Street Flowers, London - Wordless Wednesday

These are some of the flowers (and the sights) that I see in my morning walk, in and around Streatham, London ...

(click any pic for high resolution enlargement)

I hope you enjoyed the walk and the beautiful sights...

FOR THE PEOPLE - Random Thoughts # 9

 

In my more than 3 score years of existence, I have visited 17 countries outside of India, for durations as less as one day to a maximum of 6 months at a stretch. My longest stays have been in the U.S. and the U.K. My first trip abroad was when I was 27 years of age.

A major difference of people and systems in other countries, vis-a-vis India is that there is concern for people that is evident everywhere – this seems to be lacking in India. Every little detail, little action of a person reflects this concern. Be it public transport – rail, buses, trams OR design of roads, pavements, pedestrian crossings, public toilets, doors, windows, doorways, latches, door knobs, handles; or the  facilities for drinking water…the list is endless and it can go on. The designs are user friendly and easy to handle. This concern permeates down to the attitude and behaviour of the individuals. Its a pleasure, not just to visit, but also to live in these countries. Concern for others makes better human beings and we desperately need to cultivate the basic courtesies.

The effort is always on how the care and concern for other humans can be improved. How the disabled, handicapped, blind or even deaf and dumb persons can vend their way around without having to depend on another individual always holding the hand and leading them. The big shopping malls, cinema hall, restaurants, buses and other public places – are equipped with ramps for being suitable for wheel chairs or mobility scooters. You will hardly find a public place where these cannot be used.

The poorest country that I have visited is Tanzania, much poorer than India (GDP of Tanzania is US$ 61 billion as compared to India's GDP of 3862 billion - for 2010, compiled by IMF). In spite of it not being in the list of the advanced nations, I felt the people there are far ahead of us in basic courtesies, manners and the like. The general cleanliness was far better than what I have ever observed in my motherland. Traffic was disciplined. Sign boards were readable and not pasted over by posters or vandalised. Even the domestic help was trustworthy and you could leave your household keys with him/her. A basic honesty of character is noticed world wide, except in India. 

I feel ashamed that my countrymen are incapable of even such simple things. We are unable to maintain cleanliness. In India when we sweep our home, the garbage is often dumped on the street. We cannot even provide dust bins. There is no concern for feeling for others, surroundings or the environment. To see beyond ourselves is the need of the hour. Then only we will inculcate care for the community, then the country and other countrymen – finally the other human beings. 

It may not have ever occurred to you, when two cars cross each other on a narrow road, signal of blinking the headlights means “I am waiting, please come through,” in ALL other countries except in India. In India it means - “YOU WAIT (SUCKER) I'M COMING THROUGH”.

Why do we have this arrogance? We were not like this. Our tehzeeb was “PAHLE AAP!!”. Where has it got lost in the years? Now we are a culture of “PAHLE MEIN!!!”.

When we use a public toilet, we do not seem to bother about the condition we leave it in. We expectorate in the wash basins. We never wipe the basin for the next user. We do not realise how it feels to someone entering a filthy loo. In Europe (specially in Switzerland) I noticed that the public toilets had instructions in Hindi, that we should not squat but sit on the seat, we should not throw other items like Sanitary Pads, Hand Tissues/Towels etc. in the WC - only toilet paper. Why in Hindi? It only means that we do not use the toilets with a concern for the next user. I feel ashamed to admit that we have been singled out for those instructions, because of our obnoxious behaviour in such places.

Have we become totally different from the rest of the world? Is our way of life at fault? Are our religious teachings not what it should be? As it is Hindu religion is considered a way of life. The gods we pray to and idolise are the ones that govern our morals, our righteousness, our customs and manners. Are we picking up a lot of undesirable traits from the gods we worship?

Lord Krishna has used deceit on more than one occasion. Surrender of Bhishma, killing of Jaidratha by Arjun, surrender of Drona by using the name of Ashwathama, the elephant; killing of Duryodhana by Bhim etc. etc.- have all been done by deceit. Thus use of deceit is justified. The Bhagwad Gita is considered our Bible. It tells us of the immortality of the soul or the atma. Our scriptures also tell us about karma and rebirth. All these tend to give us a fatalistic attitude and make us accept any situation deeming it as preordained. It absolves us of the responsibility of our actions. All this makes us very selfish. If I am deceitful – it cannot be helped – being preordained. This also kills the motivation for questioning and advancement. Thus, this becomes a dangerous combination – being fatalistic and justifying deceit, along with being selfish.

