Cerebral malaria can be fatal, but people have been known to recover from it. Anuradha Ghandy, however, didn't stand a chance. Already weakened by the sclerosis when she walked into the hospital, it was too late. Within 24 hours, she was gone. By the time her vast circle of friends was informed on the evening of April 12, the 54-year-old had already been cremated. Better this than death by 'encounter', after prolonged torture. For that was the fate we feared this Naxalite could not escape.
That Anu managed to evade arrest for so long, was an indicator of the ruthlessness with which she effaced her identity. This, of course, meant isolating herself from all those who would have given up everything to nurse her. There was another way she could have recovered, even while underground. Anu could have followed medical advice and given herself the break her body so badly needed. For someone so important to the Party (CPI-Maoist), it might well have allowed it. But that wasn't her style.
Just climbing stairs had become an ordeal five years ago. Yet, days before her death, she was in some jungle where malaria was probably an inevitability. Anuradha Ghandy, I learnt after her death, was a senior Maoist leader. Her political career spans the first radical student outfit in Mumbai (PROYOM) in the '70s, and the armed dalams of Adivasi women in Bastar. Certain that like her comrades in Chandrapur, she too would be implicated in false cases and arrested, Anu went underground some years ago.
When I first met her in 1970, Anuradha Shanbag was the belle of the ball in Mumbai's Elphinstone College. A petite bundle of energy, bright eyes sparkling behind square glasses, her ready laughter, near-backless cholis and coquettish ways had everyone eating out of her hands, professors included. Elphinstone then was an intellectual hub. The Bangladesh war was just over, drought and famine stalked Maharashtra. Naxalism had come to Mumbai, at that time the industrial capital of the country. Anu, majoring in Sociology, was everywhere—inviting Mumbai's leading radicals to talk about the reasons for the drought, putting up posters that proclaimed 'Beyond Pity' and urging students to get involved with the crisis in the countryside, defending this stand against those who felt a student's role must be limited to academics and at the most, 'social work'.
Anu was also the one to question celebrity guest speakers such as Girish Karnad, whose path-breaking plays had just hit the stage, on the link between theatre and society. And it was Anu who introduced us to that feminist bible, Germaine Greer's The Female Eunuch. Those were the days of 'parallel' cinema. Marathi amateur theatre was blossoming at Dadar's Chhabildas Hall. The Dalit Panthers had exploded into the Marathi literary scene. Adil Jussawala's New Writing In India was still making waves. Forum Against Rape, Mumbai's first feminist group, had just been founded. Anu, by then a lecturer at Wilson College, was immersed in all this. With her wide range of interests, she succeeded in linking the human rights organisation she and few others founded after Emergency with the city's intellectual ferment. Among other things, the Committee for the Protection of Democratic Rights (CPDR), demanded that the State stop acting lawlessly with Naxalites even though they rejected its laws.
Thanks to Anu's ability to talk as intelligently with George Fernandes as with Satyadev Dubey, her brother Sunil Shanbag's mentor, the cream of Mumbai's intellectuals supported this demand. Playwright Vijay Tendulkar and reformist Asghar Ali Engineer were CPDR's president and vice-president.
It was time for Anu to grow into a successful academic, the type who writes books and attends international seminars. Instead, in 1982, she left the life she loved to work in Nagpur. The wretched conditions of contract workers in the new industrial areas near Nagpur and of Adivasis in the forests of Chandrapur had to be challenged. Committed cadres were needed. In her subsequent trips to Mumbai, Anu never complained about the drastic change in her life: cycling to work under the relentless Nagpur sun; living in the city's Dalit area, the mention of which drew shudders from Nagpur's elite; then moving to backward Chandrapur. In Marxist study circles, 'declassing oneself' is quite a buzzword. From Mumbai's Leftists, only Anu and her husband Kobad, both lovers of the good life, actually did so.
Kobad's family home had been a sprawling Worli Sea Face flat; he was a Doon School product. Anu's lawyer-father may have left his family estate in Coorg to defend communists in court in the '50s, but she had never seen deprivation. Despite her own rough life, neither did Anu make us feel guilty for our bourgeois luxuries nor did she patronise us. On the few occasions she would suddenly land up over these 25 years, it was as if she had never left. She had the same capacity to laugh, even at herself, the same ability to connect, even with management types, the same readiness to indulge in women's talk. But with those closest to her, she seemed unnaturally detached. Her parents doted on her, yet she didn't take every opportunity she could to meet them. I realise why now.
Rushing to meet them whenever she came to Mumbai would have been worse than an indulgence. It would not only have eaten into the time she had for Party work, it would have also made it impossible for her family to have accepted what she saw as inevitable—an underground future. In order not to endanger her family, Anu simply disappeared from their horizon. When her father died, she couldn't go home. That was also the reason for her harsh decision never to have children, though her parents would have willingly brought them up. That was one bond she knew would draw her away from the life she had chosen.
The 'Naxalite menace', says Manmohan Singh, is the biggest threat to the country. But I remember a girl who was always laughing, and who gave up a life rich in every way to change the lives of others.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Chandigarh trip
It happens very rarely in life that you here any good things about a place and place lives up to your expectations or even exceeds it. Chandigarh would be one such place. Anything which comes close to Chandigarh in being a planned city and a pleasure to live and commute is Mysore but once again it has been hurt by usual land sharks and it still has small town feeling with no disco, mall or multiplex but Chandigarh offers best of both worlds. An immaculately well planned city, where even an outsider can easily make sense of directions and roads, sector wise shopping arena making life easier for shopkeepers and shop goers alike, absence of urban poverty or at least not in its visible form, roads lined with trees , lots of green space, wide roads …. What else can one ask for in urban india?
