Greeting the new year with a broom

During the school times one of my teachers used to say that if someone is lazy on 1st January, he would remain lazy for the whole year. During those times we used to remain awake till midnight to feel the ushering of the New Year. The greetings were exchanged at the first available opportunity. 

Maturity makes one treat 1st January as any other day of the year. This 'New Year Day' began as usual. The alarm rang at 3.55 am. As usual it was quite a challenge to come out of the quilt and leave the bed. As usual a good amount of effort was required to accomplish the hot water bath and pack the body with double layer of clothes. As usual the Gurbani-recording was played from the phone.

While listening to the Gurbani, brooming was done in the house. This activity is seldom done by me . But who would wish to remain lazy and inactive for the whole year? Apart from that it is a heart felt desire that from 2015 onwards corruption and inefficiency should start  getting broomed out of Delhi, and then the whole Nation.

No plastic in plastic surgery

When I was small I used to think that plastic surgeons repair the skin with some pladtic.But plastic surgery has hardly got anything to do with plastic. Skin is taken from thigh or any other convenient part of the body and is grafted at the required place. Dr Balraj Singh Gill is plastic surgeon of our town. Not many people know that he is providing very highly skilled services in a sleepy town like Jagraon.

His recent case is shown in the following pictures. A young teacher suffers from burns near the armpit, arm, shoulder and the chest. Due to this she is unable to write on the black board. Doctor Gill performs the plastic surgery. The grafting of the tissues is done with high precision from the thigh along with other necessary procedures that go along with the operation.

Diet matters

Tackling obesity and acidity is a gobal issue nowadays. The dietician of the Bollywood star Karina Kapoor was Rujuta Diwekar during the days movie Tashion was being made and size zero was glamorised. Rujuata gained fame as a dietician and her book 'Don't Lose Your Mind, Lose Your Weight' taught me to have small servings of food in between the meals. It also taught me to eat moderately during the main meals. Rajiv Dixit's videos on Youtube taught me to avoid drinking water immediately before and after the meals. This helped me tackle the problem of acidity to a great extent. Friendship with Dr. Balraj Singh Gill taught me to increase vegetable content in my diet. Owing to the influence of the above persons I have positively checked the increase in my body weight and controlled the menace of acidity.
Despite all the advancement in technology we cannot share our food on internet. Nevertheless we can share our experiences for the benefit of others . I would like to share my diet content of 16-12-2014. It can be noted that there is sufficient gap before and after the meals when water was taken. With this food there wasn't any problem of acidity and I felt good throughout the day.
Water was sipped slowly at 4 am. At 4.40 am semi-liquid food (a bowl containing curd mixed with carrot and pea vegetable) was taken followed by a small piece of Jaggery. At 7 AM one small sized Parantha was eaten with carrat pea vegetable (liberally topped by Desi ghee) and a very small quantity of Daal followed by a few sips (one fourth of a tea cup) of tea. After that sipped water at 9am. At 9.45 am had Skimmed milk in a medium sized tea cup that contained one and a half table spoon of sugar, along with four salty biscuits. Sipped water at 12.30 pm.
At 1.20 pm had one small chapati and a little quantity of Pulao  with a generous mixture of vegetable followed by a very small piece of jaggery. Sipped water at 3 pm. At 3.35 pm semi liquid diet (60℅ curd mixed in 40% Pulao) followed by a cup of tea (sugar and tea leaves very mild and skimmed milk in liberal proportion). At 6.10 pm and 6.35pm sipped water.
Dinner (comprising of one Chappati, carrot and pea vegetable, a little sag and in the end Dalia sweetened by Jaggery) was had at 7.05 pm. Then water was sipped at 8.35 pm.

How a place of pilgrimage emerged

People who are driven by logic feel that faith is born out of fear and it has no materialistic value. In sharp contrast there is a school of thought that feels that faith is the only real thing whereas the world seen by our eyes is nothing more than a dream. General Sleeman was a kind of a travel blogger of his times. He possessed a scientific temperament. In the following extract, he illustrates how a place of pilgrimage took birth. The area near the Nermada river was infested by the crop diseases year after year and the people were desperate to do anything that could give them a little hope. In the end the author says that it was like a drowning man catching the straw. But the fact remains true as ever that the Indian society is driven by faith. It can be good, bad or even blind. Once faith is taken out, there would hardly be anything left in the society.

