The anatomy of an agitation.

The state of Haryana has been in a turmoil for the past few days because the Jat community has taken to the streets to force the government to include it in the ever increasing list of 'reservations' in the OBC category! Normal life has gone haywire in the state and its cascading effect is taking its toll on the neighbourhood states like Delhi, Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & Kashmir. It would be worthwhile to take stock of all that has happened in the name of the agitation and I'm gonna highlight the damages to show what we Indians do in the name of freedom of expression and the 'right to strike' to put across grievances(?) to the government and wake it up from administrative stupor:-

    (a) Two police stations torched
    (b) A railway station set afire
    (c) Several ATMs damaged
    (d) A co-operative bank torched
    (e) Several public transportation buses and vehicles torched and destroyed
    (f) One of the feeder canals supplying fresh water, blocked

And see what the results have been:-

    (a) Movement of essential goods comes to a grinding halt
    (b) Acute shortage of petroleum products, milk, vegetables and groceries
    (c) No money in ATMs
    (d) Fresh water distribution in Delhi has been severely affected
    (e) 737 trains cancelled, 105 re-routed causing undue delays and indescribable hardship
         to passengers
    (f) Highway traffic is non existent (Army to take over to ensure early resumption of traffic)
    (g) Night curfew clamped in the worst affected districts like Rohtak, Jind, Bhiwani, Jajjar,
         Sonepat and Hissar
    (h) And not to forget the exploitation in times of crises. Since rail and road communications
         have been disrupted in the neighbouring states, a rush for air travel has ensued and what 
         do the airlines do? Hike airfares!  
    (j) The loss has been estimated at Rs.20,000 crores by the Assocham! But what about the
          incalculable misery and difficulty that were inflicted upon the public? 

And finally, if the Jats were to achieve what they're asking for who pays for the tremendous havoc and destruction caused by them all these days?

My take.

It's my firm opinion that the perpetrators of such agitations must be booked for anti-national activity, for causing willful damage to public property. They must pay for the losses that they've inflicted upon the nation!


Tailpiece.

1. Remember, the Patel community of Gujarat is also seeking OBC status. Its prime mover, Hardik Patel, is on an indefinite strike in jail. It remains to be seen as to how the mischief mongers convert this to incite passions among the people.

2. If reservations are to be doled out to each and every backward(?) community, what's left for the remaining category? Why should I and people like me suffer simply because we've been born in a forward community? I think it makes the suggestion of reservation on economic basis sound sensible!

A train of guests.

Indira Kunjamma and gang had left, after breakfast, by 9. They'd lined up visits to three temples in the vicinity and by the time they finally shaped course for Thiruvananthapuram it was a half past 12. A call from her, as they were leaving the temple town, was evident that they're completely satisfied with their short trip.

And then trooped in my cousin, Kala and her family. She'd told us of a whirlwind trip a few days ago but had called us this morning to say that they'd have lunch with us! Accordingly, they're at our door by a half past 12 and the first thing that she did was to invite us for her son, Abhilash's wedding on 21 Mar. After an hour or so of post lunch interaction, they left for Palakkad by a half past 2.

We're barely into our siesta when my toothy, Dr. Chary, had called up to say that the new dentures had arrived and would I make it to the clinic for its fitment? So, after a quick cup of tea, I'd made a dash. He has a new assistant in Louis, a pleasant youngster, who's marking time for his post graduation in dental surgery/'paedo' after a couple of months.

The toothy went about his work of fitting the bridge with a lot of care, grinding a tooth here and grinding another there so that the exact 'bite' could be achieved. It was a painstaking job and he made it a point to give me a running commentary on what he was doing and why. Damn sweet of him! He's known to be a quiet person but with me he's shown a propensity to converse, that too on a wide range of issues.

He'd told me after seeing the previous bridge that the 'spaces' between the denture/normal teeth and the small openings at its extremities could have been avoided, hinting at the comparative inexperience of my cousin - she was three years into her practice, then. Nothing more! But the fact's that both the bridges have been in situ for over seven years and the left one continues, without giving me problems! I'd still visit her for my dental checks while I'm at Thiruvananthapuram!!


Tailpiece.

1. Kala reached my sister's at Palakkad by a half past 6 while Indira kunjamma reached her place only by a half past 8. The latter's drive was halted at various places thanks to a series of temple processions in connection with their annual festivals.

2. The annual festival of Guruvayur had begun today with the interesting elephant race ('Aanayottam'). 24 pachyderms had participated, 5 were in the final race and Gopi Kannan (Actor Suresh Gopi's elephant) is the winner.

A busy day.

When 'The Quarterdeck' was being readied for our stay, we'd made up our minds to go as green as possible while choosing our power requirements. So, even though we'd my friend help us get the state electricity board's supply with a new set of posts and lines, exclusively for the building, the option to use solar energy was kept open.

Though it was available at acceptable costs, we weren't enthused by the 'refractive' model that used a maze of hollowed glass tubes because the preference was for the swanky array of photo voltaic cells that looked neat and elegant. The problem was that there weren't many vendors, in the vicinity, dealing with it and the costs, prohibitive! Hence, the project was shelved at that point of time.

