Airtel Delhi Half Marathon V

Hello,

This is a further update on my practice for the Half Marathon.
Last Sunday (19th Sept) I ran 5K at a reasonable pace. I ran a distance > 10K on Tuesday and Thursday and was hoping to run a 12K yesterday. I could not do it as two rather important things came up.
My wife left for Jaipur to be with my ailing mother. Mummy had a Cardiac Bypass Surgery on the 6th of August and was expected to be up and around by this time but due to an infection of the surgery cut the progress has been much slower and we are fearful of the continuous illness.
The Champions League finals between Chennai and Warriors was telecast live from 6:30 PM. I felt like watching the match.
I therefore have to make the 12K run today.
On an average I am able to run the distance of 10K within 1:20 mins. This gives me hope that I shall be able to meet my target of 3 hrs for the run in November.
The fact that now I am able to run 10K comfortably also boosts my confidence.

By the way our cricket team won the practice game against NBK on Saturday. We were playing without a couple of our good players and were still able to chase down 178 runs needed for victory in 20 overs. This victory is a good confidence booster for our team just before the league starts. We are playing the same team coming Saturday and we expect them to come hard at us. I am sure that if we play to our potential we can continue this winning streak.

Best regards,
Manoj

Airtel Delhi Half Marathon IV

Hello,

Yesterday was another wonderful evening.

After skipping the scheduled run of 5K on Saturday I ran it on Sunday but once again without timing the run. The reason for skipping the run on Saturday was that I had gone for Cricket practice in the morning and felt that I would not be able to do justice to the run that evening.

You learn by making choices and I learnt that running immediately after having a mug of coffee is not a great idea. I sweat a lot and on Sunday, when I began running, I was sweating profusely even before I had run half a KM. The regular sweating usually starts after I have run a KM and it does not tire me in any way but the sweating I encountered because of the coffee made me feel lethargic and I would have surely failed to complete any course longer than the 5K.

The planned run for Tuesday was 7K and I was wondering if the tiredness that hit me on Sunday was a one-off thing or was it something that would put a brake to my preparation. 

Such thoughts I believe are not unique. The apprehension that I will not be able to make it made me think of giving up. 

However, the run yesterday was heartening. I started with a plan to go 5K and then plan on the remaining 2K. As a 5K run now seems easy I was hoping that I would have enough steam left to go through the next 2K.

Before starting on the run yesterday I had a couple of glasses of water and a 'Kaju Barfi'. I started at a slightly slower pace and had finished 3K before I actually started to feel the run. The 5K mark was passed easily and I reached 7K only with a slight pain in my knees. I have now got rid of the knee strap and the crepe bandage on the shin and ankles. 

Although I had done my scheduled run I somehow felt I should take advantage of the fact that I was not tired and run further. The spur of the moment thought was to better the 10K run of the previous Saturday or at least equal it and therefore I kept on going.

I met Noel who plays cricket at Sharq United on Fridays. Earlier Victor of Sharq United has also seen me run. I am not sure if they are surprised or aghast about my plans. After all most of them are 10 years my junior and the HM is a punishing distance. I also met Anku, Vinod's son who was walking with his father after having cycled on the previous two days.

These diversions are good as they take your mind away from the running. Other diversions are looking for familiar faces and trying to figure out their walking/running plans for the day. Looking at people and calculating how slow or fast I am in comparison is also a good diversion.

Anyway before I realized I was already at 9.5K and still feeling good.

It seems I made a small mistake here and tried to pick up speed for the remaining 1.5K. I was able to do it but the higher speed affected the kees and the runners knee was back. It was however much lighter this time and after having done the cooling off walk of two additional rounds I went home took a quick sower, dressed up and was at Salmiya market to order for our clothes for the cricket matches.

Things are getting exciting here as well as the season draws closer. We have a good team this year and God willing we should beat a few of the fancied teams. This Saturday we have planned to have a practice match with NBK.

If we do well we will celebrate.

Best regards,
Manoj

THE AIRTEL DELHI HALF MARATHON III

Hello,

Yesterday I started for my run at 7 PM. The Sun was down and there was a pleasant breeze blowing. It was perfect weather for the run as even the humidity which had been a big bother in the past seems to have come down.

I took a quick bite (Lebanese sweets prepared at home by my office colleague) and had a glass of water before I started from home. The walk to the park is about half a KM and provides me an opportunity to test my aches and pains. I felt good as the calf pain that had been developing over the day was not bothersome any more. The crepe bandage taping over the calf seemed to have helped.

The plan was to run 6K and after the disappointment of the run on Monday I was apprehensive.

Once I started my run and completed half of the 1K circle of the park I started getting confident that I was not going to see another failure.

I completed the 6K without mishap or tiredness and as a celebration walked two smaller rounds of the park on the paved track.

The shin pain was more or less absent during the run and I think running on the dirt track instead of the paved one has helped. I now have pain in the calves.

The pain has travelled from the knees to the shin and to the calf and I hope it is on it's way out. I now have two days of rest or cross training before the 5K race on Saturday.

We, ie my son and I, plan to go for a swim today. Tomorrow I will play cricket in the morning.

Earlier I had planned to do the 5K on Saturday morning but the Bank Cricket league is starting on 9th October and we have a practice planned for Saturda morning. This means that I have to do the run in the evening.

I am planning on doing the 5K run in 35 mins. 7 mins to a KM over 5K should be good for achieving my target of doing the HM in less than 3 hours.

Best regards,

Manoj

The Airtel Delhi Half Marathon II

Hello,

A few days back, on Saturday, I ran my first 10K.

It was very satisfying as I have continued to train through the problems of 'Runners Knee' and 'Shin Splints'.  The 'Runners Knee' troubled me a lot during the first week but I have not been bothered again by it since then. However, the 'Shin Splints' seem to be a different problem altogether. It started in the second week of the training and turned severe in the third week. The third run of that week was a 6K run and I had to stop after 3.5K as going any further was difficult.

I took help of Dr. Scholl's soles that provide arch support and the pain became bearable. Now into my 6th week of training I do not get the unbearable pain I experienced in the beginning but my shin still hurts in the beginning and the end of the run.

I have noticed that I get a feel of extra energy at the 3K mark and it seems to last for a few KMs after that. Like in the 10K run on Saturday the run from 4K to 9K was pretty easy.

Till now I have been focussing mainly on completing the planned run and have still not timed my runs accurately. It does seem that I am doing 8 minutes to a KM.

At this rate I need to add another 30 seconds per KM for the HM and that would give me a timing of 3 hours and 4 minutes.

This is slightly over my target of 3 hours and I will try to bring down my timing over the current week.

Disappointing news is that yesterday I had a setback and failed to run the 6k I had planned. I got so badly drenched in sweat by 4K that it was impossible to continue further. I completed the 6K by walking through the last 2K but it was not the same. I walk pretty slow and I was slower after the exhaustion. 

I went through a few blogs of first time HM runners and was surprised to note that they completed the run in the 2 hours and 30 minutes range. 

I hope that I am able to run within 3 hours.

Best regards,

Manoj

THE AIRTEL DELHI HALF MARATHON

Hello,

15 days ago I started preparing for the New Delhi Half Marathon.
I scrolled the net to get some idea on how to prepare and came across a wonderful training chart for novices at http://www.halhigdon.com/halfmarathon/novice.htm.

I have since followed it religiously and done 19 kms for the past two weeks with a six km run on Saturdays ending the weeks.

