Golu The Cat

Golu is the name of the cat that has made my home her own. She was a tiny kitten when I had last seen her during my winter vacation. She used to come over whenever we used to sit in the sun and have our lunch. Now there is a drastic shift.

This time I came back to find Golu transformed into a pampered cat, still small in size, with a bushy tail. She has turned out to be a very pretty cat. But she is camera shy and is difficult to photograph. She marches into the house whenever she wants and will keep meowing and brushing against your legs till you pamper her or caress her. My father generally does not like to be disturbed when he is reading the newspaper or studying, but when Golu comes, a smile lights up his face. He picks her up on his lap and starts patting and caressing her while talking to her. We feel so jealous but cannot help loving Golu. Here is a video of her that father managed to capture. Notice her pounce at the very beginning of the video.

Wicket

Wickets are a fascinating things. Three stumps that form an integral part of Cricket. It is really intriguing how many different forms of wickets are in common uses today, thanks to the imagination of the youngsters. The official wickets, made of willow wood, are too expensive for common use. So the ordinary street cricketers all over India have adapted the wicket according to their own needs and their resources

Well, the most common form of wickets used by street cricketers is the wicket drawn on the wall by chalk or brick. Almost anywhere you go in India, you will surely come across walls covered with wickets of all shapes and sizes. I have often played with such wickets for we could not afford the real one.

The next most common form of wickets is the one made by pilling bricks one over the other. This is used mostly in open spaces and in the middle of the street. But the thing is that when the wicket falls, it takes time to set it up again. Also, there is the possibility of the bricks breaking. So, when the cricketers are more resourceful, they lay their hands on plastic cartons used for the transport of milk or cold drinks and pile them up to make a wicket. This has the advantage of less fragility. Wicket is also denoted by two pieces of bricks or slippers placed a little apart. This leads to a lot of confusion and fights.

Another form that I am very familiar with is the tree trunk. You choose a tree trunk and then just mark off the height of the wicket with a chalk or by any sort of marking. This often leads to confusion in the game. Serious debates arise about the authenticity of the batsman getting out when the ball hits the side of the trunk. From my experience, this sometimes leads to fist fights. Bamboos being available in plentiful in this country, some also fashion wickets out of them. Chairs are also used as wickets. We used them when we played Cricket in the balcony of our residence in college.

Laying your hands on a true trio of wickets is like a dream to most street cricketers. The wickets I have been talking about was the wicket for the batsman. Street cricketers use only a single piece of brick, slippers or anything else available to denote the wicket of the bowler. I will not say that I have enjoyed playing Cricket any less due to the absence of official wickets, and even though they were a fantasy, I never missed them. Actually, playing Cricket was more fun without the official wickets due to the various debates and arguments and the occasional fights that broke out as a result. Wickets – such an intriguing thing!

DREAMS

There was a little boy a long, long time ago.
He had a dream. He wanted to be somebody special.
When he became a boy, he dreamt of changing the world.
When he became a youth, he dreamt of making a difference.
When he became a man, he dreamt of making his family happy.
And before he died, he wished he had tried a little harder to live his dreams.

I Hate Him!!!

(I wrote this story at the instigation of one of my friends. I dedicate this to her. I hope you enjoy it Phulan Devi.)

The electricity has gone off for the past half an hour and is showing no signs of coming back. To top it all up, the mosquitoes are singing irritatingly near my ear! They are as irritating as him! He says he loves me and all he does is irritate me, throw his temper at me and blames me for everything that goes wrong with him. How am I supposed to tolerate it? Damn the mosquitoes and their offspring! I cannot even swat one of them!

I met him in college. He was my classmate. A decent guy, quite good at his subject, but had no dressing sense. He was stiff necked. I was not interested in him initially. I had a guy back home and things were going great between us. He was, then, just a friend among many, but I knew that I had taken his fancy. He gave me a lot of attention and, frankly speaking, I enjoyed the attention. Now is that my fault? Show me a girl who does not like attention from guys and I will show you a blind fish.

So, naturally, when my relationship crumbled, he was the first one to turn to, and that idiot was waiting for me with open arms. I hate him for the all the time he has blamed me for all that has gone wrong with him. He even had the audacity to say that he did not want me! What does he think of himself! I do not need him and I can leave him faster than he can bat his eyelid! But well, over the years I was cursed to fall in love with him. I did not admit it for a long time; I had my dignity after all. I could not just say that I loved him even when he was throwing his temper at me! I need some respect!

