Ordinary Day Ordinary Thoughts

The first thing I saw on TV (and I saw it pretty early too) was that Shilpa Shetty won the Celebrity Big Brother Show. Now that didn’t actually come as a surprise (after all the ruckus the show had kicked up and the brownie points Shilpa had earned with her tears). What surprised me was that it was the ‘Breaking News’. What’s wrong with our media?

Switch to any News Channel on TV and you’ll see the absurdity of these channels glaring into your faces and numbing your senses. Zee News orchestrates the latest developments in the serials aired on Zee TV! NDTV 24X7 has ‘Chhupa Rustum’ (the show that makes hapless citizens victims of a hidden camera with disgusting acts by the anchors). The channel also hosts debates between school and college students on various topics – including ‘Is Media Intrusive?’ News Channels have also started astrological forecasts on a daily basis. One channel even had a numerologist trying to convince the audiences of the possibility of an impending earthquake in the North-East some time back!

It’s not just the programs. Even the coverage leaves a lot to be desired (one great desire of course would be to shut these channels off permanently). On January 1st, NDTV 24X7 had this headline, “New York Rings in New York” in place of New Year. The newsreader also said the Australian government is upset with the Shiv Sena (on the day when Warne announced his retirement) instead of the Maharashtran government. Forget about the spelling and grammatical errors. They abound like mosquitoes in a gutter.

I had thought that some of these channels were good – particularly NDTV and Aaj Tak. I admired the talk shows, interviews and features on NDTV. I even condescended to bear with the ‘Double Take’, an at-times witty puppet show mimicking the newsmakers (mostly politicians, cricketers and film stars). However with each day my belief has crumbled like the proverbial cookie. I really wonder if these channels take themselves too seriously as ‘entertainers’. If one wants entertainment, one would watch any other channel but not a news channel. Who would take this news to these channels?

'Guru' of Inspiration

The release of ‘Guru’ has sparked a rehashed debate in the media. It’s all about biopics. It’s old hat now that ‘Guru’ is based on the life of Dhirubhai Ambani (though none acknowledges it for different reasons). One of the allegations about ‘Guru’ was that it either justifies the corrupt acts of the protagonist or sweeps them under the carpet without addressing them. This applies to all the movies made on Indian personalities by Indians. I'm not trying to review 'Guru' as a movie here and I don't intend to either (again, I don't think Mani is a great film maker).

The cult of hero-worship might take centuries to leave the Indian shores. Any supposed misrepresentation of almost any leader (especially political; it could even be a movie star, if it’s in the South of the Vindhyas) could result in riots, violence and deaths. The recent case in point is the vandalisation of an Ambedkar statue. In such a society can a biopic true to the person’s life be made? I really doubt.

The ONLY biopic that has been a hit in the country was ‘Gandhi’. No other movie has been a hit made on a contemporary Indian – be it Nehru, Sardar, Ambedkar or Bose. Motion pictures based on other freedom fighters (more legendary than historical) like Mangal Pandey (Mangled Pandey?) or Bhagat Singh have bitten the dust.

Indians adore the special status their leaders enjoy. Leaders are legends. Leaders leave behind their legends. They are never mere mortals. Either in life or death. They can do no wrong. Any attempt to ‘humanise’ (a strange term indeed to describe most of the Indian leaders) would surely meet a catastrophic end.

You can make movies ‘based on’ or ‘inspired’ by living, dead or immortal legends (like Bal Thackeray, Parveen Babi, Indira Gandhi or even Sonia Gandhi). You’ll have crowds thronging to the theatres and soon your movie would be a super-hit. But don’t ever mess with the legends by making a movie on them directly. Indians love legends and the halo around them. Don’t demystify. Any attempt and you’ll learn at a great cost! Ask Shyam Benegal!

Get that Right!

I didn’t know Shilpa would create a rage around the world and outrage in Indian media. Modesty blasé? And that too for all the wrong reasons (not for her, but for the politicos).