After the first week I developed some pain around my knees. Earlier I had developed similar pain when walking downhill from Vaishno Devi and had concluded that it was because of my excessive walking. The pain, while doing the Vaishno Devi trip, generally started after I had completed the uphill climb of 13 Kms and was on my way down. As I never had this pain while walking or playing cricket I associated the pain with something to do with the pressure I put on my knees when coming down.

When the pain in the knees threatened to disrupt my plans in the first week itself I decided to seek help. As always I trusted the net and came up with detailed description on symptoms, causes and came up with this on http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/knee-pain/DS00555/DSECTION=symptoms

Chondromalacia of the patella, or patellofemoral pain.
This is a general term that refers to pain arising between your patella and the underlying thighbone (femur). It's common in young adults, especially those who have a slight misalignment of the kneecap; in athletes; and in older adults, who usually develop the condition as a result of arthritis of the kneecap. Chondromalacia of the patella causes:

Pain and tenderness in the front of your knee that's worse when you sit for long periods, when you get up from a chair, and when you climb or descend stairs.
A grating or grinding sensation may be present when you extend your knee.
When to see a doctor
If you have new knee pain that isn't severe or disabling, a good rule of thumb is to try treating it yourself first. This includes resting, icing and elevating the affected knee, and sometimes using nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs to reduce pain and inflammation. If you don't notice any improvement in three to seven days, see your doctor or a specialist in sports medicine or orthopedics.
Some types of knee pain require more immediate medical care. Call your doctor if you:
Can't bear weight on your knee
Have marked knee swelling
See an obvious deformity in your leg or knee
Have worrisome pain
Have a fever, in addition to redness, pain and swelling in your knee, which may indicate an infection

As i had none of the above serious symptoms I started treaing myself.
I started rehabilitation exercises. These specific exercises help in strengthening the muscles that support your knees and control limb alignment, such as your quadriceps, hamstrings and the muscles around your hips (especially the hip abductors). The details I once again got at the halhigdon site on the half marathon and I was happy to know that it is not serious. http://www.halhigdon.com/15Ktraining/Stretch.htm gives details of the exercises that stengthen your muscles.
After doing the stretches for a couple of days I found that I no longer have the pain around the knees. As recommended I also purchased knee caps to support the knee but I think I need to purchase something better, this one is cheap and most prabably will start slipping off after using it a few times. I have still not started the icing part but will do that as well.

After I ran 5 kms on two consecutive days I have developed some pain on the sides of the calf muscle. I will once again take a look in the internet for a solution. Meanwhile I ran 6 Kms today with the slight ningling pain but was able to complete the run.

When I started I had thought I will not have the lung power to run the distances. Now, after two weeks my ideas are changing. I now believe I will not be breathless over even longer distances but need to take care of my legs.

Best regards,
Manoj

Ramadaan for Non-Muslims in Kuwait

Hello,

Ramadaan is a month of fasting for Muslims all over the world. There are several other activities like prayers, charity etc associated with this month but what dominates conversation at offices is the fasting.

Fasting becomes important as it means giving up on a few of the favorite past times for Kuwaitis. They have to give up smoking, drinking Kahwa (coffee), Tea and eating the several in between snacks that keep them invigorated through normal days for their long sessions of gossip.

How tough is it for Non Muslims?

Not tough at all. The rule says that if you are caught breaking the fast in public you will be liable for a fine of KD 100/= or imprisonment till the end of Ramadaan or both. Every year we hear of some people getting caught but this breaking of the law I believe is more by mistake than by intent.

It is very easy to obey the rules. On general working days we start office at 7:30AM which means that we leave home at 6:45AM. Hardly a time to have breakfast. So mostly we end up taking a break for our breakfast at 9-9:30 AM. We then finish our office at 3:30 PM and are back home at 4 PM for our lunch.

During Ramadaan office starts at 9:30 AM and we start from home at 8:45 AM. As we are in the habit of getting up early and do not have to be awake at 3-3:30 AM like the Muslims do for their prayers, we end up having a leisurely breakfast.

At office between breakfast and end of office we have a few cups of coffee/tea. This is still available in the pantry even during Ramadaan.

Water drinkers have an issue but they keep the airconditioner at as low as possible and you can control your thirst quite easily. People who can not still have the choice of making it into the pantry.

Finally during Ramadaan we get off at 2:30 PM so we are back home for lunch at about 3:00PM that is a good time to have lunch.

As iftar is generally at 6:30 PM it is also OK for the tea break and thenafter we are free to visit restaurants and eat to our belly full anywhere.

So all in all I feel that we actually get into a good eating routine during Ramadaan. No wonder we put on weight during this one month.

Ramadaan is tough for the Muslims as they go without food and water for about 14 hours. They do not sleep properly and are irritable. It is difficult to concentrate on the work and as the refreshments are missing they do not want to talk as well. Finally it affects their hopes of being good and charitable and although they fast, do their prayers and read the koran the basic lesson of Islam for Ramadaan is not followed.

No one remains just and charitable. Your Kuwaiti boss has a tendency to fly off the hook at the slightest pretext and there is anxiety and tension in the office through out the month.

Finally people are happy when it is Eid.

VAISHNO DEVI TRIP

Hello Friends,

A trip to the temple of Vaishno Devi should logically find a mention in my blog "One God" but as I am now going to describe my journey to the Temple and refrain from discussing anything else I find it more suitable to enter it in "Jaipurblogger".

The trip this time was not planned. In fact right from 2000, when I first visited the Temple very rarely have we been able to plan it in much advance. It is therefore strange that never have we faced any difficulty in reaching there and coming back home without any hiccups.

When we came back from Diu and Ahmedabad, I still had a lot of things to attend to at home in Jaipur and going to Vaishno Devi was furthest from my thoughts. I had Radhika's birthday coming up on 28th and we had also been discussing a get together of friends from SBBJ. But somehow all of a sudden Radhika insisted that plan the trip in between these events.

So I booked my plane tickets from Delhi to Jammu and back and started off for taking the bus from Narayansingh circle. I got the only vacant seat in the Bus and was off within two hours of having planned the trip.

The bus trip was uneventful if you ignore the fact that the lady (A Govt School teacher from Jaipur) sitting next to me insisted on pouring her heart out and telling me about the problems she was facing with her son. This young man was in his final year of Engineering at IIT and although a brilliant student, he was now adamant that he did not want to study any further. He had already got a job of teaching students on how to get thru GMAT (which he had cleared with flying colors) and was insisting that the Engineering Degree would not help help him in any significant way.

I would have agreed with his logic if he had taken this decision on joining but I felt he was a fool to drop out when he was almost thru. I told the lady about my trip to Vaishno Devi and took 52 rupees from her to put in the donation box at the temple. I asked he to visit the temle if her wish got fulfilled and her son agreed to complete his course.

I stayed the night at Mayur Vihar and took the morning flight to Jammu. When I boarded the flight I realized that I had booked a Executive class ticket on the KF flight. It was real comfortable journey. Jammu to Katra was covered by Taxi.

I had planned to stay in the Shrine Board hotel in Katra but the Taxi Driver, who obviously had some commission to make made me stay at a better place. I rested for an hour and then took off for the temple.

For people who have not visited the temple I will make the details as explanatory as possible.
You first have to que to get the Yatra Ticket at a place near Katra Bus Stand. Luckily I did not have to do this as the Hotel package was inclusive of the Yatra ticket supplied in the room. There is another que when you get to the foot of the climb. The frisking by the police takes place over here and sometimes (as it was with me this time) you do get a big crowd at this place.

