It's monsoons in kolkata...

So here I am, back to writing my blog after almost 2 months. I am in Kolkata right now, enjoying a personal visit. It’s monsoons in Kolkata, as it is in many other parts of the country – however I am tad disappointed with the rainfall this time. I grew up in a Kolkata where monsoons meant a heavy lash of rain hitting thunderously against your body and on your head…. with nerve-wracking thunderbolts literally sending shivers down your spine. Monsoons invariably meant waterlogging, clogged roads and lots of days without the sun. It also meant purchasing the best brand of raincoats and umbrellas, which could survive the incessant downpours. Long hours of power cuts and literally being stuck at home for there was no other option! Yet as kids we always had “other avenues” – frantically making paper boats to sail them on the waterlogged streets or running up to the terrace to soak in the afternoon showers!

My heart skips a beat even now when the thunder rages up in the skies and I look up eagerly to find the dark dense clouds, which cast their ominous gloom – yet the downpour which follows is merely a drizzle or at best a light shower. I am zealously praying for the rain gods to work some magic now!

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My last trip to Assam was absolutely fascinating to say the least. Though initially a little hesitant about visiting the place given its insurgency problems – once there, I realised I would have missed an opportunity of a lifetime had I not come. I travelled through this strikingly lush state with stopovers at Kaziranga, Bhalukpung, Guwahati and Jorhat…crossed the massive Brahmaputra, soaked in the charms of Jia Bhoreli river at Bhalukpung and savoured nature’s bounteous beauty – its lush tea estates, exotic animals and magnificent forests. However there’s more to the region than its natural splendour - it’s the people and their unique cultural traditions.

Assam’s rich and vast ethnic diversity should be an anthropologist’s delight. There are vast populations of indigenous tribes like Karbis, Missings (also spelt as Mishing), Bodos and Kaccharis spread across the region, along with the traditional Ahoms and other Tibetan-Burmese sub-groups - each having their distinct dialects and uniquely colourful customs… I decided to explore the villages adjacent to the Karbi-Anglong Hills (near the Kaziranga National Park), to try and get a glimpse of tribal life. Though traditionally involved in agriculture and fishing, a vast majority of younger tribals have today assimilated into more modern lifestyles. Tourists can visit their inconspicuous bamboo dwellings as well as enjoy a typical tribal meal with the families here!

Being a people enmeshed in natural surroundings, their knowledge of the flora and fauna of the region is vast, in-depth and almost instinctive!You can often hear a tribal spewing out scientific names of species at random. This, I discovered at Kaziranga during the elephant safari when our mahut was casually uttering scientific names of species; and also at my next destination Bhalukpung, (border town between Assam and Arunachal Pradesh) which has a strong Bodo and Missing population.

The oarsmen on our raft belonged to the Mishing tribe - while regaling the people in the raft with interesting titbits about the region; they would, on spotting birds canvassing the waters for their catch, happily mention their scientific names as well. I was left quite speechless! – to know each animal or plant by their common name is one thing, while confidently mentioning their scientific classifications at random was quite another!

My recent trip to the beautiful city of lakes Udaipur will be etched in my memory for years to come. That Udaipur is a fascinating mish-mash of colours, sights and sounds, is known to all. It’s fairy-tale palaces and natural splendour instantly wraps you in its charm. Since tourism is its mainstay, the city and its people are aptly geared for it – yes, not just in terms of their friendly and helpful behaviour with tourists, but also with the many international languages they have mastered to cater to the never-ending flow of tourists from abroad.
Picture this – in a craggy old by-lane, I was checking out rajasthani artefacts, when their elderly shopkeeper – dressed in a traditional white dhoti and kurta, with a prominent tilak on his forehead – greeted a troupe of French guests in fluent French. The very next minute walked in a Japanese couple, and the shopkeeper ushered them in crisp Japanese. The guests more than happy, with this warm welcome – complimented his efforts.

Whether it’s at the hotel, where you call for room service; or speak to a very young waiter at an unknown wayside restaurant, you’ll be struck by their fluency over international languages.