Racism has hit the headlines pretty frequently these days under the intense media glare. First it was Dean Jones. Then Hershelle Gibbs. Now, the Big Brother Show and its inmates (the latest report says that Channel 4 has taken a stance that the comments on its show weren’t racial).

Dean Jones was definitely wrong. He hit the pits by calling the South African batsman Hashim Amla, ‘terrorist’. That was surely uncalled for, even for jest on live television. But what Gibbs did (calling the unruly Pakistani fans, ‘animals’, overheard on the stumps mike) cannot be called racist.

If what’s happened on Big Brother is racism then there’s racism that’s happening all around us in India most of the time. Most North Indians cannot pronounce the South Indians’ names (unless the names are Sanskritised). Every South Indian is a ‘Madrasi’. Brahmans have this holier than thou attitude along with the feeling that they are Aryans while the rest of the population is not and hence inferior to them. The politically empowered Dalits have a chip on their shoulders. To a Muslim every non-Muslim is a ‘Kaafir’. Caste remarks and slurs are commonplace. What the anti-reservationist camp did in Delhi (sweeping the streets etc) could surely be termed as racist?

If racism is an issue, then Indians are the biggest culprits (may be other South Asians too, but I’m yet to interact with Pakistanis and Bangladeshis and Sri Lankans). MOST Indians DO admire the fair skin and prefer it over the dark skin. The bias finds its expression the most in the sale of fairness creams (I don’t know if a multinational like Garnier markets fairness creams in any other market). It finds expression in Bollywood songs where even the dark-skinned Kajol will have lyrics describing her as, “gori gori..” I have seen how Indians try to make fun of the Africans touring (or studying in) India. They aren’t even considered human by many Indians. When such is the state of affairs, what are we making an issue about?

My sympathies are with Ms. Shetty. But didn’t she know what she was to expect in a show like Big Brother? She jolly-well would’ve watched umpteen episodes to learn/hone those skills to survive it. Her mother in an interview appeared quite composed. She also made a statement that kind of validates my thoughts. That Shilpa knew what she was getting into.

The world’s probably never going to learn to be non-racial. If a common man turns out to be non-racial he also would turn out to be non-judgmental. That’s assuming the heights of universal brotherhood. Racism will stay regardless of the fights, laws and awareness campaigns. What’s required is affirmative action to ensure those that are subjected to racism will retaliate in a positive manner.

Thanksgiving!

Needing help and seeking help are two different things. Getting help from an unexpected quarter is another dimension altogether. It’s easy to be grateful of the assistance received at the moment of need and easier even to forget later – whether one gets an opportunity to pay back or not. But when we remember those hours of need being met, there’s this warm feeling that envelopes us.

I know I’m infinitely lucky and fortunate to have had so many beautiful experiences. It’s always been like this through my life. It’s though the first time I’m trying to talk about them this way. Here’s a recount of those moments of gratitude that I felt in 2006.

Strange(r) Encounters
1 January 2006. The wee hours after the New Year’s party. I’d ventured to Thimphu, alone, to a disco (Space 34) though I was an absolute newbie in the country (and it was my maiden visit to Thimphu proper). After a rocking party, I set out, wanting to head back home. It was freezing cold (-9 degree Celsius). There were no cabs in sight. I’d assumed they’d be available and hence had not asked anyone to pick me up after the party (Welcome to Bhutan)! All hotels were closed. I walked back to the disc. I haltingly asked someone if I could find a cab now. “Where do you want to go?” “Semtokha. I’m from Dantak”. He didn’t answer immediately but went back to his friend, spoke to him and came back. “You won’t get any cab now. We ourselves are waiting to be picked up and dropped by a friend. You may join us. Our place falls close to Dantak. You may walk from there”. Soon a Swift pulled over and this young guy asked me to hop in. “We live in Chang ji ji” he tried to make a conversation. “What do you do?” “I work as a finance guy”. “Oh!” Soon it was the place to get off. “Can you find your way from here?” he asked. “Would you please guide me? This was the first time I’ve ventured out of Semtokha”. “It’s straight road from here. After the bridge you’ve to take a left turn. It’s about 2kms …”. His friend who was quiet all this while interrupted, “Don’t bother to walk at this hour. Crash at my place”. “Are you sure?” I asked. “No problems if you don’t mind”. So I headed to this guy’s home.