Public transport is scant though but welcomes change over gurgaon or noida or Delhi was people were less pretentious and there was healthy number of two wheelers on road. even auto wallas charged reasonable fares and I must say girls of Chandigarh have a completely justified reputation. It seemed as if you are among so called apsaras of heaven. Right from my receptionist, to lady on counter, to someone driving on road you could find both decent and naughty looks.
One interesting sight was a couple sitting on bench and doing hanky panky just near police beat box. I am note sure if they were aware of what they were doing and what was the place and as expected a policeman came and slapped guy hard. Rock garden is a refugee to love torn couples as well .There one could see married couples seeking some privacy, college or school going students bunking classes and looking for corners to some hanky panky. One such couple was carrying book of engineering drawing which I followed in my IIT first years as well and it suddenly struck me that what was I doing in that age apart from exchanging mails with prerna.
Now at wrong side of 20 what I can do apart from observing things and ruminating.
But even after planning there are some obvious eye sores e.g. planning and deciding areas for commercial activities is good but all buildings look alike .I do not know if this is by default or design.
Traffic islands don’t have carefully maintained lawns like in west but yes there are rickshaw lanes but still safety of pedestrians take a back seat.
Ubiquitous gajar ghaas can be seen populating these traffic islands as well as sprouting in rock garden , major part of which is closed but still it is a place worth visiting and so is the sukhna lake.
Overall a nice trip will love to have a chance to work in this city for longer times as this was first time in my life that heavy rain did not create any problems ( it always creates if I am in indore, KGP, Mumbai, Bangalore or gurgaon)
Public transport is scant though but welcomes change over gurgaon or noida or Delhi was people were less pretentious and there was healthy number of two wheelers on road. even auto wallas charged reasonable fares and I must say girls of Chandigarh have a completely justified reputation. It seemed as if you are among so called apsaras of heaven. Right from my receptionist, to lady on counter, to someone driving on road you could find both decent and naughty looks.
One interesting sight was a couple sitting on bench and doing hanky panky just near police beat box. I am note sure if they were aware of what they were doing and what was the place and as expected a policeman came and slapped guy hard. Rock garden is a refugee to love torn couples as well .There one could see married couples seeking some privacy, college or school going students bunking classes and looking for corners to some hanky panky. One such couple was carrying book of engineering drawing which I followed in my IIT first years as well and it suddenly struck me that what was I doing in that age apart from exchanging mails with prerna.
Now at wrong side of 20 what I can do apart from observing things and ruminating.
But even after planning there are some obvious eye sores e.g. planning and deciding areas for commercial activities is good but all buildings look alike .I do not know if this is by default or design.
Traffic islands don’t have carefully maintained lawns like in west but yes there are rickshaw lanes but still safety of pedestrians take a back seat.
Ubiquitous gajar ghaas can be seen populating these traffic islands as well as sprouting in rock garden , major part of which is closed but still it is a place worth visiting and so is the sukhna lake.
Overall a nice trip will love to have a chance to work in this city for longer times as this was first time in my life that heavy rain did not create any problems ( it always creates if I am in indore, KGP, Mumbai, Bangalore or gurgaon)
Sunday, June 14, 2009
God of Hindu women
Today I chanced upon this wonderful movie Pinjar on TV. I have written about it on my another blog
But what stuck me today was a scene where after many years Paro gets a chance to go to her native village and offers her prayers in a roadside shrine of Hindu gods.
There was a similar scene in movie Roja where the heroine who is in Kashmir along with her husband at the height of militancy offers prayers in a temple by saying , north Indian god please tell your brother in south how much I love my husband.
then there was this story by a Sindhi Hindu doctor who had stayed in Pakistan for a few years. Once he is asked to treat a rich muslim landlord who had sexual disease , there he meets a beautiful whore. She takes him inside her room and shows him her 'krishna kanhayyia' who she used to worship even then. She was a Hindu girl who was kidnapped and raped by Muslims during partition and later sold into prostitution. She says to this gentleman that you are witness to my love to god , now I can die peacefully.
Such a touching story.
It is indeed very sad that Hindu society has shabbily treated its women over centuries. From Ahalya to Sita , and in modern times women who were left behind during partition were not accepted back. When even her father turns her away in movie , what recourse Paro is left than to ask God that not make her a girl in next birth.
this is the reason we have sex ratios of 800-700 in Punajb Haryana now. In fact a few days back when I went for an X ray of my teeth to a famous lab in city, the operator was fixing a deal for an ultrasound test in the evening with someone on phone.
But what stuck me today was a scene where after many years Paro gets a chance to go to her native village and offers her prayers in a roadside shrine of Hindu gods.