A small solar panel, however, provides dusk-to-dawn light at our courtyard. Since hot water wasn't a serious requirement for us, for bathing purposes, that system was also left unattended except for an online water heater for mom's washroom because hot water was a must for her. Over a period of time, many of our guests had pointed out to us this deficiency and therefore, today, I'd a geyser installed that catered to the requirements of the remaining two washrooms.

The show room that we'd gone to pick up the small water storage heater from, didn't welcome plastic money and to avoid an embarrassing situation, my electrician bought the item on his surety - he picks up his requirements regularly from the vendor and hence, has this cosy arrangement picking up a commission in the process, perhaps!

The installation was timely because my aunt, along with her daughter and family had fetched up in the evening. My cousin was coming in for the first time and for her, the hot water was a must! My mom was damn cross with them for fetching up late but it was nice hosting them.

Lekha and her assistant, Preetha, had worked hard to get a swanky supper on the table.


Tailpiece.

Suresh, my cousin's husband and a chief engineer in the merchant marine, has to get back to Thiruvananthapuram tomorrow as he goes for another deployment at sea, on Sunday. They gave us a lovely Raja Ravi Varma painting on arrival! Damn cute of them!! They go back after a morning 'darshan' of the good Lord.

My friend's angst.

I was pleasantly surprised when Bernard, my classmate from the University College, had called up in the morning inviting us for lunch, saying that he wanted to discuss something personal that was agonising him for the past couple of days. The short lead time as well as my mom's presence, made me to alter the programme to all of us having a quiet lunch at our place.

I was meeting Bernard after a few months but we've been in constant touch over the telephone, What'sApp and what-have-you almost continuously, sharing news about mutual friends, jokes and our opinions on the news, that hit the headlines from time to time. So, I was very eager to know about what was gnawing him because he definitely looked sad and unsure.

For the initial hour or so, he interacted with mom as is his wont and mom, too, likes him tremendously. He'd bought her a small gift as usual! It was after lunch and when we were at the balcony on a one-to-one that he unburdened his woes. He has a neighbour, quite senior and a retired government servant with whom there existed a cordial relationship. Frequent visits to each other's houses, exchanges of special dishes and attending get togethers when friends and relatives dropped by were a few of the activities that were existent between the two families. Bernie, always used to talk about his neighbour with tremendous love and respect.

Two days back, while Bernie was on an errand, he happened to overhear a telephonic conversation in which his neighbour referred to him as, "A good for nothing idiot who's a lost case......" Ever since, he has been studiously avoiding his neighbour! The angst was getting the better of him because he was at a loss as to how he should react to it.

I could sense my own anger rising within me, wonder why. For Bernie, my answer was simple, "If I were in your place, I'd have knocked on the guy's door at that instant and announced the arrival of the 'good-for-nothing-idiot' and asked him to keep clear of me from then on", and forget the guy as a bad joke! I wouldn't lose my sleep over the incident, for sure.

Bernie and Laila, stayed on a trifle beyond teatime and I think, I could smooth his ruffled feathers to some extent. Laila was upset that her husband was trivialised - she thinks the world about him. He has decided to give the creep a wide berth but with no precipitate action, like the one suggested by me, being the thorough gentleman that he was.

As I saw his car moving away, with him throwing a wave of his hand, I really was angry with the guy who'd caused so much of agony to poor Bernie!


Tailpiece.

Bernie's words, "Yaar Rajeev, how can I stop all communication with the guy because he's the only person in the vicinity that I could share my thoughts", kept ringing in my ears...How can somebody be so mean to a guy like Bernie?

PS.
And sorry Bernie for putting your nasty experience into public domain. People must understand the duplicity in the people that surround them and be on guard.

  

Today's significance.

It was on this day, 200 years ago, that the stethoscope was invented!

Rene Laennec(1781 - 1826), a French physician, invented the by-now-universal medical equipment and pioneered its use in diagnosing various chest conditions. Interestingly, before this invention, a doctor used to place his ear on the chest of his patients! The invention was initially called the 'chest examiner' and with it, the doctor was able to study the different sounds of the heart, classifying them as healthy or unhealthy. Dr. Rene Laennec was criticised, initially, for his invention!

Google has honoured him with a doodle.

      *                                    *                                     *

2. Nawaz Sharif's admission.

    While addressing a rally in Muzaffarabad, the Pakistani PM had made a candid admission that
     the then Indian PM Vajpayee felt that he'd been stabbed in the back with the Kargil misadventure
     because it had come about soon after the Lahore declaration. The author of the misadventure,
     then General Pervez Musharraf, had sent army regulars in the garb of militants to occupy the
     Kargil heights so as to cut off the Srinagar - Leh highway in May '99.

     The funniest thing is that the blighter has not been taken to task by the people for having let the
     country down! And can its army ever forget their bosses' refusal to accept the corpses of the
     slained personnel insisting that they're terrorists, lest their game plan got known to the entire
     world?