It was 5 when we reached his house. The one I had spoken to was Dawa. His friend was Gurung. Dawa studies in Bangalore while Gurung works for the Customs department. Dawa insisted that he’d cook a meal (at that hour). He made emadatsi – THE dish of Bhutan, made of cheese, tomatoes and a LOT of chillies – and served it with rice (I ignored his offer of dried fish). He made hilarious attempts at conversing with me in Kannada. It was past 6 in the morning when we all crashed.

I owe my life to these two guys. I surely would’ve lost my way even if I’d tried to walk back (based on their directions). I’m certain that the ferocious mountain dogs that one encounters on the way would have shred me to pieces (I’d have been good meat as I’m pretty scared of dogs).

Virtual Help
It was MM who introduced me to MP. I didn’t know then the kind of turns my life would take. Nor did I know that MP – the guys of MP actually – would come to save me from the blues.

MP has introduced me to new, talented and beautiful friends. It’s – through all discussions, forwards, write-ups and arguments – helped me accept the person I am in a positive light, given the strength to discover courage in me that I rarely knew existed and helped me grow. I must specifically mention FTP (and his mother) here. FTP wrote about his own life experiences – of his struggles, of his mother’s love for him and his siblings. His writings from the heart tugged my tear-strings but above all taught me that there’s so much HOPE in life. I’m so glad he’s a friend.

I continue to be its member, although less active than I used to be earlier.

Honey, I shrink the troubles
I must specially remember AV – Honey as I sometimes call him. There’s this strange connection between us. He sense when I am down and writes to me or calls me to enquire about me. I curiously can relate to many issues that occupy his mindspace. We ALMOST share birthdays. There can be long silences between the two too. AV manifests from thin air each time I’m feeling low and soothes away the blues – like a steam iron smoothing away the wrinkles. I sorely realize I’ve not been there for him when he needed someone around.

I’m very Charlie
Maj. NSC. He’s the meanie of Dantak. Everyone loves to hate him. He’s always up to some trick or the other as to how to pull a fast one, how to make a profit out of a situation or how to berate a fellow colleague. However he’s been a different person altogether with me. He’s taken me on treks, invited me home on innumerable occasions to keep me occupied, taught me the secrets of fitness at the gym, introduced me to new people (Yeshi the pilot, Pema, the Customs guy, to name a few), shown me all the ‘right places’ of Thimphu for shopping (“you must buy your salad vegetables from her”, currency exchange (“Sir, you get the best deals from him; much better than the bank rates”), eat-outs (“Plums is the best bakery in town”).

I don’t know (or care) if he’s tried any fast one on me nor do I know (or care) if he went around gossiping about me. All I know is that he has been great company.

Your mother, my mother…
“There’s no point in you taking so many silk saris. We hardly would be going out anyone’s place” I admonished mom as she was packing her bags on her maiden travel to Bhutan. I’d seen that whenever parents visited their children’s families here, hardly anyone else called them home. They were relegated to their own homes and families. I reluctantly allowed her to pack just 6 ‘good’ saris that weren’t for daily use. How wrong I was!