There was a similar scene in movie Roja where the heroine who is in Kashmir along with her husband at the height of militancy offers prayers in a temple by saying , north Indian god please tell your brother in south how much I love my husband.
then there was this story by a Sindhi Hindu doctor who had stayed in Pakistan for a few years. Once he is asked to treat a rich muslim landlord who had sexual disease , there he meets a beautiful whore. She takes him inside her room and shows him her 'krishna kanhayyia' who she used to worship even then. She was a Hindu girl who was kidnapped and raped by Muslims during partition and later sold into prostitution. She says to this gentleman that you are witness to my love to god , now I can die peacefully.
Such a touching story.
It is indeed very sad that Hindu society has shabbily treated its women over centuries. From Ahalya to Sita , and in modern times women who were left behind during partition were not accepted back. When even her father turns her away in movie , what recourse Paro is left than to ask God that not make her a girl in next birth.
this is the reason we have sex ratios of 800-700 in Punajb Haryana now. In fact a few days back when I went for an X ray of my teeth to a famous lab in city, the operator was fixing a deal for an ultrasound test in the evening with someone on phone.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
upsc csp 2009 prelims gs set s keys part 3
101. virupaksha temple - c
102. OPEC - c
103. department of atomic energy - a it is a department and not a ministry
104. banks - b , ABN amro is dutch while kookmin is south Korean
105. uranium - a, though Canada is largest producer
106. thorium - d, india has large reserves of thorium and sands in kerala have monozite, zirconium and other rare earths but not uranium
107. highest density - a, india earlier it was srilanka , though in South asia as whole bangladesh is most dense
108. round table - c
109.direct tax - d , interest tax was abolished in India somewhere in 80's
110. national water council - a
111. rivers in MP & kerala - d , narmada and tapi are prominent west flowing rivers of MP , and there are 3 east flowing rivers in Kerala prominent being kabini
112. hindu college - d
113. cripps mission - d , this was necessitates after Japanese gain in SE asia
114. golden threshold - b
115. rowlatt - c
116. dandi - c
117. anekantavada - b
118. 'do or die' - d
119. ahmedabad textile - a
120. 16 october 1905 - b
121. infant mortality rate -d , deaths within a year are taken into account and it is calcualted on 10000 live births
122. panachayat - c
123. administrator of UT -a
124. headquarter - b , ADB - manila, ASEAN - jakarta
125. ECOSOC -d , it is 54 member and they are elected for 3 years
126. shompen - b, they are untouched
127. advocate general -b, AG can be appointed by governor
128. first municipal - b, though some sources mention Calcutta
129. lok adalat - a
130. cabinet ministers - d
131. amendment to limit number - b
132. CAT - b, it was formed in 1985 during prime ministership of rajeev gandhi
133. number of ministries - a , current number is 39
134. telegraph line -c
135. cartagena protocol - c
136. carrom - c
137. three cans - a
138. ashoka leyland - a
139. global economy - b, Roche is pharmaceutic company
140. auction - d, Osian's are Indian
141. UNFCC - c
142. carbon credit - b
143. world economic forum - a
144. security council - b
145. kosovo - d
146. ogaden - b
147. climate change bill - b
148.highest energy - a this corresponds to highest frquency and lowest wavelength
149. earliest event - c
150. automobile - b , daimler is german
102. OPEC - c
103. department of atomic energy - a it is a department and not a ministry
104. banks - b , ABN amro is dutch while kookmin is south Korean
105. uranium - a, though Canada is largest producer
106. thorium - d, india has large reserves of thorium and sands in kerala have monozite, zirconium and other rare earths but not uranium
107. highest density - a, india earlier it was srilanka , though in South asia as whole bangladesh is most dense
108. round table - c
109.direct tax - d , interest tax was abolished in India somewhere in 80's
110. national water council - a
111. rivers in MP & kerala - d , narmada and tapi are prominent west flowing rivers of MP , and there are 3 east flowing rivers in Kerala prominent being kabini
112. hindu college - d
113. cripps mission - d , this was necessitates after Japanese gain in SE asia
114. golden threshold - b
115. rowlatt - c
116. dandi - c
117. anekantavada - b
118. 'do or die' - d
119. ahmedabad textile - a
120. 16 october 1905 - b
121. infant mortality rate -d , deaths within a year are taken into account and it is calcualted on 10000 live births
122. panachayat - c
123. administrator of UT -a
124. headquarter - b , ADB - manila, ASEAN - jakarta
125. ECOSOC -d , it is 54 member and they are elected for 3 years
126. shompen - b, they are untouched
127. advocate general -b, AG can be appointed by governor
128. first municipal - b, though some sources mention Calcutta
129. lok adalat - a
130. cabinet ministers - d
131. amendment to limit number - b
132. CAT - b, it was formed in 1985 during prime ministership of rajeev gandhi
133. number of ministries - a , current number is 39
134. telegraph line -c
135. cartagena protocol - c
136. carrom - c
137. three cans - a
138. ashoka leyland - a
139. global economy - b, Roche is pharmaceutic company
140. auction - d, Osian's are Indian
141. UNFCC - c
142. carbon credit - b
143. world economic forum - a
144. security council - b
145. kosovo - d
146. ogaden - b
147. climate change bill - b
148.highest energy - a this corresponds to highest frquency and lowest wavelength
149. earliest event - c
150. automobile - b , daimler is german
Friday, May 22, 2009
upsc csp 2009 general studies key set c part 2