I would not say that he is a bad person or that he does not love me. He loves me, but in his own way. He did a lot to cheer me up whenever I was sad. He has been an anchor to me. We have spent so many wonderful moments together, which thanks to his irritating habit of photographing everything, has been captured to a large extent. Well, to his credit I can say that he did leave smoking as he had promised me, even though it took him a long time. Now what’s wrong with me? Why am I praising him? Why can I not be angry with him for long? Why do I always need to take his crap? It was his idea to stay in this particular hotel in Lansdowne, arguing that it had a good view. Now the electricity is gone and he has no worries! He is happily sleeping on his belly and snoring his head off as if nothing has happened! And I cannot sleep and he does not care! What am I supposed to do? God, give me a signal! Oh, good. The electricity has come on. I guess it is a sign from God asking me to sleep and stop disturbing him with my complaints. I shall do just that. Goodnight. I still love him.

Back in Time

(This story is dedicated to two of my friends who will knopw it when they read it. I hope that you two enjoy it. It has been her idea that I write a story about them.)

The college was the same as I remember it. The building seems to be as ageless as ever. This was the place I had met my wife 25 years ago. It seems to be just yesterday. Life plays so many tricks on you. When I had reached here an hour back, I was a little sceptical. Who would I meet? Will I recognise my friends? Will they recognise them? Over these years I have lost touch with almost all. When I had left college, I made it a point to catch up with almost everyone through mail or Facebook. I was a great Facebook enthusiast back then. But soon life overtook me and I got busy with a new life, a new set of friends. I am still in touch with just a few, three or four, I guess.

As I entered college, greeted by a few students, I somehow felt like smiling. I do not know why. And what a shock beheld me! I could not recognise more than half the people. They had all changed over the years. Everyone was in suits and sarees. Some of my friends came up to me to introduce themselves again. Some have become quite fat, others have gone bald, some now have glasses, while others have become thin. Even I have changed. I now have a French beard and a changed hairstyle, and I have put on quite some weight.

I so wish my wife was here with me, but she could not come for she is pregnant with our second kid. She insisted that I come, for her sake. So now I am here. We have so many memories in this college. There is not a single nook and corner here that does not have a memory associated with it. We have had such major fight and such profusion of emotions. I was young and my blood was hot, and passion ran riot. When I used to be angry I could not express myself clearly and she never tried to understand. She thought I threw my temper at her because I did not care about her. What she never realised was that I threw all my temper on her because she was the only one I had whom I could trust, who made me feel safe and wanted, and who I thought understood me. She did understand me but in her own peculiar way. She was the only person in front of whom I could be myself, free from the facade that I had to put up to face the world. I could be scared or childish only with her. She was my girl, she was my dream and I love her more than I love myself (and only a little less than our child). Whom do I quarrel the most with? My wife. Whom do I love the most? My wife. Whom can I not tolerate? My wife. And whom can I not live without? My wife!

God, what fights we had over such silly things! I now find those fights silly and sometimes we talk about those days, me and my wife have a good laugh. I remember we used to stop talking to each other and even avoid each other. She ended up crying her heart out and I smoked like a chimney. Oh yes, I used to be a chain smoker in those days. Gave it up completely when our child was born and since then, have never looked back. An old friend, here today, offered me a cigarette and was completely dumbfounded when I refused. They all remember me as the smoker. People change over time and have I. I am now far more restrained than I was in college. Cannot even sprint due to my weight! To top it all, me and my wife rarely have those deadly quarrels these days. Both of us have come to know each other better and have learnt to compromise. After all we have a family now! Voila! God, I am a father now! I never believed I could be a father, ever!

I was jarred back from my reflections by the ringing of my cell phone.
“Hello.”
“Hi baby, are you in college?”
“Yes. Reached sometime back. Miss you a lot. I so wish you were here.”
“Even I wish so, but it’s ok. Who all have come?”
“Well there are a few from our class, like...”
“Someone’s at the door. I need to go. Shall call back later.”
“That’s ok. But have you taken your medicine”
“Yes, yes. Stop worrying and enjoy. I am fine. Need to go. Bye. And I love you.”
“Love you too, honey. Bye”

The Indian Movie Fiasco

In the past few days I have successfully managed to watch two Hindi movies – Kya Kool Hai Hum and Bombay to Goa. It is God’s grace that I am still sane and am able to write this piece. For the past few months I have not seen a single good Hindi movie being released. Gone are the golden ages of bollywood. Most of the Hindi movies are too pathetic to even sit through them. I really do not understand how bollywood comes up with these movies and who watches them!

