Salute to those who laid down their lives for the country

In 1920, my maternal grandfather ( Nana ji) Dr Lehna Singh Sethi was offered a  job in the British army after he finished his medical education from Agra medical college. The offer was tempting with a fat salary and attractive perks but he refused the job offer because he wanted to participate in the freedom movement. In the British raj, the medical education was free for those who joined the military service after graduation. Not only that, the new doctors were also recruited in the army. With the independence movement gaining momentum, the British govt needed to strengthen its armed forces. Those newly trained doctors who didn’t join the British govt had to reimburse the full amount of the fee to the college. Grandpa’s family hardly had any money but it was out of the question to join the British ranks. My grandma sold her jewellery so that the fee could be reimbursed to the college. During the freedom struggle, Nana ji courted arrest many times which was a matter of pride for any freedom fighter. In 1942, during the Quit India movement, when he was imprisoned in Multan jail along with other freedom fighters.  his  15yrs old daughter ( my mother’s elder sister) passed away. He was allowed to attend the funeral of his daughter only on the condition that henceforth he will shun the freedom movement  which was not acceptable to him. It was only after three years he was set free. 

At the time of partition, he was appointed as liaison officer to evacuate Hindus from Sargodha and send them safely to India. Everyday only 100 passes were issued. Early in the morning, people would start queuing up  outside the house and plead for the permit to travel, each one’s  plead more urgent than the rest. The bloodbath had already started and the Hindus wanted to leave Pakistan at the earliest. Nana ji took a vow that his own family would be the last to leave Pakistan after every single person from Sargodha had left. It was Nov 1947 when my grandma, mother and mama ji were put on the train. It was the last train to India. 

On Dec 1, 1950 grandfather passed away. People had come in thousands to pay their homage to the departed soul.  On the day of his cremation, his photographs were distributed with the following message from Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the first Home Minister and Deputy PM of India. (Dr Lehna Singh Sethi who Lived and died in the service of homeless millions and saved them from dishonor and death) 

Alien on one’s own soil

Even after 15 years I get a shock ... I get a cultural shock after visiting north. Every time I come back from Punjab I get a cultural shock. I am not so shocked when I return from Europe but north to south is a cultural shock even after so many years. It is not about which is good or which is bad. It is also not about the aggression, flamboyancy or the lack of it. It is about the difference. More shocking is why one should feel like an alien in one’s own country. I am sure people don’t feel the same when they relocate or visit east to west coast in US.

Even if you know the language, eat the same food still India’s cultural diversity is unwelcoming. A north Indian feels as much alienated in South as a south Indian in Punjab. Even after fifty trips from north to south to and fro in past fifteen years I am unable to find out why? Why everything feels so strange? We all take pride in our language, culture but perhaps we also take pride in being closed cultures

Budget for whom?

by karthik kumar
The idea of India is very urban. The idea of progress is very urban. The idea of government is very urban. The idea of civil society is very urban. Most of the cities in our country fall in the penumbra of urban consciousness.

When we think of people who live in these cities, we see them through the eyes of a government that has the same empathy that the British rulers felt for the urban populace. They are them, they are not us. That is why tribal villages in India evoke thoughts about insurgency more than they do about development. That is why silently, the patches of ungovernable areas within the country are growing while we are making our cities gated communities.

For one, the annual budget exercise of a Central or a State Government meant nothing to people. It came and went; in the few educated homes the passing item of interest was the excise duty on consumable — from cigarettes to cement and, later on, it was the personal income tax slab. Decades after, the middle-class mental poverty has expanded just as government receipts, spends and deficits have.

India needs change at the level of her soul.

The people who are in charge of the budget, those who go spend the money and the rest of us who fill our stomachs with it until the next year, need to believe that the country outside the cities needs to be included. That they are us.

Before you think I am a cynic, I must tell you that my staple diet is HOPE. Because, outside the cities, even today, there is no sewage system. And drinking water does not come out of a tap.

Every policymaker in India, every bureaucrat, every businessman must read a book titled Paraja — this is a novel by Jnanpith winner Gopinath Mohanty. Fortunately, an English translation by Bikram Das is available today. It is the story of a tribal from Koraput, Orissa, whose life is in the clutches of petty government officials, moneylenders and the police. The story is set in the early days of post-independent India. Decades after, his lot has not changed. Only his innocence has been lost.

On that note, goodbye until the next budget.

To Cheer or Not

I am not an ardent cricket fan but IPL (Indian Premier League) cricket season is too action packed to be overlooked. It keeps the nation busy by giving each one a subject to debate upon like should we have desi cheer girls instead of firnagi? Should they wear traditional Indian consume may be a sari or a ghagra choli ? If yes, what should be the length of the blouse incase they will have a blouse on et al.

