Adieu RBS Gill!

Spring term of 1974 at the National Defence Academy. I was a third termer and the 51st course had joined in the second week of January. Among the 16 guys who'd joined H for Hunter Squadron was a tall lanky sardar named, Rajinder Bir Singh Gill. He was an all rounder in sports and games and I specifically remember him gliding gracefully, over the bar, during the high jump and pole vault events, during athletics. He was a sober and a gentle person and because of this aspect, even his course mates were surprised when he became the Cadet Sergeant Major (CSM) of his squadron during his 6th term at the Academy. 

     *              *               *

The message that came at 0628 hrs, this morning on the What'sApp group of my naval course mates, was from Rohit Kaushik and I qoute, "Friends. Our dear friend RBS has left us forever". It numbed me and all the subsequent calls and messages wishing me Thiruvonam greetings, actually didn't register. 

We had our course get together at Bhubaneswar during 09-12 Nov '19. We were put up at the 'Empires' Hotel and those three days were memorable with us revisiting our association from the Academy days. Rajinder Bir Singh Gill and Pritpal were among us and it was fun time! A couple of weeks later the couple had gone over to Goa for the entire course get together. During that time he had got fascinated with yoga and promised to practice it everyday, on return.

He was settled at Panchkula and his daily exercises included a round of golf early in the morning, rounded off with a 5 km walk in the evening. He was fit and therefore, the subsequent events just did not add up. 

It was on the second day of the breathing exercise that one of his eyes had got bloodshot. It was because of a ruptured blood capillary and after medical check ups that followed, through a PET scan it was found that cancer had already spread from his kidneys to the liver to the bones and finally to the lungs. He was being medically managed for the last five and a half months when he contracted Covid, a few days back. Though he showed a slight improvement, RBS Gill passed into the mist of time - last night - around 0030 hrs/31 Aug. 

I'd sent him a message on What'sApp yesterday and I quote, "Dear Gilda, You are a Hunter and a great fighter. The present difficulties shall pass and the pain will disappear. Take care, keep smiling! Affly, Rajeev. With prayers". His reply was a terse "Thanks" with three smiling emojis at about 1430 hrs yesterday. I believe he had replied to all the messages till around 2030 hrs last night! In hindsight, I see that I was trying to give him Dutch courage while he was already aware as to where he was headed!!

      *             *              *

There are many anecdotes concerning him during our long association in the IN beginning with our cadets' time on board the old INS Delhi, Midshipman's time on board the old INS Beas and the subsequent, Sub Lieutenant's courses.

What I'm gonna quote is an incident from our Midshipman days. We were going to the anchorage off Kochi one morning - all the Midshipmen were assigned as understudies to each of the part of ship officers during the evolution, as a matter of routine. He was under the charge of the Foxle officer and I happened to be the Captain's doggy. The starboard anchor was let go and the Bridge had asked the Foxle to indicate the way the cable was growing. Usually, during such times, the person is supposed to hold the small flag rolled up, held along the lay of his hand and point it towards the direction of the growth of the cable for the bridge to appreciate the strain, if any, on the cable and maneuver the ship accordingly to ease it.

For some reason, Gill had held the flag perpendicular to the lay of his hand and was trying to indicate the lay of the cable. I saw Commander H Sahney, going red in his face and asked me to follow him to the foxle and on reaching the starboard chain platform on which Gill was standing, sized his 6 foot+ frame from head to toe and said,"I'll kick you on your head". 

It remains a secret, even to this day, as to why the Commanding Officer had chosen Gill's head for his intended kick! 

        *              *              *

Gill has gone away with a promise unfulfilled. Sometime back, he'd told me about a group photograph during his primary school days at the Naval Primary School, Colaba, Bombay - during 1962-'63 - which featured his class II with their class teacher (and my mom), Ms Chandramathy Nair. He said that there was an uncanny resemblance in our looks!

RIP Gilda. My salute to a Squadron mate, a course mate and a good friend with tears and prayers. May Pritpal and the boys have the strength to tide over these stressful times.

PS.

His funeral will be held at 0800 hrs tomorrow morning following the Covid protocol. I shall pray for him, here, during that time.......And whose leg do I pull from now on?

Tailpiece.

Got up at our usual time, the chores and was ready by a quarter to 10. Sathiamma had sent our lunch add ons by 1100 hrs. Lekha had organised a perfect 'sadya'. Like she did yesterday, she made a 'pookkalam' today too, which was nice!

It was a heavy television viewing day today. The children's 'Top Singer' musical reality show came to an end this evening! It was good.       

  

Today's the 1st Onam, 'Uthraadam'.

Onam, falls in the first month of the Malayalam calendar, Chingam. It is one of the most popular festivals in Kerala and is celebrated with great enthusiasm and joy, in the months of August and September.

The festivities go on for a period of 10 days and this year, the celebrations had begun on 22 Aug and will continue till 02 Sep. Each day of the festival has its own name - the star of the day - significance and activities that are relevant for that day. There are also a few post-Onam celebrations which add to the 10-day festival. Here's a brief of what the days signify and as you are aware, quite a few of them are already behind us.

22 Aug, Atham. The festival starts with people decorating their homes with flowers, known as 'pookkalam', which attains various hues and layers with each passing day of the festival.

23 Aug, Chithira. The day is reserved for the customary cleaning of the entire house and another layer of flowers is added/the hues changed to/in the pookkalam. 

24 Aug, Chothi. On this day, following the addition/changes to the pookkalam, the family gets together and begins shopping for each other. They gift each other new clothes, known as 'Onakodi' and jewellery.

25 Aug, Vishakham. The day is considered the most auspicious of all the days and is the day when the preparations for the 'Onasadya' begins. The various competitions organised for the festival also begins today.

26 Aug, Anizham. The day of the boat race, called 'vallamkali'. It starts from the small town of Aranmula, located on the banks of the River Pamba in Pathanamthitta.

27 Aug, Thriketa. A joyous day for the children as the schools start closing and all the time is devoted to the preparation and celebration of the festival.

28 Aug, Moolam. Several places see the start of the Onasadya and dance performances. The decoration of the site also begins on this day.

29 Aug, Pooradam. On this day, the statues of Vamana and King Mahabali are cleaned and placed in the centre of the pookkalam.

30 Aug, Uthraadam. It is believed that King Mahabali reaches the state today. It is considered the most important day and people start to buy fresh vegetables and start cooking the traditional meals.

31 Aug, Thiruvonam. All the preparations done up till now come into effect. People, across the state, start the day early, exchange gifts and offer prayers at the temple. The elaborate Thiruvona sadya is prepared in all households and dance and boat racing competitions continue.

01 Sep, Avittam. The left overs of the Thiruvonam sadya is the mainstay of the meals, this day, with certain additions to complete the spread. It also sees the preparations to bid farewell to King Mahabali.

02 Sep, Chathayam. The final day when King Mahabali leaves the state. 

* This year, with the pandemic Covid-19 raging, the activities will be on a low key as wearing of masks, avoidance of crowds and social distancing are in vogue. The schools have been closed much earlier and crowd indulging in shopping has come down drastically. 

Tailpiece.

Got up on the dot, the chores and was ready by a quarter to 10. Called up friends and relatives to wish them 'happy Onam'. Lekha's preparations were superb!

 

 

Greta Thunberg has joined the JEE and NEET debate.

Right now, there is a major debate in the country about when to hold nationwide competitive exams such as JEE and NEET. There are good points on both sides. On the one hand, there are definite risks with holding exams in the time of the pandemic. On the other hand, how long can we postpone exams? Should we let young people simply waste one of their most productive years? Striking a balance will involve some difficult choices.

But see as to who has got involved in the debate. Someone all the way from a distant European country close to where Santa Claus comes from. The is what she has tweeted,

"It's deeply unfair that students of India are asked to sit national exams during the Covid-19 pandemic and while millions have also been impacted by the extreme floods. I stand with their call to #Postpone JEE_NEET in COVID".

Why is Greta Thunberg so passionate about this? When she posted this tweet, some people welcomed it while the others accused her of being ignorant or patronising towards India. 

So, there's a need to first understand who or what, Greta Thunberg is. She is not an individual who tweets on whims. She is a billion dollar brand. Her face and name are capable of raising millions of dollars for any venture. A lot of thought from a large, well paid and highly professional team goes into every venture which is backed by the brand.

