Alarm Clock

I should have titled it alarrum clock. That invokes the right image in my mind of a relentless ring from a bedside beauty that would always ring at the right time, and ring with such character, and also respond to my little tap to acknowledge it as I reluctantly woke up. Or should I say 'her' given the dutiful, beautiful, personality of the alarm clock.

The alarm clock is something that epitomises man's achievement in the modern world. If I were to list just three things, they would be clocks, bicycles and trains. They show how Newtonian creatures did come to life in our midst, and make our lives more meaningful, and add to the colour and texture of life.

These were not overpowering. They were not going to drive our lives. We would work with them, much like we did with horses and cows and knives and scissors, to accomplish true 'living'.

But how the alarm clock has changed! You cannot buy a wind-up mechanical beauty any more, except some cheap Chinese look-alikes or old antiques. Gone are the days of majestic, ornate, time-pieces with character.

Even the quartz portable clocks are vanishing. Who would buy them, given the million apps on the phone to remind you, awaken you, and speak the time in different accents!?

But have you noticed? I am talking of alarm clocks that rang and had no snooze button. That meant they had a form and a function, and did what was expected. The same with match sticks and hurricane lamps. Today, nobody makes a fire except with a fancy lighter for some barbecue or a diya festival. You can even buy flickering plug-in plasticky 'brass' lamps!

Once there is a snooze button, I feel the character is lost. You don't have that pristine contract of the predictable Newtonian world. Then everything becomes 'maybe'. Just like people perhaps drove more carefully when they did not have airbags.

And if the alarm is coming from my mobile phone, damn it. It does not even ring with any 'truth' in it!

I also find the multifunction calendar+thermometer+clock+radio an extension of one's wishfulness and a mere show-off. It is quite handy as an office gift, but perhaps totally useless, since you can never get around to buy replacements for those tiny batteries later on.
Oh for the world of true alarm clocks!
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Faith. In Truth and Love.

Visit this lovely site: http://archiveofindianmusic.org/

Archive Of Indian Music · Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi's Spiritual message

During his stay in England in 1931, when the Columbia Gramophone Company requested him to make a record for them, Gandhi pleaded his inability to speak politics, and added that, at the age of sixtytwo, he could make his first and last record which should, if wanted, make his voice heard for all time. Confessing his anxiety to speak on the spiritual matters, on October 20, 1931 he read out his old article "On God":

"There is an indefinable mysterious power that pervades everything, I feel it though I do not see it. It is this unseen power which makes itself felt and yet defies all proof, because it is so unlike all that I perceive through my senses. It transcends the senses. But it is possible to reason out the existence of God to a limited extent. Even in ordinary affairs we know that people do not know who rules or why and how He rules and yet they know that there is a power that certainly rules. In my tour last year in Mysore I met many poor villagers and I found upon inquiry that they did not know who ruled Mysore. They simply said some God ruled it. If the knowledge of these poor people was so limited about their ruler I who am infinitely lesser in respect to God than they to their ruler need not be surprised if I do not realize the presence of God - the King of Kings. Nevertheless, I do feel, as the poor villagers felt about Mysore, that there is orderliness in the universe, there is an unalterable law governing everything and every being that exists or lives. It is not a blind law, for no blind law can govern the conduct of living being and thanks to the marvelous researches of Sir J. C. Bose it can now be proved that even matter is life. That law then which governs all life is God. Law and the law-giver are one. I may not deny the law or the law-giver because I know so little about it or Him. Just as my denial or ignorance of the existence of an earthly power will avail me nothing even so my denial of God and His law will not liberate me from its operation, whereas humble and mute acceptance of divine authority makes life's journey easier even as the acceptance of earthly rule makes life under it easier. I do dimly perceive that whilst everything around me is ever changing, ever dying there is underlying all that change a living power that is changeless, that holds all together, that creates, dissolves and recreates. That informing power of spirit is God, and since nothing else that I see merely through the senses can or will persist, He alone is. And is this power benevolent or malevolent ? I see it as purely benevolent, for I can see that in the midst of death life persists, in the midst of untruth truth persists, in the midst of darkness light persists. Hence I gather that God is life, truth, light. He is love. He is the supreme Good. But He is no God who merely satisfies the intellect, if He ever does. God to be God must rule the heart and transform it. He must express himself in every smallest act of His votary. This can only be done through a definite realization, more real than the five senses can ever produce. Sense perceptions can be and often are false and deceptive, however real they may appear to us. Where there is realization outside the senses it is infallible. It is proved not by extraneous evidence but in the transformed conduct and character of those who have felt the real presence of God within. Such testimony is to be found in the experiences of an unbroken line of prophets and sages in all countries and climes. To reject this evidence is to deny oneself. This realization is preceded by an immovable faith. He who would in his own person test the fact of God's presence can do so by a living faith and since faith itself cannot be proved by extraneous evidence the safest course is to believe in the moral government of the world and therefore in the supremacy of the moral law, the law of truth and love. Exercise of faith will be the safest where there is a clear determination summarily to reject all that is contrary to truth and love. I confess that I have no argument to convince through reason. Faith transcends reason. All that I can advise is not to attempt the impossible."


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Likeabike: why didn't I think of it before!?

And I think you can buy it online for about $50.-

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Uh oh Da Vinci. Cavemen drew better!