General Sleeman writes:- In the latter end of 1831, while I was at Sāgar, a cowherd in driving his cattle to water at a reach of the Biās river, called the Nardhardhār, near the little village of Jasrathī, was reported to have seen a vision that told him that the waters of that reach, taken up and conveyed to the fields in pitchers, would effectually keep off the blight from wheat, provided the pitchers were not suffered to touch the ground on the way. On reaching the field, a small hole was to be made in the bottom of the pitcher, so as to keep up a small but steady stream, as the bearer carried it round the borders of the field, that the water might fall in a complete ring, except at a small opening—which was to be kept dry, in order that the monster or demon blight might make his escape through it, not being able to cross over any part watered by the holy stream. The waters Of the Bias river generally are not supposed to have any peculiar virtues. The report of this vision spread rapidly over the country; and the people who had been suffering under so many seasons of great calamity were anxious to try anything that promised the slightest chance of relief. Every cultivator of the district prepared pots for the conveyance of the water, with tripods to support them while they rested on the road, that they might not touch the ground. The spot pointed out for taking the water was immediately under a fine large pīpal- tree which had fallen into the river, and on each bank was seated a Bairāgī, or priest of Vishnu. The blight began to manifest itself in the alsī (linseed) in January, 1832, but the wheat is never considered to be in danger till late in February, when it is nearly ripe; and during that month and the following the banks of the river were crowded with people in search of the water. Some of the people came more than one hundred miles to fetch it, and all seemed quite sure that the holy water would save them. Each person gave the Bairāgī priest of his own side of the river two half-pence (copper pice), two pice weight of ghī (clarified butter), and two pounds of flour, before he filled his pitcher, to secure his blessings from it. These priests were strangers, and the offerings were entirely voluntary. The roads from this reach of the Bias river, up to the capital of the Orchhā Rājā, more than a hundred miles, were literally lined with these water-carriers; and I estimated the number of persons who passed with the water every day for six weeks at ten thousand a day. After they had ceased to take the water, the banks were long crowded with people who flocked to see the place where priests and waters had worked such miracles, and to try and discover the source whence the water derived its virtues. It was remarked by some that the pīpal-tree, which had fallen from the bank above many years before, had still continued to throw out the richest foliage from the branches above the surface of the water. Others declared that they saw a monkey on the bank near the spot, which no sooner perceived it was observed than it plunged into the stream and disappeared. Others again saw some flights of steps under the water, indicating that it had in days of yore been the site of a temple, whose god, no doubt, gave to the waters the wonderful virtues it had been found to possess. The priests would say nothing but that 'it was the work of God, and, like all his works, beyond the reach of man's understanding.' They made their fortunes, and got up the vision and miracle, no doubt, for that especial purpose. As to the effect, I was told by hundreds of farmers who had tried the waters that, though it had not anywhere kept the blight entirely off from the wheat, it was found that the fields which had not the advantages of water were entirely destroyed; and, where the pot had been taken all round the field without leaving any dry opening for the demon to escape through, it was almost as bad; but, when a small opening had been left, and the water carefully dropped around the field elsewhere, the crops had been very little injured; which showed clearly the efficacy of the water, when all the ceremonies and observances ; which prescribed by the vision had been attended to.

I could never find the cowherd who was said to have seen this vision, and, in speaking to my old friend, the Sadr Amīn, learned in the shāstras, on the subject, I told him that we had a short saying that would explain all this: 'A drowning man catches at a straw.'

'Yes,' said he, without any hesitation, 'and we have another just as good for the occasion: "Sheep will follow each other, though it should be into a well".'

An evening at Celebration Garden

It is 7pm and we are at the Celebration Gardens. It is really a huge marriage palace with very large gardens with a massive parking facility. The bushes and plants are besutified by coloured bulbs. It is adorned by exotic plants. The water fountain is beautified with the coloured lights. There is fine art work of white marble tastefully placed amidst the lawns. The lighting is tastefully made. Food stalls are numerous and very spaciously arranged. The fragrance and the aroma is to be experienced to be believed. While being at this place, who would believe that it is in the vicinity of Jagraon, an ordinary town of Punjab. It would not be any wonder if a person mistakes the moments spent here with any place that is the best in the world. The washrooms may belittle the elegance of even the five star hotels.

We are invited by Jain Parivar who are our family friends. Their daughter's marriage would by solemnised with the groom of a Bansal Parivar of Kotkapura. Mrs Jain was a class fellow of my better half during her college days. Their son Kirti Jain is my younger son's class mate in the DAV school. Kirti Jain is also my student at my evening tuition class.

The weather is very pleasantly cool. The air is rich in freshness. The marriage function would go on through out the night unlike the weddings in the Sikh families that take place during the day time.

The first thing I have relished is Dal Kabab and other Kabaab of various types including Mushroom Kabaab with green sauce. These were equally tasty if not more than the non vegetarian dishes that one eats. I have avoided coffee and juice of all types till now as per the advice of the famous health adviser Rajiv Dixit.

During all these snacks we met the Jain Parivar and posed for a few photographs with them. Also handed over the Shagun envelop to Mrs Jain and congrstulated her for the flawless arrangements here.

After tasting Chilli Paneer and Munchurian it is time for a little coffee.