Lifelines of Himachal Pradesh

On my recent trip to Himachal Pradesh, I came across a unique innovation - streams of water (pic above) criss-crossing through unknown hamlets where human habitation was scarce. Had I not been told about their critical importance for the region, I would have probably not even bothered to give them a second look.

These water-streams, or 'kuls', as they are known locally, are man-made structures, which reign in the water flowing from the mountains into areas with acute water- shortage. Now, water-shortage is a mass problem in the hills - so you'd find these 'kuls' practically everywhere in Himchal.

Dubbed as 'lifelines' for the region, locals here, depend on these streams of water for doing most of their household chores.

On a recent trip to Rohtak, in Haryana, I met Savitri – probably in her mid-thirties; dressed in a chiffon salwaar-suit, with her head coyly covered with the dupatta – she tiptoed into the room to serve us tea. Her hands smeared with intricate mehendi designs and her wrists adorned with red glass-bangles; a large red-bindi gracing her forhead and an innately south-Indian style pendant hung on her slender neck. A little baffled seeing such a pendant around a very rustic north-indian woman’s neck – I asked her if it was a gift from someone she knew down south. A little hesitant at first, she softly replied, “pitajhi ne diya hain.” Now, being a Bengali myself, I can assure you that my Hindi isn’t too great either, but surely not as bad as to pronounce ‘pitaaji’ as ‘pitajhi’! Yes, it was her pronunciation which gave away, in those few seconds, that Savitri, wasn’t after-all from Haryana or any place nearby – she was from Kerala.
I later spoke to Savitri, at length and asked her how she landed up here, from a very matriarchal Kerala background to one that is utterly male-dominated and blindly conservative. What Savitri narrated was astounding – she said it wasn’t just her, but that there were many such Malyalee women, married into farming households of Haryana. I later to spoke to a journalist friend who revealed how due to Haryana’s abominable sex ratio and growing female foeticide, most farming households now ‘traded’ women from other states to grace their households…. and yet female infanticide is the order of the day here - an irony of gargantuan proportions and a sordid fact of our ‘Incredible Indian’!

Some quick facts –
The states of Punjab, Haryana and Jharkhand have the worst sex ratios in the country. According to the 2001 census, there are only 874 women with respect to 1000 men in these states. The national average was 933.

Figures by United Nations say that about 7,50,000 female foetuses are aborted every year in India.

It does matter if you’re black…it doesn’t if you’re white!

MJ’s epoch-making song might have inspired our impressionable young minds, but what I saw and heard a few days back has left a taste so bitter that I have barely been able to overcome it.

My friend’s daughter is a tad dusky – well that’s what I would describe her complexion as…however for some of her friends in an upmarket school in Gurgaon, she is ‘black’ and therefore only eligible to sit at the back of the class. Shudder!! Childish as it may sound, but this little girl who is barely 10 was asked to “polish her face as well while she cleans her shoes everyday in the morning.” Is this a malaise of newbie-yuppie Gurgaon, or is this a problem which runs deeper in our society…for we are all aware how, obsessed the average India is about fair skin and how we are still one of the largest markets for bleaching creams!!

Tell-all television...Indian style!!

Indian television has hit a new low-vicarious and mindless content, which are winning record-breaking TRP's...as someone from the media, my conerns about this present scenario has been echoed in much the similar vain by many colleagues from this field. Here's what a good friend and media professional(who wishes to maintain anonimity for obvious reasons) has to say....

We Indians are obsessed with our morbid fascination of C grade starlets and faded celebrities. And never before have so many of them ganged up together to crowd our living rooms and consume precious prime time slots on the telly.
Last week, whole of India gaped at prima donna of reality shows and presiding deity of Silicone mountain, Rakhi Sawant choose her potential life mate. A week back Urvashi Dholakia, a popular actress in some unpopular serials, gave rare insight into her misdemeanours, dating from her heady adoloscent years to her current bohemian existence. Much like democracy where we get the leaders that we deserve, serials and TRP ratings work on similar pattern. We get the trash because we crave for the trash.

