My Achan and Amma on pilgrimage

Tomorrow, my parents will go on a pilgrimage to ‘Mannarassala’ temple in the Alappuzha district of Kerala, roughly about 100 kms from my home. They have my maasi, Indirakutty as company and are also taking our farmhand, Georgekutty to help my achan in his movements. They’d be attending a PN Panicker family ceremony, wherein a snake’s statuette in gold, will be offered to the temple after a special puja to the deity is performed and the ceremony will cover the entire forenoon. My parents should be back home before sunset and I consider that as a good break for them from the monotonous life that they’re leading.

Backdrop.

I shall narrate the story told to me by my maternal grandmother, Mrs PN Panicker during my childhood which has a direct bearing on the ceremony of tomorrow. At her ancestral house in Kainakiri of Alappuzha district there used to be a huge, big banyan tree under whose thicket the snake god was worshipped regularly over many years. She was the elder of the two daughters- their [arents' only children- who used to be very regular in the connected activities. After both of them had got married and on the death of their father, the ancestral property had to be disposed off and in the bargain, the daily puja and other connected activities of the Snake God came to an abrupt end. The new owners, who were Christians, cleared the thicket and the dense undergrowth, killing a few snakes in the bargain, which was to have a direct impact on my grandmother’s family.

It is to clear this ‘historical family error’ that tomorrow’s ceremony is being held. Here’s wishing them well in all their endeavour and hoping that the trip rejuvenates my Achan and Amma.

The Maoists' shenanigans

Consider the following scenario:-

(a) The new Army chief has just taken over and in his first official press interaction,
he makes a statement that the army will not be deployed to tackle internal mischief
makers – subtly implying that the government must use the police and paramilitary
forces to quell such rebellions.
(b) The Home minister visits Lalgarh, in West Bengal, that had witnessed Maoist
violence, for the first time. He has shown that he means business ever since he has
taken over the job and makes a statement that ‘the buck stops at the Chief Minister’s
table’, implying that the state governments must take stern measures, which will then be ably assisted by the union government, in providing additional resources like troops, arms and ammunition.
(c) The ULFA terror group’s top leaders are under detention and are under duress to
get into dialogue with the union government.
(d) The duplicity of the Kashmir Hurriyat groups’ attitude towards the olive branch
offered by the union government, to come to the negotiating table, has been exposed
by the media by bringing out the secret parleys between them and the Chinese, in a
third country.
(e) Pakistan is going through the danger of disintegration by the very same forces that
she’d nurtured to cause discomfort to India.

China and Pakistan are unhappy that India still continues to move forward on all fronts
and making enviable progress, economically. They desperately want to bleed us and there
fore, have encouraged the Maoists to get active with the sole aim of forcing the union government
to deploy the armed forces to tackle the menace and thereby, achieving their objective of
wearing the army thin, over a wide area.

It’s my fervent hope that our political leaders do not bite the bullet and the military leaders should be firm in their resolve of keeping out of the mess, but provide adequate training and resources to the police and paramilitary forces and make them a cohesive battle capable force. And then the Maoists should be taken on without any compunction.

Only then will the souls of those seventy six unfortunate CRPF men, who lost their lives in today’s carnage in Dantewada, of Chattisgarh, will rest in peace. My humble prayer for each one of them and may God give the strength to their families to bear the searing pain.

General VK Singh, the new Army chief

There’s much expectancy in the air with the new Army chief firmly on the saddle, corruption and malpractices would be put down very severely and that he would save his service from the morass of its disintegrating value system. It is fairly common knowledge that he was instrumental in bringing the ‘Sukhna land scam’ accused to book, during his previous tenure as Eastern Army Commander. The initial press profiling of the General, highlights the fact that he’s a teetotaler, absolutely clean in his financial dealings, a soldier’s General and has emphasized the fact that his thrust would be on honour and accountability within the Army.

Over the years, being an ex-NDA and a navy man, I’ve observed the army guys- nay, the pongoes- very objectively and have come to the startling conclusion that they were generally simpler in outlook towards life, compared to us. I’d attribute this fundamental difference in attitude mainly due to their extremely difficult assignments like the Siachen or on the LOC with our hostile neighbours or on internal security duties against terror. Compared to them, our commands and bases are generally in cosmopolitan cities and probably because of us being indate with the latest happenings and trends, make us snootier than our counterparts in the other two services. Anyways, because of the reasons cited above, one tended to overlook the idiosyncrasies of the pongoes. But the armed forces have a rich tradition of selfless work, a high sense of honour and a gentlemanly halo in everything they do and this ethos cannot be either diluted or wished away, however trying the times could be. And hence, I for one, would be a curious onlooker of the new chief’s policies and their implementation.

However, the skeptic that I am, I’ve two misgivings, which are:-

(a) In the services, one lived by the dictum of ‘work hard and play hard’. Towards
this end, one lets one’s hair down in the evenings in the mess nursing a drink or two
and the unwritten law is that anyone who doesn’t drink cannot be believed in toto.
(b) In this world of ours, merit does not get rewarded always and ascending the steep
ladder towards the higher ranks, needs qualities much beyond merit and hard work –
and to quote an earlier General, one must ‘boot lick one’s seniors, cut the throats of one’s peers and boot the juniors’.

I would like to believe that General VK Singh is an exception and has come up truly on merit and that his life will be emulated by the succeeding generations with pride!

Young Govind, my latest friend!