It is 8.10 pm and the musical group is getting ready. They are setting up their instruments at the stage and the beat music is already in the air making everyone tap the foot and sway the necks a little bit. It is Englus.ih music which cannot be understood by me but the beats are great. And now it is Punjabi Music.A devotional folk song 'Bhen Nanki da Veer___mann da fakir . Nee e Jogian da Jogi Peeran da Peer'.

It is 8.40pm snd there are fireworks with the arrival of Baraat.

A few bouncers with bulging muscles are also moving about. These dsys the musical parties also hire bouncers. Normally one stands one each end of the stage. It is said that each one is paid about Rs 2000 for a few hours of his presence. It ensures discipline during the function.

It is again English music. Beats are fine but wordings are all Greek. The photographers are using a crane for photography. The reach of the crane is roughly thirty meters in radius. The stage lights have a bluish hue.

It is 9.05 and we visited the juice bar and had Mango Shake ang Guava juice. While returning back to our table about half a dozen class fellows of Sewapreet greeted us in the Punjabi style. It is bending as though touching our feet and we place our hands on their shoulders. The music is still western and the tune is somewhat similar to 'Gangnam Style'.

Very few women are in Saris. Others are in Salwar suits. Unmarried girs are in Jeans, Lehngas or Pajami Suits. The menfolk who are relatives are in three piece suits. There are about fifteen turbaned Sardars including me. The number of boozers in the party are very few and just about one smoker. The total crowd could be around 800.

It is 9.30 pm and Bhangra is in full swing on Punjabi beat songs. There are two computer screens almost as big as a cinema screen of the older times and a few more big size screens. Bhangra songs sung by slim Sardars on the screen are making the hearts dance.

It is about 9.50 pm now. We have had light dinner. The dancing party has about twenty models with about half females with zero size figures. Their feet seem to fly on the stage. Half the artists are in Bhangra dress to match the Punjabi beats. One slim girl is in shorts and  another is in Jeans. They are swaying and jumping on the stage and making the crowd envious of their perfect figures. It is said that a dancing model charges about three lakh rupees per season from the group owner. The model in Punjabi suit seem to be master of waist swinging. Among the crowd some young women are doing a Gidha type dance in sarees. It is a strange but very lovely combination. 

It is about 10.10 pm.The bride and the bridegroom are being made to take their seats on a different stage which is on the right side.
It is 10.20 pm and the Bhangea team is back on the stage. 'Jithon marji wanga gharwa lain ne mitran da naa chaldaj'. It is all Punjabi now. Lot of bust shaking by the female artists on the stage. Gidha dance by exceptionally beautiful sari clad young woman is exceptionally charming. The bride and the bride groom also danced gracefully at the dancing floor. They were looking like a prince and a princess. It is 11 pm and we are in our car ready to leave after another cup of coffee.
We are back at home at about 11. 20 pm. It was a marvellous and a very speacial evening.

Blessings on behalf of the dumb creatures

A pair of pigeons appeared to be fighting in our courtyard. Two of my students who were present there tried to separate them but in vain. It appeared as if one had caught hold of the other's paw with its beaks and was not letting it go.

I too joined the boys in ending the fight. But the pair managed to go away a little bit with their combined effort. The boys realised that they were not fighting. Rather they were badly entangled by the string with which kites are flown. The plight of the birds was pitiable.

We implored one another to catch the birds and cut the strings. All of us shied from doing so. Had there been a boy from the village side, he wouldn't have thought twice before carrying out the relief operation. At last one of the students mustered courage and caught them. The other cut the string. My contribution was little. I had given them the scissors and also made a video.
I blessed the boys on behalf of the birds and said, "May God cut your fetters too in the difficult situations just as you have cut the entanglements of the poor birds!."

Char Sahibzade - a movie review

Char Sahibzade is an animated movie that describes the lives and struggles of the four princes of Guru Gobind Singh. The story is wonderfully directed. It has successfully touched the chords of the masses irrespective the castes and religions. Most of the audience have wet eyes in the hall. The story reaches its climax when the small boys are choked to death with the last brick while they were being laid in a wall along with the bricks. A strange way to punish anyone!

Any movie made on Sikhism has to go through the risks of running into controversies due to the hardliners in the religion. Harry Baweja, the director of the movie, has handled this extremely delicate and sensitive story in an equally delicate and sensitive way. Every person is sent to the Earth for a purpose. It seems that Harry Baweja has successfully accomplished his lifetime purpose by directing this movie. Kudos to him. May he do more such wonderful things in the future!