Read this!
http://www.businessinsider.com/cavemen-drew-animal-movements-accurately-2012-12?utm_source=alerts



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

No one killed this tree

Have you seen Vidya Balan's muted, sombre, acting in the movie No One Killed Jessica, a real-life story about a politician's son who shoots and kills a young lady bar-tender point blank and buys up witnesses so they refuse to tell what they saw, in court?
I saw with horror a handsome Gulmohar being laid low this morning with power-saws next to a nearby park. Who killed this tree? Some suspects:

1. I, who spoke with a black tongue just this morning about this sylvan haven of a park with all its tall trees.
2. The power shut-down last night during the rain, blamed on the tree interfering with overhead power wires.
3. The KSEB who didn't invest in underground cables, but tangled their wires with tall trees.
4. Mysore Maharaja, who inculcated the culture of tree-lined residential colonies.
5. The civic watchdogs who lie asleep.
6. The house-owners, who want their power fixed no matter what, to watch TV.
7. The staff and onlookers who perhaps gain from selling off the stout branches.
8. The jugaad heroes who tell us that we should carry on the way we run our country, and 'God Help the Greens.'
9. The tree itself, for having proudly shown off its growth.
10. God, who created this kinked world of men and trees, in constant competition for survival and flourish at each other's expense. Well stop it here, I say. Didn't Chaitanya extol the tree for its ultimate quality of tolerance and forbearance?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

I'm a Tourist

I stir from deep slumber as I hear the Faceless Voice again.
"We've landed! Welcome to The World. This is your happy layover, all-paid.
Go out and have fun! Just remember to be back on time,
So you won't miss your onward connection in this endless journey."

I blink, confused, as I am birthed into the brightly-lit
Arrivals, full of people, strange sights, noises, colours.

A friendly nanny at Assistance smiles.
"You don't have a care, dearie, go out, have fun.
Leave your cares with your baggage on board.
This is your Fun Day in the The World."

The guys in uniform are easy, as they check
My documents more than my face.
After all, I'm a layover tourist.

I go around to malls, museums, art schools, arty schooners.
Food courts with coconuts, orchids, coloured straws.
Lobsters cooling their claws on ice, ready to be cooked.

An hour of massage. Meditation.

Parks full of make-believe rain-forests.
Feathered performers that strut about and sing in a cabaret.

Skating rinks, soccer stadia. Esplanade by the shimmering waters,
where I take in magic tricks and singing bands.

At last it is time to go back to the endless journey.
As I march into the lounge, I smile to see x-rays and body scanners.
You see, I don't really care. It is time to go.
I simply wait for the Faceless Voice to call me aboard.

Well, I am happy it was not an ego-trip. It was only a layover.
To a tourist, nothing really sticks. So it's all fun!

Bougainvilleas on Old Madras Road

As I travel from Indiranagar to Brigade Metropolis for work, I have to go through the old, pot-holed, polluted, frenetic, lorry-laden Old Madras Road. It is a nightmare for drivers, and keeps doctors busy and happy in Bangalore treating people for all pollution-related illnesses.

But just at Tin Factory, there is a stretch of over 300 metres, with lovely multi-coloured Bougainvilleas all along the way.  See this picture.

They seem to be really happy on Old Madras Road!
Location on Google Maps:



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

I am in a trap!

I have just realized that I am in a trap. And that is final. Irrevocable. Irrefutable. Immutable.

Well, the last one may not be really true. It does change, but does not change in my favour.

My trap is not physical at all! It can be either The Past, The Present, or The Future.

The Past. With its memories of good times. And sad times. And the times I wish I could hold on to, forever. And the times which I wish had me in control. Not a mere witness seeing things slip away. It's a powerful trap, of things cast in stone now, cannot be changed. And I cannot break free.

Woken from that reverie of the past, what do I see? My Present. The present is indeed a trap, I am just a part of a large movement that I have no control over, I am being carried away! I fight, I think I make my own reality. But soon I see that I am not in charge.

And then I begin to see the Future. The Future that isn't, but I want. I dream in that trap, of things that will happen, should happen, may happen. I am not there, but I think I am. Oh, what a trap!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Tiger Tablets for Indian Kids

It had to come one day. Silk Saree. Silicone Milk. Herbal Supplement. Now a tablet. All from China, to make India stronger, more intelligent, more competitive. Well Aakash is the limit.

I call it the Tiger Tablet. If you're thinking it is a tablet made with Royal Bengal Tiger body parts, you're mistaken. It is an Android 4.0 or ICS 7 inch tablet computer being approved by IIT Bombay for widescale distribution by the Education Minister to all kids in schools and colleges at a subsidized price. There is a supposition in the public that it is designed by a Sardarji and made by brainy engineers in Hyderabad.

But just now I read an Economic Times report that it is being imported for $42.- from China and Made in India stickers are added before distribution.

That is not a bad thing if every kid gets to play some video games and also learn some stuff on a tablet, right? You may be right. I am right now typing on an American Tablet made in China called the iPad.

Indian children need schools, books, teachers, Akshaya Patra lunches, and the hope that they will get jobs when they grow up. Then they need the killer instinct of a tiger to compete globally and succeed. If they do wield tablets in the meanwhile, why not?

There was a time when every stern father told his kid to drink Horlicks, made in England. Now it is Tiger biscuits, Tiger tablets, and so on. Well, sky (=Aakash) is the limit for a doting nation, to bring up our kids!

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Carnatic Snakes and Ladders!

For the true Rasika, there is never a dull moment. But then, if you do catch yourself with nothing to go to, nothing to listen to, here is a true time-pass game: The Carnatic Snakes and Ladders.