Think about it : if big oil or big banks were tweeting about postponing exams in India, would you accuse them of being ignorant or patronising? Not at all. You'd be curious how the matter impacts their bottom line. So the following questions get relevant * Why is a big brand like Greta Thunberg picking up the matter of NEET and JEE exam dates in India? * It suggests that there is big money in the picture here. How did that happen? * Why is big money getting involved in a matter such as this? Probably because big interests want to destabilise India in every possible way. It's simple really. The exams are highly competitive. A very small fraction will make it through. What if those who fail are made to blame Modi instead of themselves?

This is subversion and it works. The anti-CAA protests spread like a rash across many college campuses. Someone wants to provoke the youth on a large scale and that someone has a lot of money. The same goes for abrogation of Article 370. Never have we seen top global newspapers on such a direct vilification campaign against India. Then a "riot" at the exact moment when the US President landed in India. It is promptly labelled a pogrom by intellectuals all over the world. In perfect co-ordination, they all scream : Nazi! Nazi! Nazi!

Then, the Galwan Valley clash happens in mid-June. The next day the New York Times digs up a line from Amit Shah speaking about Article 370 in Aug 2019 and claims India provoked China.

So, why is this happening?

All this began with PM Modi's second term, right when many would have concluded that BJP rule is here to stay, perhaps indefinitely. 

Someone has turned these corporate machines : from the New York Times to Greta Thunberg to churn out stuff that undermines the Government of India. That someone has a lot of money. We don't know who it is but they don't wish us well. That's for sure!

Adapted from  Abhishek Banerjee's article in OpIndia

PS.

And look who all have ganged up against - the usual culprits : Rahul Gandhi and his Congress, Mamta Banerjee, the Communists and surprisingly, Naveen Patnaik! 

Tailpiece.

Got up at our usual time, the chores and was ready by a half past 9. Washing machinex of four days' clothes! Suma, who had told Lekha that she would be fetching up for work in the morning, was prevented from doing so by the health workers monitoring the containment zone.

Got Suraaj to grease the gate's rollers and track ways which had begun to show increased resistance.   

  

Revisiting Himalayan Blunder.

Brigadier JP Dalvi had highlighted the following aspects following the Sino-Indian War of 1962. Do we still have any of the points lingering without any change, even after 58 years?   

·     *  India has a near unbroken record of military failures through the ages.

·          *    My countrymen were so conscious of what they owed Nehru that they did not want to hear about his faults.     

·          *     Seldom has the bravery of Indian soldier been utilised to win battlefield victories and thus attain        political objectives.

·          *      Friendly gestures by enemy cannot be used as an excuse for improvident hopes military inaction  and neglect.

·          *     Crash programmes have no place in long term planning.

·          *     Nehru won his Pyrrhic victory but lived to regret it.

·          *    Thimmayya needed no lessons in elementary patriotism.

·          *     Are the nation’s leaders supposed to dispense with military principles and prudence under pressure    from as nebulous a factor as public opinion?

·          *    Public opinion is an unsatisfactory reason for abandoning the basic canons of war.

·          *     It is the duty of soldiers to obey; it is equally the duty of senior soldiers on rare occasions to say that certain orders cannot be obeyed.

·          *     Kaul met most of the important politicians and government officials long before he would have done in the line of duty.

·           *     Anyone who had his ear and confidence wielded immense power.

·           *     An order more easy to issue than obey – “Fight last man last round”.

·           *     Indian Army had got into the questionable habit of rushing senior officers to the front on every occasion.

·           *    Wars are not decided in the corridors of the central secretariat, wars are not based on wishful thinking and wars are not rash promises or improvident expectations. The Himalayan mountains cannot be ignored on the pleaof urgent political necessity.

·            *     To be right and over ruled is not forgiven to personsin responsible positions.

·            *     Army Commander Gen Sen appeared to be a malignant shadow over the military horizon. 

·            *     If the attacking troops do not have a reasonable chance of success then they have been ordered to     be murdered.

·            *     Indian Army is not a mercenary army and does not expect special monetary inducements to do its duty.

·            *     We were asked to be Lions in action and dogs in obedience.

·            *     The government had become a prisoner of its own facile pronouncements.

·             *     Generals of the Army should serve in anonymity and should have no outside sponsorship. They     can ill afford to be controversial figures.

·              *    Nehru’s long era of undisputed rule had reached a penumbra.

·              *     Indian Army needs almost everything except courage.

·              *     India politicians and civil servants ensure that the army is always asking, begging, pleading and justifying.

·               *     Only if the politicians will appreciate how damaging their casual utterances can be to officialdom they may learn the virtues of silence.

·               *    Bluffing the Indian people was easy; it was not so easy to bluff the Chinese.

·               *    War is not a game of giant geniuses who rely on hunches. It is a game with many humble players, each contributing his mite to the overall effort.

·                *     The natural sense of duty and discipline of the officer corps was mistaken for servility and weakness.

·                *     Indian politicians are the only ones in the world who have no experience of war.

·                *     The trade union of the staff college qualified officers in army is very strong.

·                 *     There was a rift between the ‘Brass’ and the ‘Boots’.

·                 *     Military disaster is often national decline exposed in the violence of battle. 

 A    My take. A scrutiny of the serials above makes it clear that a few of the observations still linger for     want of a satisfactory resolution!

T

Ta    Tailpiece.

 H    Had got up at our usual time, the chores and was ready by a half past 9. Suma wasn't available, Suraaj    bought in fruits and other sundries, his wife sent across grated coconut, which were sent earlier. 

H     Had participated in the 480th session of the Aazhchakkoottam of the Foundation which encompassed    Dr George Onakkoor's lecture on 'Covid and Onam Celebrations' at the webinar between 1600 and       1700 hrs.

 

 

 

 

 

Word of the day.

 ne plus ultra

*noun  *nay-plus-UL-truh  

Definition   *the highest point capable of being attained : acme  *the most profound degree of a quality or state

Examples   *To drummers in the '70s and '80s, (Neil) Peart was an Eddie Van Halen figure, someone whose pyrotechnic chops seemed to be ne plus ultra - Christopher R Weingarten, The New York Times, 12 Jan 2020.

"The ne plus ultra of campaign trail restaurants, visited without fail election cycle after election cycle by Democrat, Republican and third-party candidates alike, is the Red Arrow Diner, a century-old, 24-hour diner in Manchester, New Hampshire. A political consultant could not imagine a better stage for the practice of person-to-person politicking". Gary He, Eater.com, 30 Jan 2020.

Did you know?

It is the height, the zenith, the ultimate, the crown, the pinnacle. It is the peak, the summit, the crest, the high-water mark. All these expressions, of course, mean "the highest point attainable". But ne plus extra may top them all when it comes to expressing in a sophisticated way that something is the pink of perfection. It is said that the term's predecessor, non plus ultra, was inscribed on the Pillars of Hercules at the Strait of Gibraltar, which marked the western end of the classical world. The phrase served as a warning : "(Let there) not (be) more (sailing) beyond". 

The New Latin version ne plus ultra, meaning "(go) no more beyond", found its way into English in the early 1600s.

      *                    *                    *

Did you know?

* Japan has a network of roads that play music as you drive over them at the correct speed. 

* There is an "echo bridge" in Singapore that allows animals to cross the highway easily.

Tailpiece.

Got up at 6, the chores and was ready by a half past 9. Suma had come by and in between her work, went across to the Rajah Hospital to have the three-week-old POP cast on her leg removed. Perused mail, gave directions to my staff at the JSS Kollam and ensured that their monthly payment coupled with the festival advance were transferred to their individual accounts by 1600 hrs.

The ward between Suma's house and ours has been declared 'a containment zone' as 6 cases of Covid has been detected in a family. The guy is a health worker at the Jubilee Mission Hospital in Thrissur. Keeping quiet about his ailment - after having contracted the illness - he continued to live a normal life with his family, consisting of wife, two children and elderly parents. He's now apologising to his immediate neighbours for his mistake : had I met him, I would have given a tight slap for being so irresponsible!

So she's gonna be off work for at least a week. Lekha has to bear the brunt!  

India's longest river rope way.

India's longest river rope way was launched over the Brahmaputra in Guwahati last Monday. The rope way is 1.82 km long and the distance can be covered in 8-9 minutes. There are two cabins and each can carry 32 passengers at a time. However, due to Covid-19 pandemic, only 15 people will be allowed for the time being, the Metropolitan Development Authority has said.

