kasmenon

  Having spent all my childhood and most part of teenage / adult life in Bombay, one generally is not expected to have very close bonding or understanding of one’s native place. In my case, Kerala and more specifically, the historic coastal town of Kodungallore, in Trichur district.  On the banks of river Periyar, this town, off the Malabar coast, was also an ancient port. Legend has it that this is where the Apostle St Thomas first landed in 100 CE, in India, and then went onwards to Goa to spread Christianity. As per Muslims, the oldest Mosque (still seen) was built here around 600 CE with direct connections to Mecca! The town was, at various times, in the hands of Portuguese and the Dutch and later, off course, part of British colonial India, and the port handled extensive trade with the Mediterranean nations and the Roman empires, in addition to Indian west coast. Currently, in my era, it is the famous Kodungallore Bhagavati (Mahakali or Durga)  temple that the town ...

 How the idea of India  was destroyed and Bharat introduced In 2014  Modi and his BJP  held the narrative or platform  which were  Sabka saath sabka Vikas. It was genuine secularism vs appeasement.  Its was about employment, jobs. It was  against corruption.   Now it's  no longer Vikas, jobs or  growth . Now it's give 3  expensive but somewhat subsidised cylinder to few but give 3 airports to friends and moneybags  It's no longer fight against corruption but use it as a  tool to destroy all those who oppose but spare friends.  Secularism is now made a dirty word. Now all are not equal, only those hindutav followers belong to Bharat rest are " They" or Urban naxalites.   No jobs but making temples  is the chief occupation. Economy or foreign relations do not matter it's article 370, CAA, one election that's is offered to you as substitutes. The transition from Pradhan sevak to Vishwaguru. Only ...

  A GLIMPSE INTO AN EVOLVED CULTURE. A unique experience, however unpleasant,  gave me a good glimpse of  the way people respond and behave in a developed country like Canada. We, my son  and me, had landed around early noon in Helifax, Nova Scotia. After renting a car, we decided to have a look at   Lunnenburg , a UNESCO heritage  town about an hours drive . With its lovely cottages and a port nearby, the place reflected the 19th century architecture and lifestyle  assimilated with modernity. Cute wayside eatries offering fish and chips. oysters and crabs,  wine and beer dotted the lanes. One visualised hoards of sailors from ships, that sailed the  Atlantic,  spread out and liven up the place.Wares bought and sold. A shipbuilding town, Liverpool of the early 19th century , a light house  lived alongside MacD. Subway and the likes. The cold hanging in the air and the Sun fighting a loosing battle to be felt. We then got back...

  BREAKING NEWS:   PRAGYAN     AND CHANGE-4 ROVERS     TO NEGOTIATE PEACE BETWEEN INDIA AND CHINA. A quick survey among the citizens elicited this comment “anyway they will do a better job” A background – this is based on facts: The Chinese too have a rover on the moon, the latest one.   Chang'e-4 landed in the Von crater in the South  side  or far/ dark side ( same side as Vikram) on 3 January 2019.  It is still active as it powers down during the two-week lunar night when temperatures plummet to below minus 170° and recharges when the Sun returns after about 14 days. Vikram lander /Pragyan rover does not have the ability to withstand such extreme cold and hence its instruments get destroyed during lunar nights) The distance between the two rovers would be roughly 1,948 km. Now the development that is expected to have taken place, a highly classified top-secret matter. And true to form leaked to the media! Chang’e -4 ...

    FLIGHT DOWN MEMORY LANE I recently came across a photo of an Air India flight back in 1958. In it relatives and friends  were  seen on the tarmac ,to see off those travelling. Back then only the very very privileged could take a flight literally, rest took a flight of imagination. Even till the early seventies, the situation was not much different, though air travelers increased in numbers. I was lucky enough  to travel by an Indian Airline flight from Chennai to Bombay(where I lived) back in the early seventies, as a teenager., courtesy  of my uncle and as an ADC to my granny. The experience was awesome and one  could notice the feeling of being exclusive, among the fellow travelers. The airline food, then, if I recall, was good! Lots of magazines to read. Well-mannered and sophisticated cabin crew. Later, from the early eighties, I happened to travel by air often, sometimes as many as six times a month , and that continued , till now, thou...

  HOW A CIVIL WAR WAS AVERTED OVER VODKA AND DOKHLA It was a somewhat gloomy morning in New Delhi with unusually heavy rains. As usual, the PM got up and spend the next hour or so with his makeup team and stylists, deciding on what to wear and which accessory to carry etc. Satisfying himself that the day’s look would impress his devotees, he walked across the hallway towards his dining area. He insisted on a sumptuous breakfast, a very large spread of dry fruits, fruits, honey, milk, and lots of jaleby fafda and dokla. Any other delicacy on the menu was a matter left to the twelve cooks attending to his meals. He was still frugal compared to what Maharana  Pratap Singh, Aurangaseb or the Maurya Kings ate!!  As soon as he seated himself and his butler started serving him, the phone rang. The rings sounded someone was desperate at the other end. Not easily ruffled, the PM nodded to one of his five secretaries, the one from his home state, to pick up the phone. Ranchod...

For most of my growing years there was no Father’s Day marked in India. Father’s Day came about due to the desire of a US civil war veteran’s daughter who wanted to honour him. A very noble desire indeed! Well, some good deeds tend to go viral, as they say these days. Soon that day, I think it was 5th June, was celebrated as Father’s Day. I do not know how and why it got shifted to 18th June subsequently. It does not matter anyway as any day would do. Fathers do not mind if they are remembered!  The day started gaining attention and was promoted by the marketing companies, I for one, generally ignored it unless my dear kids felt it necessary to follow the norm and remind me of it. Today, I happened to notice a few people I know recollecting their dear Father's memories.  It left me thinking. And here  are some bits of my memory of him. Not being one so lucky to experience the presence, love, and learnings of a father, having lost him at the age of eleven, I would often...

  SAILING ON THE NILE AND EGYPTIAN GOULASH OF ITS HISTORY  After endless screening of bags, boots, belts and what not, we managed to board the Egypt air flight from Cairo to Luxor. The airline provides a no-frills service on this an hour plus flight. Hassan Ali, son of Mohammed Ali, or so he boasted in jest, who was   our local coordinator, met us at the arrival lounge. After briefing us, he handed us over to our local guide, Ahmed.  A serious looking character, well past his fifties, Ahmed's  wrinkled face showed the results of time and strain of walking across the sand and rubbles of the valley and caves and attempts to do justice to 8000 years of history. A certain resignation was reflected in the way he viewed his job. It was past 3 pm by the time we checked into our hotel. Our hotel, an impressively laid out place, German owned with all the usual trapping and located on the banks of the river Nile. The German fetish for near faultless offeri...

  WHO ARE  MODI'S  BHAKTS From my experience and interaction and thus  assessment,  the following  categories  of Indians form Modis bhakts : 1. Bharmin and upper caste Hindus ( a vast majority of them) 2. Mumbai based Gujaratis ( almost all  of them) 3. Gujarat based Gujaratis( about 50 % of them) 4. Non brahma  and non uppercase indians ( who are highly religious but  generally apolitical who were made to beleive  that their religion is under threat.. About 50%  of them 5. Others, not excluding above but generally  apolitical, who was taken in by Modis self positioning as a anti corruption and pro development leader ( about 20 to 30% of generally population... a large section ) 6. Old RSS members , all contained in the above 1 to 4  ( most of them) One may note  that these categories are not mutually exclusive  but is a kind of profile of bhakts. It will also give you an idea of how strongly Relig...