How to Play

1. In this virtual board game, you can roll the dice by clicking on the words in the box "Read the Dice!"In a few seconds, you get the roll of dice score as the Result. Use that number to move your cursor. 
2. Read the words in the box where your move takes you. And fully savour the moment mentioned there. 
3. And then roll the dice again. And move on.
4. If you land in a box at the bottom of a ladder, you climb up to the box the ladder takes you to. If you hit the box with the mouth of a snake, you drop down to the box of its tail. So watch out!
5. After several moves, you MAY reach the box where you can enjoy pure Carnatic music as mother makes it. That is called Nirvana. Till you start all over again.
6. One, two, or more can play this game, only cheating is easily done and easily caught, too.

So play on!

Diwali - how it has meant many different things to me

Diwali or Deepaavali has meant so many different things for me over the past six decades.

When I was very young, we lived in front of a temple. We got up VERY early, say 3 AM, went to the temple where they would give a ceremonial bath with oil to the Narayana idol. As prasad, we would get small portions of the same oil, which we would bring home, pat our heads with, and have the ceremonial bath. We would then light lamps, and at day break burst a lot of crackers. The symbolism was that Krishna had liberated the world of the tyranny of Narakasura after a massive battle, which he had won that night, and the whole world bathed and lit lamps and burst crackers to celebrate the new freedom, worshipping Krishna or Vishnu.

I was once given a budget of Rs. 5/- to buy crackers. I was around ten. I did massive research in all shops, and bought the best mix of crackers that cost less and made good impact- sparkle and sound. I was proud of my shopping efficiency. Alas, I finished the entire stock in the very first daybreak session. And Diwali lasts 3 days.

One year, our family had no money. I insisted on buying a new shirt at least. My mother was able to scratch some savings together from here and there and give me a few rupees. She said I could go and buy a shirt with that money if I could. I searched the entire length of Gandhi Bazar but could not find anything good enough. I did not buy a new shirt that Diwali.

I visited my in-laws for my first Diwali after marriage. We did a grand celebration with lots of crackers. My mother-in-law was a superb cook and was extremely kind, she served a great feast.

When I went to Madras and Calcutta, I found rich people (mostly north Indian traders) burst lots of crackers. I thought it was a huge waste of money, but surely it made a loud and spectacular impact. The day after Diwali, the streets were strewn with trash, red, black and unburst crackers. Urchins would be scrounging for some unburst ones. It was an ugly sight as aftermath. But nowadays, we have become insensitive to poverty or trash.

Our neighbours in Madras in '80s had a 10000 cracker long burst ritual. The community would lay the cracker roll along the street and the burst would last over 15 minutes. People would actually record the sound on a cassette tape!

When I was very young, I burst crackers with such bravado, once I burst the cracker close to my face and singed my eye-brows. They grew back after some months.

Diwali in Delhi and Bombay meant lots of sweets sold in shops and eaten in large quantities. Gaudy and gorgeous clothes, spectacular rockets and aerial displays, and much loud celebration.

A crazy thing that happened for some years was that the big bosses in GE and Siemens would come down for business trips during Diwali. Both our families and the bosses would be irritated that Diwali was not a good time for business meetings. White people couldn't  understand why Indians don't celebrate Christmas and instead have some pagan festival called Diwali.

One of my colleagues had developed his Diwali into a grand PR session. He would invite important bosses and colleagues,and spend lots of money on crackers and eats. It was a simple math as he would harvest the goodwill for the entire year afterwards.

In Delhi, Diwali is a time for great bribes to be given to officials and customers. Lots of expensive gifts, sweets and goodies, given in huge lots to happy recipients. Babus' wives clear up large rooms to stack up the gifts, and enjoy them for long afterwards. Black, white and colour, all mixed up. Goddess Lakshmi has no qualms in Delhi.

Nowadays, I go to my terrace and watch the nouveau riche light up the Bangalore skies with totally spectacular fireworks. The rocket flies high up, emits stellar bursts in psychedelic colours, and after an almost endless shower of sparkle, little lanterns of light descend slowly in the sky. It must have cost Rs. 20K and more for one such rocket, and from black (money and everything else!) , we get so much colour and sparkle!

I then go down and savour some special sweets. Nowadays you can buy lovely north Indian and Bengali sweets all around our city. Children also look so cute in new clothes. There is lots of retail therapy at hand, to drive away thoughts of any worries or problems at micro or macro level.

We light little oil lamps and line them up on our compound wall. They glimmer so nicely, bringing happy thoughts of our childhood.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Why villains never die

Just finished reading a delightful TinTin story, Land of Black Gold. The picture above shows TinTin taking the eternal villain Dr. Mueller to Police Headquarters, so that he may face a fair trial.

Come on, a guy who almost started a world war, lacing petrol with Formula Fourteen explosive ingredients, whose drug made the Thomson and Thompson twins grow hair faster than you can ever imagine, and pretty much blew up the Land of Black Gold. He gets a fair trial, and then goes on to feature in some other sequel of equally murderous proportions?

Why do villains never die? It seems they come back again again, much like our God takes birth to fight evil. Why? The answer is simply, my friend, "Because".

It is an incomplete answer, just like in real life. If we have learnt something, it is that this world is composed of evil and good, almost in equal measure, just to "thicken the plot".

And let us face it. In the heart of our hearts, we don't want villains to die. We want them to become good, join hands with the good, and fight new villains. So we want to have villains always. No wonder the poet and the story teller decide to give more than nine lives to the villain, whether it is Sherlock Holmes, James Bond or TinTin who is the protagonist. The bigger and badder the villain, the greater his mystique and indestructibility. But we are always assured of a good enough fight, and the hero will triumph, wiping the sweat off his brow as the villain slinks away, for now at least.