How I learnt a tough lesson in cooking

After getting up early in the morning at 4 am, I got a craving for cooking a curry-less vegetable (sookhi sabji). After the bath, I cut a lot of carrots and potatoes. I put some water in the cooker and kept it on the flame. Simultaneously I kept on adding the cut vegetable. Half way through I put salt, green chillies and turmeric. Then I added some more water and continued with the cutting and adding part. Lastly I cut a few tomatoes and added a little ginger. Then I closed the cooker. Little did I realise that something can go wrong when the fluid in the cooker is less. As soon as I got some burning odour I put the flame off. I remembered when my mother used to be extra careful about this. It is called 'Sabji da thalle lag jana'. It means the bottom layer of the vegetable has turned into carbon and has got struck with the cooker. At the same time I realised that I had not put any oil in the dish. So I chopped some onions, fried them in oil. I put a little more turmeric also as I thought it was less when it was added earlier. I opened the cooker and added the fried stuff into the vegetable. Before the better half woke up kitchen was made tidy as if nothing much had happened.

The vegetable was, no doubt, very tasty. But the tough part remained to be done. After the lady of the house went to her school and I was free from my coaching work, I emptied the cooker and put the "Sabji" in a serving utensil. The lower part of the cooker was all black with carbon. I cleaned and cleaned but it refused to go. Then I sat in the courtyard and carried on wrestling with the cooker in the soothing sunshine of the winter season. Still it did not show much improvement. Then again I remembered why my mother was always careful that the vegetable should never get burnt at the bottom. Then I came back in the kitchen and took a wired mesh. I sat on a Patadi (a tiny wooden seat) held the cooker between my feet and went on rubbing its bottom with my hand. I cleaned it for about half a dozen times. Atlast it became somewhat as before although not fully.

I became thoroughly exhausted. I placed the cooker back on the shelf to exhibit as though nothing much had happened.The lesson that  I have learnt is that one must go about making a 'Sookhi Sabji' (dry vegetable) in such a way that the bottom layer should never get burnt. There should always be sufficient water in the cooker when it is closed for whistling.

Queue at the ration shops

It is reported in literature by some European observers that famines in the past have been forcing people to become cannibals. The horror stories include instances where mothers devoured their own children. About a century and a half ago famines were common in India. However it is believed that even the extreme conditions of hunger could not force Indians to droop beyond a certain level. Nevertheless some mothers would become willing to give away their children to slavery. But mostly the respectable class preferred death over humiliation.  The whole family would take an overdose of opium or poison of some sort and die in one another's arms. They would do this in closed doors so as not to expose their misery to the world.

The last famine reported in India was in 1971. It was not a very severe one though. At that time the food was distributed through the ration shops. Every house hold was alloted a fixed amount of grains, sugar and the kerosene oil.

I have the experience of  standing in a queue at the ration shops. I remember standing in queue at ration depots of the armed forces as well as those regulated by the civilian authorities. I would confess that it was among the most chilling and loathesome experiences I have ever had.

Contrast in the Eastern and Western mindset

General Sleeman served in India during the British Raj around 1850 AD. He was a man of scientific approach and rational outlook. In sharp contrast he met several Indians with exactly opposite mental disposition. He acknowledged in his writings that some times the local population loved to be looked upon as clownish and irrational. It helped them pose as beggars mentally as well as materially whereby they had less fear of being plundered by anybody including their governments. The following Chapter from his book shows a sharp contrast between rational and irrational mindsets.

The Men-Tigers.

Rām Chand Rāo, commonly called the Sarīmant, chief of Deorī here overtook me. He came out from Sāgar to visit me at Dhamonī and, not reaching that place in time, came on after me. He held Deorī under the Peshwā, as the Sāgar chief held Sāgar, for the payment of the public establishments kept up by the local administration. It yielded him about ten thousand a year, and, when we took possession of the country, he got an estate in the Sāgar district, in rent-free tenure, estimated at fifteen hundred a year. This is equal to about six thousand pounds a year in England. The tastes of native gentlemen lead them always to expend the greater part of their incomes in the wages of trains of followers of all descriptions, and in horses, elephants, &c.; and labour and the subsistence of labour are about four times cheaper in India than in England. By the breaking up of public establishments, and consequent diminution of the local demand for agricultural produce, the value of land throughout all Central India, after the termination of the Mahrātha War in 1817, fell by degrees thirty per cent.; and, among the rest, that of my poor friend the Sarīmant. While I had the civil charge of the Sāgar district in 1831 I represented this case of hardship; and Government, in the spirit of liberality which has generally characterized their measures in this part of India, made up to him the difference between what he actually received and what they had intended to give him; and he has ever since felt grateful to me. He is a very small man, not more than five feet high, but he has the handsomest face I have almost ever seen, and his manners are those of the most perfect native gentleman. He came to call upon me after breakfast, and the conversation turned upon the number of people that had of late been killed by tigers between Sāgar and Deorī, his ancient capital, which lies about midway between Sāgar and the Nerbudda river.