Lord Ram was a brave warrior but he was unable to trust and respect his wife. He was called a maryada purushottama; justifying his fulfillment of his moral obligations. Giving up his right to the throne (develops fatalistic attitude).

He makes fun of Surpanakha and then tells her to go to Lakshmana – who also makes fun of her. Then Lakshaman cuts off her nose to insult her proposition to him. Ram also insults womankind. Makes Sita do an agni-pariksha; also drives her out of their home as he still mistrusts her fidelity, that too at a time when she is carrying his children. Was it just to please his subjects (or the washer man who uttered some obscenities regarding her)? Is that a reason why we do not respect our women?

These are the characters that we try and emulate in our lives.

I shall always remember the The Gettysburg Address of  Abraham Lincoln of November 19, 1863, where he said "-- that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom -- and that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth." He had the foresight and thinking, almost 150 years ago, that has made America the power that it is today. We are absolutely incorrigible and still refuse to learn anything even after the great fiasco of the Common Wealth Games; and to cap it all, the General Secretary of the Organizing Committee (Mr Lalit Bhanot) said  "..westerners have different standards..." trying to justify our failings. When a senior official of the country says such a thing in public - and gets away with justifications - where is the standing of the rest of the Indians!

Does that mean we cannot improve or change while following the religious philosophy's of Hinduism? I leave the answer of this to be analysed and decided by the readers themselves...

Forty Years - Episode - Chapter 4

Bismillah Khan

#If you have come here without reading Chapters 1 to 3 of the Episode - suggest you click here#


It was the 12th of October of the year 1970 – exactly forty years ago – Varsha and I got married in Delhi.

Varsha was staying at South Extension, New Delhi – and that is where the baraat had gone. It was a wedding without any religious ceremonies. Ours was a marriage under the Special Marriage Act 1954. The Marriage Officer was called to the residence and the oath, witnesses etc., was all done at home – it was possible to call the Marriage Officer to the wedding venue in the good old days. We had a couple of eminent personalities as our official witnesses, Mr RC Hoon – Chairman, CWPC and Mr Kartar Singh IAS – Secretary to the Government of India. There was no religious priest – though we had a shehnai vaadan by the famous Bismillah Khan at the entrance of the pandaal. The baraat was with the usual 'band' and the pandaal with usual lighting. Yours truly did not ride a mare - as was the common convention - but came in a Fiat car bedecked with marigold flowers. Sehra was also there, as my parents were still quite conventional and orthodox. After reciting the mandatory oaths and signing of the forms; garlands were exchanged; sindoor was put in the maang; mangal sutra was tied. Dowry was considered an obscene word. The ceremony was over. This was followed by a sumptuous dinner – non-vegetarian – which was also considered unusual for marriage ceremonies in Delhi, in the good old days.

I will be sharing the photos of the occasion – after I return back to India in a week's time.

Looking back – time has flown – the moving finger writes and moves on....

We are now grand parents – 3 grand children, two from my daughter (we are with her at the moment) and one grand daughter from my son. He and his family are in New Hampshire in the U. S.

We have had our ups and downs and battled them together. Have no regrets – life has treated us well and we have treated life well.

Suggest you also read Varsha's post for this occasion at http://varshanagpal.blogspot.com/2010/10/forty-years-of-time.html - that will complete the picture.

Incidentally – on my 60th birthday, ie., 29th of December, 2005; we got married once again at Gretna Green, UK. - which is historically well known for runaway marriages. We just happened to be passing through – with our children, their spouses and grand children (had only two at the time) and decided to do it on the spur of the moment; it is really an interesting and a historical venue – you must read more about it at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gretna_Green .

Remember that forty years ago – such weddings were rare and eye-openers for the society, yet we did it our way.

