In the land of the Lion People

The 1st of September this year saw Kumi and I set off to spend a week or so with our cousins in Singapore. And since we were to be in the vicinity, anyway, we thought it worthwhile to spend a few days in Malaysia as well, on our way back, as neither of us had been to that country! This, however, was not our first visit to Singapore. To say the least, this trip was as memorable as our previous one in 2003.

Singha pura - is the land of the lion people, as the derivation of the name goes, based on local folklore. This whole myth is captured dramatically by the imposing image of the "Merlion", half lion half mermaid, that guards the Marina Bay, at the centre of commercial and, at one time, maritime activities of the island.

Singapore is a city after my own heart. To my mind,the place is a visitor's delight. It is clean, pretty, orderly, disciplined, highly civil, totally safe and very very easy to move around in. Above all, it is still quite inexpensive. It is a foodie's paradise. It has wonderful sights to see. It has high-end entertainment in the form of night-clubs, theme parks and casinos. It offers you a drink any time, any place without feeling apologetic or moralistic about it!!!. And it is the epitome of secularism - nobody cares a hoot about your faith, the colour of your skin or the country of your origin.

Singapore is completely and truly cosmopolitan. That is what appeals to me most.

One remarkable thing is that all waitresses,waiters, cabbies,bus-drivers, MRT operators, bell-hops, airport officials - in fact practically everybody - is friendly and helpful and English speaking. Nobody will ever ask for or suggest by body language a tip, although tips are always appreciated.

It is difficult to think of an unknown place of visit which is so completely tension-free and tourist-friendly.

Also,Singapore being a relatively small city, no place is too far! The public transport system is so good and efficient that moving around the city at any time of the day or night , is easy, comfortable (air-conditioned whether you are in a cab, bus or MRT),relaxing and safe. I certainly cannot dream of such conditions in any city in India. It is a revelation,as indeed is the traffic discipline. For a Delhiwalla, it is impossible to imagine that not a single motorist breaks any traffic rule despite the absence of any cops on the streets!!! On our first visit to Singapore, Kumi and I happily went our own ways without any fear of the unknown or the untried.

The buses are beautiful. The only challenge, for a short-term visitor, is to know the intricacies of the routes. The cabbies issue receipts and carry substantial change so that one is never in a bind to pay the fare without hassles.

Achintan & Sraboney Dey, our cousins, and their lovely little daughter Rani live in a wonderfully peaceful residential area on Meyer Road, near the East Coast Parkway, quite close to the ocean.

Well, we arrived at Changi Airport at around 8.30 in the morning of the 2nd of Sept having changed flights at Kuala Lumpur ( a three-hour hiatus, just enough to disembark, do immigration, breakfast, do immigration again, do customs and embark!)The Deys were there to receive us (imagine!) That day was spent on generally relaxing and catching up with some sleep. The next seven days were action packed, to say the least!

We were lucky to have visited Singapore and KL during Id, since both places were celebrating the festival with long week-ends. The festival is known as Hari Raya Aidulfitr and is celebrated with much gusto. I sent a "Salamat Hari Raya Aidulfitr" greetings to my friend Mowla in Kolkata. He must have been totally stumped by the message as he failed to acknowledge it, despite the fact that I had thought it prudent to add a cautious "Id Mubarak" at the end!

In the next week, we drove around quite a bit (mercifully it is a small city!),visited the Jurong Bird Park, took a ride on the Singapore Flyer, cruised on a bumboat down Singapore river, loafed on the famous Orchard Road, wandered around the fascinating China Town, shopped at Mustafa's in Little India, walked along the ocean-front on the East Coast and, of course, gorged on the food that Singapore has to offer in great abundance and variety.

What we did not do was to visit Sentosa Island and the Zoological Park, since we had done that in our previous trip. We were determined to be as little touristy as possible and concentrate on visiting only the favourite places - just to lounge, laze, eat and drink. But we did recall the splendour of Sentosa often enough in our discussions. It is difficult to forget the dazzling laser show with the "Dancing Fountains", the performing dolphins or for that matter the Underwater World where fish, big and small, went about their business above us as we walked under the sea!

As I said, China Town is simply fascinating! It is quaint; it is bustling; and it has an extra-ordinary array of typically and rare Chinese things on offer.It really pays, both in terms of education and bargains, to venture into the deep interiors of shops lining the numerous lanes and interact with the elderly shop-owners who are full of tales of old Chinese practices and customs. Very rewarding. Lovely place to shop for things with local flavour. We picked up a gorgeous looking dice-shaker complete with dice (genuine used stuff of yersteryear, not a replica or toy) which was used in Chinese gambling dens. The proprietess, much taken in by our keen interest in matters Chinese, even dug out two good-luck coins to prepare us for the casinos!!! Little did she know that, unlike most Indian tourists of today, we were not in the least interested in visiting them. We also managed to pick up a famous narrow-necked glass bottle with intricate artwork on the inside, a typical masterpiece of miniature work for which the Chinese are renowned. We immediately decided to present it to our sweet daughter-in-law. These rare items in China Town come a little pricey, but they are worth it, aren't they?. However, most of the things on sale are very reasonable, quite inexpensive. I even picked up a genuine Chinese silk shirt. Very cheap. The question is, when do I wear it? The dice-shaker is now holding center stage in our modest drawing room in C498.