Most of the plots of bollywood movies these days are borrowed from Hollywood movies. They are shameless enough not even to modify these plots. I shall not go into modern Hindi movie songs for this is an area of controversy. I hate them from the bottom of my heart while others really appreciate them. Where has the Indian moviegoer’s taste gone. Movies like Kya Kool Hai Hum and others have no message for society at large, instead they portray heroes running after the wealth of a girl, dumping her only when he realises that it is not a “she” but a “he”. Lets not go into messages to society but at least they should be enjoyable! They are not even that. The humour is on the face and sometimes the distinction between humour and vulgarity get dissolved, watch Kya Kool for an example.

If we just look at present English movies and past Hindi movies, we see a stark difference. English movies have a very subtle sense of humour. When the humour is on the face or tending towards vulgarity, the movie is completely so like the American Pie series but even there they know how to make people laugh and cry. A very close friend of mine ended up crying while watching American Pie 3: The Wedding! Another very good but irritating friend of mine alleges that English movies send even cows to space ( the actual Bengali words are “golper goru space e tola”). It is true that the plots sometimes become bizarre and even superhuman and supernatural but the way it is presented by means of tying them down with believable things that you go into a “willing suspension of disbelief”. People complain that the superiority of English movies is due to the profusion of capital. This is a Marxist argument and like all of them, this too has serious flaws. This years Oscar went to The Hurt Locker, which was made from a meagre budget as compared to the much hyped multi-million dollar Avatar. There is my point – it is the plot and the execution that makes a film and not the money. Why do we need to have plots that try to save the world and locate them at exotic places at exorbitant budgets? Why can we not make movies like The Bucket List or Life is Beautiful? These movies have a very strong plot base that makes them hits.

My appeal to Indian moviemakers is to come up with original plots. Indian literature and folk traditions are rich with enthralling plots. Why do we not tap into them? My request to the moviegoers is stop watching these low grade movies so that the moviemakers realise that there is no demand for such movies. But I cannot blame the moviegoers as such for most of them look at the ratings before going for a movie and these ratings end up giving 3 stars to movies like The Appartment! Also I realise that the teaming masses want such movies because nothing other than crass humour can appeal to their basic instincts, otherwise how can a movie like Sangharsh flop at the Box Office and Singh is King become a hit! The Indian masses need to improve their intellect to motivate our commerce maniac moviemakers to come up with better plots.

Igor - All Men are not Created Evil

Yesterday night I watched the movie Igor. An animated movie that is just too good. Maybe I am so excited because I love animation. The movie has subtle humour that will appeal to all if they listen to the movie carefully. The idea behind the movie is not very unique but well executed.
It is the story of evil scientists, I gors and a fight between good and evil. There is also an element of romance in the movie and I like it as they did not stretch it too much and make it girly. The characters are made brilliantly and one ends up loving all of them. They have a character, each one of them. I can watch this movie more than once but maybe others will beg to differ. But it surely is worth a watch. Hope you guys have fun.

Egyptian Mummies

Egyptian mummies have intrigued and amazed people over the ages and across continents. Their elaborate tombs, the wrapped mummies, and the curse of the mummies have made their way into legends and fascinated both children and adults. Often cartoons depict mummies as hand-stretched, wrapped figures with blazing eyes who chase people who dare enter their tombs. But how were mummies made and why?

Mummymaking in the Egyptian civilization developed over 3000 years. Over this span of time it underwent various changes and was perfected by the 21st Dynasty of the Pharaohs. All the techniques used linen to bandage the body of the person. Removal of the internal organs was introduced later. The four internal organs - liver, lungs, stomach and intestine - were removed from the body, dried and packed in linen. They were preserved in canopic jars or were reinserted into the body. The heart was rarely removed and if so, was packed in linen and replaced inside the body. The brain began to be removed after the 18th Dynasty. The eyes were pushed into the eye socket and was replaced by glass, stone or painted linen. Natron, a salt, was used to dry the body and later a combination of resin and linen was used to cover the mummy. The internal cavities of the body was packed with linen and resin paddings to give it a life-like look as the body shrinked after being dried. This was quite an expensive procedure and other more economic procedures also existed for mummifying non-royal personalities and animals. The face of the mummy was either painted or a mask put over it. Among animals, the Ibis and cat mummies were the most common. There is evidence to suggest that cats were reared specifically for the purpose of being made into mummies. Kittens were the favourite. These mummies were sold to people who wanted to offer them to the gods.