(A sequel to these 4 Chapters of "Episode" - suggest, click here to go to My Sixtieth Birthday - Gretna Green - Memories # 1)

Street Foods in London - Forward # 7

Kindly take it with a pinch of salt:

Street Foods in London

(contributed and authored by Praveen Bahl)

London is an absolute mecca for street food as can be found on any high street but you have to be aware of the strict protocol and etiquette regarding consuming this food. Deviate from my guidelines at your peril, so here goes:

MONDAY: It is always sandwiches on Mondays which must have been prepared on the previous Friday in Sandwich, Kent in giant food preparation areas by women wearing traditional white hats and pinnys which are rather like half skirts wrapped round the waist. Sandwiches are the aristocrat of street food having been invented by the Earl of Sandwich. They are always made with the whitest of bleached flour with at least 12 E number additives and the blandest of fillings such as processed cheese or egg and cress. They have to be made at least 3 days in advance for the bread to go stale and curl. The best place to buy it is in Tesco Express, Trafalgar Square who serve it in cardboard/plastic packaging to ensure hygiene.

TUESDAY: Londoners, who are so fond of Scottish food, buy from the very exclusive McDonald's based at Scotch Corner, Kensington (near Harrods). Mr Ronnie McDonald crossed the border at Hadrians Wall as he came up with an innovative idea to make use of stray cows often found wandering in the English countryside. The favourite item to eat is the hamburger which curiously does not contain any ham, so is suitable for vegans, and is considered to be highly nutritious as it meets 3x the recommended daily allowance of sugar, salt and fat. It also contributes to your 5 a day quota as it contains a slice of gherkin and wilting lettuce. This is served in purpose designed packaging designed by his now estranged sister Polly. Sadly Polly left the business after marrying Rick Styrene.

WEDNESDAY: Another favourite is chicken made to a secret recipe originally concocted by 4 * General Ken Tuckey. The good General scoured the British Empire and the Third World for the 11 herbs and spices which go into the secret recipe to make this such a nutritious low fat street fodder. Rumour has it that this delicious dish was originally designed to contain 19 herbs and spices but 8 had to be dropped after Britain broke off trade and diplomatic relations with the Second World after the disastrous global war which ended in 1945. Let me assure you that you will not be able to discern any difference especially if you go to their main branch in Poultry Street EC2R 8EJ.

THURSDAY: Though not strictly a London street food chips and curry sauce has nevertheless gained a stronghold in the more exclusive postcode areas of the city. Served in exquisite imported enamelware the dish comprises thrice cooked Maris Piper potatoes and topped with a curry sauce. The Chinese takeaway – Hukkasan in Hanway Place, London W1T 1LY is my favorite.

FRIDAY: It has to be fish and chips on Friday which sadly has become the least popular street food in London due to a declining Catholic population which forbids the eating of meat on Fridays. The decline of Catholicism is so serious that the Pope had to visit Britain recently in order to market and promote this faith amongst the local heathens, atheists and Labour Party supporters. The other reason for the decline is that traditionally this dish used to be served in newspapers (for environmental reasons and to save on washing up) and as you well know the newspaper industry has gone into a rapid decline in this country due to the free giveaway of iPads by the ConDem Coalition Government to everybody who can read – my understanding is that 207 have so far been given away and the non-availability of printed broadsheet produced from Norwegian spruce has ensured its terminal decline. I do not recommend that you try this street food.

SATURDAY: My special day of the week as it is doner keebab night! You can only fully appreciate this delicacy after imbibing 9 pints of cold over-carbonated lager in your local pub. This culinary delight, the king of street food (or should that be the Maharajah of Boulevard food) must never be eaten before the pubs close- my favourite time is between midnight and 2am served liberally with watered down chilli sauce which you must ensure dribbles down your favourite Paul Smith shirt in order to gain maximum street cred. Best place to buy and enjoy is Leicester Square.

SUNDAY: Never NEVER NEVER eat food on the street on a Sunday – it is against the law and I am not going to say any more on the matter.