And the story thus goes on.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Saraswati

I was lucky to purchase this Tanjore painting from traditional painter Mr. Srinivasan of Kumbhakonam today at the Karnataka Chitrakala Parishat exhibition.

yA kundEndu tushAra hAra dhavaLA
yA shubhravastrAv.rtA
yA vINa vara daNDa maNDitakarA
yA shveta padmAsanA
yA brahmAccuta shaN^kara prabh.rtibhir-
dEvaiH sadA pUjitA
sA maM pAtu sarasvatI bhagavatI
nishsheSha jADyApahA

Meaning: Saraswati, goddess who is fair like the Kunda flower, moon, snow, pearl-necklace, clad in spotless garments, seated on a white lotus,  holding the veena so beautifully in her hands, One worshipped always by Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva and other gods (as the Deity of Learning) ; may She protect me and rid me of all worldly ailments.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

The Incredible Indian Auto Rickshaw

Photo attribution: verryindia.com
In a dark cosy corner, listening to the patter of rain courtesy Hurricane Nilam, I am thinking up these sacred thoughts about the Incredible Indian Auto Rickshaw. Right now, I think every truly Indian God, Man, and Beast, is blessed to travel in this incredible three-wheeler that has speed, swerve, snazzle, sound, and fury better than Rajni+ShahenShah+Salman combined. It is the truly Indian transport vehicle that rocks. The hand that rocks the cradle of world civilisation and culture called !ncredible !ndia.

Lest I sound simply funny, let me give you the profundity of my respect.

First, the Vehicle:
If you visit the narrow lanes of Varanasi, the capital of ancient India, you will know that the only vehicle that could sneak through those cow-and bull-infested streets of Shiva's temple town is an auto. If you visit the streets today of Bengaluru, Chennai, Kochi, Hyderabad, Pune, Dombivili, Borivili, Gurgaon, Ghaziabad and Bhawanipore, you will know that you will reach your destination only if you take an Auto. It can steer 270 deg. In a 3-ft radius, go forward and reverse, snake in 3 speeds, overtake anyone anywhere any side and ignore No-Entry or Red Light with absolutely NO second thought. Even where donkeys or buffaloes will pause for thought, the Auto will fly through with no qualms. It is the TRULY liberated Indian vehicle. And by the way, it is an all-weather vehicle, and one that needs no all-weather AC.

Second, the Economics:
The only vehicle which can seat from one to nine people without ANY trouble, carry cargo, animals, 15 school children or four fat ladies for Diwali shopping, is an Auto. It costs less than 2000 dollars to buy. It has a road worthiness of over 25 years (or 2 million miles whichever is less). It has three identical wheels. Have you ever seen an Auto with a flat tyre, or an engine that failed to start?
India has decided to finally harness its ancient forms and modern forms of energy in one hybrid technological solution. Both the mounds of current day garbage and ancient animal dung or gobar will be used to generate gas. Each politician, known for his extreme mastery of gas dispensation, will be allotted a CSIR-licenced manufacturing plant, which will generate lots of gobar gas. The only Indian vehicle already capable of running on gobar gas, a green fuel, is the Auto. Eventually it will cost less than 1 cent per kilometre.

Third, the Spiritual Connection:
The word Auto Rickshaw is composed of these Syllables:
A-Tu-A R-Ksha.

A, the first letter in the Sanskrit alphabet, is the symbol of God ("aksharANAM akArOsmi" Bhagavad Gita 10.33), according to our most sacred texts. The letter Tu is a concession to the English Language, and comes from 'to'. That means that according to ancient Indian wisdom, we all come from Godhood or Brahman, and go back finally to Godhood or Brahman. That is the dharma chakra. The combination of syllables Tu+A gives TO (Sandhi rules of Sanskrit grammar). hence Auto. Indians pronounce it correctly as aatO. Foreigners and NRIs say it with an accent.

The syllable R (it is the seventh vowel in Sanskrit or Devanagari) is a sacred symbol of Truth. R stands for the ultimate reality or truth. Which is changeless and eternal. Hence Gandhi made truth the first principle. He made his second principle Non-violence. The symbol for forgiveness, or peace or non-violence in Sanskrit is KSHA. So the word in Sanskrit dictionary for forgiveness is 'Kshama'. It is the highest virtue in relating to others. Hence the second word of Rickshaw stands for Truth and Non-violence or Forgiveness. These two principles come to us from Krishna, Buddha and Gandhi. They are the basis of our national values.

So you have the most sacred name from Indian scriptures, Auto Rickshaw.

Finally, Futurism:
In pre-twentieth century, man travelled on vehicles with multiple wheels and many legs. Most developed countries are stuck in the 20th century, and travel on four wheels. The number 4 is the symbol of death, ask any Chinese or Indian. Hence that century witnessed massacres and two world wars. The future belongs to the number three, or trinity, sacred in all religious thought. Three wheels it shall be, that will carry man forward. Away from the barbarism of four wheels. Future sedans, solar vehicles, and such will all borrow the idea of 3 wheels from the Indian Auto Rikshaw. I am not talking sci-fi here of MagLev and such.

Some people may snigger, saying that the Auto also stands for the Indian socio-economic track record of not getting anywhere ('from A to A'), and a Rickshaw speed of growth. I don't really argue with such people. I want to stick to my noble thoughts on this wet evening, waiting for November, hearing the patter of rain echoing the Nilam hurricane.