51. largest private port - a , it is krishnapattanam
52. stock indices - b
53. INS - d, viraat is aircraft carrier while sindhughosh is submarine
54. commission for agricultural - a, ministry og agriculture has launched national food mission
55. non major port - b
56.Deepak Parekh - b
57. gundecha brothers - a
58. match the persons - a
59. ahilya bai holkar - d
60. tabo monastery - b
61. drug company - a, it is an automobile company
62. audacity of hope - b, this was his first book and carries themes which later formed part of his presidential campaign
63. g8 - d
64. baghlihar - a, funding was internal
65. leander pace - b
66. MCX-SX - c, it is currecny exchange
67. match the sportsperson - b, she is a middle distance runner
68. moon probe - d, chienese probe orbited around moon but did not land on it
69. football player - d, all other are F1 race drivers
70. famous place - a, davos is in switzerland and roland garros in france
71.football club - monte carlo
72. marine animal - mammal also known as sea cow
73. dul hasti - b
74. v k krishna - b, it is london based
75. malaysia capital - c
76. elephanta pass - d
77. ASEAN - c
78. European union - b
79. tropic of capricorn - d
80. core is made up of - c
81. city river - a
82. temple - a
83. tropical desert - c
84.geographical feature - b
85. census - a, annual grwoth rate has declined
86. river not originating in India - d, from mansarovar in tibet
87.cape canaveral - a
88. two river - a, one is sone other narmada
89. white dwarf - a, limit is known as chandrashekhar mass limit
90. energy statistics - d
91. B K chaturvedi - d
92. Mahamstabhisheka - a, it is an event happening after 12 years
93. tradition - c, gatka is martial art of punjab
94. famous person - c
95. famous person - b
96. schems of union government - c
97. sportsperson - b
98. book - c
99. agaria - d
100. UNESC site - b
52. stock indices - b
53. INS - d, viraat is aircraft carrier while sindhughosh is submarine
54. commission for agricultural - a, ministry og agriculture has launched national food mission
55. non major port - b
56.Deepak Parekh - b
57. gundecha brothers - a
58. match the persons - a
59. ahilya bai holkar - d
60. tabo monastery - b
61. drug company - a, it is an automobile company
62. audacity of hope - b, this was his first book and carries themes which later formed part of his presidential campaign
63. g8 - d
64. baghlihar - a, funding was internal
65. leander pace - b
66. MCX-SX - c, it is currecny exchange
67. match the sportsperson - b, she is a middle distance runner
68. moon probe - d, chienese probe orbited around moon but did not land on it
69. football player - d, all other are F1 race drivers
70. famous place - a, davos is in switzerland and roland garros in france
71.football club - monte carlo
72. marine animal - mammal also known as sea cow
73. dul hasti - b
74. v k krishna - b, it is london based
75. malaysia capital - c
76. elephanta pass - d
77. ASEAN - c
78. European union - b
79. tropic of capricorn - d
80. core is made up of - c
81. city river - a
82. temple - a
83. tropical desert - c
84.geographical feature - b
85. census - a, annual grwoth rate has declined
86. river not originating in India - d, from mansarovar in tibet
87.cape canaveral - a
88. two river - a, one is sone other narmada
89. white dwarf - a, limit is known as chandrashekhar mass limit
90. energy statistics - d
91. B K chaturvedi - d
92. Mahamstabhisheka - a, it is an event happening after 12 years
93. tradition - c, gatka is martial art of punjab
94. famous person - c
95. famous person - b
96. schems of union government - c
97. sportsperson - b
98. book - c
99. agaria - d
100. UNESC site - b
Thursday, May 21, 2009
UPSC CSP 2009 General studies Key Set C
1. individual satyagraha - b nehru , vinoba was first
2. cripps mission - b it offered dominion status and constitution making body
3. aruna asaf ali - c quit india, after arrest of all major leaders she hoisted flag at gavalia tank ground in mumbai, later awarded bharat ratna
4. surat factory - b jahangir, sir thomas row got the permission after british defeated portugese in naval war. earlier attempt by flitch had proved unsuccessful
5. dry cell - a , magnesium chloride is never used, magnesium dioxise is used though but as depolarize not electrolyte
6. largest number of moons - a, Jupiter
7. sweet ornage - c, both are correct
8. night vision - c, infrared, they have large wavelengths and operate by detecting heat
9. genetic - d, son gets genese from mom, while daughter from dad
10. a person travel - a, 6 km
11. six persons - c
12. explosives - d, TNT is formed by this
13. plant products - d
14. flying fox - a
15. five year plan - c
16. animal welfare board - b
17.five year plan - c, though some sources mention that import substitution came only in fourth plan
18. NSD - c, sahitya akademi does award fellowship but it is not that well known as their annual award
19. union government - b , department creation does not need advice of cabinet secretary
20. coins - b
21. numbers - c
22. alphabet - c
23. three digit number - d
24. coins - c
25. natural number - c
26. metal rods - b
27. examination - b
28. family - d
29. angle with hour hand - c
30. balls - d
31. shourya - d, its range is only 500-600 and speed is 5 mach
32. wimax - d
33. shanti swarup - c
34. saffron - d
35. complex scientific - b, cern
36. dadaab - b, it is for somalian refugees
37. hurricanes -d, thoguh all are names of hurricanes but in recent years only kate and gustav have occurred. Ike occurred last time in 2003 so I am not sure of this
38. ethanol - c
39. artists - d
40. NAMA 11 - d , it stands for non agricultural market access
41. CIS - c, georgia due to russian invasion
42. person in news - b, all are PMs of respective countries
43. biodiversity - a
44. evolution - c
45. panda - a, earlier it was thought to be raccoon