The second edition of IPL Twenty 20 Cricket Tournament this year will not only deprive Indians of that irresistible star studded high glamour quotient live sports extravaganza but also gives them more time on hand to scrutinize the contesting candidates in the elections.

IPL vs Elections - the country had a choice between holding elections or IPL on Indian soil. The government chose to have elections in India and send IPL abroad. The alternate route of sending elections abroad would have been a more popular choice.

Holding the IPL matches during election time would have made sure that the matches will go on smoothly as all criminals and their associates will be on election duty. No wonder the crime rate in India invariably goes down during election time. The owners of the teams are obviously cheering as it means more money and less khit pit over dos and don’ts. The fans in Pakistan are cheering as they will be able to watch their heroes in action. The cricket fans in South Africa are shouting from their roof tops and are too ecstatic to welcome international cricket teams home.

Not sure, if IPL should still retain ‘Indian’ in IPL. Well ‘I’ also stands for ‘International’. Indian politicians are cheering as any militant attack during the election time would have sealed the fate of the political party in whose state the attack would have occurred. It gives them a saving grace and yet another chance to parrot ‘India is not Pakistan, it is safe’.

But for hardcore cricket aficionados, the real action has no comparison with reel action.

Will this ever happen in India?

March is the appraisal month. The Self Appraisal is the first step in the month long appraisal process in which every employee fills in his achievements, any accolades received from clients/managers during the year, areas of improvements, strengths , aspirations and goals for the future year.
The goals have to be strictly SMART (Specific Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, Time bound). Each goal has to be clearly mentioned with a fixed timeline. The appraisal next year will review how much of it one could achieve. Framing SMART goals gives clear direction to the aspirant and is the first step towards realizing your goals.

With election season round the corner, it is only natural to compare companies’ appraisal process with that of the country. Why there is no such appraisal system for the politicians who are responsible for the health of the country? Company appraisal directly impacts the career of its employees and which in turn is related to the health of the company. Ditto for the country.
Every party’s election manifesto talks of removing poverty, regular water supply, more jobs opportunities, better road conditions et al with no time lines , no specific goals. Individual appraisal impacts one professional and one single organization but the appraisal of the contesting candidate has an impact on the health and the future of the entire country.
What if a country is run like an organization! The credentials of a candidate are scrutinized fully before assigning him the responsibility of running the country. Clear policies framed with SMART goals, strengths listed, areas of improvements demarcated.
Sample this – Twenty roads will be repaired in the first quarter with monthly quality checks by the quality team, government schools will have to face the audit by external auditors to avail the aid for the next year…. Will that ever happen in India?

Who is responsible for the mess?

“History is a boring subject and what am I going to gain by mugging up what happened two centuries ago and which king ruled over which country.” – Nikhil my son who is appearing for 9th std hates History and he tells that with pride. We always have a war of words when I ask him to study History.
I love reading about kings and their wealth but the way they depict and describe in school text books it does appear very boring. Moreover school text books are not updated regularly.
Yesterday I was teaching him Economics. In a chapter on Poverty, they have explained about poverty line, how it is determined and what was the poverty line in 1975 and how poverty is the result of British policies… blah blah. When I was studying Economics in college, these were the same things I had studied. Out text books haven’t changed at all. And most importantly for how long will we keep blaming Britishers for the mess we are in, how about the mess that our politicians have created since Independence and continue to create. Are they not more responsible for the state of our country and not letting our country grow?

Why walk on moon when you can't walk safely on earth

As the TV channels show the wild dance of terror playing out on the streets of Bombay, I am reminded of this verse by Rabindranath Tagore.
Today neither our mind is without fear nor the head is held high. Read More

My heart weeps ...

My heart weeps for those who have lost their loved ones in Mumbai terror attack. The children who lost their parents in the attack. The child who lost his mother in the attack. The image of terrorists shooting his mother will haunt him for entire life. How will a small child live without his mother? What will happen to his ambitions, his dreams… each moment.. each breath that he will take will remind him of his mother. He will long for the coziness of sleeping with mother, mother’s touch, her smile, fragrance of her clothes and even her scolding … what had he done to deserve this punishment? There is no substitute for a mother. I am depressed, angry and disappointed that I am living in a country where anyone can shoot at will and there is no security of life. Where 10 young men barely out of their teens can hold an entire nation to ransom. Is it Jungle raj? I have no reason to be hopeful in future. This is the price we have to pay for electing and tolerating corrupt, incapable and inefficient politicians.
If I have escaped this time, I may not be lucky next time. With no hope for future that things will be better off in India, who knows when my time will come. Today I want to sit with my children and tell them stories that they have been asking for days and cook their favorite dish. Who knows tomorrow I may be killed by the bullet of an insane terrorist.
….a mother