One of his followers, who stood beside his chair, said that 'when a tiger had killed one man he was safe, for the spirit of the man rode upon his head, and guided him from all danger. The spirit knew very well that the tiger would be watched for many days at the place where he had committed the homicide, and always guided him off to some other more secure place, when he killed other men without any risk to himself. He did not exactly know why the spirit of the man should thus befriend the beast that had killed him; but', added he, 'there is a mischief inherent in spirits; and the better the man the more mischievous is his ghost, if means are not taken to put him to rest.' This is the popular and general belief throughout India; and it is supposed that the only sure mode of destroying a tiger who has killed many people is to begin by making offerings to the spirits of his victims, and thereby depriving him of their valuable services. The belief that men are turned into tigers by eating of a root is no less general throughout India.

The Sarīmant, on being asked by me what he thought of the matter, observed 'there was no doubt much truth in what the man said: but he was himself of opinion that the tigers which now infest the wood from Sāgar to Deorī were of a different kind—in fact, that they were neither more nor less than men turned into tigers—a thing which took place in the woods of Central India much more often than people were aware of. The only visible difference between the two', added the Sarīmant, 'is that the metamorphosed tiger has no tail, while the bora, or ordinary tiger, has a very long one. In the jungle about Deorī', continued he, 'there is a root, which, if a man eat of, he is converted into a tiger on the spot; and if, in this state, he can eat of another, he becomes a man again—a melancholy instance of the former of which', said he, 'occurred, I am told, in my own father's family when I was an infant. His washerman, Raghu, was, like all washermen, a great drunkard; and, being seized with a violent desire to ascertain what a man felt in the state of a tiger, he went one day to the jungle and brought home two of these roots, and desired his wife to stand by with one of them, and the instant she saw him assume the tiger shape, to thrust it into his mouth. She consented, the washerman ate his root, and became instantly a tiger; but his wife was so terrified at the sight of her husband in this shape that she ran off with the antidote in her hand. Poor old Raghu took to the woods, and there ate a good many of his old friends from neighbouring villages; but he was at last shot, and recognized from the circumstance of his having no tail. You may be quite sure,' concluded Sarīmant, 'when you hear of a tiger without a tail, that it is some unfortunate man who has eaten of that root, and of all the tigers he will be found the most mischievous.'

How my friend had satisfied himself of the truth of this story I know not, but he religiously believes it, and so do all his attendants and mine; and, out of a population of thirty thousand people in the town of Sāgar, not one would doubt the story of the washerman if he heard it.

I was one day talking with my friend the Rājā of Maihar on the road between Jubbulpore and Mirzapore, on the subject of the number of men who had been lately killed by tigers at the Katrā Pass on that road and the best means of removing the danger. 'Nothing', said the Rājā, 'could be more easy or more cheap than the destruction of these tigers, if they were of the ordinary sort; but the tigers that kill men by wholesale, as these do, are, you may be sure, men themselves converted into tigers by the force of their science, and such animals are of all the most unmanageable.'

'And how is it. Rājā Sāhib, that these men convert themselves into tigers?'

'Nothing', said he, 'is more easy than this to persons who have once acquired the science; but how they learn it, or what it is, we unlettered men know not.'

'There was once a high priest of a large temple, in this very valley of Maihar, who was in the habit of getting himself converted into a tiger by the force of this science, which he had thoroughly acquired. He had a necklace, which one of his disciples used to throw over his neck the moment the tiger's form became fully developed. He had, however, long given up the practice, and all his old disciples had gone off on their pilgrimages to distant shrines, when he was one day seized with a violent desire to take his old form of the tiger. He expressed the wish to one of his new disciples, and demanded whether he thought he might rely on his courage to stand by and put on the necklace. 'Assuredly you may', said the disciple; 'such is my faith in you, and in the God we serve, that I fear nothing.' The high priest upon this put the necklace into his hand with the requisite instructions, and forthwith began to change his form. The disciple stood trembling in every limb, till he heard him give a roar that shook the whole edifice, when he fell flat upon his face, and dropped the necklace on the floor. The tiger bounded over him, and out of the door, and infested all the roads leading to the temple for many years afterwards.'

'Do you think, Rājā Sahib, that the old high priest is one of the tigers at the Katrā Pass?''No, I do not; but I think they may be all men who have become imbued with a little too much of the high priest's science—when men once acquire this science they can't help exercising it, though it be to their own ruin, and that of others.'
'I propose', said he, 'to have the spirits that guide them propitiated by proper prayers and offerings; for the spirit of every man or woman who has been killed by a tiger rides upon his head, or runs before him, and tells him where to go to get prey, and to avoid danger. Get some of the Gonds, or wild people from the jungles, who are well skilled in these matters—give them ten or twenty rupees, and bid them go and raise a small shrine, and there sacrifice to these spirits. The Gonds will tell them that they shall on this shrine have regular worship, and good sacrifices of fowls, goats, and pigs, every year at least, if they will but relinquish their offices with the tigers and be quiet. If this is done, I pledge myself', said the Raja, 'that the tigers will soon get killed themselves, or cease from killing men. If they do not, you may be quite sure that they are not ordinary tigers, but men turned into tigers, or that the Gonds have appropriated all you gave them to their own use, instead of applying it to conciliate the spirits of the unfortunate people.'