Mom stayed in Bhutan for over a month. From the day she arrived people kept coming home to talk to her and keep her company – despite the language barrier. Mom would talk in Kannada and the other ladies (and often the men too) would speak to her in Hindi. Mom kept getting invitations from almost everyone – for not just dinner or lunch; even for breakfast! Mom was invited for the cocktail parties (and there were many during her stay), dinners, anniversaries, special poojas – people promptly would touch her feet as she’d arrive and seek her blessings. Mom was even taken out to various restaurants for lunches and dinners. The ladies took her to Thimphu to shop. Capt. Sunil arranged a special trip to the Chelela Pass so that she could see snow and snow-clad mountains for the first time in her life! Col. KM (and family) ensured that my mom reached home safely by taking her along when they flew home. They also showed her Kolkata! Surely I’m blessed.

Beautiful Stranger
I was quite worked up with the worsening situation at my sister’s place. She was going through a harrowing time of abuse, depression and professional blues. On a day when these things reached a pinnacle I logged in to find a new friend. While talking I learnt that he works for an NGO. I found it easy (probably because I didn’t know him and nor did he) to talk to him about the requirement of help for my sister (who lives in the UK). He went out of his way, called up and spoke to people, gave me the reference of VL (who in turn gave the contacts that offered help in the UK). RS (I’ve not asked him – as with any other written about here – if I could use his name) didn’t have any reason to go out of his way, call on roaming and help me but he did. What he did saved my sister’s life. What he does in life gave me food for thought. Salut!

You’ve got mail
On one of the days when I met LR on chat, he confessed to being slightly feeling low. “I haven’t been doing the assignments that are long overdue” he confessed. In a while we two were talking over the phone. I barely asked about his well-being, nor did I make any effort to whisk his blues away. Twenty minutes over phone and he thanked me for talking to him. And he sent me an email. The most beautiful message I received in 2006! I reproduce that with his permission here.

Dear Sudhir,

It was really good to connect with you today. I have been able to shake off the blues sufficiently to:
- call up the folks who are waiting for my report and ask them to wait a bit more.
- go to put clothes in the washer
- take a shower
- invite myself over to my maternal uncle's place for lunch
I feel rather silly typing this all up, but believe me - these were all things I couldn't bring myself to do, immobilised as I had been because of feeling low.You are so good to me.thanks and hugs,
LR

I must be proud of all the friends, colleagues and acquaintances I have. It’s so easy to pick on things and keep cribbing. I too give in to it at times. But as I reminisce all the happy moments of 2006 I know my thanks are due to all these beautiful people who made my year so much better. And, I’m certain that I have missed out many others here. My thanks to them too; and apologies too, for not having written about them here.

Wings of Desire!

Another year flows down the hoses of life. Another year begins and the clock starts ticking right away. So, trying to stay focused, happy and peaceful always seems to be a race against time!

I have no resolutions for the New Year. No ‘Ill be more active’ or ‘I’m gonna get hooked’ thingie for me. However there are few desires that I’d pursue as the year progresses. I enlist some of them to remind myself of them from time to time and to compare how many desires I’ve fulfilled.