Fact file

* Project started in 2006   * Length 1,820 mts   * Project cost Rs.5,608.20 lakhs   * No of terminals  2    * Lower Terminal  Panbazar Guwahati, in front of Nehru Park   * Upper Terminal  Rajadwar village         behind Dolgovinda Temple   * Parking facility for upper terminal    70 cars and 80 two-wheelers          * Parking facility for lower terminal  100 cars and 80 two-wheelers   * Facilities in terminal  Passenger     handling area, ticket counter, parking facility, public convenience   * No of trestles supports  5(near       LTP and UTP), Umananda Island and 2 on riverbed with well foundation   * Rope way capacity  250     people per hour    * Cabin capacity  32 people at a time    * Rescue system  Self-driven carriage and       cabin   * Rope way type  Twin track, single haul, bi-cable double reversible jig back system                                                                                                                                                                                         How will locals benefit?                                                                                                                               

The people of North Guwahati suffer a lot during every flood when the ferry services remain suspended on the Brahmaputra. Travel by road to reach Guwahati not only takes a lot of time, it also pinches one's pocket.

    *                *                 *

The biggest difference between money and time : You always know how much money you have but you never know how much time you have.

    *                  *                 *

The 5 Ws of life

* Who you are is what makes you special. Do not change for anyone  * What lies ahead will always be a mystery. Do not be afraid. Keep your faith  * When life pushes you over, be strong and push back harder. Pray and keep believing  * Where there are choices to make, make the one you won't regret  * Why things happen will never be certain. Take it in stride, trust God and move forward

Tailpiece.

Got up at 6, the chores and was ready by a half past 9. Another quiet day but a bit warm. It was Lekha's show all the way but Suma had called up to say that she would be fetching up for work tomorrow. The next batch of grocery - from Harisree - was brought in by the delivery boy.                                                                               

                                                                           

Certain scientific and technological updates.

X-Ray to know effect on the lungs

Using a novel technique which enables high resolution imaging of damaged lung tissues, scientists have found the changes caused by severe Covid-19 in the structure of the organ's blood vessels and air sacs; findings that may support the development of new treatment methods against the disease. A new X-Ray technique which enables high resolution and three-dimensional imaging of lung tissues infected with the novel corona virus SARS-CoV-2.

Using the new method, the researchers observed significant changes in the blood vessels, inflammation and a deposition of proteins and dead cells on the walls of the lungs' tiny air sacs called alveoli. The changes make gas exchange by the organ difficult or impossible. The new imaging approach allows these changes to be visualised, for the first time, in larger tissue volumes, without damaging the tissue. 

No respite for animals either?

Humans are not the only species facing a potential threat from the novel corona virus that causes Covid-19, according to a new study which says several critically endangered primates such as the Western lowland gorilla, Sumatran orangutan and Northern white-cheeked gibbon may be susceptible to infection with the virus.

Animals with all 25 amino acid residues matching the human protein are predicted to be at the highest risk for contracting SARS-CoV-2 via ACE2. Scientists used genomic analysis to compare the structure of the ACE2 receptor protein which the novel corona virus uses to enter cells across 410 different species of vertebrates including birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles and mammals.

Expiry of Explorer

Microsoft has announced that they would stop supporting Internet Explorer altogether, including IE 11, the latest iteration, this time next year.

In 1994, a top of the line commercial browser was dominating the marketplace, named Netscape Navigator and it had 80% of the market share in the latter part of 1995. That's when Microsoft's Internet Explorer 1 was born. 

From the late '90s, IE was the preferred medium to any address in the internet in the world and by 2003, its market share was 95%. But the game changed for good when the likes of Firefox and Chrome entered the market. It started losing ground after new Operating Systems like Android and iOS emerged and IE was rendered incompatible.

Tailpiece.   

Got up about a half an hour late, went through the chores and was ready by 1000 hrs. Washing machinex of the clothes and it was Lekha's show, all the way, as Suma would be absent for the next few days.

To Kochi and back.

We'd got up on the dot at 6, gone through the chores and were ready well in time. Suraaj, our chauffeur for the day, came in by 1000 hrs. Earlier, Lekha and I had a colonial breakfast of toasts, butter, marmalade and eggs. It was light but sustaining enough for such a journey. 

I'd kept two things to be done before kicking off for Kochi. Accordingly, we went to the place where the 'pollution under control' certificate was issued. It was its owner who said that the Chevy's PUC certificate was valid up to 24 Nov 2020 - a fact that had gone completely out of my mind! The tyre pressure was checked at the Rajah Petrol Pump.

It was only then that we had taken off for Kochi and that, too, through Kodungalloor. What we noticed was that most of the shops were opened and doing business. People were on the roads and I got the impression that they were out to do their Onam shopping. The roads were full of private vehicles which made up for the limited number of road transport corporation buses and private buses that were plying.

We reached 'Shenoy Care' by a quarter to 2. I left Lekha at the entrance of the clinic as attendants weren't allowed inside as per the Covid protocol, currently in vogue. Lekha had finished her lunch in the car itself. Suraaj and I had our lunch - it was fried rice, salad and pickle - in the Chevy, at the parking slot.

We made a quick trip across the highway to the Chevrolet service station. The front bumper liner had to be fixed which had worked out loose from its moorings. Bodwin and Ameer had got the job done and we'd returned by about a quarter past 4. The entire servicing station is manned by a new set of people and I couldn't meet anyone of those who were there between 2011 and 2013. I only hope that they are working elsewhere and are in the various stages of their professional progression.

Dr Padmanabha Shenoy was glad that Lekha had reduced her weight through exercises - he had advised us to buy the static exercise bicycle and it was turning out to be effective/yielding results! He has told her not to worry about her ESR which is hovering around 60; the rest of her parameters are well within limits. 

Lekha was out of the clinic by 35' past 5. All of us had a cup of tea each with a snack and we were soon on our return trip to Guruvayur. The traffic was quite heavy throughout and by the time we reached 'The Quarterdeck', it was a half past 8. Suraaj was quickly dispatched and we went about settling down for the evening.

It was a short, swift trip and I'm glad that we could pull it off in these times of a continuous spike in the number of Covid cases every day! 

Tailpiece.

The weather was nice throughout.       

Rise of the ocean.

Sea level rise quickens as Greenland ice sheet sheds record amount.

Greenland's massive ice sheet saw a record net loss in the last year, raising red flags about accelerating sea level rise. That is equivalent to an additional three million tons of water streaming into global oceans everyday or six Olympic pools every second. According to a study by Communications Earth and Environment, last year's loss of mass was at least 15% above the record in 2012 but even more alarming are the long term trends.  

586 billion tons was the net loss of ice from the Greenland ice sheet in 2019 due to changing weather pattern.

The alarming rise in water level

Crumbling glaciers and torrents of melt-water slicing through Greenland's ice block - as thick as ten Eiffel Towers end-to-end - were the single biggest source of global sea level rise in 2019 and accounted for 40% of the total, reported researchers.

Redrawing world's coastlines soon

If all of Greenland's ice sheet were to melt, it would lift global seas by seven metres (23 ft). Even a more modest rise of a couple of metres would redraw the world's coastlines and render land occupied today by hundreds of millions of people uninhabitable.

Total ice sheet lost in 2019 - 1.13 trillion tons. 55% melted ice and 45% from glaciers sliding into sea.

Climate change

Changing weather patterns - also a consequence of climate change - has resulted in less cloud cover and less snow. These high pressure systems have also resulted in warmer, sunny days, accelerating the loss of mass.

Retreating sheet

Until 2000, Greenland's ice sheet - covering an area three times the size of France - generally accumulated as much mass as it shed. Over the last two decades, the pace of global warming has upended this balance.

Seventh highest melt days in 2019

According to NSIDC, melting on the Greenland ice sheet for 2019 was the seventh-highest since 1978. The ice sheet has experienced a general increase in melting, with melt-day area for 2019 totaling 28.3 mn square kilometres for the season. Despite the less-than-record number of melt days, models show that 2019 had very large net ice loss for the year.

The ice sheet is now tracking the worst-case global warming scenario.....2019 and the four other record-loss years have all occurred in the last decade.......we need to prepare for an extra 10 cm or so of global sea level rise by 2100 from Greenland alone.

- Andrew Shepherd, director of the Centre for Polar Observation and Modelling at the University of Leeds.

Tailpiece.

Got up half an hour later than our usual time. Suma gave us the scare that her ward has been made a 'containment zone' due to four Covid cases. The chores and was ready by a half past 9. Earlier, Suma had fetched up since the policemen on duty let her come for work!

It was a quiet Sunday, otherwise.

All set to go to Kochi, for Lekha's medical review, tomorrow. We'll return by evening and Suraaj will be the chauffeur. 

Remembering Amma.

It has been four years since my Amma had passed into the mist of time. Today's the 'Atham' star as per the Malayalam calendar. Can never forget this day, four years back, when her end had come by. Till then, I'd been passing on condolences to close friends and relatives when they lost their mothers, thanking God that my Amma was still with me.