Viewers are left with so little alternative. After a 10-12 hour slog at work, the mind can understandably struggle to cope with howling/bawling Barkha Dutts/Sagarika Ghoshes. Both of them can be injurious to the ear drum but more than that the horror tales of HINI virus from Pune, raging infernos in the streets of Imphal, suicide of a girl raped by boyfriends are hardly the stuff to soothe a tired mind.

Fiddle with the remote and you are bombarded with sob tales of wronged wives and wronged husbands and wrongful mother-in laws. Shimmering sets and glitzy costumes but maudlin emotions and vacuous storylines.

Just when you thought the sports channels will have a bit of adrenaline rush, well the evergrowing multitudes of experts and former players with their cliches and hamming the same old cricket jargons will esnure you do not need lullabies to hit the sack. I was at the receiving end of one such torture recently-trying to generate interest in an eagerly awaited cricket match- the anchor asked one of these cricket experts- so what does India need to do to win the match. The answer could not have been more profound and succint. He twitched his facial muscles, the forehead was creased...and then answered... "Well I think for that India will need to bowl well, bat really well and field well".

So i can hardly wait to head home and switch on the telly to watch some wannnabe star or an underachiever gloat over his bedroom conquests or failed adventures. And if i am lucky attend a swayambar on tv..

MJ’s ghost still lives on…

…said the news caster as she beamed bright on the television screen - the excitement palpable in her voice – the bold fonts of this “BREAKING NEWS”, so big that they could have almost popped out of the TV screen too!! Yes, an entire one-hour dedicated to MJ's ghost(interspersed with ads of course), ran on some news channels the other day. Add to that the painstaking analysis by "experts" of how MJ's ghost was still “emotionally”, “psychologically” and “physically” attached to the Neverland ranch…and before I could raise any doubt in my mind, the reporter confidently showed as proof, how the ghost was dancing too, moon-walking to be precise!!

P.S.- in case you have missed this hilarious news piece watch it now – "MJ's ghost” is doing the rounds on the online space too – YouTube, news websites, et al!!

Apathy at its best

amidst the many responses that I received for my last post on the Lalgarh situation, there was one which stood out. Sent by Turjo Sen, a senior media professional, personally on my mail, he recounted a poignant and heart-wrenching story about the pathetic situation of tribals in India...and I couldn't help but share it with all of you. So here it is in Turjo's words...

"I remember a story narrated by one of the Indian archers. The Government had once initiated a scheme to conduct an archery camp for talented tribals from this region. After showing prodigious talent and hitting bulls eye repeatedly, one of the boys refused to aim at the targets and instead started targetting the birds on the trees. He said it was no fun aiming at lifeless targets and preferred the birds since it would atleast ensure a good meal after the practice session. The youngster along with most tribals from the region soon left the camp because they were more interested in aiming at rats and water snakes at the camp, their normal diet for a long time.

So one thing for sure, there are precious little done by the politicians and their ilk in this region

There are no schools, hospitals in these regions so its a bit unfair for us to slam them for causing a law and order crisis. The problem is that they are misguided by their leaders who see them as easy fodder to further their own ambitions.

It was such a pathetic sight watching the campaign trail of Pranab Mukherjee in his constituency of Jangipur. Hundreds of kids without a stitch of cloth were running after his cavalcade. And he was the Home Minister and i do not see the script changing much, now that he is the Finance Minister.

But then politician bashing has been a favourite pasttime for us for far too long. I think we on the whole are a generation of very inert people. We salivate at Shiney Ahuja's story, a tiff between Dhoni and Yuvraj is a national disaster, Salman-Katrina spat is a calamity of bigger magnitude than drought in Vidharba. So as a nation, a lalgarh crisis is just a par for the course." - Turjo Sen, producer and journalist at Ten Sports.

How green was my valley...