46. NAM - c, India hosted summit when Neelam snajeev reddy was president and before next summit jailsingh became president
47. match person and industry - c
48. crystal award - d , mallika sarabhai and amitabh won it this year
49. largest inland saline - d, smabhar lake in rajasthan is answer, kutch is not inland as it borders sea
50. MMTC - c, it is offical government agency for import and export
2. cripps mission - b it offered dominion status and constitution making body
3. aruna asaf ali - c quit india, after arrest of all major leaders she hoisted flag at gavalia tank ground in mumbai, later awarded bharat ratna
4. surat factory - b jahangir, sir thomas row got the permission after british defeated portugese in naval war. earlier attempt by flitch had proved unsuccessful
5. dry cell - a , magnesium chloride is never used, magnesium dioxise is used though but as depolarize not electrolyte
6. largest number of moons - a, Jupiter
7. sweet ornage - c, both are correct
8. night vision - c, infrared, they have large wavelengths and operate by detecting heat
9. genetic - d, son gets genese from mom, while daughter from dad
10. a person travel - a, 6 km
11. six persons - c
12. explosives - d, TNT is formed by this
13. plant products - d
14. flying fox - a
15. five year plan - c
16. animal welfare board - b
17.five year plan - c, though some sources mention that import substitution came only in fourth plan
18. NSD - c, sahitya akademi does award fellowship but it is not that well known as their annual award
19. union government - b , department creation does not need advice of cabinet secretary
20. coins - b
21. numbers - c
22. alphabet - c
23. three digit number - d
24. coins - c
25. natural number - c
26. metal rods - b
27. examination - b
28. family - d
29. angle with hour hand - c
30. balls - d
31. shourya - d, its range is only 500-600 and speed is 5 mach
32. wimax - d
33. shanti swarup - c
34. saffron - d
35. complex scientific - b, cern
36. dadaab - b, it is for somalian refugees
37. hurricanes -d, thoguh all are names of hurricanes but in recent years only kate and gustav have occurred. Ike occurred last time in 2003 so I am not sure of this
38. ethanol - c
39. artists - d
40. NAMA 11 - d , it stands for non agricultural market access
41. CIS - c, georgia due to russian invasion
42. person in news - b, all are PMs of respective countries
43. biodiversity - a
44. evolution - c
45. panda - a, earlier it was thought to be raccoon
46. NAM - c, India hosted summit when Neelam snajeev reddy was president and before next summit jailsingh became president
47. match person and industry - c
48. crystal award - d , mallika sarabhai and amitabh won it this year
49. largest inland saline - d, smabhar lake in rajasthan is answer, kutch is not inland as it borders sea
50. MMTC - c, it is offical government agency for import and export
Friday, March 20, 2009
Family
Yesterday I watched movie 'k pax' a nice movie which forces one to re think various assumptions and notions we have about life and family.
lead actor who is a lunatic but thinks he has come from a planet tells a lady in movie that they do not have family at their planet as there is no need of it. I assume that once we advance in material development same may be case on earth e.g. family is a unit is more weaker in developed nations than developing nations.
but then what is difference between someone in your family and someone outside who performs same function for you I mean between parent and someone outside family who takes care of you, between your spouse and someone with you have just a physical relationship.
at this point the lady says 'you worry'. one worries about family. why ? don't ask me
may be it is same thing which our sages called 'moh'
one old lady in our relations was a perfect example of this , first she wanted to get all her sons and daughters married in good families, then she wanted sons for all of them, then wanted good health and job for all grandchildren and then she wanted all them married.
okie this is getting a bit muddled but bottom line despite material and intellectual advances our civilization still needs family.
lead actor who is a lunatic but thinks he has come from a planet tells a lady in movie that they do not have family at their planet as there is no need of it. I assume that once we advance in material development same may be case on earth e.g. family is a unit is more weaker in developed nations than developing nations.
but then what is difference between someone in your family and someone outside who performs same function for you I mean between parent and someone outside family who takes care of you, between your spouse and someone with you have just a physical relationship.
at this point the lady says 'you worry'. one worries about family. why ? don't ask me
may be it is same thing which our sages called 'moh'
one old lady in our relations was a perfect example of this , first she wanted to get all her sons and daughters married in good families, then she wanted sons for all of them, then wanted good health and job for all grandchildren and then she wanted all them married.
okie this is getting a bit muddled but bottom line despite material and intellectual advances our civilization still needs family.
Sunday, March 1, 2009
Jai Ho
UPDATE: HOORAY HOORAY HOORAY! JAI HO GULZAR AND RAHMAN!
(Music that makes you scratch your head and think of Baazi Lagaa from Guru, 00:28 seconds to be precise)
Jai Ho! ^n
Aaja aaja jind shamiyaane ke taley
Aaja zari waale neele aasmaane ke taley
Jai Ho! ^ n
Ratti ratti sachchi maine jaan gawayi hai
Nach Nach koylon pe raat bitaayi hai
Ankhiyon ki neend maine phoonkon se udaa di
Gin gin taarey maine ungli jalayi hai
Eh Aaja aaja jind shamiyaane ke taley
Aaja zari waale neele aasmaane ke taley
Baila! Baila!
