When I was 2 years old my grandmother, too proud of her "fat" and not so dark youngest grandson, did what most grandmothers blinded with affection do: Introduced me the the world of "black magic". She bought a black nazar thread and tied it around my waist. You do not get these threads any more, but it was a neat peice of craftmanship and was looped in a way that it could easily adjust to my pre and post lunch tummy. Of course, the challenge was to hold it in place while my grandmother soaped and scrubbed me [that was the only piece of "textile" I was allowed to wear while bathing!]
Soon I discovered that many others kids in my neighbourood wore the same thread around their waist and in fact there was a street hawker who sold them by the bunches everyday.
I guess, in the late sixties and early years of seventies when India Inc was not doing too well in terms of food security, infant mortality, politics, social tensions etc., as a post-partition migrant from the east who had lost it all once, my gradmother found the usual way to protect her grandson from the evil eye.
Just a small digression: this was in small town Bihar and believe you me, those were the best days for urban Bihar. the roads were cleaned everyday, 24x7 electricity supply ensured that generators were not known in these parts, you could get the fish of your choice in the market, you could drink Coke and Fanta during movie intervals and my mother did once walk down the streets in her skirt and top without anyone batting an eyelid [my father had in a state of suspended judgement bought it for her on his first trip to Mumbai]
Be that as it may, I grew up to be a pretty decent boy and was now under the direction of my working mother as the first born, only son. She decided that I needed something stronger to keep me away from the evil spirit. I was therefore quickly taken to a local pir [my family was non denominational and subscribed to any god or pir that seem to work in our favour, a trait my ancestors carried from their hoary past in the syncrestic swamp lands of east bengal]. The pir wrote something on a piece of paper shoved it inside an amulet, sealed the opening of the amulet with wax and tied it across on my left arm with a black thread. The pir happened to be a relative of my mother's 'daftari' at the local court, so the service and the product were supplied free of cost. So up came the amulet on my arm and on the second day down it went with a longer black thread to my waist [Even at that age I knew better than to wear my attitude (amulet) on my sleeve (left arm)]
Long gone are the days of hawkers selling black loops, you would not find then even in rural Bihar; Pirs too do not dispense amulets free of cost and in any case most of them have other pressing duties to the Almighty. One would think in the natural progression of civilization they lost out on their roles. And why not? with India Inc going great guns, India exporting food along side software codes, life looking up for the average Indians; no one seems to be in the need of the insignificant nazar thread or amulet. In any case, those whose stars are acting funny could always go to an overpriced jeweller consult an over priced astrologer and buy an over priced stone.
So since my daughter's birth in 2001 I have been looking quite desperately for a low cost solution to the problem of nazar [evil eye] without luck till recently. It was only the other day that I seem to have been directed to the solution.
Again, as in many critical insights of life, late night TV came to my help. Yes, one night, sitting under the faux chandelier in front of my TV, I attained the ultimate knowledge. There was an half an hour advertorial on a channel, talking about the ill effects of evil eye on children and adults and advising me to buy a Nazar Pendant. So the little street hawker and the poor pir were back in a new avatar of a mighty TV channel - Wow! and also selling for a change exactly what I was looking for. I discovered more: now you do not have to wander from ashram to ashram in hardwar or rudraprayag or badrinath to look for that one mouthed [holed] rudraksha, if you know which channel to watch. This was great news and for such services alone, TV should be rated "Public Serivce Media" just as newspapers are.
Much enlighted from the experience I walked to Tanishq next morning and bought a 10 gram gold biscuit for my daughter, my second gesture of securing her future.... [the first one was of course sending her to a good play school]
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Friday, October 27, 2006
Sonagachi and Seduction
Let me contextalise. Sonagachi is one of the largest Red Light areas in Kolkata (in fact in Asia). There are quite a few of them, but I had heard from people who know that Sonagachi is the best. Two others are harkata [near my alma mater: Presidency College] and Kalighat [near the famous Kali temple]. As a young student in Kolkata in late 1980s, I had noticed three things about these three places:
1. there are several middle class dwelling houses in, I mean in Sonagachi and they have a sign in Bengali on the front door "Grihastho Bari: Janasadharaner Probesh Nishedh"[Domestic Dwelling: No Entry for Public"]. These dwellings have been there as long as Sonagachi has been there. One has not mixed with the other!