Lekha’s nephew, Govind, over the last week that he has been with us, has got closer to me and I think, he’s shown an increasing tendency to spend more time with me. He’s studying in the third standard and his being promoted to class IV is a foregone conclusion. On their first evening out here, while I was sitting to blog, he came and sat beside me, after taking permission, as it was a trifle late in the evening. To send him to bed, without much ado, I’d then asked him to massage my head while I was working on my thoughts. I was under the impression that he’d get bored and go off to bed without any delay, but what he did eventually, surprised me. Not only did he do the work diligently but also showed an inclination to sit with me till I finished and I’d to literally tuck him into bed, sometime in between, so that it did not get too late for him.

I’ve lost count of the many questions that he has already asked me and as I anticipate, he’s still left with many more to ask of me before he boards his flight in the afternoon, tomorrow. I really like my interactions with him because it keeps me alert to the fact that I’ve to set an example in every manner as is expected of me. He, I presume, has already labeled me as a joker as he keeps egging me to come out with my PJs and laughs his gut out, which I must admit, gives a tremendous boost to my ego and sets my adrenaline rising. And this evening, he tells me that ‘he’d miss me as he likes me a lot’.

I would like to believe that he finds in me some qualities that he’d like to emulate. But the truth is that I’m gonna miss him like ever before!!

The Sania Mirza drama

The tennis star seems to have her cup of woes full. It’s all too familiar a story –success comes fairly early in one’s life and as one basks in its light, controversies start dogging the individual and soon one finds that the very same masses who put them on that pedestal want to bring them down.

My personal opinion is that she should have continued to focus on her tennis and let her game do the talking and answer her critics, who surprisingly are increasing by the day. She and her folks must analyse and initiate measures that would be beneficial to her, in the long run.

But what amazed, yet saddened me were the shots being beamed across the world, by almost all the TV channels, of what was happening at her house, between her and Shoaib Malik and one of the channels went one crazier step ahead to analyse as to what was happening out there by reading their body language. Now, that’s the limit! For God’s sake, no one can take undue freedom to intrude into anyone’s privacy.

And whether she marries the Pakistani cricketer, who’s married more than once over or whether she should play for India after marriage are her personal decisions and no one has the right to meddle with her beliefs and wishes or the way she wants to shape her life!

Just leave her alone, please!!

Of glitches, discomfort and a monumental gaffe!

Lekha’s younger sister, Preetha, her two little children – Govind and Sanath and her mother-in-law(she’s 71 yaers old who’s sprightly and agile) are our guests this week. Today was our trip to Agra, for seeing the Taj Mahal and we set off by seven in the morning. The heat was all pervading but the air conditioned atmosphere in the car took the brunt of the heat away. Within the first one hour of travel, Govind was down and he was better only after vomiting out what was disagreeable within his system. After a sumptuous breakfast at a roadside eatery, it was Lekha’s turn to get queasy and she too was better off after retching out the unwanted. Little Sanath is terror unlimited and the cramped confines of the car did nothing to dampen either his energy or his enthusiasm, keeping each one of us, including the hired chauffeur – Dharmesh couldn’t keep himself away from the all pervading boisterous ruckus – extremely busy over the proceedings!

The traffic was bad, soon after we left the Delhi border and at one time, there were serious doubts as to whether we’d get out of the traffic snarl at all, within a decent time. After an uneventful journey thereafter, we reached Agra and the Taj Mahal, only to be told that the monument was closed for visitors on Fridays – a sad blow, as the elderly lady was paying her visit for the first time and I did kick my shins, a number of times, for not checking out on this detail – a gaffe, that I shall never acquit myself of. And their schedule has been so packed that a second visit is not possible. The error was circumvented, in a miniscule manner, by driving around and having a glimpse of the Taj from various angles – some consolation this!

The visit to the ‘Sreekrishna Janmabhoomi’ was extensive, the four layered security cordon notwithstanding and we began our return journey around a quarter to seven. Two hours into this trip, it was the old lady’s turn to get queasy and she did get better after bringing out the upsetting stuff but what really endeared her to me was her continuing pleasantness and enthusiasm of narrating a steady stream of anecdotes to us, during the entire journey. And she was a patient and eager listener to my PJs.

We were back by 10 without further disaster. After a late night dinner and conversation what brought a lump in my throat was when the old lady- her name is Padmavathy Amma- held my arm to thank me for the wonderful day that she had with us. Was it her way of pardoning me for my gaffe, I wonder but I must confess that I enjoy every moment of mine with her and as I’d said earlier, I shall never be able to forgive myself for the fiasco, ever!

The Samba spy case

Today, I happened to read the inside story of the ‘Samba spy case’ from one of the magazines. The case had hit the headlines in 1979, when it was alleged that a group of armymen had spied for Pakistan and passed on valuable information concerning the country’s national security to them. New revelations point out that the entire story was cooked up by a small group within the service –why they did it and what was the guiding force behind them will be known completely, when the case comes up before the Armed Forces Tribunal for a verdict on 31 May ’10. To my mind, it seems to have been the result of a turf war between the Military Intelligence and the Intelligence Bureau but what is heart rending is that the scandal destroyed the lives of so many well meaning and honourable men. I personally salute each one of them, who still have the indomitable spirit of never say die and are awaiting the vindication of their lost honour!

Truth will always win, but at what price? All of these unfortunate gentlemen, who’ve been accused of complicity, had their dreams shattered and went through untold suffering – both mental and physical – over years of incarceration.

How can human beings be so ruthless, so harsh, so petty and so unmindful of others’ pain, discomfort or ignominy? Don’t they get to hear their inner calling, don’t they listen to their conscience when they’re all alone? I mean, how can they be so brutal when they also have been brought up by their families made up of honourable people? Or is it that personal ambitions override limits of propriety and decency expected of each, to go by ‘the ends justify the means’ philosophy?

If that be so, I’d like to believe that each and everyone who were part of the hoax, has lived and will always live a tormented life – which is the cosmic truth!!