1. Visit Bumthang valley and witness the Bumthang Tsechu. Bumtang Tsechu (festival) of course falls in November and there’s still a long time to go. Nor am I certain that I’d stay in Bhutan until then. But the desire’s very much there. I’d also love to watch the black-necked cranes that migrate from Siberia to avoid the harsh winters.
2. Trek to the base of Mt. Jhumolhari. Mt. Jhumolhari is the second highest mountain in Bhutan and the MOST sacred. I’ve viewed the mountain from a distance (and captured on camera). It’s time I get closer. The base camp (one isn’t allowed to trek to the summit) is located at an altitude of over 5500 mts. It’d surely be fun and adventurous.
3. Learn about the history and culture of Bhutan – not from books but from the people. Sounds romantic but quite a difficult thing to achieve!
4. Read 25 books. That’s really ambitious. It’d mean almost a book every fortnight. I am almost two weeks into 2007 and I’m yet to read even the title of any book! And, the rider to this desire is that at least 5 books must be non-fiction!
5. Apart from the trek to Mt. Jhumolhari, trek to at least 10 NEW destinations! I’m yet to recover from the fall in which I hurt my thigh and ribcage. I haven’t even started my regular evening walks. Sure my desires are mighty!
6. 50 posts on my blog. At the last count, I had 30 odd posts for over a year of blogging. Now, it sounds like I’m giving importance to quantity over quality. Well, what quality am I talking about! So be it. I want the figures.
7. Get both mom and dad to Bhutan. Mom of course’s already visited Bhutan. This time I want them both here. Preferably even K, my sis. A dream holiday for the entire family!
8. Travel through the North-East. I may never again visit the North-East after my tenure in Bhutan’s up. So I would like to visit as many states in the North-East as possible (if not all of course). Priorities of course are Tamang in Arunachal Pradesh and Cherrapunji in Meghalaya. I’ve enough information about the places to visit (in the form of brochures and accounts of people who’ve worked there). One place to stay away from – the vegetable and meat market of Kohima, Nagaland – I don’t want to throw up either because of the smells or the sights!
9. Pick up 20 new tunes on my mandolin. Now, that means I’ve to dust the covers, take the mandolin out, tie new strings, tune the damn thing and play regularly. Quite an effort and I’m already feeling tired!
10. The GRAND mother of all desires now! Travel to either Thailand or the UK in 2007! How’s that!

So each and every desire that I have is a positive wish. A desire to do something and not, not to do something. No, “No smoking”, “No drinking”, “No horsing around”. I’m not looking for a horse. I want Pegasus! Welcome to my flights of fancy.

Shilpa goes 1,2,3...

Big Brother

The Perfect 10 of Bollywood Shilpa Shetty has entered Big Brother, the original voyeur show (others call it reality TV of course) – now in India too as ‘Big Boss’. She’s supposedly been paid Rs. 3 Crores as appearance fee! Not bad for a star whose luminosity has been surely on the wane for quite sometime now.

Will Shilpa get booted out like Rakhi Sawant or stick to the show like glue a la Rupali Ganguly despite repeated nominations this Wednesday will tell. I hope at least that she provides enough oomph to send the temperatures soaring in the rather cold UK! Bookies however are expecting her to survive long!

Shilpa walked into the Big Brother’s house in a resplendent red number (read Sari). I really wondered if Shilpa was trying to flaunt her figure or Indianness!! Bharatiya Nari for Kamasutra, huh?

Another P3 news that caught my fancy, this!

My Intelligence ...

... or the lack of it!

I had believed that Moon rises in the West and Sun in the East for a long time. I realised it was not so only when I was 23 or 24, when I took up geography as my optional for Civil Services Exams!

It took me 35 years to understand the recitation of multiplication tables. I realised it was ‘two ones ARE two, two twos ARE four’ and not ‘two one zar two and two two zar four’!

It took rose and apple to make me learn that not all in the family are alike. Ever since my high school days I knew that rose and apple belonged to the same family. Only after coming here did I discover to my astonishment that apple plants (one can hardly call them trees) shed leaves IMMEDIATELY after bearing fruits. And, they remain bare until it’s time again to bear fruits. While rose plants are almost evergreen through the year. Same family, different nature. Same applies to humans too. But it takes ages to learn this simple truth.

Abduction and Apathy

Mid December 2006. Two men of Border Roads Organisation were kidnapped by unidentified militant group in Assam. The kidnapping occurred on the borders of Bhutan. One of the kidnapped was released and another – a BR II – continues to be in captivity. It is going to be a month soon. There has been no contact with the militants for a long time now (after the BR II’s mobile on which the militants were being contacted was blocked thanks to someone’s stupidity). It is believed that the kidnappers have asked for a ransom of Rs. 3 Crores to start a new militant group! No known militant group has as yet claimed responsibility.