God Speed in all your travels. Take an Auto Rickshaw.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Sitting is killing me

Indian Puranas - Then and Now

If you are a foreigner, or a confused desi, you may be wondering about all our mythology or Puranas. You may not know it, but successful Indians believe in Puranas and even employ Chief Belief Officers, who in their spare time come on TV and write articles.

The reason is that Puranas are timeless and they form the core of our spirituality. They will never die.

This is a 3 minute capsule on Puranas then and now.

THEN
An ambitious man, god or demon would perform penance for thousands of years, and get major boons from a helpless God that he would be 'nearly' immortal.
He would then exploit everyone cruelly and be totally powerful for a few thousand years. The people would suffer untold miseries, but would wait for their saviour.
Rishis like Narada, Durvasa and Bhrigu would  go and advise God that something must be done.
God will slowly decide enough is enough, and take a mighty form, fight a fierce battle, and kill the bad guy. All will be well.
Well, almost. The next one is only a few thousand years away, and Puranas repeat themselves.
Indians believe this to be true, because they have seen it. They have at least seen it in Telugu movies lasting 4-5 hours. So there is total equilibrium.

NOW
An ambitious man, Indian, NRI or foreigner will study in IIT, AIIMS, Harvard or Cambridge. He may also become a movie star or sports-star after years of toil. And get major awards,degrees, bank loans or airlines/IPL franchises, and build an empire like no other, and feel that he is 'nearly' immortal.
He would then exploit everyone cruelly and be totally powerful for a few years. The people would suffer untold miseries, but would wait for their saviour.
People like CAG, CVC, Subramaniam Swamy, Medha Patkar, Anna, and Kejriwal, will go and advise the people to file FIR, PIL, RTI petitions that something must be done. After years of noise without action, a reluctant/newly appointed Govt. or Courts will take note, and start a mighty storm of action, fight a fierce public cleansing campaign, and put the bad guy in Tihar. All will be well.
Well, almost. The next one is only a few days/months/years away, and Puranas repeat themselves.
Indians believe this to be true, because they have seen it. They have at least seen it in a million news channels day and night, lasting 24x7 hours. So there is total equilibrium.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

RIP Jaspal Bhatti - the man who made us laugh at our miseries

Jaspal Bhatti died in a car crash in Punjab, two days before his movie, "Power Cut", was to be released. A man who had an uncanny way of making us laugh at our everyday problems, he will be sorely missed.

Long before India opened up the telecom sector, he made the following episode. It seems incredible that we had all these micro problems, about waiting for telephone connections, excess bills, wrong numbers, and faulty lines. Today our problems are those of excess, with 2G, 3G and LTE problems!



May Bhatti rest in peace. I suspect he will be making a whole bunch of new spoofs about the miseries in heaven!


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

I could kill for a piece of pickle

My teenager son was once enrolled into an Art of Living camp many years ago. After 3 days of kriyas and Sattvic (read insipid) food, he emerged saying, "I could kill for a piece of pickle!" Very expressive and unambiguous language of having been denied something!

Knowing how much fondness for chillies etc. is in his blood, I could well understand my son's understated rage at having been subjected to the Sattvic regimen. Just escalate similar emotions, and you have situations like in "No one killed Jessica", wherein the guy would well use his gun to get his way, especially when denied another drink at the bar that he demands as his due. In other words, our intense likes and dislikes drive our behaviour, especially in this case, anger.

Is anger all about attitude or provocation or predisposition? In local parlance, we say "anger is on the tip of that person's nose". We also say that some people are not easily provoked, and wonder how they can keep their cool in the face of "so much".

I think anger becomes a style statement for some. I know people who not only use abusive angry language easily, but claim that "that's who we are". I also know that beyond a point, some people start getting ignored and others then say, "don't take him seriously, he's is wild/goes off the handle easily".
That brings me to provocation. It is interesting that provocation is entirely a function of our own attitudes and predispositions. And beyond a point, it is not our rational choice but almost a personal trait or reflex action to get angry in some situations. It is so internalised. At that point we are helpless.
Arjuna asks Krishna in the Bhagavagita how sometimes, even when we don't want to do something (bad) we feel almost driven to do it, in spite of ourselves. Krishna replies that it is because of our Kama and Krodha! Kama = "intense desires or likes"!!! And then the flipside, of our anger on being denied.

Krishna calls these two traits, attraction and anger, as rooted in Rajas or our "wanting" to get something, no matter what. And he calls them the greatest enemies in our journey to liberation, and that they are like the whirlwind, and hard to overcome. So we have to be mindful always of the twin traps of attraction and anger.

They say that when Prahlada's demonic father Hiranyakashipu drove him to the extreme, Vishnu emerged as the raging Narasimha=man-lion, and tore the demon apart. The man-lion was so full of rage that it took a lot to calm him down. So even God shows us that rage beyond a point is hard to control, and so let's watch out! Of course, Vishnu 'used' rage here, and not the other way around.

(photo: this lovely Narasimha idol is in Wheeling, WV Iskcon temple that I visited in 2009).

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Shyamala Dandakam

Remember Kalidasa is historically dated to have been in the 4th Century AD. His musical poetry here is unmatched.

And Sangeetha Kalanidhi D.K. Pattammal has sung it impeccably, many decades ago.
Happy Navaratri!

