At God's doorstep at an unearthly hour!

I've two principles that guide me on visiting a place of worship:-

    (a) God is all pervasive and a powerful entity, whose form is what I've been praying to at our
          puja room, since childhood. I consider it, therefore, not necessary to go to a temple to have a
          tryst with my God. However, Lekha visits temples and I dutifully become her chauffeur!

    (b) If serpentine queues have to to be joined to get a peek of my god - and it's perennially long at
         Guruvayur - I do just that, notwithstanding the long time that is necessary, at times, even
         though I can get 'special treatment' by putting in a word to any one of the authorities of the
         temple trust in advance.

These were temporarily set aside as my classmate, friend and namesake had offered to take us for the
early morning 'nirmaalyam darshan'. I'd to chauffeur him anyways and seeing Lekha's keenness, I
didn't have the heart to say anything to the contrary. So, the day had started at 0130h because we'd to be at the eastern entrance of the temple by 0230h, where the three (Earlier, mom had said that she'd continue with her sleep and that we could proceed after locking up the main door!) of us were shepherded, along with another family of five members in a special queue and we'd a long wait till about a half past 3. The rest of the crowd - with a generous dose of the Sabarimala pilgrims - stood beside us in the second and parallel queue and also behind us.

The massive ornate door of the entrance was opened precisely at the appointed hour and boy, I'd not expected the violent surge of the crowd to make the final dash to the sanctum sanctorum. The last flyover had to be scaled and it took an effort to see that Lekha was steered safely through the push and pull of the frenetic devotees. In the melee, I heard a lady wondering aloud as to why people with physical difficulties should attempt at the 'darshan', probably seeing Lekha managing her way through with my assistance, as we're a 'stumbling block' - understood the full import of the phrase at that instant - to their movement!

And we're pushed behind in the surge, by quite a few notches, but reached the sanctum without further glitches and had our glimpse of the good Lord, getting ready to be bathed and robed in the facade that the world over is familiar with.


Tailpiece.

Standing with folded hands I'd a fleeting moment of triumph, of having achieved the impossible, pass through me because, for the two of us, it was a task accomplished after our stay here for over a year!



  

In lighter vein!

The movie, 'Dilwaale dulhania le jaayenge' is creating history of sorts. On the 12th of this month it attains the milestone of being the first Indian film to run a 1,000 weeks, non stop, in a single theatre. The film featuring Shahrukh Khan and Kajol has been playing at the Maratha Mandir in Bombay all this while.

It's slotted in the 1130h show every morning and continues to run 'houseful' on many occasions - especially, Sundays - even to this day! By achieving the milestone, it completes 20 years of screening!!

Interesting snippets:-

      * The role of Raj Malhotra, played by Shah Rukh Khan, was actually offered to Saif Ali Khan
         initially but he wasn't interested

      * Shah Rukh Khan had till then acted in roles with a negative streak - Baazigar, Darr and Anjaam

      * It's a positive oriented film and the lead actor captures the heart of the viewer

      * The name of the film was suggested by Kiron Kher, the wife of Anupam Kher, who incidentally
         plays the role of Shah Rukh Khan's father

      * It was the first movie that was directed by Aditya Chopra

      * The Punjabi 'bhangra' and 'balle balle' became universally acceptable after this movie.


Tailpiece.

And in attaining this unique milestone, it has pushed the following behind:-

       (a) Mughal-e-Aazam        6 yrs
       (b) Sholay                         51/2 yrs.



                    

Beeline for Mars.

Mars is slowly getting the attention of mankind. With more space expeditions being planned to the red planet by nations, it's gonna be a matter of time when man sets foot on it and discovers its intricacies to overcome them ultimately! The launch of Orion by NASA today was to test the space capsule intended to carry human beings on future expeditions.

The project had commenced eight years back and NASA has spent over 900 billion dollars, thus far. The follow on mission will be in 2018 so as to finally, put a man on the red planet by 2021, on the third expedition.

What did the Orion do?

     * It was a test flight that lasted 41/2 hrs
     * It flew up to a height of 5,800 kms before commencing its return
     * On re-entry into the earth's atmosphere, it had achieved a speed of 32,000 kmph
     * The splashdown was in the Pacific Ocean and the capsule was towed away to San Diego
        in California by US Naval ships.

As the European Space Agency, the ISRO and the Chinese Space Agency plan their future expeditions to the red planet, the scenario gets to be more interesting!


Tailpiece.

Interplanetary movements by mankind are gonna be a distinct possibility in the foreseeable future.
And yes, space vehicles capable of incredible speeds are going to be the most sought after transport reminiscing HG Wells' fictional Time machine!
   
  

Adieu, Krishna Iyer sir.

A colossus has passed into the mist of time. Around 1530h, this afternoon, his 'flight' had finally arrived. Sometime back he'd said about his state, with a touch of humour and I quote, "I feel like being on a prolonged wait in a departure lounge of the airport, waiting for my flight".