I started climbing at 6 PM and when I did start I felt so comfortable that I decided that I will do the 11 KM uphill stretch in one go. Even after so many trips I once again forgot that the first couple of KMs is the toughest. I was fresh and full of excitement and therefore pressed hard over this stretch. By the time I finished this I was sweating profusely. I admit that the weather was humid but I was sweating much more than any of the other walkers. Anyway so after I had done the first stretch I took off my shirt so that I would at least have something fresh to wear when I entered the temple. My vest was wet and I thought then that with the difficult start covered and going up into the breeze I would have a dry vest by the time I completed the climb.

The journey is tough and people try to make it easy on themselves by singing songs praising the Devi. The facilities along the way are excellent with a cafe and restaurant located at every interval of two to three KMs. There are benches placed all along the route and in general the climbers encourage each other.

As decided by me I did not use the facilities and the bench and did a very fast non stop climb, completing the distance of 11 KM mostly uphill in two hours flat.

The vest was now so wet that the sweat had dripped into my underpants. When I completed the climb many people actually thought that I was roaming around after having taken a bath with my vest on. This gave me the idea of taking a bath at the ghats.

Most times when we have been to the temple we have booked a room at the top and have visited the temple after having a bath in the attached bathroom (reasonable facilities). So I reached the Men's ghat hoping that it would be a covered area. The ghat turned out to be an open space with taps. I took the bath with my underwear on and then discarded the vest and the underwear, wore my trouser and shirt and made for the last que for the temple.

Unfortunately it was arti time and I had to wait for a long time before I got my chance to get into the temple.

We generally get back to Katra after the visit to the Devi temple but I do not know what came over and I decided that I will climb further to the Bhairon temple (a good 2 km steep climb). On reaching there I rested for a while, had some desi ghee ka halwa and then started my downhill journey at midnight.

For most of us this would seem the easy part but I was really tired by then and my knees really hurt when i stupidly used the step (359 of them plus another couple in the early 100s). I reached the bottom of the hill (13 KMs now) at 3.30 AM.The use of the steps made me sweat once again and I actually did most of the downhill journey bare bodied. It was quite a ridiculous sight, a person sweating while going downhill but I was beyond caring.

Reached the hotel and found it extremely difficult climbing the four floors to the room (lift was not working).

Next morning I was back in Jammu and then took the flight to Delhi. A bus ride to Jaipur then ended my journey to Vaishno Devi.

The journey has always given me a lot of satisfaction and this time it was different as I actually did a non stop climb in my personal best time of two hours.

The idea of taking the bath at the ghats, the visit to the Bhairon Temple was all spur of the moment decisions and the accomplishment gave satisfaction.

I am sure everyone who has made the climb will have their own stories to tell.
Best regards
Manoj

My Vacation In India

Hello,

This year I finally took the longest vacation since 2000. When in State Bank of Bikaner and Jaipur, I was used to a one month vacation. I could take it without feeling of any guilt and as a right. In Axis Bank, taking a vacation for four weeks was unthinkable. An organisation where small absences from office is frowned upon a request for vacation was made trepidations and the Boss had to be molly coddled before you actually sent your application. When I landed in Kuwait small vacations seemed to suit me as I could make more than one trip to India. But this year I heard my kids complaining that they hardly felt my presence during a vacation as I would generally end up being busy in a lot of work and forget to relax.
The one month vacation was good.
After relaxing for ten days in Jaipur where I played a cricket match for Mentor Finance against SJ Public School and ate a lot of Jaipur delicacies, we spent four days in Ahmedabad.
The time I spent there was excellent. I played Table Tennis with Sanju, the brother of my brother in law and lost all but one game. It was however surprising that spectators found my attacking game more entertaining than his ultra defensive and calculative game. My nephew's Janoi was celebrated with pomp and ceremony and I MCed the reception. Once again with a little bit of immodesty I have to add that I did reasonably well.
After Ahmedabad we, my family and my youngest sister, her husband and daughter, made a trip to Somnath and Diu.
The Somnath Temple is a new Temple built over the ruins of an old temple complex famous for the series of attacks and loot by Allauddin Khilji.
Diu is a wonderful tourist destination untouched by the mad stampede of tourism. We stayed at Radhika Resort, a very reasonably priced, well located and equipped resort. The beach is not much to rave about but the food was good, the time spent in the swimming pool in company of the family was relaxing.
The trip ended with a return to Jaipur and further exploration of the eating joints.

One of the most enjoyable aspect of this trip was the connections I made with old friends. I talked to several of my class mates, SBBJ mates and Axis Bank mates. The old memories came flooding back and gave plenty of joy.

I am not sure if I can take a similarly long vacation in the future but memories of this vacation stored through pictures now pasted in the computer and the revival of old connections will keep me fresh and expectant till my next vacation.

Best regards,
Manoj

GETTING NEW FRIENDS

Hello,

When you think of your dearest friends what are the names that jump out immediately?

• Names of people you are now spending time with?
• Name of your spouse?
• Name of your present office colleagues?

In most cases these names hardly ever enter your mind.
The names that jump out immediately are mainly from your childhood or maybe from the first days at your work place.
Why is it so?

Well if I have to give a one line answer the reply would be
"Your best friend is a friend who is with you not because of what you are but who you are."
Extending it further we can say that
"Your best friend is a friend who is nothing else but himself."


In most of our adult life we become too biased in our views and rigid in our choices.
We focus on results and not on processes.
It is therefore no surprise that we focus on what rather than who and fail to find the true friend later in life.

Getting a new best friend is as tough as climbing the Everest without oxygen. Possible but difficult.
It is therefore very important that we retain our friendships.

Best regards,
Manoj

Short Story - Recipe for a Disaster

Recipe for a disaster

Arpita had just lost the recipe competition. She sat in the rocking chair, going back and forth in the dark room. “How am I going to face people again”, she was thinking.

Her husband was the General Manager of Sam North Jute Mill and it was ‘Bada Khana’, a day when employees of all the five Jute mills of the ‘Duff group of companies’ got together to celebrate the year end.

It was a British legacy that had survived the exit of the Sahebs. ‘Bada Khana’ had changed from New Year eve to 26th January but the fanfare, pomp and ceremony had been retained. The celebrations included the very tough tennis finals for men and the equally exciting recipe competition for women. They had races like the wheel barrow race, the three legged race and a tug of war competition which was open to men, women and children but for the men, it was winning the tennis competition that mattered most and it had always been the recipe competition that the women focussed on.

Arpita was confident about her victory and the other competitors, who were aware of her exceptional culinary skills, were content that they competed to be second best. But she lost.

The fat and ugly Mrs. Pareek from Victoria was guffawing and she had heard loud clapping as she had made a hasty exit from the club house. She knew that her loss gave the competitors immense joy.

She gave them the reason to be happy. She was a snob. She was proud of her background, the wealth and fame of her family, the fact that she could address Satyajit Ray and Jyoti Basu as ‘Kaku’ and most importantly that she was the wife of the General Manager. She played the role of the ‘Memsahib’ to perfection. They had always been at the receiving end of her jibes and taunts on their lack of skills and polish.

Arpita was thinking about her husband.

Jiten was out with the men celebrating their victory in the Tennis court. He would not get to know about her loss for many days later. After all none of the men would have the courage to speak against the General Manager’s wife. But he would surely find out and then what?