2. The devotees at Kalighat and the customers at the nearby area did not get mixed up with each other [I am sure there was a small set of common patrons!]
3. The one at Harkata [Cut bone] was 200 metres from the entrance to the Calcutta University's venerable buildings and 250 metres from the main entrance of the Presidency College. But interestingly none of the day scholars I knew [they were by far the majority] knew where harkata was. Of course, my knowledge stemmed from the collective adventurous spirit of generations of adventurous presidency colege students who boarded at the famous Hindu Hostel.
By the way: Soliciting was illegal then as now, but the barabanitas of the three places carried out their trade quite openly. Also, those who did not know or where not bothered with the existence of these places were not in anyway prevented from knowing about these places [no law stopped them nor was any moderation done to their behaviour] It was a part of ecology. Law could not prevent the trade in as much as moderation or control was not neessary to determine the behaviour of people who lived, worked or studied nearby.
I am not giving you this example from my past life to titilate you. But to draw attenntion to the similarities that the case has with the discourse on internet and the need for moderation, need for law etc etc.
My take: Sonagachi, Kalighat and Harkata have flourished for a 100 years in spite of 100 year old laws to prevent them. For hundreds of years, devotees at Kalighat temple, or ordinary dwellers at Sonagachi or Students at Presidency college and Calcutta University have remained untouched by their existence.
Can we not see the parallels with Internet here? I can see it, if you can't you are either blind or Stupid!
1. there are several middle class dwelling houses in, I mean in Sonagachi and they have a sign in Bengali on the front door "Grihastho Bari: Janasadharaner Probesh Nishedh"[Domestic Dwelling: No Entry for Public"]. These dwellings have been there as long as Sonagachi has been there. One has not mixed with the other!
2. The devotees at Kalighat and the customers at the nearby area did not get mixed up with each other [I am sure there was a small set of common patrons!]
3. The one at Harkata [Cut bone] was 200 metres from the entrance to the Calcutta University's venerable buildings and 250 metres from the main entrance of the Presidency College. But interestingly none of the day scholars I knew [they were by far the majority] knew where harkata was. Of course, my knowledge stemmed from the collective adventurous spirit of generations of adventurous presidency colege students who boarded at the famous Hindu Hostel.
By the way: Soliciting was illegal then as now, but the barabanitas of the three places carried out their trade quite openly. Also, those who did not know or where not bothered with the existence of these places were not in anyway prevented from knowing about these places [no law stopped them nor was any moderation done to their behaviour] It was a part of ecology. Law could not prevent the trade in as much as moderation or control was not neessary to determine the behaviour of people who lived, worked or studied nearby.
I am not giving you this example from my past life to titilate you. But to draw attenntion to the similarities that the case has with the discourse on internet and the need for moderation, need for law etc etc.
My take: Sonagachi, Kalighat and Harkata have flourished for a 100 years in spite of 100 year old laws to prevent them. For hundreds of years, devotees at Kalighat temple, or ordinary dwellers at Sonagachi or Students at Presidency college and Calcutta University have remained untouched by their existence.
Can we not see the parallels with Internet here? I can see it, if you can't you are either blind or Stupid!
Monday, October 23, 2006
Double Whammy
Yesterday Daily News and Analysis (Broadsheet published from Mumbai) carried an interesting news on the front page. Australian employees of a bank refuse to train Indians who would be replacing the locals after an outsourcing deal.