The media is already covering the details of the illustrious lawman, to the minutest details and any attempt on my part to add on to it would appear to be presumptuous and trying to flaunt my association with him - too little, compared to what my maman had and to confess, weren't I a twad jealous of him on that matter? A couple of years before my grandfather's passing away, he'd told sir that he was placing his son under his tutelage and that he'd the right to correct him and guide him in all his future endeavours. From then on, there was no looking back and they'd an excellent rapport.

Sir's respect and admiration for my grandfather was touching and everlasting. In 1978, when the Kerala Grandhasala Sanghom was taken over by the government and put under a 'Control Board' of nominated members, PN Panicker - its architect and founder - did not find a place in it(A hasty decision taken by an inexperienced AK Antony, as CM, which he'd the grace to correct soon after, on realising his mistake). The irony of it all was that he'd been previously urging the government to take over the administration of the mammoth organisation that he'd set up, consisting of over 6,000 libraries spread all across the state!

It was a 'broken' PN Panicker who was resurrected by Justice Krishna Iyer sir, through his personal involvement! That he'd built a thriving organisation - The Kerala Association for Non-Formal Education(KANFED) - which had provided leadership to all the agencies connected with making Kerala 100% literate in 1991, is history.

Years later, when I'd a professional setback, my maman had taken me to him for advice. After hearing me out, he'd spoken to the then naval chief about me and I can never, ever forget his preamble and I quote, "Good evening Admiral, I'm Krishna Iyer. I know this young man, Commander Rajeev Nair......" From then on I used to drop in at his residence - beautifully named, 'Sathgamaya' - whenever time permitted and it was always a pleasure to interact with him because it was not only stimulating but an education, by itself.

Again it was his directions that got my maman and me through the corridors of power in New Delhi to have the Post and Telegraphs to bring out a postage stamp in honour of PN Panicker in 2004, after an initial setback!

Years back, I remember Chellappan Aasaan, an astrologer of repute in Thiruvananthapuram, predicting that sir would live to be a 100 years. To pass away within a few weeks after his 100th birthday, appears to me, that he lived to prove the prophecy right! Unfortunately, the one who made the prophecy passed away soon after without having the privilege of validating his announcement!!

RIP, Vaidyanathapuram Rama Iyer Krishna Iyer sir! I, along with my colleagues at the PN Panicker Foundation, offer our tears and prayers. You're not merely our Patron and Chairman, but our beloved patriarch! My salute to a wonderful and kind human being!


Tailpiece.

(a) In Jul '91, after the passing away of my grandmother, he was prompt in offering his condolences to PN Panicker and sometime, later when they'd met, sir had 'welcomed' him into the 'widowers' club'!On realising that he'd unknowingly caused him hurt, he went out of his way to placate him saying that he'd no right to have done it when he, himself, was devastated at the untimely passing away of his wife!

(b) I believe that he'd instructed the doctors not to unnecessarily prolong his life by putting him on ventilator support if things weren't working for him. Was he tired of being with us, eagerly wanting to pursue eternal life?......One would never know!  

Recalling the horror of the Bhopal Gas tragedy of Dec '84!

It's thirty years, as of date, since the Bhopal gas tragedy had taken place.

The tragedy.

At 2330h on 02 Dec '84, the workers at the Union Carbide fertilizer plant in Bhopal complained about a burning sensation in the eyes and suffocation due to gas leaking from a pressurised tank containing deadly methyl isocyanate(MIC). At 0030h on 03 Dec, the alarm siren was sounded and water spraying was resorted to. At 0300h, the safety valve collapsed and the tank exploded, releasing about 40,000 kg cloud of lethal gases and a gentle breeze blew this cloud of death over sleeping people in 36 wards of the city of Bhopal!

The run up to the tragedy.

MIC needs to be maintained below 5 degrees Celsius under pressure. But the refrigeration system had been shut down since Jun '84; the tank and the valves were defective. Temperatures seemed to have risen to 350 degrees Celsius in the tank and the highly reactive gas had decomposed and created a deadly cocktail of poisonous gases that were released into the atmosphere when the tank had exploded!

The consequences.

Death and injury came without warning to the sleeping population. Symptoms ranged from suffocation, blindness and vomiting to spontaneous abortions, lung, kidney, liver and brain damage. Over 20,000 people were estimated to have been killed and over 5 lakhs injured! Cattle and birds died in the surrounding areas, dead fish floated in the lakes and even trees lost their leaves!!

And 30 years later, justice still seems to elude the poor victims! Consider these:-

       * Warren Anderson, the then chairman of Union Carbide, was arrested on arrival at Bhopal.
          He was given bail within 6 hrs, flown to Delhi in a state government aircraft and he flies out
          of Delhi, never to return. He died on 29 Sep, this year, in the US.

       * The Supreme Court of India okays the settlement signed by the Union Government and 
          Carbide. Accordingly, Carbide was to pay Rs.705 crores(470 million $) as compensation
          and all civil, criminal charges were dropped! This had happened in '89!!

       * Partial payment of the compensation was made by the Carbide in '94.

       * Union Carbide bought by the Dow Chemical Company in 2001. 