(Dance! Dance!)
Ahora conmigo, tu baila para hoy
(Now with me, you dance for today)
Por nuestro dia de movidas,
(For our day of moves,)
los problemas los que sean
(whatever problems may be)
Salud!
(Cheers!)
Baila! Baila!
(Dance! Dance!)
Jai Ho! ^n
Chakh le, haan chakh le, yeh raat shehed hai
Chakh le, haan rakh le,
Dil hai, dil aakhri hadd hai
Kaala kaala kaajal tera
Koi kaala jaadu hai na?
Aaja aaja jind shamiyaane ke taley
Aaja zari waale neele aasmaane ke taley
Jai Ho! ^ n
Kab se haan kab se jo lab pe ruki hai
Keh de, keh de, haan keh de
Ab aankh jhuki hai
Aisi aisi roshan aankhein
Roshan dono heerey (?) hain kya?
Aaja aaja jind shamiyaane ke taley
Aaja zari waale neele aasmaane ke taley
Jai Ho! ^ n
So this is my good deed of the day. The Rahman/Gulzar/Sukhwinder combination delivers again. Was frankly disappointed with Yuvvraaj lyrics; Tu hi to meri dost hai sounds like Gulzar sahib on an exceptionally bad day. Have bugged all the music shops in Bangalore asking them when the SM soundtrack is coming. Apparently it's being imported via a Mr Godot.
Update: Thanks JpnDude for the Spanish section! Below is a loose English translation that murders the original Hindi. Apologies to Gulzar Sahib. Hope to post a link here when I find a good translation online.
Jai Ho =Something between “Hail” and “Hallelujah”
Come, come my Life, under the canopy
Come under the blue brocade sky!
Iota by iota, I have lost my life, in faith
I’ve passed this night dancing on coals
I blew away the sleep that was in my eyes
I counted the stars till my finger burned
Come, come my Life, under the canopy
Come under the blue brocade sky!
Taste it, taste it, this night is honey
Taste it, and keep it,
It’s a heart; the heart is the final limit
You dark black kohl
It’s some black magic, isn’t it?
Come, come my Life, under the canopy
Come under the blue brocade sky!
For how long, how very long
It’s been on your lips
Say it, now say it
The eye is downcast
Such lit up eyes
Are they two lit-up dimaonds(?) ?
Come, come my Life, under the canopy
Come under the blue brocade sky!
(Music that makes you scratch your head and think of Baazi Lagaa from Guru, 00:28 seconds to be precise)
Jai Ho! ^n
Aaja aaja jind shamiyaane ke taley
Aaja zari waale neele aasmaane ke taley
Jai Ho! ^ n
Ratti ratti sachchi maine jaan gawayi hai
Nach Nach koylon pe raat bitaayi hai
Ankhiyon ki neend maine phoonkon se udaa di
Gin gin taarey maine ungli jalayi hai
Eh Aaja aaja jind shamiyaane ke taley
Aaja zari waale neele aasmaane ke taley
Baila! Baila!
(Dance! Dance!)
Ahora conmigo, tu baila para hoy
(Now with me, you dance for today)
Por nuestro dia de movidas,
(For our day of moves,)
los problemas los que sean
(whatever problems may be)
Salud!
(Cheers!)
Baila! Baila!
(Dance! Dance!)
Jai Ho! ^n
Chakh le, haan chakh le, yeh raat shehed hai
Chakh le, haan rakh le,
Dil hai, dil aakhri hadd hai
Kaala kaala kaajal tera
Koi kaala jaadu hai na?
Aaja aaja jind shamiyaane ke taley
Aaja zari waale neele aasmaane ke taley
Jai Ho! ^ n
Kab se haan kab se jo lab pe ruki hai
Keh de, keh de, haan keh de
Ab aankh jhuki hai
Aisi aisi roshan aankhein
Roshan dono heerey (?) hain kya?
Aaja aaja jind shamiyaane ke taley
Aaja zari waale neele aasmaane ke taley
Jai Ho! ^ n
So this is my good deed of the day. The Rahman/Gulzar/Sukhwinder combination delivers again. Was frankly disappointed with Yuvvraaj lyrics; Tu hi to meri dost hai sounds like Gulzar sahib on an exceptionally bad day. Have bugged all the music shops in Bangalore asking them when the SM soundtrack is coming. Apparently it's being imported via a Mr Godot.
Update: Thanks JpnDude for the Spanish section! Below is a loose English translation that murders the original Hindi. Apologies to Gulzar Sahib. Hope to post a link here when I find a good translation online.
Jai Ho =Something between “Hail” and “Hallelujah”
Come, come my Life, under the canopy
Come under the blue brocade sky!
Iota by iota, I have lost my life, in faith
I’ve passed this night dancing on coals
I blew away the sleep that was in my eyes
I counted the stars till my finger burned
Come, come my Life, under the canopy
Come under the blue brocade sky!
Taste it, taste it, this night is honey
Taste it, and keep it,
It’s a heart; the heart is the final limit
You dark black kohl
It’s some black magic, isn’t it?
Come, come my Life, under the canopy
Come under the blue brocade sky!
For how long, how very long
It’s been on your lips
Say it, now say it
The eye is downcast
Such lit up eyes
Are they two lit-up dimaonds(?) ?