Why He called India a Banana Republic

The son-in-law is making some people angry because he called India a banana republic. But I can easily figure out his reasoning. Here are the reasons:
Mahatma Gandhi: Swatantar Bharat banana hai
Nehru: India ko majboot banana hai
Patel: Bharat ko republic banana hai
Indira: India ko world power banana hai
Sanjay: Mujhe ek small car banana hai
Rajiv: India ko modern banana hai
Manmohan: Indian economy ko open banana hai
Vajpayee: Har admi ko poet banana hai
Joshi: Ram Mandir banana hai
Advani: Aap ko mujhe PM banana hai
Sonia: Indian passport banana hai
Kejriwal: Aam admi ko neta banana hai
Neta: Public ko ullu banana hai

Ma: Beta, tumhe doctor ya ingneer banana hai
Papa: nahi, bete ko Indian Idol banana hai
Amitabh: nahi, isko crorepati banana hai

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Rajiv Malhotra: why being dharmic is different

My good friend Vishwa asked me to watch this video:



After seeing it, I am sufficiently impressed to order the book on Flipkart.com. But I won't wait to read the book for me to share the key highlights with you all. The video is long but very interesting. I watched it in 3 sessions. What I found out:

Rajiv Malhotra is an NRI techie who has devoted >20 years, after being inspired by his guru, to crusade for the Hindu Dharma and how to protect ourselves.

He is deeply concerned with about the methods being used by the Abrahamic 'western universalism' movements to conquer and convert Hindu thought and eventually to digest us Hindus into their system so that we lose our identity and individuality.

He says that it all begins with Hindus being confused about our roots and uniqueness. Our gurus being too busy to really understand what is going on.

We do not deeply study and understand other religions' key beliefs and how we are different so we can't even argue when they come to digest us.

We fight over petty differences amongst ourselves, but when it comes to the crunch, we say, 'everything is same, so why argue with other religions?' In the process we are highly vulnerable.

See what happened to Philippines, they lost their roots and became second class human beings to the West.

The concept of tolerance as pushed by western universalists is not the same as MUTUAL RESPECT. When we have mutual respect, we will not destroy the other's language, culture and religion and try to digest them.

Economic prosperity is a lure of the west. And it takes precedence for us Indians over understanding and safeguarding our dharmic roots. In the process we stand to lose all.

The danger is the same whether you live abroad and speak with a cute NRI accent or live in the confused country called India and speak English Vinglish.

The time to understand first, and safeguard next, is NOW.

Watch Rajiv Malhotra in this video. He is well-read, articulate, passionate and focussed.

I am waiting to read the book.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Steve Jobs: One Year After

Today is one year since the man who put soul into technology took wings. There is a fine write-up in the NDTV website.

 I am writing this on the wonderful iPad3. It came after Steve. but it is something Steve would have been proud of. An iPhone photo I took at Sydney Aquarium:

I quote from the NDTV article:

John Nauhghton, a columnist for The Guardian, UK recalls one of his favourite stories about Jobs. He said, "It is about the moment when the Apple design team presented him with the first version of the iPod. He looked at it for a while, turned it over and over, weighed it in his hand and then said: "It's too big." The engineers protested that it was a miracle of state-of-the-art miniaturisation - 1,000 songs packed into that tiny space. Jobs walked over to the fish tank in the corner of his office and dropped the prototype into the water. He then pointed to the bubbles that floated from it to the surface and said: "That means there's still some space in it. It's too big." End of conversation.

A 3D Map of India

Hi folks,
A good coverage of India and some abiding themes in the last week Economist. This map came in the online version but was blacked out in the print copies for maybe reasons of territory depiction.

I call this a 3D map... it shows the the population, growth rate, GDP per capita, all three so nicely shown per state. And you also have an idea of the geographical size.. hence population & economic density.

Why we need to do more for the Veena

Dear rasikas,
I am penning my thoughts that have been jostling for expression for some time but have reached the critical mass this morning.

I believe we need to do more for the Veena.

I believe that in fostering the music of the Veena, we will be doing a fundamental service to ourselves in strengthening the basics of Carnatic music and also reviving the art of the greatest string instrument invented in India long back. Obviously this is a subject for debate and I welcome more competent, persuasive and influential rasikas to contribute to the discussion.

I list below my own thoughts:
1. The Veena is an ancient Indian instrument identified with Vedas, classical music and creativity. The most ancient texts refer to the instrument as the one played by Saraswati, Narada, Shiva and Ravana, among others.
2. The famous words of Sage Yagnavalkya are: "veenaavaadanatatwagnah shruti-jaati-visharadah taalagnascha aprayaasena mokshamaargam niyachati" meaning that one adept in the Veena, classical music of ragas and talas, will take the path to liberation easily.
3. In the hands of Saraswati, it is held delicately, and played with feminine grace, in the hands of a Ravana or such, it is full of masculine vigour...so versatile!4. All great Carnatic musicians have extolled the Veena, including Thyagaraja and Dikshitar, himself a great vainika.
5. When a Veena maestro attributed the felicity of MSS's music by stating that she had a built-in Veena in her vocal chords, he was idiomatically stating that a mastery of the Veena and its nuances will strengthen one's overall mastery of vocal music.
6. Listen to this track:  http://is.gd/eMxqZN How exquisitely the KSN Veena embellishes the vocal music of SSI! The Veena can add great weight and depth to vocal music. In fact, many great musicians have sung while playing the Veena themselves. This is impossible perhaps with other instruments. And the ergonomic arrangement of the Veena as we hold it today helps to give space to vocalisation easily, and it looks also beautiful. I remember Smt Rajeshwari Padmanabhan was so good singing along with the Veena.
7. If we give the right place to the Veena, we will have more great maestros like S. Balachander. Listen to this track: http://is.gd/qhocVy. He does incredible improvisation, and in fact the violinist and mridangist have to exert themselves to keep up with him. (I am not sure, is it raga bhavapriya?)
8. Carnatic music is based on 22 srutis. The instrument which readily expresses gamaka music is the Veena. I remember the lec-dems of Smt. Vidya Sankar in this regard.
9. The Veena has a built-in rhythmic element, thanks to the tala strings. It makes it a one-man symphony.
10. In the hands of a Chitti Babu, it sounds incredibly sweet, even merely playing a scale makes great music.
11. It adds so much lustre to even light music. The other night, Ilayaraja's orchestra had Rajhesh Vaidhya centre-stage with the Veena. On request, he played a great two-minute Kapi. The effect was profound.
12. We lament the decibelisation and electronification of our music in general. The right antidote is the Veena. It immediately ushers us into a soirée, with such a profound intimacy with the artiste. It makes for real naada yoga.
13. In the right hands, the Veena can sparkle so well, from the Varnam to the Tillana. A great Veena exponent is Smt. Jayanthi. I really wish her Veena had a higher pitch and a more vibrant metallic timbre (a la Chitti Babu) but still her music is SO EXPRESSIVE AS IT IS. She was also an exquisitely beautiful presence on the stage some time back with her Veena in BGS.
14. Indian culture was always rooted in subtlety and refinement.