       * In 2004, the Supreme Court accepts that the actual number of gas victims was 5.73 lakhs and 
          not 1 lakh as assumed in '89. Victims file for increase in compensation.

       * In 2010, a petition was filed by the Union government to change the 1989 settlement
          and increase compensation.  


Tailpiece.

(a) Is the lethargy in settlement due to the fact that the people affected are poor people and aren't             influential enough? Does the foreign company think that the Indian lives are too cheap?

(b) There's a family connection to this incident. My younger brother-in-law was doing his post                   graduation in Bhopal but was lucky to have been away from the epicenter! And no, he wasn't
      related to us then!! 
  

From here........and there.

A busy day with me actually doing nothing in the real sense. Have I confused you, then I've achieved my aim to a certain extent. Without much ado, here I go:-

 (a) The 'Vaikuntha Ekaadasi'.

 Today's the day of the Vaikuntha Ekaadasi, when the temple town celebrated the day with all the
 pomp and show that it could muster. Devotees, from far and wide, have been making a beeline
 for the town to have a glimpse of their favourite god and this frenzy will go on till tomorrow
 evening. The sanctum santorum has remained open since 3 AM, yesterday morning and will only
 be closed at 9 AM tomorrow.

 'Ekaadasi' is the 11th day of every fourteen day lunar cycle and the 'Guruvayur Ekaadasi' falls in
 the Malayalam month of Vrushikam on the 'sukla paksha' or the full moon phase of the cycle!

 It's also believed that the charioteer, Lord Krishna, gave his famous discourse - known as the
 Bhagavad Gita to 'Arjuna' when he broke down emotionally at the battlefield of 'Kurukshetra'
 seeing his beloved Bheeshma pitamaha, Dronacharya and the others arraigned against him as his
 foes - on this day!! 

 (b) Many happy returns of the day, GoI!

 The landmark monument at Bombay, facing the Arabian Sea, to commemorate the visit of King
 George V of Great Britain - the Gateway of India - is gonna celebrate its 90th birthday on 04 Dec.
 It continues to be the landmark for all seafarers making a landfall off Bombay, even to this day! At
 a height of 85 ft, it doesn't fail to catch the eye despite the numerous skyscrapers that have sprung  about, in its vicinity.

 (c) Wow, what a catch?

  A student of the IIT, Gorakhpur has been offered a job, by the Facebook on the first day of the
  campus placement, that promises an annual paycheck of 2,50,000 $ equal to Rs. 1.55 crores! The
  identity of the sudent has been kept under wraps, for the time being.

  Well, heartiest congratulations! It's a befitting offer for your hard work and life can never be the
  same for you, again!! A piece of unsolicited advice, "Do not lose your head, ever"!!!


Tailpiece.

The day, for me, had begun at the stroke of midnight when I was at the railway station to pick up my aunt, coming from Thiruvananthapuram, to pray at the temple on the occasion of the Ekaadasi. Sabu and Madhav joined her towards late noon, had their tryst with the good Lord and the three of them were off to Pondicherry by 2200h.  

Why don't we react when a grave injustice is happening near us?

This is a take off on the experience of the courageous Rohtak girls who took on their villains, in a moving bus, with scant support, nay reaction, from any of their fellow passengers, a few of whom even went on to enjoy their discomfiture!

I've a few queries with regard to similar instances:-

      (a) Is this phenomenon only prevalent in our country?
      (b) Is it because everyone wants to mind his/her own business?
      (b) Is it that a problem is considered as one only when it happens to oneself or someone close?
      (d) Is it that we've a cowardly streak in us that we're dead scared of the repercussions?
      (e) Is it that we want to react but avoid doing so because of the follow through - umpteen number
           of visits to the police station and having to face uncomfortable questions at a court of law?

And I also seem to have the answers for my queries above, which are ad seriatim:-

      (a) No, there have been similar cases reported from the other parts of the world too. But why go
           that far, within our country there are many places where the 'onlookers' are rare or are in a
           minority.
      (b) A statement that's totally false in the Indian context. More than minding our own matters,
            we're bothered about what's happening with our neighbours/friends/relatives, etc. The list can
            be endless!
      (c) Sadly, yes! Probably, the best example to highlight this trait is when we dump our waste into
            our neighbour's space, a trend usually noticeable in the 'flat culture', completely ignoring the
            fact that your neighbour's well being is of paramount importance to your own hassle-free life!
      (d) Yes, most of us - if not all - are cowards! We're scared of the repercussions. Period!!
      (e) Of course, the formalities of the law are viewed as dampeners and a sheer waste of time
            because there have been umpteen number of cases where a witness was made a villain. This
            happens in cases where one is pitted against the VIPs or the one's with 'connections'(?)

So what's the remedy? Simple, an attitudinal change is needed!


Tailpiece.

1. And it can be brought about easily - when every individual learns to respect the other's sister, wife and mother just as he expects everyone to do so in the case of his own!  

2. My salute to the Rohtak sisters! Let your courage ignite the empathy in each one of us!!