It used to be days of fun and laughter with Amma and she used to tell me about her childhood, coupled with numerous nuggets of anecdotes that I wanted to hear. She seemed to be basking at the attention that I was giving her but actually, the predominant feeling was the other way round from my side - I was getting all the time in the world to be with her, who used to laugh at the PJs that I used to crack!

Our interaction used to begin right in the morning, when I used to tip toe to her bedroom lest that I'd be disturbing her. Invariably, she would be up and about and we used to wish each other. As I folded her bed cover - in true boarding school style - and switched on the geyser, she'd slowly organise herself for the wash and change. I would, then, go for my walk. 

She was very particular about the clothes that she wore as they had to be pressed and the blouse/its border should match the design on the 'mundum neriyathum'. After her short prayer to the Sun (Her room had an east-facing window), she'd be ready to go down the stairs by a quarter past 7 - the time was sacrosanct and so, she used to be on the dot. Her small satchel with a comb, talcum powder, reading material and a towel - her personal effects - would be handed over to me.

I used to lead as she negotiated the stairs just to be ready to block her if, God forbid, she were to take a tumble. She used to say her short prayer at the puja room before settling down on her seat at the dining table, have her warm cup of tea along with either rusks or biscuits while poring through the day's newspaper. The newspaper boy had been instructed that the days papers should fetch up by then and Ramakrishnan never, ever failed her as he was very fond of her. I remember how sad she was when he'd told her about his son's untimely death, due to an accident!

The farmhand, Pushpaakaran, kept his tryst with her every morning just to touch her feet and accept the cup of tea that she insisted upon handing over to him personally. I would have, by then, finished my floor exercises, wash and change so that the three of us could have breakfast together at 9. Later, sitting on the sofa in the sitting room, we used to be in continuous conversation before I went upstairs to work on my laptop. She used to read, speak to a few people over the telephone (a habit that she tapered as she had a problem in hearing but avoided her hearing aid!)  - she'd have made a mental list much before and take a short nap before I returned to be with her, to continue with our conversation. 

Lunch together at 1, a bit more of conversation and it was siesta time. We would be back for the evening cup of tea and around 5 o'clock, she used to insist on walking up and down, at the courtyard, holding my hand. She used to talk to anyone and everyone who passed by on the road, during that time. She used to have a wash and change and then, settle down for the evening prayer. 

She used to watch the television for a while but preferred talking to us till it was dinner time at 9. In between, was fruit the fruit session which she thoroughly enjoyed. By a half past 9, we used to trudge up the stairway - this time in reverse order - and I would make her bed. We used to watch the television, together, for about an hour and by a half past 10, it was pipe down - to use a naval terminology - when she turned in to bed. I would wrap her up with the cover and wish her a sound sleep.

Today was the day to relive each of those lively and lovely moments with Amma. As I punch in these thoughts of mine, sitting at the foot of her bed, how I wish she was on the bed conversing with me! I'm sure she's around, watching me!

My Amma bestest!

Tailpiece.

Got up at a half past 5, the chores and we were ready by a half past 6. Offered the 'bali tharpanam' for Amma - there was a crow on the coconut tree, close by, which had cawed early in the morning, watching Lekha and me place the offering of rice - rolled into two balls - on the banana leaf. As we moved away, the crow had descended to a lower branch of a nearby tree for the final swoop, when lo and behold, Veena and Jismy, the nurses from the Rajah Hospital fetched up - in the their full Covid attire to collect our blood samples as we'd our medical review on Monday - scaring it away, never to return! What a tragedy?

Our lab results are within parameters. Ramesh and Appu had come by for the garden work. The 'waste dispenser' was emptied, cleaned and resited, the grass was clipped and the potted plants were trimmed, cleared and slurry applied, along with water.            

Heroes have feet of clay!

 Very sad!

The Sushant Singh Rajput incident has made me realise what a fool I have been all my life. In my younger days, I idolised Amitabh Bachchan as he fought for what's right in Shahenshah. Through my youth, I believed Shahrukh Khan was the true Badshah as he jumped fires to fight villains. Then came Akshay Kumar, Hrithik Roshan and a whole lot of them. 

What a fool I was! Today their deafening silence over the Sushant story has made me realise they are nothing but weak hearted clowns who painted their faces to entertain us.

The non-reactive behaviour of these so-called heroes seems very abnormal and against the norm of nature to me. Do you wonder why I say this?

When a crow dies, several other crows gather around the body of their mate. Even the most feeble insect - the ant, is shown respect and solidarity by the others of its species as they march carrying its dead body on their shoulders. And how do we see these Khans, Bachchans and Kapoors reacting to their colleague's death? - with silence, invisibility, indifference. Their souls are darker than a crow's and their hearts are tinier than that of an ant.

I am not passing judgement if it was a suicide or murder - because I do not know. None of us, probably, do. It's simple logic that his death is not normal. That's why the CBI has descended to understand what ended the life of a 34 year old wonderful human being. We can't just say RIP and join hands for his soul because he didn't die of cancer or heart attack like Irrfan Khan, Rishi Kapoor or Saroj Khan.

I believe most of the people who are demanding a thorough investigation, are neither his relatives, friends  nor colleagues. Our primal instinct was making us stand in solidarity. But why are these biggies silent? Are they even human? Mr Bachchan, are our voices reaching up to you? Madhuri Dixit, would you be able to forgive yourself? You know best how much he loved you, he died and you are silent. Why???

Deepika Padukone, I always believed you were a good soul and as fierce as Padmavat. The way you ran to be beside the ruckus-makers at the JNU, not too long ago, exposed your sham! Aw shucks, you people fooled us - the educated audience (the corporate, the doctors, teachers, bankers, the engineers and above all, the common man - we all are fools) and you feed on our hard-earned money. You don't deserve the luxurious life at our cost. Your masks - no, not the Corona ones - are out. 

You are mere clowns with face-paint who have become the movie mafia. Time to get you on the mat!

- Adapted from a What'sApp post.

Tailpiece.

Got up at 6, the chores but was ready by a quarter to 10. Finished quite a few pending jobs and felt light! 

News from here and there.

 Am continuing my analysis of the news that has been grabbing the headlines of late.

(a) The WSJ Report

A report by The Wall Street Journal, last week, alleged that senior Facebook executives had opposed applying hate speech rules to posts by certain BJP leaders has the Congress and the BJP engaged in a bitter war of words. The opposition is demanding a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) probe into the matter, which has been rejected by the BJP.

The Congress has raised the issue of bias with many Facebook and What'sApp executives. But, frankly, what makes me - as a common man - laugh is the biggest hoodwinking in the name of a JPC probe. Remember the hue and cry made by politicians, of all hues, regarding the JPC probe on the Bofors issue. After the usual hedging and hawing, consuming an awfully long period of time, the committee had come to the conclusion that the guns were good (As though it was ever contested) and that bribes were never given nor taken!

And all are aware as to how the facts about the bribes having been accepted by the Indian side had come out in the open, subsequently!

(b) The Indian Vaccine

I find it rather strange. While Russia is trying to impress upon the world that it has come out with an-anti Corona virus vaccine without having gone through the entire third phase of clinical trials, the Indian government has cautioned against pinning too much hope on the vaccines being developed within the country. As per reports, there are three vaccines that are in various stages of development.

The lead time of the evolution of any vaccine could stretch for long periods and I'm reminded of Ivan Ilyich's 'Nemesis' which has said that the evolution and the spread and decline of any pandemic follows a 'normal curve'. And the antidote to the pandemic is usually developed towards the downward slope of the normal curve when, anyways, the ailment would be on a decline!

I endorse the caution shown by the Indian health authorities!

(c) A Bipartisan Resolution

A bipartisan US Senate resolution has condemned China's use of military force along the LAC and accused Beijing of trying to change the status quo while calling for a diplomatic solution on the issue. The resolution was introduced by co-chairs of Senate Indian Caucus, senators John Cornyn and Mark Warner.

In a reference to India banning 59 Chinese apps, the resolution heaped praise on India for taking steps to protect its telecommunication infrastructure from Chinese threats and backed New Delhi on partnerships like 'Quad' to ensure a rules based order in the Indo-Pacific region. Quad is an informal partnership between the US, Australia, Japan and India.

The current bonhomie between India and the US is a game changer in the region.

Tailpiece.

Got up at 6, the chores and was ready by a half past 9. A doctor that I know of, gave me a bleak bit of news regarding the rise in Corona cases in Kerala. Today, it's 1962 and he seems to be pretty sure that the numbers would be @ 10,000 cases, after a fortnight. 