As Operation Lalgarh rages on, and village after village ravaged by Maoist rebels, my mind is filled with a cavalcade of images - of a region swathed in sal forests, eucalyptus trees; exotic hills, colourful chou dances and simple tribal folk - a landscape unique in it's topography, vibrant in its cultural quotient and varied in its sociological demographics. Today, it's different – the resounding sounds of bullets have replaced the sweet rhythms of its rare musical instruments and melodious tribal tunes – the road to peace seems like a distant dream now…

Gurgaon- the great divide

It's hard to believe that Gurgaon goes to the polls tomorrow....over the past one or two months, ever since the campaigning spree spread to every nook and corner of this country, I haven't seen a banner, a placard, or any signs or symbols of any political party in the up-market areas of Gurgaon...all that is reserved for the other part of town, so symbolicaaly demarcated (or should I say separated) by the NH8flyover. This is not swanky Gurgaon, its the 'other' Gurgaon, known for its small-town appeal...its what a lot of people would describe as being 'downmarket'-crowded and noisy, where bullock-carts, buses, rickshaws and cars fight for every inch of space...where people are shabbily dressed, where fruit and vegetable vendors and local kirana shops blantantly flout all rules and spread their wares onto the already congested roads. This is what a lot of people know and refer to as 'old gurgaon'- full of dirt, smoke and grime and far-removed from the posh gated-communities on this part of town. All the political campainging is happening there, in old Gurgaon, while it seems its up-market counterpart is happy to view the tamasha surrounding the great Indian elections from the comforts of their drawing-rooms...they are a people who couldn't bother any less, for they only take out candle-light marches, when a 26/11 happens and create a little noise in the media about rising taxes. This is Gurgaon, with its glaring great divide...and like the often heard statement that there are two India's - one living in its metros while the other languishing in its rural belts, one sees the reality of it unfold everyday here in this very city.

Man United or Arsenal....the heat is on

It's finally time...a few hours from now would decide who goes into the finals....I'm on my way home to watch this cracker of a match, negotiating through a crazy traffic and on a day which has been the hottest in decades...the heat is on!!

Delhi Belly

Yesterday was no less than a combing operation of sorts to find eletrical fixtures etc. for my new house. We went to the old groggy bylanes of Delhi and were quite stunned to find rows of shops selling delectable edibles of every shape, size and aroma - from mouth-tingling paani-puri, pakoras, dosas, fruit juices, chaat...the list just goes on. But what was most reassuring was the fact that these old delhi roads are still brimming with a joi de verve and culture that cannot be found anywhere else in the city.

Slumdog is a brilliant film, and i fail to understand what's disturbing the likes of Mr Bachchan and Priyadarshan - is it insecurity, that a white man came to mumbai and created a stir with his fascinatng portrayal of the city's slums, considered a blotch on swanky India's image and something that cannot be shown to the rest of the world. Or do these prominent voteries of masaala movies, feel threatened - afterall a Slumdog, with its intrinsic "indian" subject has been shown more convincingly- something that most mainstream bollywood films can only aspire for.
There's nothing wrong with our brand of desi cinema- complete with their song and dance routines; but most of our films are not even convincing enough, with lacklustre subjects and childish portrayals. What john abraham and abhishek's character did in 'dostana' was utterly ludicrous and ended up making a mockery of a sensitive subject.
It's sad that a Mr. Bachchan should make such foolish remarks on Ray's films,(while speaking in context of Slumdog) - that Ray's films consciously depicted India's poverty to attract international viewership. One can only suggest the so called 'living legend' of bollywood cinema to jog his brains and recollect how many of Ray's films have actually depicted poverty or consciously dealt with that subject. Ray's subjects had variety - from exploring themes on man-woman relationships, corporate politics, friendship, children's fantasy ....the themes are endless - something that most voteries of Bollywood cinema cannot probably even begin to imagine.

The vanishing minstrels of Bengal

While visiting a newly constructed mall in Kolkata recently, I came across two Bauls, singing vociferously near the gargantuan structure, in an effort to attract whatever little attention they could from the nattily clad 20-somethings hanging around there. The contrast, all too prominent - two shabbily dressed itinerant singers in bright ochre, with the simple ektara (one stringed musical instrument) standing before what could be described as one of emerging India’s pleasure-seeking hotspots…(if only I had a camera to capture that moment, I rue now!)