One final bit of etiquette you must follow - NEVER NEVER completely finish any of the street food you buy. It is considered bad form, anti-NHS and it thwarts the creation of high tech and manual jobs. Let me elaborate. After consuming roughly two-thirds of your portion of street food you must carefully and artistically scatter it on the street to create your own street art. Your creative effort will be judged by remotely mounted and controlled CCTV cameras with the best endeavour awarded an Art in the Street Beautification Order (ASBO – second only to the OBE) by the local mayor. This hugely popular activity keeps an army of street cleaners in permanent employment and those who slip on the odd chip help sustain the NHS. As my final word I must implore you to follow my guidelines to the letter and sincerely hope that you are awarded an ASBO for your efforts!

Happy Eating!

Inner Peace - FORWARD # 6

Inner Peace....this is so true 
(thanks to Subhash T Ramani)
If you can start the day without caffeine,

If you can always be cheerful, ignoring aches and pains,

If you can resist complaining and boring people with your troubles,

If you can eat the same food every day and be grateful for it,

If you can understand when your loved ones are too busy to give you any time,

If you can take criticism and blame without resentment ,

If you can conquer tension without medical help,

If you can relax without liquor,

If you can sleep without the aid of drugs,  

  ...Then You Are Probably  The Family Dog!    

WHO SAID POETRY IS BORING! Forwards # 5

WHO  SAID POETRY IS BORING 

(thanks to Pratap Ganatra)

THESE ARE ENTRIES TO A WASHINGTON POST COMPETITION, ASKING FOR A TWO-LINE RHYME WITH THE MOST ROMANTIC FIRST LINE, AND THE LEAST ROMANTIC SECOND LINE:

1. My darling, my lover, my beautiful wife:

Marrying you has screwed up my life.

2. I see your face when I am dreaming.

That's why I always wake up screaming.

3. Kind, intelligent, loving and hot;

This describes everything you are not.

4. Love may be beautiful, love may be bliss,

But I only slept with you 'cause I was pissed.

5. I thought that I could love no other

-- that is until I met your brother...

6. Roses are red, violets are blue, sugar is sweet, and so are you.

But the roses are wilting, the violets are dead, the sugar bowl's

empty and so is your head.

7. I want to feel your sweet embrace;

But don't take that paper bag off your face.

8. I love your smile, your face, and your eyes

Damn, I'm good at telling lies!

9. My love, you take my breath away.

What have you stepped in to smell this way?

10. My feelings for you no words can tell,

Except for maybe 'Go to hell.'

11. What inspired this amorous rhyme?

Two parts vodka, one part lime.


Additional contributions:


1. Fifteen men on the dead man's chest, and yo ho ho and a bottle of rum,
My darling, my love, I love you so much; cause you got a figure of OLD MONK RUM.  (By Pratap Ganatra)

If you get anymore similar ideas - put it in the "comments" - shall add them acknowledging your contribution.

WHO SAID POETRY IS BORING!!!

You think English is easy? - Forwards # 4

You think English is easy??? 

(Pic - Courtesy Google)

(Thanks to Dilesh Jain for sharing)

Read to the end . . . a new twist

1) The bandage was wound around the wound.

2) The farm was used to produce produce .

3) The dump was so full that it had to refuse more refuse.

4) We must polish the Polish furniture.

5) He could lead if he would get the lead out.

6) The soldier decided to desert his dessert in the desert.

7) Since there is no time like the present, he thought it was time to present the present .

8) A bass was painted on the head of the bass drum.

9) When shot at, the dove dove into the bushes.

10) I did not object to the object.

11) The insurance was invalid for the invalid.

12) There was a row among the oarsmen about how to row .

13) They were too close to the door to close it.

14) The buck does funny things when the does are present.

15) A seamstress and a sewer fell down into a sewer line.

16) To help with planting, the farmer taught his sow to sow.

17) The wind was too strong to wind the sail.

18) Upon seeing the tear in the painting I shed a tear.

19) I had to subject the subject to a series of tests.

20) How can I intimate this to my most intimate friend?

Let's face it - English is a crazy language. There is no egg in eggplant, nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren't invented in England or French fries in France . Sweetmeats are candies while sweetbreads, which aren't sweet, are meat. We take English for granted. But if we explore its paradoxes, we find that quicksand can work slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig.