I only hope that he's being a bit too pessimistic and is terribly wrong! 

My niece, Reshmi all of 45 years, had to be taken to a nearby clinic because of palpitation of the heart. She's back at her home and is slated to visit Tiny Nair, the cardiologist tomorrow, for a detailed check up.            

From here and there.

 Am touching upon a few news bytes from across the world for an analysis. Without much ado, let me get on with it.

(a) Aamir Khan in Turkey.

The film actor met the Turkish dictator with a lot of publicity accompanied with pomp and show. A President giving great importance to an actor is unheard of. Is there an agenda that's missing through the naked eyes. The following factors are discernible :-

* Not very long ago, he'd made a political statement by claiming that his wife is afraid to stay in India after Narendra Modi had become PM. * He has not made any movie showing the social evils of Islamic society. He has found nothing wrong with burqa or triple talaq or polygamy or halala or at least on how teenage girls are sold to old Arabs in mutha (temporary) marriages. * The Turkish President, along with Mohammed Mahathir, the former PM of Malaysia and PM Imran Khan of Pakistan had criticised the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir. Recep Thayyip Erdogan, the Turkish President has been nursing grandiose dreams of being the leader of the world's Muslim countries.

By this act of Aamir Khan's, is he sending his followers a message that Turkey is the new boss and we need to follow it? Or has he beaten his competitors in reaching out to the Caliphate?

But my question is as to how has he been able to do this? Had he taken the government's clearance?

(b) CBI to Investigate.

Finally, after 66 days of relentless investigation by his team, Arnab Goswami and his Republican TV team has been able to establish that the Bombay Police had botched up the investigation regarding Sushant Singh Rajput's end (It's yet to file an FIR in the case!), his end was brought about by a murder-most-foul and not suicide as was being projected to save the people connected to it and therefore, a CBI investigation was the logical requirement to get at the truth.

Today, around 1100 hrs, the Supreme Court had just ordered that. The CBI shall investigate the case. The Maharashtra government, which has all along being saying that the CBI shall not be brought in, post-judgement has said that it will carry out a parallel investigation to save its face. Udhav Thackeray, your days, as chief minister, are numbered. It's better you make an honourable exit......oh you will cling on to the seat of power because you've to retrieve your son from the mess that he has got himself in!

That guy, Param Bir Singh, the Commissioner of Police who was in charge of the investigation, must quickly put in his papers and find convincing answers to tell his children as to why he made an ass of himself?

(c) She Won't Make a Difference.

To my mind, many Indians are unnecessarily getting thrilled about Kamala Harris who has got the VP ticket of the Democratic Party for the forthcoming US Presidential Election in Nov 2020. Though her Jamaican father, had left the family while she was quite young and it was her Indian mother, who'd brought her up, towards the run up towards getting the nomination she'd projected herself as an African American.

Let's take a hypothetical situation that her party ultimately wins the elections, it would be foolhardy to think her to be spearheading a pro-Indian stand by her government. If some of us do, it will be at our own peril! It's because the immigrant communities try to be more American-like than the Americans themselves!!  

Tailpiece.

Got up at 6, the chores and was ready by a half past 9. A quiet day comparatively! It rained for a short while, in bursts, but was generally bright and sunny.

News views.

 Just going through the news bytes that had been grabbing the headlines in the recent days. 

(a) Prashant Bhushan

      Lawyer Prashant Bhushan has been caught on the wrong foot this time and that, too, by the highest        court of the land. For the past few years, he has been raising allegation after allegation against                the present dispensation, governing the country. All his allegations and cases filed have been                  thrown out of the window by the Supreme Court as they lacked substance/proof. To me, it appeared        as though he'd a personal grudge towards PM Modi and his government. A man of his seniority              must stand for the truth and nothing but the truth and must not get carried away by blind hatred              towards an individual. Or is it because, knowing that PM Modi is consolidating the support of his          countrymen by the work that he's doing and consequently would be at the helm of affairs for a long        time, he's throwing anything and everything at him, with the misguided hope that at least                        something sticks?

      With such thoughts, he can be a bitter man at this stage of his life! The verdict on his case is                    awaited shortly.

 (b) Sushant Rajput's case

       Arnab Goswami and his Republic TV Network has been doggedly investigating the case for the             last so many weeks. Thanks to the efforts, the initial story of the actor's death being brought by               suicide has been blown into smithereens and the doubt that he could have been murdered by a                 cabal of the Hindi film world with the political party in power, having a stake in it. Naturally, the           levers of government power have been used to ensure that the police botches up the investigation,           come what may.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   One feels pity for those men in uniform who don't seem to realise that they will be used and                   chucked away once their role is over. Why can't guys show loyalty to their profession?

  (c) Covid Cases on the Rise.

        The Covid cases are on the rise in Kerala at an alarming rate : today it was @ 1,725 cases. There            has been a lot of laxity on behalf of the general public who seem to desperately want to move                  about, breaking all the norms that are to be followed against the spread of the deadly virus. There            is another story that is gaining currency among the common man.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    And that is, with the government increasingly getting cornered in the 'gold smuggling case' has              been fudging the numbers so that they can appeal against any sort of agitation by the opposition              to bring down the government. The High Court had initially ordered that there shall be no                        agitations till 31 Jul, which has been extended to the 31st of this month.

Tailpiece.

Got up at 6, the chores and was ready by a quarter to 10. Suraaj's auto rickshaw was hired to take me to the bank's ATM to pull out cash, the one near the house has not been replenished since yesterday!   

The blunder and the remedy!

This is the story about Balochistan!

It was 27 Mar 1948. A broadcast on the All India Radio from that day, changed the fate of the BALOCH as well as INDIA too. The news reported a press conference by VP Menon, the secretary in the Ministry of States : "Menon revealed that the Khan of Kalat was pressing India to accept Kalat's accession but added that India would have nothing to do with it".

Hakim Baloch, a former chief secretary of Balochistan, an author and a historian, who has written several books on Balochistan, confirms that AIR did indeed broadcast Menon's statement.

The very next day, Sardar Patel issued a contradiction that no such request from the Khan of Kalat was ever received by India. Again on 30 Mar 1948, PM Nehru went to great lengths to deny what Menon had said. The Khan of Kalat too denied the report but by this time, the fate of Balochistan had been sealed. While Indian leaders were issuing contradictory statements on 27 Mar 1948, Pakistan military had invaded Kalat. The Khan of Kalat was forcibly taken to the capital of Pakistan, Karachi and was made to sign on the instrument of accession while Pakistan Navy had reached the coastal towns of Pasni and Jiwani.

It is a sad historical note that while India's founding fathers were fumbling, Pakistan PM Liaqat Ali Khan (Who was a Nawab from UP), on 22 Mar 1948, was meeting the three Service Chiefs to oversee the invasion plans of Kalat and Makran.

The Khan of Kalat tried his best to retain the independent status of his state. He tried for an arrangement with both Iran and Afghanistan as well as with London on the lines that the UK had with Oman. While Pakistan was waging a war in Kashmir in 1948, Khan of Kalat was pleading with India for accession. Even in Mar 1946, he sent his top leaders including Mir Bizenjo to Delhi who met besides others, the Congress president Maulana Abul Kalam Azad, to seek India's support for an independent Balochistan. 

Mir Ghaus Bizenjo confirmed to Ahmar Musti Khan (a senior Baloch journalist based in Washington) that Azad ruled out any help to Balochistan as he believed an independent Balochistan, serving as a British base, would undermine the independence of the subcontinent.

How tragically wrong were the rulers of India then. Vikram Sood, former RAW chief wrote in an article in Feb 2006 in which he regretted that the new rulers in New Delhi were too engrossed with Kashmir and Hyderabad to see the strategic significance of a sovereign Balochistan.

"While the Pakistan Army occupied Kalat, India stood by silently; Lord Mountbatten, Mahatma Gandhi, Nehru or Maulana Azad.....said nothing about the rape of Balochistan" according to another Indian scholar Deepak Basu.

It is sad that the Congress leadership miscalculated everything and showed their criminal lack of statesmanship in 1948. Had they listened to the Khan of Kalat, even the jihad in Kashmir would not have occurred which created the AK issue and the fate of the subcontinent would have been different.

Kalat's full name was Kalat-e-Sewa (Sewa's Fort), after Sewa, a legendary hero of the Brahui-speaking Baloch people. On 15 Aug 1947, when Jinnah recognised it as a free state, Kalat had a foreign minister named Douglas Yates Fell and an ambassador in Karachi's Garden district on whose residence flew the flag of Independent Balochistan, from 15 Aug 1947 to 28 Mar 1948.

           WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE

India must help Balochistan which is in the geo-strategic interest and defence of India.

The Indian Government must politically and strategically help the Baloch movement.  Engaging with the Pakistan criminal junta at all the possible international forums, helping a Baloch freedom movement through diplomatic and political means, creating mass awareness in the world's capitals and Parliaments through media campaigns, would not only put pressure on the nefarious nexus of China and Pakistan but would also go a long way in redressing the historical ineptitude of the forefathers of India.

- Adapted from Khalid Umar's article. 

Tailpiece.

Got up at 6, the chores and was ready by a quarter to 10. It's the 1st of the Malayalam month of Chingam. There was a sense of festivity in the air despite the lock down in many places. 

With the receding of the monsoon, it has begun to get warm.   

The 'Chaos Doctrine' : India's Brahmastra Against China.

 In ancient Indian history, the Brahmastra is a supernatural weapon used in the war of Mahabharata. When discharged, it creates a fierce fireball, which destroys all trees, oceans and animals. The sky surrounds with flame. glaciers melt and mountains shatter. Not a single blade of grass ever grows in that area, no rainfall for 12 divine years (4,320 years) and climate conditions worsen. The strike of the Brahmastra destroys everything.

               CHINA'S MISPLACED IDEOLOGICAL STRATEGY

Mao Zedong, the first Chairman of the People's Republic of China took great pride in guerilla tactics. He wrote, "The guerilla must move among people as a fish swims in the sea. When a nation is inferior in arms and military equipment, then it may employ guerilla tactics against a more powerful transgressor".

Mao was not a great tactician but he had good generals under him. Those generals drew heavily from their one time masters, Mongols. Mongol armies were the dominant force in Eurasia in the 13th century. Their strategy was described by absolute discipline, a well-defined chain of command, superior communications strategy, exceptional mobility and a tactical doctrine unifying all the components.

If we read Mao's statement carefully, it states, 'when a nation is inferior it should apply guerilla tactics'. So either it is an incomplete strategy or misplaced thinking. Keeping Mao's strategy in mind, modern China has devised a faulty war doctrine, based on Sun Tzu's ideology. Sun Tzu's teachings work in the domestic environment but produce hardly any international results.

                  ADVENT OF INDIAN CHAOS DOCTRINE

As per the Cambridge Dictionary, 'Chaos is a state of complete disorder and confusion'. I propose a 'Chaos Doctrine' to be used against China. Why disorder and confusion? How does that benefit India? Let us analyse.

This is an outline to help the military planner of India to draw their own conclusions. A doctrine is a very vast topic and many volumes may not suffice to give the full picture.

As it is very much evident from the introduction that modern China shifted from the original strategy to the present 'President-for-life', 'Xi Jinping's Thoughts'. China even ditched Deng Xiaoping's 'tao guang yang hui' approach, meaning "keep a low profile and bide your time", to an overtly aggressive approach. Petulant China abhors uncertainty and unpredictability and that's what the 'Chaos Doctrine' is all about.

The Chaos Doctrine would be haphazard in nature for any outsider but will have a pattern known only to the executioner. The main components of the 'Chaos Doctrine would be :-

* Discredited Leadership  *Inward Looking Society * Questionable Military * Collapsed Education System * Uncertainty in Commerce and Finance * Recruitment overdrive * Propaganda Blitzkreig

'Chaos Doctrine' should propagate and blur the difference between a soldier and a civilian. Either an individual would be a soldier or would be working towards the common goal in his/her capacity.

                  CONCLUSION

The best tool in India's hand is not fighting a conventional war, but famine, disease and the bankruptcy of China and the breakdown of the whole social organisation in that country. The Indian Republic and Indian citizens, despite capability, are not in favour  of Chemical and Biological warfare, else that would have been a great tool while dealing with China, a country that has no qualms about using these elements against its opponents.

If this menace is not stopped now the world is heading for World War III. There is no 'modus vivendi' possible with this nation. India not only has to take action against this evil force but make all other like-minded nations aware of the evil designs of this Minotaur and the menagerie of nations it is gathering, to create an incongruous world of its own.

Big bang of Chinese economic and military might is over, the Big Crunch has just been initiated. Distrust and disinformation would be the hallmark of the new China. The Chaos Doctrine has just been unleashed.

Courtesy. Adapted from Sandomina - Insightful Geopolitics. 

Tailpiece.

Got up a trifle late, being Sunday. The chores and was ready by a half past 9. The last day of the Malayalam month of 'Karkkidakom' - the 32nd day. 

Lekha had completed the recital of the Ramayana this evening! 

  

The Bangalore Violence.

 How rioters launched guerilla-like attack against cops. This is asymmetric warfare. Let's get that right.

What we are seeing is asymmetric war against the very existence of the Union of India. These are not just spontaneous outbursts by some "misguided youth". These people form part of what, earlier, we knew as Razaakars. They are well trained and work in tandem. Batches of them are allotted specific tasks.

The main planners target a particular event or person or something on a given date, time and place and look for a scapegoat. Once planned, 1000s will converge at the designated place in a highly organised manner.

One batch is allotted task to block main arterial roads to prevent movement of security forces, disable police vehicle, fire fighters and such other service providers. One batch is directed to disable CCTV and other electronic monitoring devices.  One batch is tasked to create those huge blood curdling war cries that numbs ordinary folks. One batch carries the small Molotov cocktail bottles and other incendiary material to start those small fires. One batch carries the necessary inflammatory material like petrol, diesel etc that convert these small incendiary fires into uncontrollable conflagration. 

One batch specialises in stone pelting and engages police in what could be incidental minor incidents. Then there is the human fire wall, generally comprising of women and children who get injured and who are used as material to show the victim card. Another batch does the drama of social responsibility, like protecting public property etc. There are expert photographers who carefully record scripted photos for use as victim cards. The entire mission is completed within a period of 2-3 hours and the crowd disappears into thin air.

Immediately, the national ecosystem gets activated. The libtards, the seculars and more particularly the typical "secular" political parties start a choreographed narration on secularism and blame the Hindus. Within hours of the incident, from Washington Post, New York Times, BBC, Business Standard down to the Scroll, Print, Hindu and scores of such media, all start a choreographed narration, get up teem photos of the event, use multiple scripts to blame the Hindus. The whole thing is so well done that the Hindus start feeling guilty and get trapped and the Jihadis have achieved a larger objective of leaving behind the foot print of "direct action" that is on the way.

The effect of such riots are long terms. It is part of a long term sinister plan to test various models Gazwa-e-Hind project on one hand and before that, to put the local people in awe of the power of these Jihadis raise flash hit and run mobs across the country. Be it Delhi or Bangalore or any other part of the city. It is to break the country into more Pakistans. What are we thinking?

Source. The Times of India.

My take.

On the occasion of the 74th Independence Day, let's take a strong resolve that we shall stand united and strive hard to preserve the unity and security of the country. We shall neither allow any external sinister forces nor the fifth columnists to endanger our great nation! Let's remain ever vigilant!!

Tailpiece.

Got up at 6 and went through the chores. Hoisted the tricolour at our balcony at 8. Was ready by a trifle after a half past 9. Cleaned up the tyre hubs of the Chevy, that was a long pending job though the car was washed, clean a week back.

Ridge Point and other stories.

1. Ridge Point

The Ridge Point  at Sakleshpur, Western Ghats of Karnataka - the fate of each rainfall is decided here. From here, it either ends up in the Arabian Sea or in the Bay of Bengal. Cool, isn't it?

The stone laid by the British officers has inscribed on it, the words - Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and the Ridge. If you were to travel towards Sakleshpur from Bisle Ghat, you will reach a scenic hamlet called Mankanahalli just 5 km from Bisle. There you will find an inscription laid on a concrete platform. The inscription makes a mention of the Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal and the 'Ridge'. This is the point in the mountains that determines which way rivers or streams are likely to flow.

British officers on their topographical survey of the Western Ghats found that it was the point where rain water splits and reaches two different seas. The rain water from the series of hills and mountains to the left of this point flows towards the west drainage basins that feed into the Arabian Sea while water from the right or eastern side drains into the Bay of Bengal.

The small rivers and streams that flow westward from this ridge point join the Kumaradhara and Nethravathi rivers after a short run varying from 20 - 60 km and finally meet the Arabian Sea. The eastward flowing water from this ridge flows for a length as tributaries of the Hemavathi river and is useful for irrigation and drinking water purposes.  

        *                   *                    *

2. Hilarious but a fact

In old Roman Courts, instead of taking oath on the sacred books, men used to swear holding their testicles. The word 'testify' originated from 'testicles'.