The mummyfication procedure was a long, arduous and expensive process. A large number of spells and chants were used during the whole procedure. There were individual spells that were to be recited during the wrapping of the individual parts of the body, spells that were recited after the completion of mummyfication, while the mummy was put into the sarcophagus, and when the sarcophagus was put into the tomb. For example, Spell 23 that was to be recited when the mummy was taken to the front of the tomb during the Opening of the Mouth ritual goes as follows:

"My mouth is open! My mouth is split open by Shu (god of the air) with that metal "spear" of his that he used to split open the mouth of the gods. I am the Powerful One. I shall sit beside her who is in the great breath of the sky!"

These spells were initially not written down and later, when written down on a scroll of papyrus, was known as the Book of the Dead. The scroll was sometimes placed inside the sarcophagus and the various spells were carved into the body of the sarcophagus.

The ancient Egyptians believed that every person was composed of three elements - body, ba and ka. The body was the physical being of the person. Ba cannot be literally translated but meant "personality" or "character". The ka was the force that gave life. When a person died, his ka would be separated from his ba, and the whole point of mummification and its associated rituals was to help the person's ba to unite with the ka again to form akh, and thus reside with the gods in the afterlife, for which the preservation of the body was essential. The Egyptians believed in afterlife in the Underground, where the sun god, Ra, went every night. Pharoahs were believed to become gods after their death. The Underworld was separated from this world by a wide river that the dead crossed and no one living was allowed there. Since death did not mean the end, but a new birth in another life, the mummy was accompanied by various offerings. The tomb where the mummy was to be placed was filled with objects that the deceased person would need in the afterlife. Sacrifices of animals were also made to please the gods.

Stories and legends are prevalent about the curse of the mummy. It is believed that the mummies do not like being disturbed and those who dare to enter their tombs are cursed with painful death. This belief has sprouted from the prevalence of a large number of spells carved into the sarcophagus. Recent scientific studies show that the long trapped air inside the tomb leads to a massive bacterial growth. This air when inhaled, often leads to a number of diseases if the person is not healthy. The most famous of the legends about the curse of the mummies is related to the tomb of King Tutankhamen. Also, in some tombs, the tombs were booby trapped to prevent grave robbers from looting the belongings of the mummy. The curse of the mummy also forms a favourite theme for Hollywood movie makers, the one example that comes to my mind right now is The Mummy Trilogy. These are very enjoyable movies I tell you.

Mummies form a fascinating subject of study. Ever since childhood I have been intrigued by them. But the Egyptians were not the only one who mummified their dead; the Peruvians also had a ritual of mummification. I shall discuss that sometimes later.

Pakistan Today

Pakistan today is under siege from radical Islamic militant groups who are diverting the democracy to suit their own purposes. Many people have blamed the politicians for this tragedy but the reasons lie deeper in History.

I believe that this is a by-product of the partition of the Indian sub-continent. Many scholars believe, and I support their view, that Pakistan may not have been created had it not been for the stubbornness on the part of the Congress to show its strength. Moderate Muslim leaders, like Jinnah, were not in favour of the "two-nation theory" till the early 1930’s. They found it out of the question and ridiculous to establish a separate nation for the Muslims. The election victory of the Congress in 1937 was a blow to the belief of these moderate Muslim leaders, who now felt betrayed by the Congress and its Hindu majority leadership, especially Nehru. The Congress who emerged as the largest majority party in the election did all it could to keep the Muslim League out of power. Jinnah and other moderate leaders now moved closer to the "two-nation theory" and Jinnah became its champion. The "two-nation theory" was in effect a bargaining chip in the hands of Jinnah who wanted to use it to force Congress to give more representation to the Muslims. Nehru called his bluff and Pakistan was created even though Jinnah knew that such a creation would never serve the needs of the Muslims in India.

Pakistan in the wake of partition gave rise to leaders with extreme views. These were mostly landed elites from the region who wanted to share in the power and cater to their own needs. The various regions of Pakistan other than the western Punjab were relatively much safer for people from the other religions. The Hindus and Sikhs in these regions were not willing to leave Pakistan which they considered their home and where they had established their living. Not too many communal riots occurred in these regions. The government in these regions were also eager to hold on to these people for they commanded the economy of the regions and without them it would be difficult to hold up the economy. Also, Hindus and Sikhs formed a large part of the officialdom in the regions.

