देवाकडून होऊ शकतं, मर्त्य मानवाकडून नाही. पण माखनचोर क्रृष्ण मात्र हल्लीच्या भाषेत ज्याला "प्रॅक्टिकल" म्हणतात त्यातला. अर्जुन आणि दुर्योधन दोघेही युध्दासाठी मदत मागायला आले असताना पायाशी बसलेला अर्जुन ह्याला आधी दिसला. "अश्वत्त्थ मेला" अशी आवई उठवून द्रोणांना युध्दभूमीवरुन बाजूला केलं ते ह्याने. शिखंडीचा वापर करुन भीष्माना हटवलं. आणि ऐनवेळी गलितगात्र झालेल्या अर्जुनाला त्याच्या कर्तव्याची जाणीव करुन दिली. सत्याला पण देवाची मदत लागतेच की.

काही महिन्यांपूर्वी माऊंट अबूमध्ये एका साध्वीचं निधन झाल्याची बातमी वाचली. ही साध्वी क्रृष्णभक्त होती. त्या लेखात असंही म्हटलं होतं की अनेकांनी स्वत:च्या कानांनी तिच्या खोलीतून पैंजणांचा आवाज आणि लहान मुलाचे बोबडे बोल ऐकले होते. चार पुस्तकं (जरा जास्तच!) शिकलेल्या माझया बुध्दीने भुवया उंचावल्या. पण शतकानुशतकांचे अद्रृश्य संस्कार ल्यालेलं मन लगेच म्हणालं "असेलही कदाचित. देव भक्तासाठी काहीही करतो म्हणतात."

क्रृष्णजन्माच्या शुभेच्छा - हाथी घोडा पालखी, जय कन्हैया लालकी!

There wasn’t much crowd in the bank when I went there early morning 2 days back to get a DD (Yes, the brick and mortar structures still exist!). A middle-aged person who was standing in front of the window moved aside so I could hand over my form to the bank employee.

Just then the security guard standing next to the entrance nodded towards this man and jokingly said to the bank employee “Stand well away from this gentleman. He has just come from Pune.” The man also smiled and said “Yeah, yeah, I have got the virus with me.”

I felt a curious mixture of feelings – appreciation for their attitude towards the paranoia that is gripping the rest of the country, fear because I had been standing right next to this guy for 5 minutes at least and anger that this gentleman decided to walk straight into a public place without any regard for the safety of those inside.

This incident just firmed up my belief that this whole paranoia could have been avoided if the government had provided information on following basic questions:

1. What are the basic symptoms that the affected person can have
I saw one lady on TV who said that all she had was a sore throat – no other classic symptoms of the disease. She checked into a hospital, was diagnosed with Swine Flu, treated for it and got well within days.

2. Were all those who succumbed to the disease healthy individuals or did they have any other physical conditions that made them more vulnerable to it?

3. For how long can the virus survive in air?

4. Once inside the body, how fast can a person become sick?

And last but not the least - can a person carry the virus without having Swine Flu? For how long will the virus survive in a body like that?

In other words, the billion dollar question is - could the gentleman from Pune - who looked hale and hearty - have carried the virus?

I have been blogging for more than 2 years now but funnily enough I never tried to find out where the word “blogging” originates from. The answer came to me today – when I wasn’t particularly looking for it, as happens so many times in life :-)

So looks like it all began in 1999 when San Francisco-based Peter Merholz wrote on his personal website: “I’ve decided to pronounce the word weblog as ‘we-blog’, or blog for short”.

And the rest, as they say, is history!

I finished reading Paulo Coelho’s “The Devil and Miss Prym” last week. I liked the book but I didn’t like the ending. I somehow also don’t think we can answer the question “are the human beings good or evil” in one word. I don’t believe that all people are good but I don’t believe that they are all evil either.

But, I know one thing – some people are absolute bad news and if you come across someone like that, it’s best to change course.

I have been managing to watch episodes of “Highway on My Plate” every morning before I start for work. Time and again I have been amazed to see the duo – Rocky and Mayur – walk into eating joints that, I must confess, I will not patronize. I am not being snobbish here – I am hopelessly compulsive about hygiene.

Family and friends have put forward convincing arguments to make me mend my ways – ranging from “how do you know that the hotel with a clean dining area has a clean kitchen too?” to “the best food is served at the not-so-clean places” but I remain unfazed. It makes me sad sometimes because I am sure this is keeping me from enjoying some great food.

And this isn’t stopping my family from making snide comments like “Oh well, at least now you know why no channel worth its salt will offer you a job as an anchor of a food show!”

Can someone please explain to me what the new rediff.com ad is all about? I feel sorry for that poor duck!

Can someone please explain to me why that lady in the new Parachute ad shakes her hair so much? We know it’s an ad for Hair Oil – for Heaven’s sake!

I had not been able to stomach more than a few shows of “Hell’s Kitchen” – despite loving all kinds of cookery shows. And that’s because I couldn’t take the sight of all those poor chefs cowering as chef Gordon Ramsay lashed out at them. I never could figure out whether that was an act put up for the show or the guy really has only mean bones in his body.

So when I read today about how he is forced to restructure his restaurants as the gourmet diners have tightened their purse strings, there was only one thought uppermost in my mind – how the mighty fall!

I wonder who has got money to sink in a movie that stars – Fardin Khan, Govinda and Tushhar Kapoor! And then who has got time to waste on such a movie. So many questions and so few answers :-)

It’s been one depressing news after another – first, the disappointing rainfall and the very real possibility of water and food shortage. And if that wasn’t enough, it’s the Swine Flu. It’s surprising how rapidly it has spread in various parts of the country within a short span. One of course feels sad for those who lost their lives to this epidemic but what is maddening is that there is no information on whether those who died were healthy individuals or had some existing health conditions which precipitated their deaths.

I know I sound like those paranoid conspiracy theory proponents but I cannot get rid of the tiny nagging doubt that this sudden rapid spread of the disease could have something to do with the shortage of the test kits that have to be imported - thus filling the coffers of the multinational pharmacy companies.

The truth - sometimes is stranger than Fiction! What say?