If proved false, the testes of the liars were cut and fed to the dogs nearby.

         *                   *                    *

3. Did you know

(a) The statue of Neptune, God of Water, stands about 40 ft off the shores of Gran Canaria. Most of the day it is fully visible but when the tide comes in, it looks like it's emerging from the depths of the sea.

(b) Banana is a happy fruit. Eating just one can help you relieve irritable emotions, anger or depression.

(c) The full form of Google is "Global Organization of Oriented Group Language of Earth".

(d) Amorphophallus Titanium, one of the largest flowers in the world, blooms once every 40 years only for 4 days.

(e) The world's most expensive material is "Antimatter" i.e, 1 gm costs $25 Billion. Just 1 gm of this material is enough to destroy the entire New York City.

(f)  The Blue Java Banana is said to have the same consistency as ice cream and a similar flavour to vanilla.

Tailpiece.

Got up at 6, the chores and was ready by a half past 9. A quiet day. Took part in a webinar from 1600 - 1730 hrs on the new paper on environment passed by the central government to the state governments, for suggestions and additions and alterations.

   

A great ecological disaster averted by a whisker!

 It's a race against time. Salvage crews had worked round the clock to prevent a second disastrous oil spill off the picture-perfect coastline of Mauritius, with a damaged tanker carrying thousands of tons of fuel at risk of splitting apart. It had run aground on a coral reef. A look at the ecological damage that was averted.....

What happened?

The bulk carrier MV Wakashio ran aground on 25 Jul with 6,000 tons of fuel on board and began seeping oil, staining coral reefs, mangrove forests and tranquil lagoons, bringing about an unprecedented threat of environmental catastrophe for the archipelago nation. 

More than 1,000 tons had already oozed out from the ship, its Japanese operator had said, causing untold ecological damage to protected marine parks and fishing grounds that form the backbone of Mauritius' economy.

Strong winds delayed work

Fuel was being airlifted the following Monday by helicopter to the shore but efforts to pump more from the hold were thwarted by rough seas and strong winds. The weather, which was also fanning the oil slick further up the coast showed no signs of improving, at that point of time.

Fresh cracks identified

Some fuel was removed but 2,500 tons still remained on board towards end-Jul. Divers had reported fresh cracks in the hull, while creaking sounds from the vessel could be heard from the southeast shore, where a major clean-up operation was undertaken.

Around 400 sea booms were deployed to contain the spill.

State of Emergency

PM Pravind Jugnauth had declared a state of emergency and appealed for international help. He had then said that the spill "represented a danger" for the country.

Measures that were taken

* People had created long floating oil booms to slow the spread on to the coast. The hastily made fabric booms, stuffed with sugarcane leaves and straw and kept afloat with plastic bottles were effective.          * People were also using empty oil drums to scoop up as much oil as possible from shallower waters.

The latest sitrep

All the oil that was on board the tanker has since been pumped out and a major disaster was averted. 

Tailpiece.

Had got up at 6, the chores and was ready by a half past 9. Suma had fetched up for work after a lapse of five days. Phew! She has a small strip of plaster around the calf region of her right foot, which didn't hamper her work. She wasn't allowed to go to the first floor for work. 

 

Lord Sri Krishna - a fact file.

Today is Janamashtami, the birthday of Lord Sri Krishna, the ninth avatar of Maha Vishnu. While wishing everyone a happy Janamashtami, let's go through this fact file.

Krishna was born 5,252 years ago as on 11 Aug 2020, Year of Birth - Shravan, Day - Ashtami, Nakshatra - Rohini (Aldebran), Day - Wednesday, Time - 0001 hrs

Date of Birth  -  18 Jul 3228 BCE.

Krishna lived 125 years, 08 months and 07 days.

When Krishna was 89 years old, the Kurukshetra war took place and died 36 years after it on 18 Feb 3102. The war was started on Mrigashira Shukla Ekadasi, 3139 BCE ie. 08 Dec 3139 and ended on 25 Dec 3139 (There was a solar eclipse between 1500 to 1700 hrs on 21 Dec 3139 and to jog your memory, Karna died a hero's death during this time!). Bhishma died on 02 Feb 3138 BCE, the first Ekadasi of the Uttarayana.

Krishna is worshipped as;-

Krishna Kanhaiya - Mathura, Jagannath - Orissa, Vithoba -  Maharashtra, Srinath - Rajasthan,          Dwarakadheesh - Gujarat, Ranchhod - Gujarat, Krishna - Udipi, Karnataka

Biological father - Vasudeva, Biological mother - Devaki, Adopted father - Nandagopar, Adopted mother - Yashoda, Elder brother - Balaram, Sister - Subhadra, Birth place - Mathura, Wives - Rukmini, Satyabhama, Jambavati, Kalindi, Mitravinda, Nagnajiti, Bhadra, Lakshmana.

Krishna is reported to have killed only 4 people in his life time :-

 * Chanoora - the wrestler, * Kamsa - his maternal uncle, * Shishupala and Dantavartaka - his cousins.

Life was not fair to him at all. His mother was from the Ugra clan and father was from the Yadava clan - an inter racial marriage. He was born dark skinned. He wasn't named at all throughout his life. The village of Gokul started calling him the black one - Krishna. He was ridiculed and teased for being dark, short and for being adopted too. His childhood was wrought with life threatening situations. Drought and threat of wild wolves made them shift from Gokul to Vrindavan when he was 9.

He stayed in Vrindavan till 14 - 16 years and he'd killed his uncle during this time, at Mathura. He, then, released his biological mother and father from captivity.

He never returned to Vrindavan ever again.

He had to migrate to Dwaraka from Mathura due to the threat of a Sindhu King - Kala Yaavana. He defeated Jarasandha with the help of the Vainatheya Tribes on Gomantaka hill (now Goa).

He rebuilt Dwaraka. He, then, left for Sandipani's Ashram in Ujjain to start his schooling between 16-18 yrs. He had to fight the pirates from Afrika and rescue his teacher's son - Puanardatta, who was kidnapped near Prabhasa, a sea port in Gujarat.

After his education, he came to know about his cousins' fate of 'vanvas'. He went to their rescue in the Wax House and later his cousins got married to Draupadi. His role was immense in this saga.

Then he helped his cousins to establish Indraprastha and their kingdom. 

He saved Draupadi from embarrassment.

He stood by his cousins during their exile.

He stood by them and ensured that they won the Kurukshetra war.

He saw his cherished city Dwaraka washed away.

He was killed by a hunter (Reincarnation of Bali from the Ramayan times whom he'd killed as Sri Ram!) while he was meditating on a tree.

He never performed any miracles. His life was not a successful one. There wasn't a single moment when he was at peace throughout his life. At every turn, he had challenges and and bigger challenges. He faced everything and everyone with a sense of responsibility and yet, remained unattached. He is the only person who knew the past and probably the future, yet lived at that present moment always.

He and his life is truly an example for every human being. 

Tailpiece.

Got up at our usual time, the chores and was ready by a half past 9. It was another quiet day with Lekha on her own, yet again. Hopefully, Suma will be available from tomorrow.

My salute to Smt Kanta Murti Kalan.

Worth felicitations

Firstly, my sincere apologies to write about the courageous action of this gutsy lady, so late.

On a day when Bombay was battling torrential rain, the highest in four decades, 50-year-old Kanta Murti Kalan stood for hours near an open manhole on a waterlogged road in Matunga. She did not move for seven hours, alerting people and cars to a manhole that could easily be missed in the flooding. Kanta Murti, a flower seller, lost her house and savings in the deluge on 04 Aug.

A video of Kanta Murti standing near the manhole, soaking in rain, went viral. A mother of eight, Kanta Murti is the only earning member of her family because her husband is paralysed. Five of her children are married and she earns money to send three more to school by selling flowers on the roadside. "I support my three children's education by selling flowers and I am the only earning member in the family as my husband is paralysed after meeting with a railway accident". 

When the visuals of her extraordinary act emerged, she was scolded by the civic authorities for putting her life in danger. "I uncovered the manhole and drained the water. Then I stood there to warn vehicles. BMC (Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation) officials later came and scolded me", she said. (Obviously, they were angry that their inaction had got exposed).

As people came asking after her and praised her, she brushed it aside saying she did what she had to do in such a situation. "There would have been accidents if I hadn't," she said. 

May your noble action be a shining example to all Indians, Kanta Murti. May God be with you always and every time! It shall be my endeavour to meet and felicitate her - in my own, little way - during my next visit to Bombay!

  *               *                *

"Why Do We Keep Food For Crows?" 