Let us put our house in order first

Post 11/26, life will not be same for any Indian for a very long time to come and never ever for those whose any of their kith and kin has perished in Mumbai attack or even for those who have escaped the attack by a whisker. The images of gun bearing terrorists will always haunt those who have lived to tell the tale of horror minute by minute.
As soon as the news of Mumbai attack, the worst so far on Indian soil spread , the Prime Minister Mr. Manmohan Singh washed his hands off by announcing quickly that it was a handiwork of Pakistan. This piece is not about whether Pakistan is involved in this act or not. Even if at this stage of investigation it is believed that Pakistan has directly or indirectly supported this heinous act, let us ask ourselves what have we done to prevent it?
This is not the first time that an act of terror has taken place on India’s soil. For the past one year, it has been the order of the month. Hardly a month passes without any news of blast in one or the other part of the country so much so that a minor blast with one or two causalities gets only a brief mention in media. The terrorists have become bolder and their numbers are increasing day by day. This time they surpassed the imagination of even Hollywood script writers. The plan for Mumbai attack was not put together in hurry. It was the outcome of months and perhaps years of planning. For sure, it went through many alterations since its original plan and must have gone through several trails before the final act of disaster that was executed to have maximum damage.
The first question we need to ask ourselves what our intelligence services were doing all these months? Why didn’t they get to unearth anything about it? If they had some clue about it then why didn’t they act in time? No point blaming others now, the damage has already been done. If our intelligence officers are not capable then why they are there in the first place? Like private sector, incase of non performance why they are not given pink slips?
Secondly, it is not only the duty but the job of the Coast Guard Services to protect our sea borders. Are they really protecting our borders? How can twelve armed men enter our borders with bags full of grenades and arms through sea route without anyone knowing about it? For sure, the terrorists must have checked this route for their safe arrival. Did we have confidence in the capability of Coast Guard? If not then no one will be a bigger fool than our government to believe that no enemy can enter our country through sea route. If they are not well equipped or trained then it should have been the prime priority of the government to provide them with required arms and instruments to execute their job fully.
Every time there is talk of outsiders penetrating our borders, India’s ‘porous borders’ becomes the lame excuse. The defense of the country should be the top most priority of our government at what ever cost. If lack of funds is the issue then it is advisable to dismiss the mission to moon and divert the money for defense of the country. Let us walk safely on earth first before we learn to walk on moon.
India’s police force has been the laughing stocks for years. Has our government taken any steps to equip them with modern arms and ammunition to prepare them for facing such a war? We expect pot bellied revolver bearing policemen to take on AK 47 trotting agile well trained terrorists.
We have the habit of waking up from our slumber only after the damage is done, we think of everything possible to prevent the next attack but again have lackadaisical attitude when nothing happens for some time. Now hotels will have fool proof security, spend heavily on safety of guests but will forget everything soon only to be woken up after the next attack. When it was expected that terrorists will hit again and hit really hard then why such casual attitude towards providing security to its guests? Why hotels have multiple entrances, why can’t there be just two entrances - one for guests and one for service staff. Is it so difficult to provide heavy weight security at just two points in a hotel which is on terrorist hit list? Isn’t a stitch in time better than two later?
Why NSG is located only at Delhi, why not in all metros and why train only NSG officers, why can’t our police men be trained in this? If NSG was located at Mumbai then this terror scene would have got over much earlier and many precious lives could be saved.
We blame our government for not doing anything for our safety. It is ironical that the public is helpless in a democracy. Is there no way to morally pressurize our government to deliver? Our government makes quick plans for our safety bothering little about its execution. Should we believe that the terrorists have read our mind and got scared just by our thinking of taking a few measures for the prevention of next terrorist act? Unless we put our house in order, it is heartening to state that this Mumbai attack will not be the last heinous crime on India’s soil

Hyderabad

The overnight train journey from Bangalore to Hyderabad was very comfortable but you don’t get good dinner in the train. So it is advisable to carry dinner with you.

With so much of hype about the city, the first impression about the city as you set foot on it - it is over crowed. There is no traffic sense at all. Vehicles use every inch of space on the road. It is free way for all. If you can drive in Hyderabad, you can drive any where in India. I still don’t understand how pedestrians cross the roads. There are no pedestrian crossings and traffic won’t stop at all for you. The first day we had to hire an auto to cross the road. By the end of 5th day, we could master the art of crossing the road. In fact it was quite simple. The trick is to signal the approaching vehicles to slow down with your hand and you criss cross your way in between the moving vehicles to reach the other side of the road.
Spitting city – the second impression I got about the city is - it is very filthy. There is no civic sense amongst public at all. What you see around is filth and garbage. It is a common sight to see people opening the door of Mercs at the traffic signal to spit on the road.