Two states - a movie review

Chetan Bhagat wrote a few novels where he highlighted the life of top institutes of India like IIT Delhi and IIM Ahemdabad. Since millions missed these institutes as a student, they read them to satisfy their curiosity. These novels became best sellers. But the magic spell did not stop there itself. Even the movies based on these novels did a handsome business. A movie is usually a very short version of the novel. Nevertheless this movie is quite close to the script although several episodes have been omitted.

Cross cultural marriage is indeed a challenge in India. Things look silly as long as they happen to others. Most of us may turn out to be as narrow minded as the parents shown in the movie. Lastly the movie has quite rightly depicted that sex before marriage has become common in the  colleges. Particularly if they are of elite category.

Just for the sake of a blanket

A Fakir lived with his only  son in a roadside shrine in around 1840 AD. His wife and all other family members had died. Lately he bought a new blanket for himself and his child. The poor father and son were poisoned with Datura just for the sake of the blanket. The following eye witness account of the Fakir is from General Sir WH Sleeman's book ' Rambles and Recollections of an Indian Official';

'I reside in my hut by the side of the road a mile and [a] half from the town, and live upon the bounty of travellers, and the people of the surrounding villages. About six weeks ago, I was sitting by the side of my shrine after saying prayers, with my only son, about ten years of age, when a man came up with his wife, his son, and his daughter, the one a little older, and the other a little younger than my boy. They baked and ate their bread near my shrine, and gave me flour enough to make two cakes. This I prepared and baked. My boy was hungry, and ate one cake and a half. I ate only half a one, for I was not hungry. I had a few days before purchased a new blanket for my boy, and it was hanging in a branch of the tree that shaded the shrine, when these people came. My son and I soon became stupefied. I saw him fall asleep, and I soon followed. I awoke again in the evening, and found myself in a pool of water. I had sense enough to crawl towards my boy. I found him still breathing, and I sat by him with his head in my lap, where he soon died. It was now evening, and I got up, and wandered about all night picking straws—I know not why. I was not yet quite sensible. During the night the wolves ate my poor boy. I heard this from travellers, and went and gathered up his bones and buried them in the shrine. I did not quite recover till the third day, when I found that some washerwomen had put me into the pool, and left me there with my head out, in hopes that this would revive me; but they had no hope of my son. I was then taken to the police of the town; but the landholders had begged me to say nothing about the poisoners, lest it might get them and their village community into trouble. The man was tall and fair, and about thirty- five; the woman short, stout, and fair, and about thirty; two of her teeth projected a good deal; the boy's eyelids were much diseased.'

A benumbing extract from General Sir WH Sleeman's book

Presently I am reading General Sir WH Sleeman's book 'Rambles and recollections of an Indian Official'. I found the following extract particularly benumbing. The incidence narrated must have occurred between 1815 and 1840 AD.

'A stout Mogul officer of noble bearing and singularly handsome countenance, on his way from the Punjab to Oudh, crossed the Ganges at Garhmuktesar Ghāt, near Meerut, to pass through Murādābād and Bareilly. He was mounted on a fine Tūrkī horse, and attended by his "khidmatgār" (butler) and groom. Soon after crossing the river, he fell in with a small party of well-dressed and modest- looking men going the same road. They accosted him in a respectful manner, and attempted to enter into conversation with him. He had heard of Thugs, and told them to be off. They smiled at his idle suspicions, and tried to remove them, but in vain. The Mogul was determined; they saw his nostrils swelling with indignation, took their leave, and followed slowly. The next morning he overtook the same number of men, but of a different appearance, all Musalmāns. They accosted him in the same respectful manner; talked of the danger of the road, and the necessity of their keeping together, and taking advantage of the protection of any mounted gentleman that happened to be going the same way. The Mogul officer said not a word in reply, resolved to have no companions on the road. They persisted—his nostrils began again to swell, and putting his hand to his sword, he bid them all be off, or he would have their heads from their shoulders. He had a bow and quiver full of arrows over his shoulders, a brace of loaded pistols in his waist-belt, and a sword by his side, and was altogether a very formidable-looking cavalier. In the evening another party that lodged in the same "sarāi" became very intimate with the butler and groom. They were going the same road; and, as the Mogul overtook them in the morning, they made their bows respectfully, and began to enter into conversation with their two friends, the groom and butler, who were coming up behind. The Mogul's nostrils began again to swell, and he bid the strangers be off. The groom and butler interceded, for their master was a grave, sedate man, and they wanted companions. All would not do, and the strangers fell in the rear. The next day, when they had got to the middle of an extensive and uninhabited plain, the Mogul in advance, and his two servants a few hundred yards behind, he came up to a party of six poor Musalmāns, sitting weeping by the side of a dead companion. They were soldiers from Lahore, on their way to Lucknow, worn down by fatigue in their anxiety to see their wives and children once more, after a long and painful service. Their companion, the hope and prop of his family, had sunk under the fatigue, and they had made a grave for him; but they were poor unlettered men, and unable to repeat the funeral service from the holy Koran-would his Highness but perform this last office for them, he would, no doubt, find his reward in this world and the next. The Mogul dismounted—the body had been placed in its proper position, with its head towards Mecca. A carpet was spread—the Mogul took off his bow and quiver, then his pistols and sword, and placed them on the ground near the body—called for water, and washed his feet, hands, and face, that he might not pronounce the holy words in an unclean state. He then knelt down and began to repeat the funeral service, in a clear, loud voice. Two of the poor soldiers knelt by him, one on each side in silence. The other four went off a few paces to beg that the butler and groom would not come so near as to interrupt the good Samaritan at his devotions.