A devotee had asked his Guru this question. "Are our ancestors taking forms of crows? Why do they come as this lowly bird, why not a high standard bird?"

The Guru smiled and said, "We call crow kaka in Tamil. Do we address any other creature by its sound? Do we call a cat meow? Because a parrot says kiki, do we call it kiki? The crow is called by its sound that makes it special. Ka means 'Kaapathu' or 'protect' me.....so when you keep food for a crow and say 'kaa kaa', you are asking your ancestors to protect you. You say a crow is lowly because it is freely available and it eats anything! But let me tell you a crow is beautiful. Why?

It wakes up at brahma muhurtham.....it caws and wakes you up.......even cocks may not wake up on time many days, as they are moody.......but a crow is on time........it says "kaka" and wakes you up at brahma muhurtham apt to recite your prayers. It is such an amazing guide for pooja, no?

Further, it calls other crows when it gets food........not seen in other creatures, teaching humans to share their food. Then in the evening before it sleeps, it again says "kaka" to thank god for all that happened that day! Also crows don't eat after sunset which is according to the shastras.......how many people follow this?

Hence, I feel a crow is not lowly......it teaches us so much. And one more....keep food for crows every day, not only during 'mahalayam'.

Crow also teaches Advaita! When a crow sees the food you have kept, it gets happy and eats it. Seeing it eat, you get happy too. So both of you get happy......both of you are Bhagawan!"

Are our sages mad?

Why did they make us feed crows if we have to give it to our ancestors? 

The sages had strategic considerations. This is the real reason.

Have you grown a peepal or banyan tree? Have you seen anyone grow it? Can you get seeds of a banyan tree? The answer is no.

Banyan tree will not grow out of saplings because nature has a separate arrangement for growing this useful tree. The seeds sprout only after they have been processed in the gastrointestinal tract of the crows.

Banyan is the only tree in the world that releases oxygen round the clock and has immense medicinal qualities. 

If the tree has to survive, it is not possible without the help of the crows.

To get a healthy new generation of crows, they need to get healthy food. Hence our ancestors made a ritual to feed the crows!

Tailpiece.

Got up at 6, the chores and was ready by a half past 9. Suma did not fetch up as she had to go to the hospital and has asked for another day off, tomorrow. So, it was Lekha's efforts all the way, today. 

 

India as a Hindu Rashtra?

 By Khalid Umar                                                                                                                                          (The author is originally from Pakistan and works as barrister in UK. Is widely read. Forwarded from his Facebook account).

It is alleged that Narendra Modi/BJP want to make India a Hindu State. If that is so, I question, what is wrong about India being a Hindu Rashtra? My rationale follows below.

Bharatvarsh, a civilization as old as 5,000 years, needs no introduction of it being the original homeland sheltering 95% of all the Hindus in the world and birth place of Sanatan Hinduism. India should not be shy of recognising her identity as a Hindu nation.

Hinduism is the 3rd largest religion in the world after Christianity and Islam. But it is not demographically as widely spread on the world's map as the first two. 97% of all Hindus live in the world's three Hindu-majority countries (India, Mauritius and Nepal). It is the most geographically concentrated of all the major religions. 95% of the Hindu population live in India, whereas only 1.6% of Muslims live in Arabia, the birthplace of Islam.

The left-liberals have no problems with the 53 Muslim dominated countries (Islam is the official religion in 27) in the world; 100+ Christian dominated countries. In 15 nations, Christianity is the official religion.

These Christian nations include England, Greece, Iceland, Norway, Hungary, Denmark and 6 Buddhist countries. Israel is a Jewish state. But when it comes to India, their rationale fails to make me understand as to why Hinduism can't be state religion of India?

There is no evidence that it threatens the secular ethos of the country, if India is declared a Hindu State. All faiths have flourished in India, including Parsis, Jains, Sikhs, Muslims, Zoroastrians because Hindus are not intolerant towards other religions.

One can go to a religious place associated to any religion and find Hindus there. There is no concept of conversion in Hinduism. There are Christian and Muslim nations in the world, who raise voice on the Human Rights abuses and religious persecution of Muslims and Christians the world over. The world remembers Myanmar, Palestine, Yemen etc but not the Hindus and Sikhs of Pakistan or Afghanistan or that of other Islamic nations! Does anyone remember what happened with the Hindus in Bangladesh during the 1971 genocide by Pakistan Army or the Pundits in Kashmir or the 1998 Wandhama massacre of Jammu and Kashmir, systemic elimination of Hindus in Pakistan, the elimination of historic temples and Hinduism in the Arab world, for eg in Muscat?

The policies of the Indian state have been anti-secular. There has been blatant religious reverse-discrimination against Hindus, its majority community. There are many examples. Have you heard about the Hajj subsidy? Since 2000, over 1.5 million Muslims used the subsidy. It was only recently that the Supreme Court passed an order that directed the government to phase out this subsidy within 10 years. Which secular country will subsidise religious tourism for one faith group? The average airfare subsidy was US $1,000 per Muslim pilgrim in 2008.

While the Indian Government was supporting their citizens' religious tourism, Saudu Arabia, a country where Hindu icons are condemned as idol worship, was spreading Wahabi extremism worldwide. Hindus are not permitted to build temples and Indian tax payer's money was being used to facilitate the Saudi economy by pilgrimage subsidies.

In a truly secular country, all citizens irrespective of religion would be covered by a single set of laws. In India, however, people of different religious beliefs are covered by different personal laws.

Government control temples but mosques and churches are autonomous. There were subsidies for Hajj but not for Amarnath Yatra or Kumbh Mela. A truly secular country would not subsidise any pilgrimage! Period!

Hindus have always welcomed and protected minorities. Let's have a look at its history of tolerance. The Hindu Community of India welcomed Parsis when they were persecuted the world over. They have flourished here for over a thousand years. The Jewish tribes found refuge in Bharat nearly 2000 years ago and the same goes for Syrian Christians 1800 years ago. The Jains, Buddhists being religions derivatives of Hinduism have co-existed for 2500 years and Sikhs for 400 years.

It's time to look back at the facts to feel proud to be a Hindu, shy not anymore!

Even today, India is secular, not due to a Constitutional amendment of 1976 and lawyers and law makers but because the majority of the people of India are Hindus. It is the very nature of this religion that ensures secularism, not a piece of paper, that came into account after thousands of years of tolerant practice. India should openly declare itself as a "Hindu"(Hindu, Sikh/Jain) nation. India should interfere to protect the interests of all of the aforementioned people because no other country is doing it.

Declaring Hindu nation will open new door of safeguarding the majority against forced conversion and minority appeasement. India will remain progressive only till it remains a secular country. And it will remain a secular country only if Hindu domination persists in its demographics.

Secularism and Hinduism are two sides of one coin. You toss it, in either ways you win!

If India becomes a Hindu Rashtra that would be the best thing to happen. There would become a Uniform Civil Code with no allowances for anyone (including Hindus). Rule of Law has always been one of the main reasons for growth in any country - Germany, Japan, USA are all based on rule of law. Conversions (to and against) will be banned, proselytising which is the root cause of religious friction will stop; no Tablighis any more. Once conversions are stopped, each person can follow whatever religion he chooses or choose to be atheist (there is a sect called - Nir Ishwara Vad in Hinduism itself). show me another religion that recognises non-practitioners of the faith with such regards!

Secularism and religious tolerance is the ethos of the inhabitants of this region much before the Muslim invaders ransacked this land.

Muslim invasions into the Indian subcontinent started around 1000 AD and they lasted for several centuries till 1739. Destruction of about 100 million Hindus is perhaps the biggest holocaust in the whole world's history. Hindus did not take any revenge upon the off springs of these invaders. It is not Hinduism but the implementation of pseudo-secularism which is causing interfaith friction between the Hindu majority and the Muslims. In a Hindu Rashtra, the religious freedom of the Non-Hindus will not be clipped.

Hindus must take pride in the history of the land they belong to. They must resort to facts to sort out frictions. Their shying away from reality will result into disaster of a land that has its sheer ethos and rich culture of tolerance deeply etched in its soil. India has been foolish enough to give away precious slices to fulfill the demands of Muslim Nations. India has been tolerant enough to practice appeasement in the name of secularism. It's time now that the Hindus must UNITE proclaiming the peace they inherit in them. A Hindu Rashtra, that values secularism through its very nature of practice, devoid of any preamble, will be a citing example for the world.

The time is NOW.

Tailpiece.

Got up at 6, the chores and was ready by a half past 9. It was a quiet day and Suma had asked for another off that was promptly granted.