Jiten was hard working, honest and proud of his achievements. Her loss and its manner would be a matter of shame for him.

The couple had moved here just about a year ago and this was their first ‘Bada Khana’. Arpita was an expert cook and loved to show off her skills with rare desserts recipes (collected during her husband’s assignments in tea gardens in Assam and Munnar). The women gave her the sobriquet ‘Queen of the Ladle’.

She had waited for the ‘Bada Khana’ to stamp her authority.

She knew that she would win. She had played her cards properly and trusted Mrs. Robbins.

The Robbins, the only Anglo Indian family in the mill, an old couple, stayed opposite the Yagniks. Mrs. Robbins had been a nurse with the British Army and had met her husband, an engineer in the army when they were both posted in Burma during the Second World War. They had shifted to Kolkata after the war and decided to stay back when the British left India.

Arpita met Mrs. Robbins the day she gave her first party in her new house.

‘My dear, are you having a party tonight’, Mrs. Robbins had asked Arpita.

Arpita was embarrassed. She was told that the Robbins never accepted invitations. She had invited everyone else. ‘Yes’, she said, ‘why don’t you come as well’.

‘No, my child’, said Mrs. Robbins, ‘we are too old for such outings.’

‘Do you need help?’ she asked.

Since then Mrs. Robbins had always helped her plan the desserts for her party menu.

***

Arpita presented the ‘Crepe Suzette’ - A common dessert that promised something special. Arpita felt confident. The feelings seemed justified when Sister Margaret, the nun from France, who was a special invitee, went gaga over the whiff of ‘Cordon Rouge’ flambéed over the crepe and declared ‘For me this is the winner’.

‘Why does your recipe have no mention of bananas’? Ms. Sinha asked Arpita. She was reading the recipe after she tasted the crepe. Ms. Susan Sinha was the head chef of the ‘Orient’ in Kolkata and the other special invitee for the event.

Arpita snickered. ‘Bananas in Crepe Suzette’! She exclaimed. This raised a giggle – the other ladies too had never heard of bananas in Crepe Suzette.

‘Yes, it is the bananas that make the crepe yielding and easy to fold. Is this your recipe?’ Ms. Sinha persisted.

Arpita was flustered now. ‘It’s from an old book’, she said.

‘I have the recipe in my diary’, Ms. Sinha went again. ‘I have bananas in the pancakes all the time’ and the only other person I know who would do it is Mrs. Robbins, my mother. Are you sure it is not her recipe?’

Her perfidy uncovered, Arpita ran out of the club.

She wondered if ten would be enough. The sleeping pills lay on the table next to her. She had already taken the ninth when the doorbell rang.

‘Hello dear, are you in?’ she heard Mrs. Robbins call out. ‘I am sorry about what happened. I told them that I had put in the bananas without your knowledge when I was helping you.’

Arpita tried to get up from her chair but it was too late. The pills took over. Mrs. Robbins did not have the strength to break open the heavy wooden door.

KIDNAPPED IN DARBHANGA

Hi There,

This is the frame of a Flash Fiction I hoped to expand on some day.

I have not come back to it for a year now and as some of my friends have shown interest in reading what I write I thought I might as well put it on my blog.

So here comes:

Happy reading and do let me have your comments.

Best regards,

Manoj

Kidnapped in Darbhanga

‘Can I have a glass of water’, Rahul was pleading.
Mr. Burly passed a small cup of water and Rahul finished it in one quick gulp. His captivity in the small room had entered the third day. His Rolex was still working.
‘Oh God, he exclaimed aloud, why am I here’ he asked?
No answer. He did not expect one.

This trip to Darbhanga was planned a month ago. After his final semester in the medical college he had gone home, met his parents, stayed with them for a couple of weeks and then boarded the train.

They had shared the same hostel room for the last three years and Rahul had readily accepted Amit’s invitation to visit his ancestral house. He had heard so much that he felt he had to see it. He was fascinated by the tales of movies at Jyoti Cinema, a place where songs were rerun at the point of a gun. He wanted to taste bhang, cannabis to the dilettante, sold openly at Tower Chowk and visit the ghettos, the place where they used AK- 47’s for target practise. This was a wonderland, one tourist destination Rahul did not want to miss.

‘Come on, get up’, the guard had poked his thighs with the long stick he was carrying.
‘Is there a misunderstanding, did he ask for use of the toilet’? He thought he was loosing his head when they stopped next to it.
‘I don’t need to go there’ he said.
‘Shut up’ Mr. Burly replied.
‘OK, so it is not the toilet, thank God’, he murmured, relaxing at the thought that he could still remember facts.
‘Is it done’? Mr. Burly asked Mr. Long Legs who had joined them.
‘Did they get in touch with Dad’? Rahul thought. ‘Let Dad be here’, he prayed. Dad would readily pay the ransom.

Rahul had been warned. Darbhanga was the kidnapping capital of Bihar. Businessmen, Doctors, girls, kids – anyone could become a victim. Amit had told him this. Rahul had not listened; this was part of the charm.

Mr. Long legs smiled. ‘Thank God’, thought Rahul, he had never seen them smile, ‘a good omen’ he hoped.
‘She agreed’ said Mr. Long Legs as he reached them.
Rahul was now hopeful. His eyes went moist as he thought of his mother. His father was abroad he remembered. He had departed on the same day he took the train to Darbhanga. He felt tears well up as he thought of seeing his mother. He knew he would cry the moment he saw her.

‘Come on’, the command was more forceful.
Rahul started walking again.
They reached the outer courtyard of the house where Mr. Burly pushed him ahead. ‘Take a bath, he said, time you are made ready', they laughed aloud.
‘But I don't need it now. I'll go home and take it there," said Rahul and they laughed again.
By now he was naked, Mr. Long Legs pulling off his clothes.

"We don't want you to smell like an animal".

‘So, the time has come’, he thought. He had tears in his eyes as Mr. Long Legs built up the soap lather. He was dried and made to wear the ‘dhoti’.
‘Why not my clothes’? He asked them.
‘What these? They smell like shit.' they laughed again. Mr. Burly and Long Legs were now in a very cheerful mood.

They were in the main inner courtyard now. An old man sat in the centre doing some kind of ritual. The place was gaudily decorated and women were singing and giggling. Clueless, Rahul looked around searching for his mother in this crowd of strangers.

‘Thank God you are here,’ he cried and rushed to hug him.

Amit, his friend, was there.
‘Welcome to the family’ said Amit. ‘My sister really likes you’.
Kidnapping grooms was an industry in Darbhanga.

Just Like That

Koteshwar was in a very senior position in the government. He was always brilliant in his studies and his father was a senior Judge of the High Court when he retired. The Chief Minister readily agreed to his request to attend the ancient annual cultural function at his ancestral village which he cherished. The vist had to be under high security. Jharkhand is a strife-torn state and militants are everywhere.

The function went off very well. Koteshwar was very pleased and so were the simple villagers. They dance the traditional jig with abandon and spirit even though at the last moment, due to urgent work, the Chief Minister could not come even though he really wanted to. Instead he sent two of his cabinet ministers so that the functions went off well.

Once the ceremonial farewell was done, the two ministers invited Koteshwar to join them in one car for security reasons. Their convoy could become a prized target for any ambush.

"I'll take the front seat, thank you," said Koteshwar as he stepped in beside the driver. The car followed the escort police jeep followed by two more cars packed with alert heavily armed commandos. They took an undisclosed route even though it was a detour which would take longer time.