The Gayatri is whispered into one's ears during upanayana. We have oil lamps in the sanctum sanctorum. We have the subtle fragrance of flowers, not nose-dazzling attars. The Veena is the epitome of subtlety. By relegating it, by drowning its music with decibels and keyboards and such, we have driven it to nearly being qualified as an endangered species. No wonder we now want to go back to soukhyam, raga music and such.

An easy way? Encourage more youngsters to take to the Veena. Celebrate this great instrument. Attend Veena concerts. Recognise talent. Let us not wait for another avatar of another mahavidwan like Balachander to crusade for the Veena. Let us give Veena a chance. We will surely have many more great Veena maestros. And go back to the roots of Carnatic music.

PS: am I raising a subject already discussed here? Are people likely to go into a debate on what is the right definition of a Veena? Are people going to argue about its construction deficiencies, transportation unfriendliness etc.? I don't know. But I still feel what I wrote here is worth a revisit/consideration. And While we are at it, why not improve the mechanics and quality issues of the Veena and its sound reproduction?

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

What is the Big Difference between Bonda and Bajji?

In response to the earlier post, I have received a question:
What a pity Sachi, I really really feel bad for your predicament! ;( What is life without being able to access spicy and authentic Masala dosays and hot Idlees and Vadaas and Pakodaas ofcourse not to forget your Bajjees and Bondaas - at our favourite joints, with the other cultural things you have mentioned..
But then I don't know if you even remember that I had prophecied this to your wife when you were contemplating settling down there at Indiranagar! I utterly failed to convince her to buy property in the viscinity of our house at Mvm those days. Dhuduku saar dhuduku!....
Adirali, now can you please clarify this nagging doubt of this paamare saar?
1. What is Bajji and what is Bonda - in the first place?
2. Aren't they one and the same like Gyana and Bhakthi? (borrowing Rajaji's woderful expression from his introduction to MS's Bhaja Govindam followed by Vishnu Sahasranaama Stotram rendering - way back)..
3. If they are not, then pray tell me what the fundamental difference between them is, though?
I always thought that Bajji is the borrowed term from Northies for our own dear Bondaas..
I am sure that it is only your pen (Android) that is capable of clearing - profound jigyaasays as this one of mine - successfully!!..
Thanks in anticipation and regards..
- V the P.
Here is my answer, a bit long, sorry, but the serious subject deserves such treatment:
Dear Vanee the Pandite,
Yes, even I failed to convince Rathna the disadvantages of living in a lousy place like Indiranagar. She would have agreed to move if I had resigned from my job etc.
Now coming to the vast and fundamental differences between Bajji and Bonda.
Both Bajji and Bonda trace their origins to mid Indus Valley Civilization. Nobody knows for sure why the civilization ended but they do know that without Bajjis and Bondas, it would have ended sooner.
Both Bajjis and Bondas have been responsible over centuries in prolonging civilizations and maintaining world peace. In fact people say that Napoleon, Hitler and other warmongers basically failed to satisfy their cravings for fried spicy vegetable-filled Bengal-gram batter covered deep fried savouries recommended by ancient wise men to be eaten hot and fresh in late afternoons and evenings at least four or five times a week. This culture was cultivated only by Aryans living along river banks from Ganga Jamuna to Cauvery and hence India is the only country that did not start a war with another.
If you visit the royal kitchens of Jodhpur, Bikaner, Varanasi and Vijayanagara, you will find large frying pans marked as sacred vessels for royal peace-keeping activities.
Now coming to the scholarly question about what is the difference between a Bajji and a Bonda.
You see, just like there are four Vedas, there are four types of sacred eatables. They are
Bonda
Bajji
Samosa
Pakoda
There are many Upa-Vedas like Vada, Kachori, Upperi etc but they are neither original nor authentic.
The four principal Vedas are
Bonda - Rig Veda, it is dedicated to worshipping planets. Hence it is round. It represents Hiranyagarbha. It contains cooked, spiced vegetables inside. A good Bonda like mother earth will retain the internal heat for a long time. Frequent Bonda yagnas will confer a round shape- face, belly and even the entire body. Good examples are you and me and Alaka.
Bajji - Yajur Veda, it is dedicated to elements - Fire, Water, Earth and Air. Fire is chilly Bajji. Water is hirekai. Earth is brinjal. Air is alu. These are the central pillars. The vegetables are sliced and deep-fried in batter, which is spiced. People have deviated with using cauliflower etc. they are not sanctioned in the Vedas. Bajjis are basically flat. But inside the stomach they take a round shape. It is because of the various elements.
Samosa is Sama Veda, it is so good that it makes you sing. Like Sama Veda, born in upper reaches of Himalayas, it also has esoteric cooked and spiced vegetables, but it has a four corner or three corner diamond shape. It is NOT cooked in Bengal gram flour but rice or maida. It is a rare art to make good samosas. Both Pandits and Pamaras enjoy Sama Gana and Samosa.
Pakora or Pakoda is Atharva Veda. It shows Greek and Spanish/Mediterranean influences. It is a mish-mash of onions mixed up in batter and fried. It can be spicy or bland, depending upon if it is consumed along with soma rasa. It was principally offered to Indra (who has one thousand eyes and a bad skin). It is not recommended for consumption by Brahmanas.
It seems that Gobi Manchurian, a favourite of some culture-less Indians, is actually based on the Pakoda formula taken across to China by the laughing Buddha and reimported. Chinese eat fried lizards, snakes, chicken and other meat. Gobi has to do with Gobi desert -actually Manchuria and Mongolia. It has large quantities of garlic added because it was used as a means of keeping men and women apart by stench means and achieving population control. The main reason is that in Gobi desert, there was a shortage of snakes and lizards and they could not feed too many mouths.
I hope you are satisfied. I will now go and have coffee.
Yours
Sachi
PS: we are going every week for a few sessions of Bonda, dosa etc. in Basavanagudi or Malleshwaram. We want to nourish our cultural roots.
Today we have bought VIP passes in National College Ganesha Utsava where Ilayaraja is performing to live orchestra for the first time in decades. Catering is by Adigas. Before that we will go to Gayana Samaja Ramakrishnan Murthy vocal. A promising vocalist and excellent Bajjis in the canteen.

