Maha-Sankrant (Yesterday and Today)

Yesterday and Today were kind-of clairvoyant, otherwise known as Makar-Sankrant (pronounced Muckker - Sun-cra-ant). Most of the India peninsula is entangled in a kind of frenzy. Start of a new year and start of festivals, of which the spree and quantum will now end with Santa Claus’s B’dday. Every possible region or caste or group have to celebrate these two days in their own special way - ranging in from the mellow palm-joining-puja to the weirdest antics of kite-flying festival in Amdavad (colloquially – Uttar-raa-yun).

Panjabis of North celebrate on a night previous – called Lodi (Low-uh-duh-e) -which basically means family and friends gathered around fire with supplies of popcorns, peanuts, and every kind of fatty preparations India can cook as sweet snacks. Everything is allowed - condition being that it is should be digestible, either by the tummy or the fire in the center. Larger the group larger is the circle, therefore, higher the bon-fire.

Within this frenzy, somewhere comes my village’s own custom too - in which, everyone is supposed to feed animals one lives around with. I would regularly see some peaceful cows, pitiable dogs, and birds and crows around. The preparation for these guys is a three layer arrangement - of puri as base, vada as next layer, and the uppermost of sweet-yogurt spread’d on top. Deadlicious it could have been but nobody came - because, them the dogs and cows were just well fed, and crows were too intelligent to get trapped by millions random kite strings of Uttar-raa-yun. They weren't around, for I noted the leftovers still on the roof top in the evening. Glad, the Good-Samaritans helpline bikes came within five minutes as promised, and took away the injured pigeon from my hands, earlier fallen onto my roofs top.

Leh Trip - The Weight

Heart patients are told to take it easy, and indulge in only recreational activities. So guess with plently of time in hands, following is my rendition of a song called 'The Weight' performed by 'The Band (1968)'; - used as a road song basically.

So, Sunandan, Pankaj and Chandra - three friends since teenhoods, took their bikes to Leh, i.e. upcountry north to explore a little bit of their India and themselves; and boy, it has been six months now and the trip is still sinking in - which all will agree. Following is the album dedicated to same.

Original by 'The Band' following is a youtube to the song. If you haven't read the lyrics, maybe you are missing something!

East versus West – Some Lessons from the heart

Look at the ‘east versus west’ debate, where one accuses the other. One refers to the other as ‘the third world’ and in return gets a name called ‘industrialized’ in the today’s times of global warming concern. The intellectual topic - ‘east versus west’ starts turning trite as - to quote famous Paul Friedman – the globe turns flatter.

Look at these examples from the author’s case of his heart attack – one from the emergency medication facility available at that instant, and second from the long term recovery. Make notice from the contrast.

Angioplasty invented in California and/or Switzerland saved my life because I was cautious enough to land up at the emergency doors of a hospital in India. And, I am not sure I would have used the emergency facilities if, for example, I was living in the foreign lands of Europe. I am an easterner, and in comparison almos a same age but a westerner and a celebrity, Brittany Murphy, unfortunately, wasn’t as lucky as me.

Plavix is one of the important few medicines the doctor prescribes. Plavix in India is available in two types- One ‘imported’, and other ‘desi’ (Made In India). Just like shampoos and hair conditioners. The apparent difference is in the prices of the both. While a leaf of fourteen tablets cost around 1500 Rupees, the Indian version is cheaper by ten times. Now, the prescription is for the imported one for a few initial months, and later I could shift to the desi type. Though people (of east or of west) would sight that this difference in prices is because of manufacturing cost, plain patent costs, or some other reason, I would only adduce that my doctor is only concerned about the quality of my medicine since I can afford it, unlike some.

Some fun I had here comparing ‘east and west’!

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Post.P.S. Merry X-mas

Slow down, read a book

One of the after effects of surviving a heart-stroke is that it slows one down. Doctors tell to do so - and no matter what, you don’t have a choice. And one of the results, positive, is that one would pick up books to read. Books which are slow, or books which are insightful, books which are shit, or books which heal, and so on so to let the time pass by.

‘Tortilla Flat’ by legendary Steinbeck became an unintentional efficacious companion. The period of recovery changed into gestation, for there were new things to learn. To me, more than the Arthurian connection or a beautiful community of Paisanos in the book, it was – to quote Thomas Fensch, the introducer to this edition (ed. year 1997)–

Above the bay, and in Caramel and elsewhere, the shacks and shanties of the paisanos are gone now too, bulldozed for tract houses, shopping centers, and roads. But through Steinbeck’s eyes, we see them still, talking and laughing under the golden warmth of the sun, in those idyllic days of the Great Depression, when friendship and wine meant more than money.

Thomas Fensch talks of the year 1935, when ‘Tortilla Flat’ was published. That is, in between the famous big wars of the west - evidently, bad economic and financial times.
And this fact apart, somewhere in chapter XIV in the book there is an important healing advice-

They did not awaken quickly, nor fling about nor shock their systems with any sudden movement. No, they arose from slumber as gently as a soap bubble floats out from its pipe. Down into the gulch they trudged, still only half awake. … Life took shape about them, the shape of yesterday, and of tomorrow.

Today I had a dream

I don’t mean to misquote the beautiful quote above we all know about. Just contemplating here. The following two quick successive incidents affected me such that I felt so helpless I may choose to slowly forget about them. Or share it?

One is about the dream this morning. It wasn’t really a pleasant one. In a new city I was travelling to with my bag pack, when I got thirsty I buyed a one liter mineral water bottle, I was still thirsty and soon bought the second one. I struggled doing this buying and drinking on the hustle bustle road that as soon I was about to open the cap of the bottle it flew off. Thumping the ground it rolled and the water spilled. I ran after it and as soon as got hold of the bottle, saw the cap rolling too. I ran after the cap but couldn’t pick it since it stopped on top of some human or dog excreta – yellow or brownish yellow it was. I looked around and there was some more material too – some older, some fresher. And, also some other refuse too – such as vegetable refuse, refuse I couldn’t identify, discarded water bottles, and more plastic.

Soon, the newspaper I was having with my tea told me something about the human condition in the very city I live in (More here). The country – mostly urban part of it employs more than 1Million reported people to clean our daily shit. Give them a full bottle of rum and ask them to take a holy dip. Because we cannot think better, leave alone dream better.

Living here, cannot avoid either, neither the dream nor the newspaper. Both are shit cheap, and yes, what a shit coincidence early this morning.

Auto Strike

Somewhere around Sixty thousand Auto-Rickshaws of the Ahmedabad city went off the road yesterday. For a day they striked against a two-rupee a kilo increase in the gas prices. A policy level need maybe, threats of further strikes have also been conveyed.

Otherwise, on the road, people like me who commute in cars were a happier lot because the roads looked different and driving suddenly became a more pleasurable thing to do. Regular bus commuters were happier too, because no auto-rickshaw would cut across the lane and the bus won’t jerk of sudden brakes. But angrily they complained it took them a two hour longer waiting for the same buses - the buses wouldn’t stop as they were full of people. Some even took to pedaled commercial cycle carts. Rest, fifty percent weren’t affected at all, because they own bicycles and many don’t even need one.

Hah, some way to play politics, or play stupid, for the already cheap these affordable rickshaws in the city.

A Swine Flu lesson from a Chief

This incident makes me think in detail of a microorganism easily making his way through the VIP immigration gate of a country without being checked at all.

For some, it might mean an act of God, and for some even irony, but for me, reminds me that in these swine flu times I should be doubly sure of the source of my food - for example if the cook is not going to dip a meat curry ladle in a simple curry dish. And, oh! I should always wash my hands before my meal.