"Its really uncomfortable with your pistol in the hip belt when you have to seat in the car," said one of the ministers in the back seat, slanting awkardly to pull out the firearm from his behind. Actually it was somewhat congested with so many in one car and they had been travelling for an hour now.

"Oh, what a lovely thing," said the other minister, taking the pistol lovingly into his hands. He removed the magazine, waved the pistol appreciatingly and pulled the trigger just like that not knowing that a bullet was already cocked in to be fired.

The gunfire shot sent the convoy into immediate action well drilled and well experienced in this part of the country. Was there an ambush ? Most probably yes. The journalists in their cars not far behind made quick approach to get their stories.

But the police escort knows, whatever happens, if the road is clear, you never stop. So move, move, keep going. Soon it is realised, there is no more firing, it looks over. "What happened," the journalists ask. The convoy moves on.

The bullet has gone through his right arm and into Koteshwar's rib-cage. Inside the city, their car breaks off from the convoy and heads straight to the Medical College Hospital. VIP emergency. Koteshwar is operated upon. The bullet has fragmented into two pieces, both are eventually removed. Still in danger, but stable, Koteshwar will live.

Suffocating Darkness

Why should anybody do it ? But she did it. Its in the local newspapers today.

Usha now of 50 years of age, lived with her husband Ramesh, alone in their sprawling house. Their son lived in the USA and daughter was married and settled in Mumbai. So Usha would everyday go to the Jain Mandir for so many years now.

It was hot in the afternoon. She took an autorickshaw. When she offered Rs.50 for the round trip, the driver thought he was having a lucky day.

Usha alighted at the Mandir entrance and asked the driver to wait. Soon the driver fell asleep in the back seat of the auto. He was snapped out of the reverie of the dancing Rs.50 note, with Ramesh shaking him by the shoulder. "Have seen a middle-aged woman come to the Mandir", Ramesh was asking him. It was late, dark and the street lights were on.

"Yes, of course, I brought her," said the driver, alarmed.

"Well, I've looked for her everywhere and she is nowhere to be seen", said Ramesh. "I've even asked the caretaker's family and they have no clue." Except, yes except, thought Ramesh, for the pair of slippers like Usha's by the 13-inch open and abandoned borewell in the Mandir courtyard. "Oh my God!"

The administration took some time to swing into action. But in a couple of hours the police procured and lowered a camera with light down the borewell. There she was. Quick, lower the oxygen supply tube. She was motionless. Bringing her up was only technical frivolity.

CARLOS SLIM HELU - WHO IS HE?

Carlos Slim Helu is presently the richest man in the world.

His worth has been quantified at US$ 53.5 billion which takes him above Bill Gates at US$ 53 Billion.

So is he an American?

No. Carlos Slim is not an American.

So does he belong to one of the developed countries like UK, Germany, France, Japan?

No, none of these.

The country he belongs to has a per capita income of $14,500 a year, and nearly 17% of the population lives in poverty. To put his achievement in the right perspective it will not be out of place to add that his wealth is the equivalent of roughly 2% of his country's annual economic output.

Yes we are talking Mexico.

But more important than that is the fact that he is an immigrant. How's that for enterprise?

Great is it not?

So from where does he actually come?

LEBANON - Surprise, Surprise.

In 1902, Julián Slim Haddad, father of Carlos Slim Helú, arrived in Mexico from Lebanon, all alone at 14 years of age, speaking no Spanish. Carlos Slim's mother, Doña Linda Helú was also Lebanese. These immigrants who arrived in Mexico at the end of the 19th century, brought the first Arabic printing press to Mexico and founded one of the first magazines for the Lebanese community in the country. Carlos was the youngest boy of six children.

Carlos Slim studied engineering but his entrepreneul skills were evident as by the time he was 26 years old, his net worth was $40 million.

He married Soumaya Domit Gemayel, also a Lebanese-Mexican, in 1967; they had six children and were married for 32 years until Domit died of a kidney ailment in 1999.

The youngest daughter, Johanna, is married to Arturo Elías Ayub, a Syrian Lebanese and a board member of some of Slim's companies.

If you have been a student of history you will understand the link with Lebanon and the aggressive and smart trading. Yes, Lebanon was the starting point for the Phoenicians who were the first to explore the Mediterranean Sea route for trade. They were so good that even the Romans envied them.

Jumping Genes???

Reminds me of Carl Lewis! it's a very long jump.

Best regards,

Manoj

Vanilla Desires and Other Stories

Vanilla Desires and Other Stories

Hello,

The book is out and it would be nice if all of you can get your hands on the publication. The book contains 34 short stories encompassing the kaleidoscope of emotions from love, lust, hate, helplessness, pain and dejection.

The stories follow the confusing and complex thoughts of the protagonists, as they struggle with the strangeness in their ordinary lives.

The book contains prize winning entries of the 2009 UNISUN Short Story Competition and short stories by several other well established authors.

As expected I am proud to be part of the book.

My contribution to the anthology is through ‘In search of Durga’ a story where the relationship between man, woman, child and friend travel through a roller coaster along with the Durga Puja celebrations. The story is based in Bengal and has references to all my favourite places, the places which bring back special memories.

It is an attempt not only to document what I felt was plausible but also to give permanence to my memories of the places I love and people I know.

My writing short stories is an accident and every time I write my thoughts go back to Pandit Rameshwar Mishra, my great grand dad who was once upon a time considered to be the first writer to have written in ‘Khadi Boli’, the language of Bihar and UP at the time of independence. I believe he is the great guy who passed on his writing genes to me.

Unfortunately not much is known about his writing except for the word of mouth stories that have travelled in the family. It is understood that all copies of his book ‘Balwant Bhumiyar’ was put into a bonfire on the day of the publication and only a few advance copies/ drafts survived.
I have been trying to trace the book through my sources but have failed till now. It is but logical that all references to his name too have been removed from the history of Hindi Literature. I wish I will be able to do something about this matter as well.

While having a book of short stories on my own is part of my agenda my higher aim in life is to get back the story of ‘Balwant Bhumiyar’ in print.

I hope I succeed.

Best wishes,
Manoj

My short Story "In Search of Durga" getting published

Hello,

I believe all my reading and writing is finally paying off.

My second short story "In Search of Durga" is part of the anthology "Vanilla Desires and other Stories" where I share space with well established and experienced writers.

When I had started on my jourey of writing short stories I had never thought of such a day. In fact I'll be honest and tell that I did not give myself any chance of getting published. When my first story "Victim of the Stock Market" got published in the anthology "The Shrinking Woman & Other Stories", I was over the moon. But, soon some comments from some of my supposed to be friends and well wishers brought me down to earth. The attack was so vicious and full of hate that I started feeling that I was not good enough and was just plain lucky to have found a compassionate publisher.

Friends said that "Victim .." was too short a story and was published because of the exotic idea of a writer residing in Kuwait would help sales.

I later analyzed the statement and felt that it lacked logic. First, the story was short but it was complete with detailed human angles. Second, an Indian writer writing about Kuwait would be exotic. But I was an ordinary Indian writing an Indian story and the exotic factor did not jell.

During this spell what kept me going was the encouragement I received. My brother Sanjay, my friend Sanjoy, my daughter, Ruchira and several other readers loved the story and said that I was capable of better stuff.