Come, come my Life, under the canopy
Come under the blue brocade sky!
Monday, February 16, 2009
वह तोड़ती पत्थर
First line of a poem by I guess sumitranandan pant .
When i first read these line I was too young to understand and anyway I had not read the full poem but when I got to read it a few years back I felt same the way poet would have filled.
A mother working to get food for his baby or sister for fee of her brother and so on.... but still maintaining their dignity in this big bad world. These kind of scenes actually re establish one's belief in indomitable spirit of humans. I have myself been witness to many such scenes and trigger to write this post came because yesterday on one of traffic junction here in Bangalore I saw a tribal Rajastahni woman in her full attire , wearing may be best chunari she possess, and all her bangles selling tissues on traffic junction.
First feeling was that there is a looming danger of drought as she had to come to work so far from Rajasthan, then disgust at politicians and local bureaucrats who would have siphoned the money meant for rural poor's job and in process throwing this woman to unsafe outside world but then a certain sense of assurance came to my mind looking at her confidence and her fighting instinct with life, like taking life from its horns.
A slightly different thing I saw a few months back when I was at Singapore. In one of the food courts at an Indian curry shop some Chinese guys were ordering food and when Indian wife made some mistake in understanding it , the husband ( also an Indian) taunted her in Hindi with words which only Indian husbands are capable of thinking that no one understands Hindi there. I cursed myself to have reached there just then as when eyes of the lady met with me I could see humiliation in her eyes as she knew that I could understand and hear what her husband had just said who was standing shamelessly and unrepentant.
Why Indian marriage is such an unequal institution and why parents prefer heartless arranged bridegroom for their daughters then someone who will care for her emotions
When I visited constituency of Ms Sonia Gandhi just before last general election ( I was on my training with a thermal power plant) . I happened to see a Muslim woman in her traditional gear with her daughter working on a field trying to get some remnants of crop for eating. It was a heart wrenching scene and I wondered why can't Muslim haters and Muslim lovers both see the suffering of this mother child duo. It reminded me of a story of a poor Muslim woman who feeds and spends lavishly on a distant male relative who comes to stay with her in hope of getting her elder daughter married to him but that bastard deflowers her younger daughter and runs away and local clergy punishes all three women on different charges.
But I would end this post on an optimistic note and this is from my childhood memories. It was the year of severe draught and we like many people in are had hired service of water bearers to supply water at our home from local well and this job was done by a Gujjajr woman. She was tall ( 6ft easily) and well built and could become a model if she was born in new york , had a husband who was lanky and suffered from TB due to working in mines, lived in a hovel in a community housing from old mill days of indore near the well. It was scene for my young eyes to see how fast she walked rather literally ran with two full cans of water in both hands, balancing her poise, her ghoonghat, her thick silver anklets, yellow chunari and white angles till shoulder with her confident strides when I ,pampered son of household (5 year old I was ) could not lift the bucket of water for my bath.
She fought with life and succeeded later I learn t she learn t reading and writing and got her daughter who was already past 10 years or so admitted in school. She made a house for herself at outskirts of city and moved there and since then I never heard of or seen her but in my heart I believe she must be doing well but that scene of that tall woman walking fast with those two cans and leaving behind a trail of water is etched in my memory since that time.
When i first read these line I was too young to understand and anyway I had not read the full poem but when I got to read it a few years back I felt same the way poet would have filled.
A mother working to get food for his baby or sister for fee of her brother and so on.... but still maintaining their dignity in this big bad world. These kind of scenes actually re establish one's belief in indomitable spirit of humans. I have myself been witness to many such scenes and trigger to write this post came because yesterday on one of traffic junction here in Bangalore I saw a tribal Rajastahni woman in her full attire , wearing may be best chunari she possess, and all her bangles selling tissues on traffic junction.
First feeling was that there is a looming danger of drought as she had to come to work so far from Rajasthan, then disgust at politicians and local bureaucrats who would have siphoned the money meant for rural poor's job and in process throwing this woman to unsafe outside world but then a certain sense of assurance came to my mind looking at her confidence and her fighting instinct with life, like taking life from its horns.
A slightly different thing I saw a few months back when I was at Singapore. In one of the food courts at an Indian curry shop some Chinese guys were ordering food and when Indian wife made some mistake in understanding it , the husband ( also an Indian) taunted her in Hindi with words which only Indian husbands are capable of thinking that no one understands Hindi there. I cursed myself to have reached there just then as when eyes of the lady met with me I could see humiliation in her eyes as she knew that I could understand and hear what her husband had just said who was standing shamelessly and unrepentant.
Why Indian marriage is such an unequal institution and why parents prefer heartless arranged bridegroom for their daughters then someone who will care for her emotions
When I visited constituency of Ms Sonia Gandhi just before last general election ( I was on my training with a thermal power plant) . I happened to see a Muslim woman in her traditional gear with her daughter working on a field trying to get some remnants of crop for eating. It was a heart wrenching scene and I wondered why can't Muslim haters and Muslim lovers both see the suffering of this mother child duo. It reminded me of a story of a poor Muslim woman who feeds and spends lavishly on a distant male relative who comes to stay with her in hope of getting her elder daughter married to him but that bastard deflowers her younger daughter and runs away and local clergy punishes all three women on different charges.