And why is it that writers write but fingers don't fing, grocers don't groce and hammers don't ham? If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn't the plural of booth, beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? One index, 2 indices? Doesn't it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend? If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it?

If teachers taught, why didn't preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? Sometimes I think all the English speakers should be committed to an asylum for the verbally insane. In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell?

How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which, an alarm goes off by going on.

English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all. That is why, when the stars are out, they are visible, but when the lights are out, they are invisible.

PS. - Why doesn't 'Buick' rhyme with 'quick' ?


You lovers of the English language might enjoy this .

There is a two-letter word that perhaps has more meanings than any other two-letter word, and that is 'UP.'

It's easy to understand UP, meaning toward the sky or at the top of the list, but when we awaken in the morning, why do we wake UP ? At a meeting, why does a topic come UP ? Why do we speak UP and why are the officers UP for election and why is it UP to the secretary to write UP a report ?

We call UP our friends. And we use it to brighten UP a room, polish UP the silver; w e warm UP the leftovers and clean UP the kitchen. We lock UP the house and some guys fix UP the old car. At other times the little word has real special meaning. People stir UP trouble, line UP for tickets, work UP an appetite, and think UP excuses. To be dressed is one thing, but to be dressed UP is special.

And this UP is confusing: A drain must be opened UP because it is stopped UP. We open UP a store in the morning but we close it UP at night.

We seem to be pretty mixed UP about UP ! To be knowledgeable about the proper uses of UP, look the word UP in the dictionary. In a desk-sized dictionary, it takes UP almost 1/4th of the page and can add UP to about thirty definitions. If you are UP to it, you might try building UP a list of the many ways UP is used. It will take UP a lot of your time, but if you don't give UP, you may wind UP with a hundred o r more. When it threatens to rain, we say it is clouding UP . When the sun comes out we say it is clearing UP...

When it rains, it wets the earth and often messes things UP.

When it doesn't rain for awhile, things dry UP.

One could go on and on, but I'll wrap it UP, for now my time is UP, so........it is time to shut UP!

Oh . . . one more thing:


What is the first thing you do in the morning & the last thing you do at night? U-P


NB: I studied in South Point School in Calcutta during my childhood (1955-59) and we had two remarkable English teachers; Mr Utpal Dutt & Mr Vishwanathan. They were both wonderful teachers of the Queen's Language, the former had also achieved a very important place in the theater and cine world; do read more about his achievements by clicking here. While teaching if he ever came across any such anomalies in the language ... this is the way it would go:
Utpal Dutt (in his usual booming voice): "BECAUSE!?"
Class (in unison), "ENGLISH IS A MAD LANGUAGE!!!"

Miss BIT (1963) – Chapter 12 - My memoirs of BIT Mesra (1963-1968)

I am sure the title of the post would have intrigued you – as you all are aware that there were no girl students in BIT even many years after 1963. No we did not venture to include the daughters of staff members for the title.

1963 was the year we had joined as freshers and as mentioned in my Chapter 1 of the memoirs - “Ragging”. Some of the more innovative and more imaginative of our seniors had an informal selection of a Miss BIT (from the male students of our batch). The crowned princess was a boy from Nepal – name withheld.

Kareena - not Miss BIT

He did not have a 36-24-36 figure – as a matter of fact he had a fairly masculine figure – but had a very feminine face. In spite of his 18+ age he did not have any hair growth on his face and was as chikna as one can be... ☺. It is indeed sad that I do not have a photo of his beautiful face but this is the closest image that I could find resembling him – of course this is Kareena Kapoor and not him. He also had a dimple on his chin.

He was effeminate in quite a few ways and would invariably cover his head with a scarf and pretend to walk with a girly swagger – he was a fun person. A wee bit quick and short tempered, would never take any nonsense from anybody. 

With his head covered and little bit of hair showing under the front of the scarf – he really did look quite sweet.

His only woe was his absence of facial hair.