Without being immodest I must add that twice I have been told that I am a better writer than Chetan Bhagat. Although for me Chetan was a good writer only till 'Five point someone', I do believe that the guys who do rate me above him are complimenting my writing style.

I know I can improve a lot and think better but the journey till date has been fulfilling.

In the beginning my dream was to be published once. I got it with the publication of 'Victim..", the negative comments from some quarters about my actual ability as a writer and the positive feedback from some quarters made me modify my dream slightly and I had now dreamt of a second publication with a longer story.

It is about to come true with the publication of "In.." and now I believe that it is time I altered my dreams a bit more.

Am I being greedy? Stupid? Overambitious?

Let me think over these points as I ponder on my next dream.

Till then all those who read my blog keep reading and sending in your feedback.

Your reactions are valuable.

Best regards,

Manoj

J D SALINGER - THE CATCHER IN THE RYE

Hello,

If you have not read 'The Catcher in the Rye' by JD Salinger you are missing something. I have not read it from the point of view of a critic and have no intention of praising it to the skies for the style and theme.

No I have no such intention. I have nothing serious to say on the book. All I want you to enjoy is the way the hero Holden Caulfield describes events places and people. It is a laugh riot.

A few samples:

Introducing his school:

Pencey Prep is this school in Agerstown, Pennsylvania. You probably heard of it. You've probably seen the ads anyway. They advertise in about a thousand magazines, always showing some hotshot guy on a horse jumping over a fence. Like as if all you ever did at Pencey was play polo all the time.

Talking about a game of football at Pencey:

I like to somewhere at least where you can see a few girls around once in a while, even if they're only scratching their arms or blowing their noses or even just giggling or something.

When his coat gets stolen:

The more expensive the school is, the more crooks it has - i'm not kidding.

Describing Old Spener, his History Teacher:

You never saw anybody nod as much in life as old Spencer did. You never knew if he was nodding alot because he was thinking and all or just because he was nice old guy that did'nt know his ass from his elbow.

His answer to a question on Egyptians:

The Egyptians were an ancient race of Caucasians residing in one of the northern sector of Africa. The latter as we all know is the largest continent in the eastern hemisphere. The Egyptians are extremely interesting to us today for various reasons. Modern science would still like to know what the secret ingredients were that the egyptians used when they wrapped up dead people so that their faces would not rot for innumerable centuries. This iteresting riddle is still quite a challenge to modern science in the twentieth century.

Dear Mr. Spencer, This is all I know about Egyptians. I cant seem to get very interested in them although your lectures are very interesting. It is all right with me if you flunk me though as I am flunking everything also except English anyway.

Respectfully yours,

Holden Caulfield.

If you find the above funny you just have to go through the build up to these to clutch your stomach from bursting of laughter.

A wonderful wonderful depiction of what goes through the head of teenagers.

I loved it when I read it first long long ago and all that. This time it really killed me. I'm not shooting crap. Just go through it and you will know why.

Best regards,

Manoj

SHARM EL SHEIKH - A HOLIDAY DESTINATION FOR THE LAZY

Hello,

Sharm El Sheikh was our first destination in Egypt and to begin with we were looking forward to a fun filled Chirstmas Eve Dinner that was part of the holiday package we had booked.

Unfortunately our flight got delayed and when we reached our hotel it was almost midnight. As we had skipped dinner at Kuwait expecting to stuff ourselves later we were all hungry and tired by the time we checked into our rooms. 'Novotel' provided us with beautiful accommodation.

After getting into our night clothes we called the room service for food. The menu was limited and we had no option but to go for something called rice and grilled chicken and rice and kofta.

While in India Kofta is generally vegetarian, Kofta in the Arabic world is another name for beef. The grilled chicken was in the smallest portion possible and the rice was absolutely different from what we are used to. Anyway as beggars can't be choosers we made do with the available stuff. Luckily there were some grilled potato pieces. What I can say is that we slept on empty stomachs.

Next morning we woke up early and opened our room doors to a big balcony facing the hotel garden. The weather was wonderful and we were already hungry enough we got ready for breakfast by 8 AM. We had a good breakfast.

Although we were on the other side of the road from the beach it was no big deal as the walk to the beach was just a couple of minutes. I must also add that staying on the other side turned out to be a better option because the beach side was crowded and noisy as well.

The Hotel has a private beach and the view of the sea is wonderful. Putting on our snorkelling gear we entered the sea to witness an amazing marine habitat. The sea animals and corals provided an awesome mixture of colours. While we have always dealt with colours in our daily life getting to see it underwater is a different thrill. Ialways connect the sea to waves, sand and bottomless depths and therefore everytime I see the corals and the marine life I am amazed.

That afternnon we had decided that come what may we will find an Indian restaurant to fill our tummies. We were not very optimistic but took the chance of going to the main market place. Funny, but we had a big neon sign for an Indian Restaurant just next door to our hotel. Anyway we did make a trip to the market and found an Indian Restaurant there as well. The food was good.

We took a tour of the market, bought some stuff at Seven Eleven, purchased mementos and had delicious glasses of Sugarcane juice.

Sharm El Sheikh is built to attract tourists. They have good hotels all located on the beach side and a very small local population.

It is clean and we don't have hawkers tapping you on your back as you try to have a peaceful vacation by the seaside.

I regret having kept just one full day for the place as we missed out on the boat trips to islands nearby that could have given us better beaches and coral life.

Sharm El Sheikh is for people who love the sea, have money and have time to spare. A destination for lazing around.

Best regards,

Manoj

MY BEST BIRTHDAY

Hi,

Yesterday was my birthday.

I will not disclose how many I have celebrated till now but this year it did seem to be different.

I had a lot of good wishes pouring in from my family and friends. Now that I am on Facebook and the date is prominently displayed in my profile I had wishes from several friends who till this year did not even know that I existed.

Ever since I started working (1985), my birthdays have been low key. The reason being that the official date is very different from the actual. Well, as my colleagues never picked up this date from the records they had no reason to wish me and I had no reason to celebrate.

This year it was different and my thoughts went back to my best birthday ever.

I remember that till in school my birthdays were big occassions, not only for me but also for my family and friends. The reasons I guess were as under:

• I always had a birthday party and all of us would have a blast at home.
• It was especially joyous during the olden days as this was one day I was assured of getting a new set of clothes. Not that we were in tatters for the remaining part of the year but getting a good set of shirt-pant was always special.
• A lot of gifts.
• Becoming the centre of attraction

My best birthday was when I was in Class IX:

I have fond memories of this birthday. Our gang of around 12 guys from a class of about 30 decided to make it extra special by bunking school. We had bunked class in small groups before, but all of us failed to realize that if 40% of the class is missing the absence is too conspicous. We had gathered at the school gates, making a big show of our intentions before cooly walking away, right under the gaze of our teachers, when the morning assembly got started.

Once out of School we were bereft of ideas and ended up spending almost half the day competeing against each other in all kinds of races at the sports field a mile away from school. The Ishapore Gun Factory staff who saw us thought we were practicing for some special sports event and I am sure word got back to school as well.

Then when we got tired of the running around we sat under the shade of tree opened our tiffins and had our lunch.

At 1:30 we were at the cinema watching 'Teesri Manzil'. I still believe that this is the best movie I have ever seen. What songs, romance, dances and suspense! But the most special memory is the gay abandon of adoloscence. I had not a care in the world and I had my friends around me. Such bliss! I can never remember of any other day in life that gave me more joy.