The receding communities of Bauls, once (and probably still now, to a great extent) a leitmotif in Bengal’s cultural landscape, are itinerant singers, known for their musical rendition of themes such as love, brotherhood, man’s eternal spirit and unity with the almighty. Somewhat similar in spirit to the troubadours of Europe and Sufi singers, the music of Bauls captures these themes through evocative yet simple lyrics.

Ironically, it’s in the West that today’s bauls are still finding patient audiences for their kind of music– hopefully this enchanting folk music won't die an unknown death here in India, its place of origin!

still ruminating...

After spending a lovely christmas weekend in Cal, its back to the capital again - with its chilling cold, morose fog and generally gloomy weather. Sordid reminders of chillier days ahead creeps into my mind which is still immersed in the happiness and cheer of last week....Park Street was lovely as always; only that the number of billboards and kiosks has considerably increased in all these years and young people, by which i mean the 20-somethings are definitely far more nattily dressed than when we walked these legendary streets in shabby jeans and casual T's....six years is indeed a long time!

Christmas in good ol' Cal

Nearly a fortnight is left before we can wish each other a 'Merry Christmas', but my mind is already there, in good ol' Cal - conjuring up images of a brightly lit Park Street and Park Circus, the grand midnight mass at St. Paul's Cathedral, an effervescent Flurys and Nahoums selling its delectable fare, and a colourful New Market where frantic last-minute shopping for christmas trees, stuffed Santas and colourful confetti is on for the big day.
Its been over 6 years since I have been in the city for Christmas; and this time around, when I am keenly hoping to be there, the very thought of it makes my heart skip. For those who are not from Kolkata, its a feeling hard to come by and even fathom. Christmas in Kolkata, during a pleasant December end, is "different", charming and cheerful. Those fond memories kept crawling back every year...this year I will be there to relive them once more!

Music, books and love…in a time of recession

The other day, while speaking to a friend, I learned, how the present economic slowdown has affected our lives in more ways than one…Apart from the financial crunch which we all seem to be struggling with i.e eating-out less, cutting down on movies as well as the habitual splurges - here’s what a few of my friends/acquaintances, who have either received the dreaded pink slip, or are sitting idle in office are up to these days.

Vikram – is learning photography and writing more.

Ritika – is detoxing somewhere near the turquoise shores of Thailand. Her new found interests post-the job loss, includes, yoga and reading books on spirituality.

Varun – has found “true love”…(wonder whether the girl shares the same sentiment though??)

Atul – is helping his wife with cooking these days…(my thumbs-up for that!!!)

Prachi – is seriously contemplating taking up music, her first love, as a full-time career option.

***All names have been changed to protect privacy of the individuals.

It’s Cheers to the Bengali sondesh now…

The Bengali’s love for the venerable sweetmeat or ‘mishti’, as Bengalis call it, is as feted as is his intellectual fervour. Everytime I have returned from Kolkata, a bagful of mishtidoi (sweet curd), rasgolla, or sondesh (of different shapes and sizes) have been stuffed into malleable polythenes, each to be handed later to my many non-bengali and Bengali friends/colleagues residing in Delhi. Often the sweetmeats would dissapear within minutes of the boxes being opened – with my hungry friends hankering for more…and complaining simultaneously that the quantity was too less!!

The other day, while rummaging through the newspaper, I read that a well-known Bengali confectioner had introduced what he termed as the “Rum-Sondesh”, i.e sondesh laden with rum…. Now, I don’t know how many of my friends have already read that news piece…. but I can well imagine what my bagful of sweets would weigh on my next return from Kolkata!

P: S - In an unfamiliar little lane near Russel Street, in Kolkata, you can also find ‘rum-phuchka’ that’s nothing but delicious pani-puri served with rum instead of tamarind water...'Rum'-pum-pum...I can already hear you guys singing!!