Shopping experience – it may be a shopping paradise but our shopping experience was different. Shop keepers are not courteous especially the saree shops. They don’t like if you want to unwrap the saree, admire it and then buy; they want you to buy first and then unwrap at home. Perhaps we are pampered shoppers in Mysore. Here they not only open the pieces fully and show but drape and model it for you also. They want you to admire the piece even if you don’t end up buying anything. As far as pampering the shoppers is concerned , Punjab and Delhi are one step ahead , as you start showing serious interest in their products, out will go the call ‘ Chootu jara thanda lana madam ke leye’ . Ultimately you end up buying more than you require.
If you are on pearl shopping, make sure you get 35% discount. It is a common practice more so in big stores. Just take out your visiting card and avail 35% but you don’t get unless you ask for it.

Hyderabadi biryani- It is simply superb. So much talk about Hyderabadi biryani, it is much better than that. You are really missing out on something if you are a vegetarian in Hyderabad. Three best places for biryani- Paradise, Bawarchi and Bahar. Paradise’s one day business is Rs 10 lakh and there is one floor dedicated to take away. There is no match to Hyderabadi Biryani.

Salarjung museum- I had read about tourist attractions of Hyderabad in my history book in 7th standard, more than twenty five years later my sons read about the same attractions. Alas they are not attractive any more. People recommended us to spend at least a day in the museum; we visited all the rooms in the museums and finished it in 90 minutes. The artifacts and collections are marvelous but our experience would have been better if things were little more organized there. There are no direction boards or arrow marks so you don’t know how much you have seen and how much is yet to be seen. We were keen on seeing Nizam’s jewelry but that section was closed. We were informed by one security guard that there are 46 rooms.

Charminar- anybody who goes to Hyderabad will not come back without visiting the historic monument so why make an effort to maintain the place? As you climb it, dirty walls with graffiti all over welcome you to make sure that you go back totally disappointed. So if you have not visited charminar you have not missed anything. Life is cheap in India. In spite of so much talk about security measures, this place has an unsecured fence. No metal detectors, no frisking by security guards.

Lad bazaar- it is a bangle bazaar with bangles of all varieties and colors but you will be looted if you don’t know the art of bargaining. If you have the patience to haggle, you can get 50 % bargains.

Banjara & Jubli hills area is totally different from rest of the city. It is cleaner, better roads, less traffic. Your impression about Hyderabad depends on which area you visit. Since we visited Secunderabad first, our first impression of this city was – filthy city. Even the residents are confused about the concept of twin city, you don’t know where one city ends and where another begins and how they are divided. Don’t bother too much just ask someone and go on. But whatever you do, don’t miss the biryani.
I would like to visit Hyderabad again for two reasons; I could not visit Ramoji film city and another of course for Biryani...more is still less.

Partition Days Memoirs

Listening to partition time anecdotes from their grandmother is the favorite pass time for my children. My mother migrated to India from Sargodha in Pakistan along with her parents and brother. There is one story that I distinctly remember and often ask her to narrate. At the time of partition, the Hindus who migrated from Pakistan had to stay in refugee camps for few weeks till some permanent arrangements could be made for them. Families who possessed movable and immovable properties in Pakistan moved to India with just two or three suitcases. The same was true for Muslims in India who were forced to leave everything in India and go to Pakistan almost empty handed. For most of us, who were born in post independence era, it is difficult to imagine how it is possible to pack all your life’s savings and memories in just three suitcases and start life afresh.
The refugees stayed in crammed rooms. In one such camp there were eighty people who used to sleep in one 12 by 18 sq ft room. There was not enough room to stretch fully. They took turns to stretch. Their luggage was piled in one corner almost touching the roof. All of them shared one single make shift toilet.
During the day, they stayed and cooked in the open ground in front of the room. One day, one vendor came to the camp to sell oranges at a cheap price. Since refugees did not have much to eat many people bought oranges from him. One young boy who was my mother’s neighbor in Sargodha was also staying in the camp along with his parents; he bought five oranges and offered it to my grandmother. My grandmother was furious to see the oranges. She reprimanded the boy and said, “The people are dying of hunger and getting killed in front of your eyes every where and you are thinking of eating oranges, take away your oranges; neither my children nor I will even touch any of these oranges.”
The boy was very attached to my grandmother and got upset to hear the bitter words. In anger, he threw the oranges across the wall. Just after few minutes, there was hue and cry everywhere in the camp. The people who ate the oranges sold by the vendor were dying as the oranges were injected with lethal poison. Within minutes, thirty five refugees including women and children lay dead in front of them.
The boy came running to my grandmother, touched her feet and said, ‘Ma, you have saved us all, we all would have been dead if you would have accepted the oranges”

Duties are as sacred as rights!

Democracy is a strange beast. History is replete with stories of nations shedding blood to have a small pie of democracy; on the other hand unrestricted democracy and freedom is said to create more problems than it resolves. Read More