Problem started as Muslim refugees (muhajirs) started pouring into the region. Those that came from eastern Punjab and Delhi had faced communal violence at the hands of the Hindus and Sikhs and were eager to have their vengeance. The refusal of some of the Hindus to leave Pakistan and the high-handedness of the local Muslims to accommodate them after they had overrun the regions infuriated them. These people were the reasons for communal violence in post-independence Pakistan. They had come to Pakisan with a hope that all their needs will be taken care of and the promise of a new and dignified life; but Pakistan had nothing to offer. They were refugees in a nation limited by its limits to cater to more than certain numbers of citizens. Refugees had swamped Pakistan and the authorities did not have enough resources at hand to cater to its own administrative needs, let alone cater to the needs of the refugees. The refugees saw it as a breach of the Islamic tradition of brotherhood and hospitality. The leaders who emerged from their ranks were much more radical than the moderates who had created Pakistan and the politics in Pakistan slowly absorbed them. Politics i Pakistan, thus, became much more radical over the years .

The present prominence of radicalism in Pakistan, I believe, can be traced to the massive influx of refugees from India and the inability of the Pakistan government to cater to their needs. The creation of Pakistan was the result of an effort to inculcate the Muslim identity among the Muslims in India. This focus on religion had spurred the Muslim masses in India to demand Pakistan and when their dreams were not fulfilled in this Pakistan, they reverted to religion to demand their share. From there it was a little step towards radicalism in Pakistan.

Na Tum Jano Na Hum!!!

( This one again was sent to me by another friend. )

Kyun chalti hain pawan,
Because of evaporation .
Kyun jhoome hain gagan,
Because of earth's rotation.
Kyun machalta hain mann,
Because of disorder in digestion.
Na Tum Jano Na Hum!!!

Kyun gum hain har disha,
Because u have poor sense of direction.
Kyun hota hain nasha,
Because of drug addiction.
Kyun aata hain mazaa,
Because u enjoy the situation.
Na Tum Jano Na Hum!!!

Kyun aati hain bahar,
Because of change in season.
Kyun hota hain karar,
Because of taking tension.
Kyun hota hain pyaar,
Because of opposite attraction.
Na Tum Jano Na Hum!!!

SCIENCE HAS ALL THE SOLUTIONS

Amazing Handpaintings

Bhery Phaany!!

(This was a poem sent to me by a friend a long time back and today I somehow came across it and could not help sharing. This poem will appeal to those who know Bengali.)


Through the jongole I am went
On shooting Tiger I am bent

Boshtaard Tiger has eaten aamaar wife
No doubt I will avenge poor darling's life

Too much quiet, snakes and leeches
But I not fear these sons of beeches

Hearing loud noise I am jumping with start
But noise is coming from damn fool's heart

Taking care not to be fright
I am clutching rifle tight with eye to sight

Should Tiger come I will shoot and fall him down
Then like hero return to native town

Then through trees I am espying one cave
I am telling self - "Bannerjee be brave"

I am now proceeding with too much care
From far I smell this Tiger's lair

My leg shaking, sweat coming, I start pray
I think I will shoot Tiger some other day

Turning round I am going to flee
But Tiger giving bloody roar spotting Bengalee

He bounding from cave like footballer Pele
I run shouting "Kali Ma tumi kothay gele "

Through the jongole I am running
With Tiger on my tail closer looming

I am a telling that never in life
I will take risk again for my damn fool wife !!!!!

Humane History

Historians have always taken lots of pain to present our past in front of us and for that we should be grateful to them. Without their efforts our pasts would have remained just a collection of legends and stories mired in a cacophony of rumours. But historians have a drawback. They think too much.

Lets talk about the period when kings had ruled the world. Historians have seen in all their acts some sense of economic, social or political reasoning. That is great I must admit. But do we always have to read economics or politics into their actions. Kings have been humans like us. They have been no incarnation of the divine, however much they may try to establish that fact. So just like us they must also have felt the pangs of jealousy, envy, greed, frustration, and submitted to whims and fancies without giving any thought to economics or politics. They may have been trained in the arts of political reasoning but at the end of the day they were humans who were aware of their military might. If I know that I have the backing of my troops, will I think of consequences when I want to do something? I would not and most wont. See what the sons of powerful people do and what the politicians do when they know that no one can touch them.

Keeping this in mind is it fair on our part to say that whatever kings did, they thought about the economic, social and political consequence of their action? Maybe they did in certain cases, but not all. Why do we always have to find these stereotype reasons behind the events in History? Can kings not have done something just because they wanted to without thinking? Does the historian always needs a reason to do something in life? I guess not. So I beg the historians, please let the kings be humans and let them act like one without always trying to find a reason behind them. I was so happy in my childhood when I read about the craziness of Muhammad Bin Tughlaq – he was as human as me. All this was shattered when I learnt that there were economic and political reasons behind them – I lost my crazy king. Has anyone of you heard of a crazy king? No. Because these historians have given them a divine stature. Does no one want to find the human side to our kings? I know I do.