'All being ready, one of the four, in a low undertone, gave the "jhirnī" (signal), the handkerchiefs were thrown over their necks, and in a few minutes all three—the Mogul and his servants—were dead, and lying in the grave in the usual manner, the head of one at the feet of the one below him. All the parties they had met on the road belonged to a gang of Jamāldehī Thugs, of the kingdom of Oudh. In despair of being able to win the Mogul's confidence in the usual way, and determined to have the money and jewels, which they knew he carried with him, they had adopted this plan of disarming him; dug the grave by the side of the road, in the open plain, and made a handsome young Musalmān of the party the dead soldier. The Mogul, being a very stout man, died almost without a struggle, as is usually the case with such; and his two servants made no resistance.'

Micromax 40T2820FHD 40 Inch Full HD LED Television - A product review

We got this TV via Snapdeal. The service of Snapdeal is good but nowhere near the delivery service of Flipkart. No site other than Snapdeal offered to deliver this product at Jagraon. Even for Ludhiana only Snapdeal has a delivery arrangement. So I gave some address of Ludhiana and collected it from Gati courier Ludhiana when it reached there. I paid them Rs 25835 as it was cash on Delivery. We carried it to our house on our Alto car.

We switched it ON by our own efforts but the proper installation was done by the company official. Customer is required to just send an sms to the company after receiving the product. Since we have an PS3 attached with our TV, it can be connected to internet also. All the memory of PS3 which is several hundred of GB becomes the memory of the TV. My son made his phone act as a local media server. He could play all his media files on the TV as the PS3 gets connected by the LAN and shows the files on the screen. Over all the purchase was very satisfactory.

Would not give a review for the movie 'Haider' - a thought

Watching a movie on our Tab may not be ethical. On the top of it trying to criticize a movie for which we have not paid anything can hardly be ethical. I saw the Bollywood movie 'Haider' which I got  via the Application called 'Superbeam' from my elder son. He is here with us to celebrate Diwali.

The movie was above 700 mb. I would refrain from passing comments any further as I have not watched it at any cinema hall or via 'Movie on demand' plan of Dish TV. Hopefully in the future there would be some scheme where movies would be directly released over the internet for some nominal amount.

Drifting by Providence - a thought

If a politician is late by a few hours it is often joked that he is punctual as per the Indian Standard time. However for me 5 pm had always meant exactly 5 pm. Several times I reach at social or religious functions before all others. But it is not the same for most of the people of my country. Here 5 pm can easily mean 7 pm. Very rarely do I meet a person who is particular about the exactness of time.

A part of me feels that it is a kind of shortcoming in me. On several occasions, I have been driving my car or motorcycle unusually fast to keep up with the comittment of time. I am thankful to God who has been saving me from accidents all along.

From today onwards I resolve not to take time related commitments seriously. In the first place I would try not to commit any fixed time to anybody at all. Moreover my body is not as strong as it used to be earlier. I must allow myself some relaxation. I hope it would do no harm to anyone as it is absolutely fine to be late in our culture.

Yesterday someone from the neighbourhood asked me to attend the Antim Ardas (Last prayers after death) of his father-in-law at village Hans Kalan which is about 20 km from my place. In Punjab a grand feast is organised if the senior most person of a family passes away. Firstly a person is treated with Pakoras and sweets of all kinds along with tea and coffee. After the prayer session there is a lunch that includes the best of vegetarian dishes. I assured the gentleman that I would be present at the occasion. But today I cannot attend the function for a couple of reasons. I am feeling helpless with a lowered self esteem. Seldom do I make false promises like that. But from now onwards I would take my words and promises a bit lightly. After all age has started showing on my physical strength. It may not always allow me to honour my words all the time.