     It was left to the magnanimous Indian Army to give the departed, a decent and dignified farewell!

3. The Lionisation of Afzal Guru and Yakub Memon.

    I'm baffled by the students - or are they outside elements? - of the JNU, New Delhi and the
    Jadavpur University, Calcutta lionising Afzal Guru and Yakub Memon. They continue to do
    so with impunity fully aware of the fact that the duo had worked against the Indian state. I've
    this strong feeling that the fifth columnists are inciting the students without the latter realising
    that they're mere puppets to a sinister design!

    The earlier the students realise it, the better.


Tailpiece.

The action of a section of lawyers, taking law into their own hands, at the Patiala House Court in New Delhi is condemnable and despicable.                                           

And now, it's all about the former Pope's love story.

A BBC documentary has revealed the story of an intense relationship between Pope John Paul II and a married, Polish born American philosopher for more than 30 years. The former Pope's letters to Anna-Teresa Tymieniecka were kept away from the public, for years. The letters do not indicate as to whether the Pope broke his vow of celibacy but the tone of some of them point to an intense feeling that existed between them.

The Pope had passed into the mist of time in 2005 while Anna-Teresa passed away in 2014. Copies of her side of the correspondence were included in the archives of of the Polish national Library when they're sold by her in 2008. They were, however, not shown to the BBC along with that of the Pope's.

The letters show that the friendship had begun in 1973 when Anna-Teresa contacted the future Pope, Cardinal Karol Wojtyla, then Archbishop of Krakow, about a book on philosophy written by him. The, then 50 year old, had travelled all the way from the US to Poland to discuss the work. Shortly afterwards, they began to correspond and as their friendship grew, they became more intimate and went together for camping, skiing holidays and country walks!

My take.

I've always been an admirer of Pope John Paul II in the manner in which he'd conducted himself during his papacy by travelling far and wide across the world, making Vatican more accessible to the believers all around the globe. His trade mark kissing of the ground on stepping onto a new land, from his aircraft, was unique that conveyed his disarming simplicity.

This revelation has only increased my admiration for him. After all, he was just like any one of us.....a normal human being!


Tailpiece.

Wonder what happens to his sainthood? That has been bestowed on him - his detractors have gone on record to say that it was bestowed on him a bit too hastily - based on the pure life that he'd lived all through. I only hope that it remains!   

A historic mission.

Pope Francis, the leader of the Roman Catholic Church met with Patriarch Kirill, the leader of the Russian Orthodox Church in Havana, Cuba on Friday, 12 Feb. Their meeting was the first between the leaders of their respective churches - the two biggest denominations - since the schism of 1054.

What's the schism of 1054?

Let me try to sequence the diary of events of the long standing differences between Western and Eastern Christianities that finally caused a definitive break and Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox(Greek, Russian and other) still remain separate. And so, here I go:-

   1043    The rigid and ambitious Michael Cerularius was named the Patriarch of Constantinople.
   1048    A French bishop was elected Pope Leo IX. He and the clerics who accompanied him to
               Rome were intent on reforming the papacy and the entire church.

   In the 1040s, problems arose in southern Italy(Then, under Byzantine rule) when Norman warriors
   conquered the region and replaced Greek(Eastern) bishops with Latin(Western) ones. 
   Consequently, the people were confused about the following:-
       (a) Proper forms of liturgy and other external matters.
       (b) Clerical marriages.
       (c) The bread used for Eucharist.
       (d) Dates of fasting and
       (e) Other usages.

   1052    When Cerularius heard that the Normans were forbidding Greek customs in southern Italy, 
               he retaliated by closing the Latin churches in Constantinople. He, then, induced bishop Leo
               to compose an attack on the Latin use of unleavened bread and other practices.

               In response to the provocative treatises, Pope Leo IX sent his chief adviser, Humbert, a
               rigid and narrow minded man with a strong sense of papal authority to Constantinople.

Saturday, 16 Jul 1054

As afternoon prayers were about to begin, Cardinal Humbert, strode into the Cathedral of Hagia
Sophia right up to the main altar and placed on it a parchment that declared the ex-communication
of the Patriarch of Constantinople, Michael Cerularius. He, then, marched out of the church, shook its dust from his feet and left the city.

A week later, the Patriarch solemnly condemned the cardinal.

My take.

It's my fond hope that the churches are united for the good of the world. The statesmanship and the spirit of reconciliation exhibited by Pope Francis are indeed laudable!


Tailpiece.

It would also be worthwhile to touch upon the Crusades that had begun around that period.

Pope Urban II launched the first Crusade in 1095. As a prelude to it, he'd delivered a soul stirring sermon at Clermont, the gist of which is reproduced below,

    "A horrible tale has gone forth. An accursed race utterly alienated from God has invaded the
      lands of the Christians and depopulated them by the sword, plundering and fire......Tear that            land from the wicked race and subject it to yourselves".

The people were riled and shouted, 'Deus vult! Deus vult!'(God wills it) - It went on to become the battle cry of the Crusades to liberate the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem.