kasmenon

A HOST AT THE NICK OF TIME The weather was hot as the summer had set in around a well to do suburb of Mumbai. The location was the narrow corridor of an apartment block, in a congested lane. A door of an apartment faced the corridor. Dimly lit by a bulb that had a thick layer of dirt covering its lower hemisphere. An otherwise busy bustling lane where vendors sold Vada pav, Behl and Pani puri. Where children played cricket and the ball managed to dodge Two wheelers and motorcars. Today it was deserted but for few sullen looking men, out on errands or hunting to buy bread and a policeman, who was bored stiff. Coronaji was hovering in front of the door of that apartment, facing the corridor. Anxious but relieved that he had managed to reach here after all the turmoil. Coronaji happened to be born inside a big fat bald and not so gentle a man , somewhere in the UK. A business man trader, he had made his fortune in UK . He was getting ready for his usual visit to his native country, India...

THE GODS ARE ANGRY Brahma trooped in hurriedly, huffing and puffing. He was late, held up. He had to get the approval of a million sub gods to nominate him for this meeting and that took time. He walked over to his seat on the round table and acknowledged everyone with a radiating smile and a nod. Others waved him to his seat. The room was moderate in its decor, minimalist. The walls were painted white. On a table across and on the far side were the books. The bible and Gita with immense wear and tear was followed by the Koran and Granth sahib, etc. Above on the wall were posters, vividly depicting the occasions each faith fought the other, vanquished or lost. The dates and events were described below. Humans like a guy called Picasso, Ravi Verma etc were commissioned to do these. The wall was still half empty. The rest of the room was wide and empty but for the centre table. A large, 50 plus seater, round table made of teak with ornate work and cloth upholstered chairs, was the ...

ABOUT  EVES, CARS AND  RAFAEL S It was the usual peak hour traffic in the city of Hyderabad. Less chaotic due to better infrastructure and maintenance than many cities here in India. However, the same eulogies cannot be showered on the Hyderabadi drivers. They are a unique lot. Not that other city motorists are saints. Here the guy or the lady has unilaterally reserved the road for him or her, with the meek backing of the traffic cops. The rules modified then and there. Anyway, this was not meant to be treatise on the Hyderabadi drivers or roads. As mentioned, I was travelling in my car and my driver was at the wheels. He is a good driver and is also adequately equipped with expletives needed on the Hyderabadi roads. I usually do not interfere as I am oblivious to what is happening. The morning was bright as the sun, after months, had gathered courage to come back. The chilly mornings were giving way to warmer summer ones. We were waiting at a signal. Three more...

CAA : Points to ponder What we saw last one week or so was a spontaneous outburst of student protests across the nation against the CAA , particularly against the perceived intention behind this initiative by the BJP /RSS government. None of the political parties , both the opposition and the ruling one , had anticipated it. A large number of Muslim students were out too in the street as the act pointedly keeps out that community, possibly in violation of the secular values of our constitution. Some felt that itself was proof of antinationalisim! One of the pillars of democracy, the SC , which has time to urgently hear cases of important individuals , has no time to look at the legality of the act and delays it conveniently. The major political dispensations were focused on their vote banks so they too underestimated the apprehension among the people. The govt wanting to live upto its misplaced and self bestowed attribute of a tough and efficient one, let loose the police on ...

ISRO : ANOTHER STEP FORWARD. SCIENTIFIC QUEST MORE IMP THAN HYPE The facts: India did land a aircraft on the moon in 2008 ( Chandrayan 1) . Insignia of our flag is already there.  Thus, this feat was already achieved. Chyn2 took the effort to another degree or several degrees higher. Higher payload, heavier engine, orbiter, lander and rover in tow. The key capability to be tested was   : 1.Detaching the lander from the orbiter and then reducing orbiter speed from 70000 km/ hr to nil on touch down 2 Manage a soft landing ( so that it does not crash on the surface) by delicately firing main engines of lander 3. Rover detaching and its man oeuvres The first was done. Second went awry. Maybe improper firing of engine or one of them did not fire. The most optimistic possibility is that it’s only a com failure and the lander is intact. There will be conspiracy theories too. Of foreign powers interfering with telemetry or communication. For once Pakis will not be blame...

THE BUDGET (A short story) It was budget day evening. Aslam bhai was relaxing in his favorite  chair and contemplating the budget. His wife Archanaben, in her early thirties, was engrossed in watching her favourite serial on TV. Their two kids were intermittently studying as well as chatting on the mobile. It was pouring outside and the only sound, other than of the lady on TV threatening her in-laws, was the sweet sound of rain. It so seemed that the sound of rain was the only element, in an Indian home, that had not changed! It was all fine till the kids whispered something to each other, ran to their mother and the three was seen discussing animatedly. They then got up and hurried towards Aslambhai. Archanabhen , with a serious frown on her face, eyes intense but with a sweet voice asked of her husband " Are sunte ho, the family is finding our needs increasing. Will you tell us how you plan to manage these expectations". Silence. The complexities of the balan...

AN ENCOUNTER WITH COUNT DRACULA The experience of boarding of the ATR aircraft of Serbian Airways at the  Belgrade airport reminded one of the confusion that prevails in a small Indian  airport. However, the flight left quickly enough and the efficient cabin crew helped us kill time with a shot of Rakia bar and a pack of peanuts. We landed in Bucharest , Romania, in about an hour and 20 minutes and managed to exit the airport after paying a fortune to the cabbie. The traffic in the city crawled but our patience  exhausted faster and after exchanging few expletives between the five of us , more to give vent to our frustration , we reached our hotel.  As you grow older you get naughtier , so they say. We too felt that and so decided to visit the old city for a sting of club hopping. Well!, the place kept us spellbound for over four hours with streets of wayside restaurants serving some not so likable( for a vege) food  , faboulous music  ,...