An old friend visits Chicago

"Urmila Matondkar", I said happily when my friend asked me which Urmila I was talking to over the phone. I was being a little mischievious (as IPK would normally be). I was so happy that one of my old school time buddies and my teacher's daughter would be visiting Chicago and I would be meeting her.

She had been one of the most bubbly and cheerful persons I had ever met and she has not changed till now. She is still as thin and slim as she was in school. If anything, she has become more mature now. Her sister Girija though had grown taller and was not the same old little girl whom I remembered in school. Our meeting, more of a reunion, took me back to the memories of school and all the fun that we had back then. As she and her sister Girija narrated some incidents from school days that I was involved in, I was pretty amazed. There were so many incidents that I had nearly forgotten and given a chance, would not have been able to recollect. I suddenly felt that I had long since stopped taking part in so many activities that I so enjoyed. Anyway, I was happy that my good old friend had come down to Chicago and we caught up on a lot of things. I am so happy that she is getting married in December this year with one of our own classmates.

A SECULAR REVIEW OF MAHABHARATA !!!

This was a forward mail that I received today from a friend! It is very creative, though not even a word of it is true. Happy reading...
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Government of India
Ministry of Human Resources Development
Department of Culture
Films Division

No. B1452/234/2003 Dt. 23.6.07

To:
Shri. B. R. Chopra,
Film Director,
Mumbai

Ref: Film story submitted by you, regarding financing of films by Government of India, Your letter dt. 2.12.90


The undersigned is directed to refer the above letter and state that the Government has examined your proposal for financing a film called ''Mahabharat'. The Very High
Level Committee constituted for this purpose has been in consultation with the Human Rights Commission, National Commission for Women and Labour Commission, in addition to various Ministries and State Governments and have formed definitive opinions about the script. Their observations are as below:

1. In the script submitted by you it is shown that there were two sets of cousins, namely, the Kauravas, numbering one hundred, and the Pandavas, numbering five. The
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has pointed out that these numbers are high, well above the norm prescribed for families by them. It is brought to your kind attention that when the Government is spending huge amounts for promoting family planning, this will send wrong signals to the public. Therefore, it is recommended
that there may be only three Kauravas and one Pandava.

2. The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs has raised an issue whether it is suitable to depict kings and emperors in this democratic age. Therefore, it is suggested that
the Kauravas may be depicted as Honourable Members of Parliament (Lok Sabha) and the Pandava may be depicted as Honourable Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha). The ending
of the film shows the victory of the said Pandavas over the said Kauravas. The ending may be suitably modified so that neither of the Honourable Members of Parliament are shown as being inferior to the other.

3. The Ministry of Science and Technology has observed that the manner of birth of Kauravas is suggestive of human cloning, a technology banned in India. This may be
changed to normal birth.

4. The National Commission for Women has objected that the father of Pandavas, one Sri Pandu, is depicted as bigamous, and also there is only one wife for the
Pandavas in common. Thereore suitable changes may be made in the said script so that the said Sri Pandu is not depicted as bigamous. However, with the reduction in
number of Pandavas as suggested above, the issue of polyandry can be addressed without further trouble.

5. The Commission for the Physically Challenged has observed that the portrayal of the visually impaired character 'Dhritharastra' is derogatory. Therefore the
said character may not be shown as visually impaired.

6. The Department of Women and Child Development have highlighted that the public disrobing of one female character called 'Draupadi' is objectionable and derogatory to women in general. Further the Home Ministry anticipates that depiction of such scenes may create law and order problem and at the same time invite strong protests from the different women forums. Such scenes may also invite penal action under SITA (Suppression of Immoral Traffic Act), therefore they may be avoided and deleted from the film.

7. It is felt that showing the Pandava and the Kauravas as gamblers will be anti-social and counter productive as it might encourage gambling. Therefore, the said Pandavas and Kauravas may be shown to have engaged in horse racing. (Hon. Supreme Court has held horse racing not to be gambling)

8. The Pandavas are shown as working in the King Virat's employment without receiving any salary. According to the Human Rights Commission, this amounts to bonded labour and may attract provisions of The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976. This may be corrected at once.

9. In the ensuing war, one character by name Sri Abhimanyu has been shown as fighting. The National Labour Commission has observed that, war being a hazardous
industry, and the said character being 16 years old, this depiction will be construed as a case of child labour. Also there is no record of his being paid any
compensation. This may also be deemed to be violatory of the provisions of The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986 and Minimum Wages Act, 1948. Such
references in the film may be removed.

10. The character 'Sri Krishna' has been depicted as wearing a peacock feather. The peacock is our National Bird and wearing dresses made from peacock feather is an
offence under the Wild Life Protection Act, 1972. This may not be depicted.