Sounds like another cry against outsourcing now from another part of the world? Give me a break. I mean jobs going to Indians is one thing, but training someone who is going to take away your job three months later.... sounds weird. And if these guys are not already trained and much better than the people they are replacing, why is the company outsourcing its services to them? Because they come cheap [never mind the quality!]
But this is not my story today. My story is more sinister and would blow the heads of many who are rabidly anti-outsourcing, anti immigration etc etc.
The old trend in India has been bridegrooms settled abroad get the best brides! The definition of best those days were moderately educated, extremely good looking, wealthy family etc. But the definition of best is chaging as the global landscapes is filled with footloose fancy free Indian professionals. Increasingly, best brides are being defined by professional qualification: never mind the looks. And these brides too are not like yesterday's happy making rotis at home or at most sitting at supermarket check outs. They are well qualified [sometimes more than their husbands] and looking for a career.
My fear is that this gang in the next five years is going to be a formidable force. And, the "guest country" would have to increasingly provide them with higher and higher jobs. So it will not a single "geek" or banker looking a a job but two of them actually.
I already know a couple of friends who have married Indians abroad and are more qualified than their husbands. At present they are lying low, understating their qualifications and working at sweatshops. But soon, once they have learned the ropes they will let themselves loose and demand their pound of flesh [paneer for the vegetarians]. Till then watch the space...
I wonder how the feminists of developed economists will treat these Indian "brides"....
Sounds like another cry against outsourcing now from another part of the world? Give me a break. I mean jobs going to Indians is one thing, but training someone who is going to take away your job three months later.... sounds weird. And if these guys are not already trained and much better than the people they are replacing, why is the company outsourcing its services to them? Because they come cheap [never mind the quality!]
But this is not my story today. My story is more sinister and would blow the heads of many who are rabidly anti-outsourcing, anti immigration etc etc.
The old trend in India has been bridegrooms settled abroad get the best brides! The definition of best those days were moderately educated, extremely good looking, wealthy family etc. But the definition of best is chaging as the global landscapes is filled with footloose fancy free Indian professionals. Increasingly, best brides are being defined by professional qualification: never mind the looks. And these brides too are not like yesterday's happy making rotis at home or at most sitting at supermarket check outs. They are well qualified [sometimes more than their husbands] and looking for a career.
My fear is that this gang in the next five years is going to be a formidable force. And, the "guest country" would have to increasingly provide them with higher and higher jobs. So it will not a single "geek" or banker looking a a job but two of them actually.
I already know a couple of friends who have married Indians abroad and are more qualified than their husbands. At present they are lying low, understating their qualifications and working at sweatshops. But soon, once they have learned the ropes they will let themselves loose and demand their pound of flesh [paneer for the vegetarians]. Till then watch the space...
I wonder how the feminists of developed economists will treat these Indian "brides"....
Friday, October 20, 2006
Writer's Block
Insomnia is a great advantage for those who "suffer" from it. It means you get extra four to five hours a day [night]
to think. In several of those thinking hours, I have thought of writing novels for a living. Please do not laugh, I have written a book and co-authored another and both are publised by well-known publishers. So my thinking is not exactly kite flying.
And, at the end of the day writing a novel can not be that difficult, all you need a plot at the centre of several plots played out by some normal and abnormal characters: just as you see in real life, albeit with a lot of embellishments. At my age I have seen too many real plots unfolding and folding up in real life...
I also have a fairly good command of English [in any case once you have put together the skeleton of the book, smart editors do the rest]
What is a novel after all? a piece of life, a slice of our day to day existence: joys, pains, successes, failures, love, hate: A nice concoction of emotions.
Mind you it can be darn profitable too. Most successful novelists earn much more than ordinary salaried persons, get huge advance payments in "foreign exchange" and also get to go to fancy parties and are elegible to wear whatever they fancy at work. They also do not to have to commute to work leaving behind their kids with ayahs. And of course, "bitching" is not a crime but a part of the job description.
Little wonder therefore that I have toyed with the idea of become a novelist, a professional novelist, i mean and take by moral, physical, metaphysical and most important, fianacial life to a higher plane.
I have gone even as far as thinking a title, charting out a plot and even open a new word document to start the first line. The first line is important, in fact very important [remember the first line of lolita? Lolita would not be lolita without the first line]. Once you have the right first line, it's easy as breeze!
But I must confess, in spite of the desire, ability and the driving forces, I have never been able to write the first line of a novel. And, as i grow older, the chances are getting dimmer.
No no, please do not get me wrong: It is not because of my day job which keeps me in office till long. Nor is a the fact that I live alone and have to do my household chores, Nor is it because of any other reason. Believe you me I have all the reasons and skills and knowledge to write a novel.
As a non-starter novelist, I have spent long hours on why people do not write novels [or long stories]. Certainly, we have no dearth of literate and thinking people in our country.
After thinking long and hard, I have reached my conclusions: Most people do not write novels because facts are stranger than fiction. All of us know facts that are much stranger than fiction and it requires an inhuman capability to either fictionalise facts or turn fiction into fact. So all potential novelists like me are faced with this situation: What you can write is not even one third of what you know and what you know is not good, safe, sane, enough to write.
My take: For every successful novelist there are at least a thousand who could have written a much better novel of they have had the courage to jot down that proverbial first line.
keep trying folks..... the greatest novelist is one who writes what she experiences in life!
to think. In several of those thinking hours, I have thought of writing novels for a living. Please do not laugh, I have written a book and co-authored another and both are publised by well-known publishers. So my thinking is not exactly kite flying.
And, at the end of the day writing a novel can not be that difficult, all you need a plot at the centre of several plots played out by some normal and abnormal characters: just as you see in real life, albeit with a lot of embellishments. At my age I have seen too many real plots unfolding and folding up in real life...
I also have a fairly good command of English [in any case once you have put together the skeleton of the book, smart editors do the rest]
What is a novel after all? a piece of life, a slice of our day to day existence: joys, pains, successes, failures, love, hate: A nice concoction of emotions.
Mind you it can be darn profitable too. Most successful novelists earn much more than ordinary salaried persons, get huge advance payments in "foreign exchange" and also get to go to fancy parties and are elegible to wear whatever they fancy at work. They also do not to have to commute to work leaving behind their kids with ayahs. And of course, "bitching" is not a crime but a part of the job description.
Little wonder therefore that I have toyed with the idea of become a novelist, a professional novelist, i mean and take by moral, physical, metaphysical and most important, fianacial life to a higher plane.
I have gone even as far as thinking a title, charting out a plot and even open a new word document to start the first line. The first line is important, in fact very important [remember the first line of lolita? Lolita would not be lolita without the first line]. Once you have the right first line, it's easy as breeze!
But I must confess, in spite of the desire, ability and the driving forces, I have never been able to write the first line of a novel. And, as i grow older, the chances are getting dimmer.
No no, please do not get me wrong: It is not because of my day job which keeps me in office till long. Nor is a the fact that I live alone and have to do my household chores, Nor is it because of any other reason. Believe you me I have all the reasons and skills and knowledge to write a novel.
As a non-starter novelist, I have spent long hours on why people do not write novels [or long stories]. Certainly, we have no dearth of literate and thinking people in our country.
After thinking long and hard, I have reached my conclusions: Most people do not write novels because facts are stranger than fiction. All of us know facts that are much stranger than fiction and it requires an inhuman capability to either fictionalise facts or turn fiction into fact. So all potential novelists like me are faced with this situation: What you can write is not even one third of what you know and what you know is not good, safe, sane, enough to write.
My take: For every successful novelist there are at least a thousand who could have written a much better novel of they have had the courage to jot down that proverbial first line.
keep trying folks..... the greatest novelist is one who writes what she experiences in life!
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