The evening started with the party at home and guys and girls from the neighbourhood all collected to make a huge happy crowd. Pankaj, another friend from school, who did not bunk that day, had also joined us with his guitar and we had a wonderful evening of song, dance and games. I had by then developed my own style of crazy dancing and most probably it was the first time I displayed it in public. It awed my audience and some steps became so popular that other guys would try and copy it at other occasions.

Next day the excitement continued and all of us (school bunkers) got called into the Principal's office where we gave different explanations for our absence from school. Mrs. Reba Basu (my favorite School Principal) could not help but smile at the ingenious excuses we invented. Finally she asked us all to go home and get letters from our parents explaining the absence. We once again gathered at the sports ground sat under the tree and contemplated on how to handle the situation. I succeeded in copying the signatures of the fathers of a few guys, Susmit, Lalit and Rakesh. I don't remember but most probably Vinod, Siddharth and Ravindra did their own dirty job while I also made a trip home and woke up my Uncle from his afternoon siesta and got his signature on my leave application before he realized what hit him.

Finally, our applications in order we trooped back to the Principal's office. Mrs. Basu, looked at the applications and said "Although I know that a few fathers are present here as well I will not talk to them and let you go back into your class". I promise you she was smiling all thorugh this sentence. "Twisting my ears she told me "Do you think I can not make out your hand writing."

I loved her then. She was beautiful! Pan stained teeth, a few missing, slightly bald, a little on the fatter side, manly voice, heart of gold. She knew that we had spend almost the entire day exercising our thigh muscles in the sports field. I am sure nobody told her about 'Teesri Manzil'.

Anyway all in all now even after 30 years I still remember every moment of that day and the memories become too bright on birthdays.

How I pray to have another birthday like that.

BEREFT BY ROBERT FROST

Where had I heard this wind before

Change like this to a deeper roar?

What would it take my standing there for,

Holding open a restive door,

Looking down hill to a frothy shore?

Summer was past and the day was past.

Sombre clouds in the west were massed.

Out on the porch's sagging floor,

Leaves got up in a coil and hissed,

Blindly struck at my knee and missed.

Something sinister in the tone

Told me my secret must be known:

Word I was in the house alone

Somehow must have gotten abroad,

Word I was in my life alone,

Word I had no one left but God.

EGYPT - THE LAND OF THE PHARAOHS

Hello,

As promised I am back on the blog with my story of our trip to Egypt.

The highlight of course starts with the Pharaohs and continues with them through out.

The Pharaohs belived in life after death and I assure you that if you visit Egypt you will surely feel them come alive around you.

We started our tour at Sharm El Sheikh, which is a different world altogether. I will talk about this part of the trip later. I might add though that the experience was good but not as awesome as the remainder of the tour.

We landed in Cairo and were welcomed at the airport by our tour guide who informed us about our plans for the day. The plan was simple

• A trip to the Museum and
• A visit of the Pyramids.

A visitor to Egypt should visit the Museum. This Museum can boast of the largest number of artefacts and the portion that is dedicated to the Boy King 'Tutankhamen' can make your eyes bulge out in astonishment.

Pharaohs, as I have said earlier, were buried in Pyramids and tombs. They started with Pyramids but later when they realized that Pyramids were being targetted by thieves they shifted to tombs in an area near Luxor called the 'Valley of the Kings'. Archeologists have been able to identify and dig out 62 tombs till date and only five such tombs are open for the viewing public.

While the Pharaohs were sure that the Valley was a well kept secret and I am sure it did survive their reign, it did get the attention of the bounty hunters afterwards and almost all the tombs were looted. The Tomb of Tutankhamen is significant as this was the only one that escaped the attention of the thieves. All the treasure that was buried along with the King was found intact and most of them are now displayed in the Museum in Cairo. It is understood that some of the artefacts have found their way to museums in the western world as well.

But it is not the treasure that is important. It is the workmanship of the ancient Egyptian that leave you awe struck.

The pyramids are huge structures rising above the sandy soil like a mountain. The fact that this mountain is built by men like us make us wonder. The boulders used are almost cubical in shape and measure about 6 feet on all sides. It is difficult to fathom the technique they might have used to move these boulders from the hills to the site and then place them on top of each other.

But that is not all. The pyramids have a passage carved out in the boulders and there are a couple of rooms of the size of a modern bedroom within the structure. The science of weight, design, etc, was so well understood by the builders that their creation stand in their original grandeur even after the passage of so many years.

If the graudeur and scale of the Pyramids was mind boggling I feel the Pharaohs and their architects outdid themselves at the 'Valley of the Kings'. The tombs cut out into the belly of small rocky hills are examples of master craftsmanship and artistry. They camouflaged the tombs and the passage to the actual tomb in one case had a a booby trap also. It was so very well thought out and scientific but it is also the art in the form of paintings and sculptures in the belly of the hills astonishes you. All the tombs have been robbed except one.

Do you know why the thieves were not able to trace the tomb of Tutankhamen?

Coming up next.

Best regards,

Manoj

LOVE STORY - Do you remember Erich Segal

Hello,

Erich Segal, writer and academic, was born on June 16, 1937. He died of a heart attack on January 17, 2010, aged 72.

A Classics professor and author of scholarly books on the Ancient Greeks and Romans he knocked off a little novel called Love Story during his holidays. The book ended up being a bestseller in USA in 1970 and then becoming a high grosser film in 1971.

Read the start and you get hooked to it.

“What can you say about a twenty-five-year-old girl who died? That she was beautiful. And brilliant. That she loved Mozart and Bach. And the Beatles. And me.”

Sometimes an author, an artist, a scientist and / or any living Human Being comes up with something so exceptional that it even surpasses his wildest dreams. 'Love Story' was one of such events.

Segal taught classics at Yale University got inspired by a conversation he overheard in 1968 about a girl who supported her husband through graduate school and then died. “I sat down and started writing immediately,” he said. “The story poured out of me.”

The success of Love Story surprised virtually everyone, particularly in the movie business, where it was felt that such old-fashioned weepies were outdated.

But the themes of love against the odds, parental disapproval, misunderstandings and the cruel hand of fate, in the form of leukaemia, remained as powerful as ever. The public appreciated the book, its simple style and emotions, but it proved too big a challenge for many critics (though not all). Several judges threatened to resign if it were not removed from consideration for the National Book Award. They got their way.

Erich Segal will live in the hearts of every youngster who has experienced true love.

Best regards,

Manoj

Martin Luther King Day

Hello,

Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. day is celebrated today (18/01/2010) all across USA.

King was born Michael King Jr. but later, his father Michael King Sr., changed both names to Martin Luther in honor of the German Protestant Leader.

King was born on January 15, 1929 and assasinated on 4th April 1968. The Martin Luther King Day is celbrated on the third Monday of January every year since 1986. The prejudice against blacks can be gauged by the fact that although the proclamation was signed in 1983, the first time it was celebrated all across the 500 states in America was as late as 2000.

Technically without a High School certificate, King received his Doctor of Philosophy in 1951.

He is the most celebrated civil rights leader for blacks in America and had to pay for his activism with his life. He started his activism through the Montgomery Bus Boycott in 1955 and is likened to Mahatma Gandhi for his preference for non-violent resistance.

In 1964 he became the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace prize.

He had excellent oratory skills and his speech 'I have a Dream' is considered one of the most important speeches made on racial discimination in USA. Delivered on August 28, 1963, from the steps of the Lincoln Memorial and it was a defining moment for the American Civil Rights Movement. There are many quotes from the speech that are recognized as an important part of American history.