But I would end this post on an optimistic note and this is from my childhood memories. It was the year of severe draught and we like many people in are had hired service of water bearers to supply water at our home from local well and this job was done by a Gujjajr woman. She was tall ( 6ft easily) and well built and could become a model if she was born in new york , had a husband who was lanky and suffered from TB due to working in mines, lived in a hovel in a community housing from old mill days of indore near the well. It was scene for my young eyes to see how fast she walked rather literally ran with two full cans of water in both hands, balancing her poise, her ghoonghat, her thick silver anklets, yellow chunari and white angles till shoulder with her confident strides when I ,pampered son of household (5 year old I was ) could not lift the bucket of water for my bath.
She fought with life and succeeded later I learn t she learn t reading and writing and got her daughter who was already past 10 years or so admitted in school. She made a house for herself at outskirts of city and moved there and since then I never heard of or seen her but in my heart I believe she must be doing well but that scene of that tall woman walking fast with those two cans and leaving behind a trail of water is etched in my memory since that time.
Saturday, February 7, 2009
House of People aka Loksabha aka aristocracy
I was wondering over recent trend of making sons and wives of political leaders contest elections and felt that almost all parties across India are doing this and so I decided to check and results are startling some 17 MPs died in this Loksabha, four of the seats are still vacant in other 13 except 3 seats where CPI(M) won ( two in bengal and one in kerala) all other parties BJP, congress, SP, Shivsena, JMM, JD (U),TDP put sons or wives of deceased leader as candidate and barring 2/10 in 8 cases they won also.
muzaffarnagar up SP empty
hathras up bjp empty
chikmagalur karnataka bjp empty
thane maharashta SS son of late MP Paranjape his opponent was son of NCP minister
betul mp bjp son of late mp vijay khandelwal
bidar karnataka bjp Basavaraj Arya, son of Ramachandra Veerappa
mumbi nw maharashta congres priya dutt, daughter of sunil dutt
trivendrum kerala cpim P raveeendran
asnasol bengal cpim bangsagopal chowdhry
sangli maharashta congress prateek patil, son of veerendra patil
malda bengal congree abu hasem khan chowdhry, brother of abdul gani khan chowdhry
katwa bengal cpim ayesh mondal outsider
bobbilli AP TDP K naiduson of late MP, congress nominated wife of a mnister
bikramganj bihar jd u mina devi wife of deceased mp
balia up SP son of late PM chnadrashekhar BSP candidate was sone of a minister
jamshedpur Jharkhand JMM punam mahto wife of late MP
tehri gahdwal UttaranchalBJP Late MP (who was former king and MP since 1957) his son lost. Agaisnt him was congress candidate son of former CM
So this partly explains why political parties find it difficult to get workers when an average worker has no hope of getting ticket ( most of these MPs were contesting election since 5-6 times) and even if old men die their sons and wives take the mantle then what remains for the worker.
At independence congress leaders were vociferous in their demand for abolishing princely states but our democracy has created new princes in just a time of 60 years. At least those princes had a moral duty towards their subjects while these new princes are brazen power mongers.
This loksabha had one more distinction almost 40 MPs resigned in five years while another 27 were expelled so in all 84 MPs were not member any more. this almost 15% of total strength which shows how much importance party gives to candidate selection for Loksabha. even if one is old, of questionable reputation ,has criminal antecedents or an eye on local state politics he is chose for loksabha because he can win and add to that magic number of 272.
muzaffarnagar up SP empty
hathras up bjp empty
chikmagalur karnataka bjp empty
thane maharashta SS son of late MP Paranjape his opponent was son of NCP minister
betul mp bjp son of late mp vijay khandelwal
bidar karnataka bjp Basavaraj Arya, son of Ramachandra Veerappa
mumbi nw maharashta congres priya dutt, daughter of sunil dutt
trivendrum kerala cpim P raveeendran
asnasol bengal cpim bangsagopal chowdhry
sangli maharashta congress prateek patil, son of veerendra patil
malda bengal congree abu hasem khan chowdhry, brother of abdul gani khan chowdhry
katwa bengal cpim ayesh mondal outsider
bobbilli AP TDP K naiduson of late MP, congress nominated wife of a mnister
bikramganj bihar jd u mina devi wife of deceased mp
balia up SP son of late PM chnadrashekhar BSP candidate was sone of a minister
jamshedpur Jharkhand JMM punam mahto wife of late MP
tehri gahdwal UttaranchalBJP Late MP (who was former king and MP since 1957) his son lost. Agaisnt him was congress candidate son of former CM
So this partly explains why political parties find it difficult to get workers when an average worker has no hope of getting ticket ( most of these MPs were contesting election since 5-6 times) and even if old men die their sons and wives take the mantle then what remains for the worker.
At independence congress leaders were vociferous in their demand for abolishing princely states but our democracy has created new princes in just a time of 60 years. At least those princes had a moral duty towards their subjects while these new princes are brazen power mongers.
This loksabha had one more distinction almost 40 MPs resigned in five years while another 27 were expelled so in all 84 MPs were not member any more. this almost 15% of total strength which shows how much importance party gives to candidate selection for Loksabha. even if one is old, of questionable reputation ,has criminal antecedents or an eye on local state politics he is chose for loksabha because he can win and add to that magic number of 272.
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