There are a few surprising things here. One, the news has not reached the national media yet. Indian – read Hindi in particular – media has shown incredible hunger for eye-catching news. Zee News has cried itself hoarse over the episodes of the boy falling into a well (I wonder how many TRPs were gained by Zee though), the Noida killings, and such other human interest stories (read Crime Stories). Ditto NDTV. Ditto Star News. Ditto India TV. But no channel has telecast this piece of kidnapping. They are still in the dark about it.

Two, it is a rare incident of militants kidnapping Border Roads personnel. Militants share a good rapport with the Border Roads. Do not mistake this as militants being supported by Border Roads. It’s more like a symbiotic relationship. Border Roads’ projects work in all the militancy affected states of India – Kashmir, Assam, Manipur, Mizoram, Meghalaya, Tripura and Nagaland. It is rare that a BR personnel is abducted by militants and nor are the border roads vehicles targeted. In Kashmir, when militants had looted explosives from the Border Roads personnel at gun point (that too is debatable), they also had left a letter behind. It asked the Border Roads people to paint the triangular logo of the Border Roads to be painted boldly on their vehicles so that their vehicles could be distinguished by the militants from those of the BSF (and it was incorporated too) – both BSF and BRO vehicles are painted blue and Army Vehicles are green.

It is also strongly believed (I won’t corroborate anything) that militants in the North-Eastern states at times travel in the BRO vehicles for safe passage. It is also rumoured that the BRO projects supply part of their free rations to these militant groups time to time. Also, surrendered militants, kith and kin of current militants are supposedly hired by Border Roads projects. It is of course common knowledge that the contractors pay militant groups to ensure that their work does not get affected (it’s not certain though if Border Roads officials pay too, from the bribes they receive from the contractors). I also have wondered if the conditions in which they work makes the GREF (and the Army) personnel so corrupt. Ironically the motto of the BRO is ‘A Corruption-free Organisation. I am resolute that it must be changed to ‘A Free Corruption Organisation’. Corruption is a ‘free-for-all’ here. However that doesn’t take away certain creditable things from the BRO. The trying conditions under which they work. The marvellous infrastructure that they have created across the inaccessible terrains of the North-East, North and Bhutan. And this despite being treated second-class in their own organisation.

Stories abound of the visits of militant leaders in the North-Eastern states into the camps of Border Roads.

**************************

I learnt of the kidnapping almost on the eve of the New Year’s. The second-in-command of the project had called a meeting of all the officers to discuss plans to celebrate the New Year. I – as usual – reached late and everyone was waiting impatiently for my arrival.

“So, you all must be aware of the situation that a BR II has been kidnapped from xx TF. I thought we might all sit together and decide if we could hold a new year’s party under these circumstances”. Finally it was decided that there would be no official New Year party to express solidarity with the family of the kidnapped and boost the morale of the troops. There would be a party at the Col.’s house. I excused myself from the party.

During these discussions I expressed my surprise at the news not being covered by the National media. I suggested that someone should call up and alert the media – NDTV, Zee, Star. My reasoning was that this could build pressure on the concerned authorities and even the militant groups involved to act. I was assured by the boss that he would immediately pass on this message to those concerned in Guwahati so that they’d act on it.

It’s over 10 days. Nothing has come out of it. The news is yet to appear in the media – except for the local ones. And those reported of the abduction also made glaring errors in their reporting. ‘An army personnel has been abducted’ the report stated. I feel dejected and frustrated. Is that all the organisation cares about its people? Most officers too seem apathetic except for mouthing a few sympathetic words.

Even to this day MOST media doesn’t know that Border Roads is composed of GREF (Garrison Reserve Engineering Force) and Army. They don’t know what GREF stands for. Nor does anyone care. A Kutty died in Afghanistan. The story was alive for a while. It’s back to square one. I wonder what I should do now.

Back to Blogging!

Yes! The thoughts are flowing again. The clogs in the brain are cleared. The sewer in the mind has been cleaned. The words come easily as I type. The sentences form without a hitch and the heart races as fast as my typing. I’m writing again! I feel elated.