The market had a product by the name of Silvikrin – it came in two varieties. One was the "Hair Dressing" (a suspension) and the second was “Pure Silvikrin” - which was supposed to help for falling hair or a receding hairline. As a matter of fact – it is still available in the market. It used to be a small bottle about 150ml fitted with a dropper in the lid and a brown coloured liquid. Was fairly expensive - hence the dropper - for its quantity. 

Our dear friend – somehow was advised to use that, to augment his facial hair and that boy would religiously massage the tonic on his face …. alas, it did not help. Thus our Miss BIT(1963) remained crowned till the end of his stay in BIT.

We have lost touch of our Miss BIT(1963) and if anyone has a picture – or knows of his where about, please share the information with us, we would be happy to add one more member in the Alumni. A search of Facebook / Google led me to about 40 plus persons with the same name (by the way - most of them were females) – many without any photos, so am stuck. So help me friends...

MUST YOU “FORWARD”? - Random Thoughts # 7

I was a person who used to forward every "forward" that I got in my mail box. Feedback from some who really care has made me think – and hopefully, change for the better.

Most of us just send forwards without giving a second thought. There are a lot of inherent dangers, nuisance and the like in forwards. Apart from that the "bulk forwards" do have a tendency to increase the internet traffic to a multi-fold level and also CLOG the net. Long term effects of this clogging are mind boggling. 

If sending the mail was a chargeable service based on either the number of mails or the amount of data sent, ask yourself – “would I still send a particular mail or forward?”, even if the charge was a mere 1 cent/pence/paisa per mail or per KB of data? Only send the mail where you can honestly say “YES” to this question.

Before you decide to send a forward do give some thought to the following and do take the precautions listed.

Many forwards have a built in message of promoting some religious or ethnic group, a business venture, downgrading a rival business or another community or religion, or even evoke some patriotic feeling.

Remember while forwarding any material or content that fits in any of the above categories – you are advertising or selling on someone's behalf (without any remuneration and without your desire to do so) and you are are being manipulated and used as a tool.

Examples of such forwards are:

i. The mail is being tracked by an agency – say AOL, and who will pay a few pennies for the every forwarded mail – maybe for the treatment of some small girl suffering from leukaemia etc.

ii. McDonald's or some other multinational is condemned for practices or quality, obviously the vested interest of a rival.

iii. Cheap Chinese/Indian goods are condemned for practices followed in manufacture – or for contents going into the goods or even for cruelty on animals and the like, again vested interests.

iv. There are beautiful power point presentations which generally show good sayings but end up preaching Christianity or God in the messages.

v. Then you have forwards of links to YouTube of videos which again could be preaching any of those things mentioned above.


vi. We often come across forwards which appear to be historical, but a little google search can often tell us that they are fabricated; this has been noticed lately and have been often created by the Hindu fundamentalists condemning British, Muslims and the like. 

However, then there is another category of forwards that pass on jokes, humorous anecdotes or stories and the like – often they are old stories re-circulated. In either case they are good stories at times. 

Restrict your forwards to these and send to select few who will appreciate them. It is very important: what you forward to whom. Your judgement, discretion and common sense are very important for the judgement. Never use a mass mailing list – else you also be sending it to the person who sent it to you in the first place.

A better option is to put these forwards on a blog – if you have one – as it leaves reader with the option of reading it without flooding his inbox. OR if you are on facebook - put your stuff in the "Notes" head.

There is a very important cardinal rule that must be followed when you do send a 'forward' to a group of people. NEVER, I repeat NEVER put their names in the “To” or “CC” rows. You must put their names in “BCC” - else you are making all your contacts vulnerable to hackers, spammers and the like.


If you still have that itch of pressing the 'forward' button - join us on the facebook group "DAFT DEFINITIONS, KRAZY FACTS, FORWARDs, TRIVIA". You can put your forwards there; you can upload videos, pics, links and not be spamming.

LET US ALL RESOLVE THAT WE WOULD MINIMIZE SENDING FORWARDS.

Okay – take care... Happy Forwarding.

A tip to those at the receiving end: Create a separate “in box” for the mail which contain “FW” or “FWD” in the subject line – so that it does not clutter up with the rest of your mail. Outlook Express/Outlook have these options. Google mail has started a beta version of a “Priority In box” – check it out.