{ He plans to go towards the West but Providence drifts him towards the East - Guru Arjun Dev }

Cold shoulder - an experience

Dear reader, thank you in advance for finding time to read this. Today I would like to share someting which may reflect a lot of weakness within me also.

It rarely happens that a person feels unhappy after shaking hand with someone. But today it happened to me. It is quarter past nine now and about half an hour ago I went to a grocery shop in the vicinity. While returning I came across a person whom I saw after a gap of more than two years. This person had been quite friendly to me a few years ago. But for the last two and half years, he has started behaving very indifferently for no apparent reason. As I came near him today, he tried his best to ignore me. However, I persisted on making an eye contact and said 'Hello'.Then I went forward for a hand shake too. After all what does a warm greeting cost a person?

But the hand shake was as chilled as ice and the greeting I received lacked feeling. It was quite artificial, stale and unfriendly. What a bad taste it left within me! How I wish I too had ignored him! 

Dear reader, a person needs to be thick skinned nowadays. May God bless the one who gave me a cold shoulder today.

A Soldier's Experience by T Gowing - a book review

'A Soldier's experience' by T Gowing is a personal narrative, collection of letters, biography of some soldiers plus a lot of information pertaining to military establishment. I read his personal narrative along with the collection of letters that he wrote to his parents from the battle field.

The book has been written with a lot of patriotic fervour. Despite that the narration is unbiased. The first part of the story is from the war against Russia and the second part is related to his stay in India. Out of his ten children born in India, only two survived. Six died in a single day due to Cholera. The letter he writes to his parents to break the sad news reflects the brave heart of a soldier. After reading a few books related to soldiers, I have concluded that human life was very cheap in those days. Deaths due to diseases were very common and thousands died on the battle field only to be forgotten soon. Death of a few hundred or a few thousand people hardly created any stir anywhere.

The mutiny of 1857 is a lot different if it is seen from the English perspective. Hundreds of English women were reported to be dishonoured and killed in Kanpur. Even children and infants were not spared. Some say that the mutineers believed that the seed of an enemy should never be spared. Long ago a resident of Kanpur was our guest at NOIDA. He had a firm believe in this policy and according to him it was taught by the political Legend Chanakya. Anyway, the massacre perpetrated by the forces of Nana Sahib infuriated the Britons and they avenged every drop of blood of women and children that was shed at Kanpur.

The author is full of praise for bayonet. According to him it is the queen of weapons. He has described several battles were the tables were turned by the use of bayonets, 'the cold steel' as he often called it.

This book can be downloaded from the following link   http://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/46989

Ten years in India - a book review

The autobiography of soldiers often make a very interesting reading. But 'Ten years in India and three years in Africa' was slightly short of expectations. It is mainly because the author WJD Gould had only a half baked knowledge of our country. He was in India in the middle of the nineteenth century. Sometimes it appears that the writer is hiding something from the readers. Usually the soldiers go on a rampage and indulge in looting after the fall of their enemy. This aspect is not disclosed at all. Perhaps it is to show the British army in perfect light. Still the book is worth reading. It can be downloaded from the following link https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/46823

HP 10 inch tablet - a product review

HP has newly entered the tablet market. Being an experienced company in the field of computers, it has put in the right blend of features inorder to deliver seamless performance. A very powerful camera for a small screen device isn't of much use. Similarly, loading a tablet with the phone calling features would only sap out its power.It is, therefore, important that a device should possess features that are in perfect tune with the hardware and the efficiency of the microprocessor. The 10 inch tablet of HP has the latest chip set from broadcom. The tablet is priced at 13000k which is nearly half the price of other branded tabs. I purchased it via flipkart yesterday. The delivery of flipkart is unmatched. The tablet is a fine piece of technology. Camera etc are of lesser power but that is justified as the real power of a tab is in its screen. The performance of camera is also  okay if there is sufficient light. The tab runs without any lag. There is no phone calling feature. Afterall who would use a ten inch device for calling? Only the data of a 3g sim is used. It supports external SD card up to 32 GB. The card needs to be inserted when the device is on and has to be rebooted after that. The USB port can be used for connecting a pen drive. However one has to purchase the OTG cable from the market for making that work. Since whatsapp does not support data only tablets, the application has to be installed using small tricks which can be easily known by googling. The net speed is excellent. The sim that  had problems catching signals on my phone runs with extra swiftness on the tab. The wifi hot spot can be used by all the family members as it is very efficient. The operating system becomes 4.1.2 Jellybean after updation.

The 10 inch tabs are poised to replace the bags of the students in the future. A few years ago the government of India launched an extra cheap tablet called Akash. The project did not click. But the HP 10 inch tab is excellent for reading PDF files and ebooks. Maybe the  elite schools of the country would start teaching by such devices soon. Overall it was a very satisfactory purchase.