How backward is Indiranagar

My son, who has taken forward all family traditions including a love for Bajjis and Bondas, has settled down in the more cultured parts of Bangalore like Jayanagar. And he just sent me this Google Map of all the Bajji Bonda joints in our lovely city. What do you notice? The place where I live and breathe, Indiranagar, is singularly backward in this aspect. It is so gut-wrenching that I am at a loss for words. A predicament that you can spot on someone's face when he has not enjoyed Bondas or Bajjis for months on end.

I have always held that except Basavanagudi and Malleshwaram, all other localities of Bangalore are culturally in the Iron Age. You may find Kabab corners, Karnataka Pork stalls, Tamil magazine vendors, but you will not find the symbols of famous Mysore culture like:
1. Decent temples of Ganesha and Hanuman hosting Ramanavami festivals.
2. Vendors selling Mysore Mallige, Betel Leaf, Banana Leaf and Elakki Bale.
3. Condiment stores selling congress kadalekalu, hurigalu, Kodubale.
4. Iyengar Bakery and Coffee Works.
5. Bajji and Bonda stalls.

The result? People who live in these backward parts make do with uncultured ingredients of life and pass off as fake Bangaloreans. I have been banished to that state!!! I, born and brought up in Basavanagudi! Bah!!

There is no hope for the likes of me. Unless I visit the heavenly places mapped above and replenish my cultural roots frequently.

PS: Jayanagar, Hanumanthanagar and Rajajinagar came up as lower middle class extensions of Basavanagudi and Malleshwaram in '50s and '60s. Now they flaunt bungalows and emblems of culture too.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

FDI in multi-brand retail- what it means to me

This is the picture from the Big Bazaar website. The couple of times I went to Big Bazaar, I found lots of cheap products, tired and bored and ill-informed sales attendants. Not very different elsewhere, be it Westside, Lifestyle, Shoppers Stop, etc. etc.

I am amazed so many people are clamouring for FDI in multi-brand retail. Remember Indian economy is over 5000 years old with 90% of products made in India for Indian consumers. It is a robust ecosystem with whatever inequities and issues, but with many many known players in the chain. When I bring in a big honcho like Walmart, they will sell more Indian products for more Indian consumers at everyday low prices. SO WHAT?

What will change? Product? Most unlikely. Quality? Unlikely unless I pay a premium. And 5000 year-old wisdom= Indians don't pay a premium, unless it is for gold. Availability? Won't change much in most cities with already many mega malls-and do you think they will set up shop in small towns and villages? Be different from those kirana shops? Service? Same old bored+tired+Ill-informed sales staff. The fact that a BIG BRAND like Walmart shines in neon in front of the store? I don't care. The fact that all the profits will go to some honcho in US or Europe? I don't think we need to be thrilled about it.

What has changed since Rajasthani princes sold their soul to marauding Moslem invaders? Poornayya sold his king to East India Company? We encouraged all young men and women to go and work the grind abroad for a better life? We killed Indian products for Chinese plugs, pencils and nylon sarees? Why do we think we cannot have home-grown excellence? 

By saying that FDI in multi brand retail is a must, we are saying that India lacks businessmen with money, or consumer insight or management capability. When we produce thousands of talented managers who are lapped up at huge salaries abroad. And when for every rupee tracked by the system, there are two rupees tucked away in a black corner somewhere. When we have Tatas, Birlas, Mittals, and Ambanis to show off for their money-making acumen.

I wish someone with the credibility and reach and commitment of a Maruti moves into large scale distribution in retail. But then, they face their own problems.

Come on. From Marco Polo to Manchester businessmen, everyone knows that India can manage its retail by itself. No need for FDI. Thank you.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

The great Indian Civic Sense