The entire speech is moving and full of quotes and key phrases that are now a very important part of history.

"It would be fatal for the nation to overlook the urgency of the moment. This sweltering summer of the Negro's legitimate discontent will not pass until there is an invigorating autumn of freedom and equality. Nineteen sixty-three is not an end, but a beginning. Those who hope that the Negro needed to blow off steam and will now be content will have a rude awakening if the nation returns to business as usual."

"I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character."

"Let freedom ring. And when this happens, and when we allow freedom ring—when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children—black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics—will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual: "Free at last! Free at last! Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

"This is our hope. This is the faith that I go back to the South with. With this faith we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day."

When King died in 1968 he was just 39 years old but according to the Doctor he had a heart of a sixty year old.

But his life has not been without controversy. a 1980 inquiry revealed that portions his doctorate thesis on "A Comparison of the Conceptions of God in the Thinking of Paul Tillich and Henry Nelson Wieman" had been plagiarized.

King was a compulsive womanizer and accused of having several extra-marital affairs. In fact this was one of major weapon the FBI was planning to use against him to remove King from the leadership of the movements on civil rights.

King's biographer David Garrow detailed what he called King's "compulsive sexual athleticism." Garrow wrote about numerous extramarital affairs, including one with a woman King saw almost daily. According to Garrow, "that relationship, rather than his marriage, increasingly became the emotional centerpiece of King's life, but it did not eliminate the incidental couplings that were a commonplace of King's travels." King explained his extramarital affairs as "a form of anxiety reduction".

Today we celebrate the birth of this extraordinary personality who in a sense paved the way for Barrack Obama becoming the President of the USA.

Best regards,

Manoj

THE JYOTI IS EXTINGUISHED - MAY HE LIVE IN OUR HEARTS

Hello,

One of the most honest, hard working and popular leaders in Indian politics, Comrade Jyoti Basu departed for his heavenly abode at 96.

His popularity can be gauged from the fact that even after a decade of being away from active politics his death brought mourners from across the country representing all sections of society. Jyoti Babu, was born in an Aristrocratic Bengali family and studied Law in London but came back and lead a communist combination to power in 1977. As Chief Minister he become the longest serving Chief Minister of any Indian state and retired from active politics in 2000 due to poor health. This was exemplary as generally Indian politicians retire only when cremated or buried.

In 1996 he had an opportunity to become the Prime Minister of India but a 'historic blunder' caused by the short sightedness of the communist leadership deprived him of this deserving appointment. He could have easily lead a revolt then but his dedication and obedience to the party was never questionable and he let this opportunity pass by.

Jyoti Babu brought in land reforms in West Bengal that provided land to several landless people and his 'Fabian Socialism' made him popular amongst the masses. Although there have been question marks over his contribution to the stagnation of the Industrial growth and flight of business from the state it can never be disputed that he was the king who was popular and supreme.

His charisma can also be judged by the fact that after his stepping down from Chief Ministership, the Communists in Bengal are facing an opposition that is growing stronger by the day and we are also witnessing the growth in Maoist activities which means that the party is being gnawed from both sides. While it is loosing its support in the bigger towns to other main stream opposition parties, the villages are getting influenced by the maoist machine operating with the poor people.

Let us pray for peace to his soul and may he be reborn, more capable, for the benefit of our motherland.

Best regards,

Manoj

MY TRIP TO EGYPT

Hello,

The last week of December was spent in Egypt. We visited Sharm El Sheikh - a modern snorkelling and Scuba diving destination and then moved on to the ancient with visits to Cairo, Aswan and Luxor.

The trip was fabulous overall but there were some notes which were not so musical. I will post my experience in bits and pieces over the next couple of days so that people visitng the place can have some idea of what to look for when there.

Best regards,
Manoj

IS OSAMA BIN LADEN SPANISH

Hello,

After initially claiming to have used cutting edge technology to come up with a photofit image of Osama Bin Laden in his 50s, the FBI has now admitted that all that they did do was to use the usual cut/paste option and lift features of left-wing politician Gaspar Llamazares. Gasper isa member of Spain’s Communist party and a critic of the US “war on terror". He was astonished and said he would no longer feel safe travelling to the United States.

“I was surprised and angered because it’s the most shameless use of a real person to make up the image of a terrorist,” he said.“It’s almost like out of a comedy, if it didn’t deal with matters as serious as Bin Laden and citizens’ security.”Llamazares intends to ask the US government for an explanation and is considering legal action. He said he has “no similarity, physically or ideologically, to Bin Laden”.

Meanwhile all the intelligence of the FBI has not been able to give them a single clue on where Osama is hiding. They say he in the hills dividing Afghanistan with Pakistan, but no one seems to know where. The attacks by the extremists group led by him continue unabated and get sophisticated (or simple enough) to get through the radar and other vigilance systems used by the west.

Can the US actually win the "war on terror" or is it a ploy to continue the arms production and interference policy.

Best regards,

Manoj

MY MOTHER IS AN UGLY WOMAN

Hello,

Read a wonderful blog with the above title. The link to the blog is here and all Indians should read it once: http://www.mindtree.com/subrotobagchi/my-mother-is-an-ugly-woman/.

The writer narrates his experience at a student seminar in Germany and tells us how disappointed he was when he heard an educated, well placed Indian trying to tell the German listeners about Indian habits.

I am not sure if all of us will actually agree with the sentiments of the writer but I do agree that the blog is well written and the sentence where the writer connects to the readers by mentioning 'mother' does pull the heartstrings. I also found the speech of the Ugly Indian interesting and humorous.

Humor is at its best when people have the ability to laugh at themselves. It is therefore not surprising that a comedian gets the loudest laughs when he potrays himself as a bumbling fool.

The Ugly Indian speaker who is potrayed to be inconsiderate and lacking in love for the motherland has actually done a wonderful job of making people laugh by becoming the butt of jokes himself. He, I feel, did fine till his error about Indians not being honest with their intentions.

There are jokes about how Indians can never form an orderly line and how like the crab they keep trying to pull down the other and how they will go to the extremes to save money.

These are fine. There is nothing wrong with such stories as these can be replicated for many other countries. We joke about stingy Indians, crabby Indians and unruly Indians ourselves.

But what is absolutely wrong is his joke about Indians inviting people and then not being ready. 'Athiti Devo Bhava' - 'The visitor is God' is engrained in every Indian mind and even an unexpected visitor can never go empty handed from an Indian house.

Except for this error the other things are normal and even this joke, although not applicable, did click because the people could connect with it. Every society and country have people who say things they do not mean. Germans of all people - the people who showed brutality towards their own people and lead to the world war II can hardly be the country who can treat others with disdain.

People can laugh at the Indian way as it is so different from the western way. It is stupid to say that just because we do not do things the western way we are not to be taken seriously. It is in this context that I remember the interview Aishwarya Rai did with David Letterman. DL tried to joke about the fact that Aishwarya at 26 was still staying with her parents. His statement made the audience roar with laughter but what Aiswarya said next made the studio go quiet and then the applause was deafening. She said something like "Yes I stay with my parents. This way I do not have to take an appointment with them for having dinner together."

What she pointed out was that just because we are different does not mean that we are disadvantaged in any way. She also made it clear that she saw advantage in the difference.

My mother may be an ugly woman but I love her. Just because I joke about my siblings does not make me a mother hater.

Best regards,

Manoj