11. Smt Maneka Gandhi has raised very serious objection for using any elephants or horses in war scenes, since there is every scope for mistreatment and injury to the
said animals. The provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1890 and Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (Amendment) Act, 1960 would be applicable in the instant case. Suitable changes may be made in the script to address the objections raised.

12. In pursuance of the Memorandum of Ministry of Finance regarding austerity measures, it is informed that in the battle field sequences, only ten soldiers may be allowed for each side. Also, all the characters may be shown to have obtained a valid licence under the Arms Act, 1959 as well as the Indian Arms Act, 1878. You are therefore requested to modify the script along the lines indicated above and resubmit it to the undersigned at the earliest.

Sd/- Under Secretary

A fresh start...

It has been a long time since I blogged. I was either lazy or I did not want to blog. Whatever it might be, I did not write for a long time. Now, suddenly I felt that I should start blogging again so that I keep tab of some of the crazy things that I do and I started off with this.

OK, I have fever. A sore throat. Cold, cough, a heavy head. I am tired of coughing and my throat hurts. That's too much at once. I didnt go to office today and rested at home all day. That may be one of the reasons for my idea of blogging once again - boredom.

A US open match that lacked intensity (Roger steam rolled over Andy Murray). It was not a high quality match like some of the others. But Roger earned his fifth US Open title. And I was happy for Roger. He had to wait a long time to get to his 13th title. Let's see how long does he have to wait for the next one.

But I am hoping that things will get better for him and me. People say I have been victimized by 'dishti' - a belief in India that something bad will happen when people feel jealous about one's well being. Weird it may be, but it is true that I am currently down with sickness!

How to make Kashaayam?

One of the things that we drink when we have a sore throat is Kashaayam. It is a drink made of black pepper, jaggery, water and a few other ingredients. It is used to relieve throat pain and help reduce cough.

Now, how do we make it? I dont know. Mom told me over the phone, but I didnt pay attention then and now I dont know how to make it.

After a couple of googling attempts and phone calls to India (mom did not pick up the phone), I still dont know how to make kashaayam. There was one page where they had listed the steps, but that is not how we make it. So till I find out, this post will be incomplete.

Finally I found some recipes and tried one too. Here are the links for the recipes.
1. Sonti Kashayam
2. Pepper Kashayam

Finally, I spoke to mom and got to know the home recipe ...

miriyaalu - 10 pieces (finely ground)
lavangaalu - 5-6
daalchini - chinnadi
dhaniyaalu - 1/2 spoon
jeera - 1 pinch
jaggery - little
water - 2 glasses
ginger - small pieces
Add tulasi - just before taking out the kashaayam

That's it... Kashaayam is ready!

Look up with pride

There will be times in your life when you would feel down and out, your decisions would seem wrong, your thoughts will betray you and everyone surrounding you would seem to be your enemy. Beware of such days!!

Act in a way that you will always look up in pride!

Bringing rural India to the world

As a child, I had always dreamt that I was a superhero - the ones they show in the movies - changing the world for good. But today, only the intention remains. The desire to help others out still remains, but behind the hazy curtains of "How do I proceed" confusion and some other constraints.

I had gone shopping today here in Watford (UK) and saw that even the smallest and the most commonplace articles were nicely presented and being sold in the supermarket. And they all didnt cost much. A thought that was running in my mind came back. I had always appreciated the Indian artisan's work and felt proud of the craftsmen. They are a great asset to the country. However, the injustice that happens to them - they don't get paid what they deserve. And not many people seem to remember or give it a thought (Siddharth Kak is one who is doing a lot of good work on this aspect).

I had got bored of the Indian satellite TV because there is nothing more than celebrities, soaps and movie related shows. There are hardly any programmes that highlight our craftsmen and show their artistry to the world. It is in fact foreign TV channels who cover such people and show them on TV. What a shame! Our own country is not doing enough (and it includes me). We should be ashamed of ourselves to be getting so selfish that we are letting our culture get extinct this way.

We should take pride in what we do and show the world how good we are. We are receiving respect from all around the world in many areas. It is time now to gain some respect (and income for the poor) from around the world by making good marketing and selling strategies for these masterpieces that come from our villages.

I am hopeful that someday I will shed my inhibitions and shyness to go out and help all these people whose hardwork is not being recognised.

I feel sad for Ganguly today

What has happened with Ganguly today is totally unacceptable. Though I dont like his fielding, his batting and team leading skills were never in question. He has been a great influence on the team and has groomed many young talents by showing his faith in them and their talents.

For a leader who has done so well for the country on numerous occasions, this is no way to throw him out of the team. Members of the board should have had the courtesy to talk to Ganguly and let him know of what they thought about his and their plans.

On a day when the rest of the team is celebrating its success over Sri Lanka, one of the key contributors in the match would be trying to find out what went wrong.

I wish he makes a comeback and show BCCI that he still has it in him to carry on for some more time and bow out gracefully.