The Singapore Flyer is also very interesting. The view from the top is fabulous, especially of the bay. In fact, thanks to it, we noticed for the first time that there is a full-sized football field on the water complete with a grandstand on the shore-side. The whole field is enclosed by netting on the sides. I wonder if they award a goal for every lost ball during matches!! We also had a view of the Formula 1racing track! Having taken a ride on the Flyer we were rewarded with a panaromic bird's eye view of what Singapore is. It made us think that the London Eye must be equally fascinating. Now,it remains for us to quickly get to ride the newly opened Delhi Eye!

The Jurong Bird Park was also a treat despite my trepidations about close proximity to creatures of the feathered variety! Apart from the beauty of the park itself - which is green and beautifully ladscaped - they hold a special Bird Show every day that has to be seen to be believed! Huge big birds like vultures and pelicans and horn-bills are made to fly and do tricks in interaction with the spectators! Although I had my heart in my mouth most of the time, I must confess that it was a mind-blowing show of unique performances by different birds.

We spent a lot of time in and around the Singapore river. The river was the lifeline of Singapore for many many years as cargo from all over the world would be fetched by boats from the big ships anchored in the harbour and deposited on the many quays lined along the two banks. Today Singapore is an ultra-modern port with fully automated cargo handling facilities. There is no more need for these boats to run up and down the river to fetch and carry. These "bumboats", as they are known, have been converted into tourist boats, immaculately maintained, to give the tourists a history of the river, the origin of Singapore and information on all the modern wonders of the city that have come up around it. There is a very nice commentory that is presented on board - very lucid and very informative.

For most Indians a glimpse of Little India is a must. And why not? After all Mustafa Centre, the shoppers' dream, is located here! We too made a couple of sorties to Mustafa's. Little India is where most of the locals of Indian origin live. No wonder that this place is a little less tidy and a little less disciplined than the rest of Singapore!

Finally, it is a sacrilege not to spend quality time on Orchard Road. We did it too, mainly because of the lively, energetic aura of the place. Orchard Road is known for its posh malls. This aspect, I suspect, has become a bit passe with the advent of the malls all over India. It is no longer a novelty. However it is still a great experience to idle along all day long with occasional window-shopping, store-gazing and eating thrown in, in good measure! If nothing else, it offers a wide cross-section of people, from all over the world, to watch and observe. This itself is a compelling pastime!

Wherever we went or whatever we did, Kumi and I would invariably fall back on one or two of these delightful places to spend time every day. Since we had "seen" Singapore in our earlier visit, we could take it really easy and savour the places of our choice repeatedly. And we did it with a passion!

The story of Singapore can never be complete without a mention of the food on offer -its sheer variety, the easy availability, the extreme affordability and the seductive ambience of the numerous eating places. Singapore has many top class hotels starting from the grand colonial Fullerton and Raffles to the modern ones from all the leading chains in the world. But,it is not in the precincts of these 5-star giants that one always finds the gastronomic delights that I am talking about. I would rather seek these in the restaurants that line the river on both sides; or in Chinatown; or in that intriquing place called the "Chijmes" (pronounced "chimes"); or in various cosy cafes or restaurants that abound in profusion all over the city; or even in Little India. Let me explain what I mean.

There are two kinds of Indian tourists. One group prefers and sticks to Indian food. There are plenty of Indian restaurants in Little India, for instance. One can have a pick from North Indian to Chettinad food, vegetarian or otherwise. In fact, one evening we had some Chicken Chettinad packed and brought home for dinner.

Then there is the other kind of Indian who likes to taste different kinds of food. For him, Singapore is a veritable paradise. The places we mainly luxuriated in are the riverside cafes and restaurants on Clark Quay or Boat Quay with an array of places serving exotic food from all over the world including, as may be expected, mind-blowing sea-food. These fascinating eateries, right on the bank of the river, also serve many kinds of Continental, American, English or Mexican food. We had a memorable meal at a Portuguese restaurant called Cafe Iguana. We also haunted a place called "Hooters" (believe it or not!), which like all the others, offer delicious fare from T-bone or tenderloin steaks to Lamb Chops, Pork Chops,Fish delicacies, you name it. And of course, there are the sea food specialities! The waterside restaurants also offer very interesting and affordable fixed-price menus which are really value for money. I am simply crazy about Clark Quay where one can spend hours in bumboat criuses down the Singapore river, window shopping or simply lounging in one of the water-side restaurants leisurely sipping Tiger beer (it is excellent) and enjoying the food. And don't miss Clark Quay in the evening. Amazing atmosphere!

The other enchanting eating place is the Chijmes (pronounced chimes) next to the legendary Raffles Hotel. Here, the periphery of a big church yard has been converted and is now lined with a series of charming restaurants which offer mouth-watering cuisines from all over the world. We had a memorable lunch in Hog's Breath Saloon where pork is not the only food one gets!!!

We discovered (through the good offices of Achintan) Quentin in the Eurasian Community Centre on Ceylon Road. What we got was a mind-blowing buffet at lunch time which included choices ranging from Shepherd's Pie, through Lamb Chops, through Vindaloos to Saffron Rice!

Talking about food, one must not forget China Town. The best of Chinese food! Really gorgeous! We simply loved a place called Old Cuban where the food is great and the waitresses are better! It is heavenly to try the crab, prawn, chicken or beef dishes and to wash them down with Hoe Garden, a light white Belgian beer. We kept going back to this place, so strangely called Old Cuban because it started off as a cigar store!

And lastly, I just have to write about the Long Bar in Raffles Hotel. It is a tippler's temple steeped in history. This is where the famous Singapore Sling was invented, very appropriately one may add, because the hotel itself is named after the founder of Singapore! The Long Bar is also where the likes of Maugham, Hemingway and some other celebrities whiled away many a creative hour en route to fame and fortune! I missed it on my first visit to Singapore, but not this time! Oh no! The Long Bar is one of the holy shrines of the world, much in the same fashion as Lord's in London! I absolutely exulted in the queer tradition maintained here of chucking peanut shells all over the carpeted floor!

I need to mention the exquisite pleasure of biting into the meat of the giant black crabs of Sri Lanka. You can hardly think of a juicier morsel of sea food. This surprise was brought home one evening by Achintan much to our delight, for we had never tasted this delicacy ever before. To cap it all, another Sala Babu from Delhi, Babua the bearded marine, turned up for dinner. He was on a temporary assignment in Singapore.

Well, like all good things, our sojourn in Singapore also soon came to an end. After enjoying the overwhelming hospitality of the Deys, we bid them adieu and left for Kuala Lumpur in the morning of the 10th of September.

We had missed out on a visit to Malaysia the last time around due to some political disturbance in that country. But all was well this time. Our trip was essentially a package tour of 2 nights/3 days comprising basically of a city tour of Kuala Lumpur and a day in Genting.

Kuala Lumpur is a really pretty city with wide roads, lots of greenery, beautiful buildings and delightfully undulating in its topography. Since time was woefully short, for once we were very happy to be on a conducted tour. We saw the iconic Daulat Tuanku (also known as the Twin Towers or the Petronus Towers)and had ourselves duly photographed! However, we did not at all feel like Catherine Zeta Jones or Sean Connery and in no way did we wish to emulate them in cavorting on the precariously hung connector on the 41st floor between the two towers! After all, that was "Entrapment"!

We were hugely impressed by the National Mosque - so beautifully open, modern and precious. We also saw a lovely Buddhist temple, the Martyrs' Memorial with a cenotaph, the King's Palace, the Parliament House and some wonderful buildings from the British days like the old railway station. Lastly, of all things, we were taken to a chocolate boutique which is supposed to be the only chocolate shop in the world that offers chilly chocolates!!! I did not try any!

We spent a day in Genting at an altitude of over 2000 metres and just about an hour's drive from Kuala Lumpur. Our travel agent had visions of us spending the day enjoying the rides in the amusement park and gambling away in the casinos. We had different views. After wandering around the amusement park for a couple of hours, Kumi and I quietly slipped out. We strolled around in the picturesque town (somewhat spoilt, I thought, by the invasion of casinos, hotels, Theme Parks,etc.)and soaked in the cool atmosphere after the depressing and humid weather of Delhi. It was heavenly to walk in and out of a mist which was rising from the valley as the day progressed! In the bargain, we enjoyed a lovely lunch in one of the local restaurants.

Kuala Lumpur means the confluence of muddy rivers. But what we saw was not muddiness but greenness, in gay profusion. A lovely city with lovely people, gentle and friendly.

We flew out of Kuala Lumpur in the afternoon of the 12th of September to be back home by the late evening.

This account will not be complete if I fail to write about Air Asia. We had a wonderful experience of punctuality, courtesy, good food, efficiency and willingness to help at all times from this incredible Low Cost airline. Considering the unbelievable prices, it was a very very rewarding experience to fly with Air Asia!

Please do have a look at over 100 pictures that I have uploaded on Facebook.

Media "bites"!

Now that Perry Crosswhite, the CEO of the Australian Commonwealth Games Association, has urged the Indian media to stop its shrill hysteria (not in so many words) and tirade against New Delhi and the Games, hopefully some sense will prevail! Frankly, I find it amazing that the media-wallahs were allowed free rein for so long to tarnish the image of India. Is there absolutely no check possible on what the press and TV write and say? Democracy does provide one the liberty of free speech. But surely, liberty is not to be confused with licence?

Kumkum and I, with a few friends, often chewed the cud on this. We felt that such extensive splash in the media about the "alleged" irregularities could very likely lead to adverse feelings about both India and the Commonwealth Games 2010. We feared this - and our fears proved well-found. A few days ago, the US,UK,Canada, Australia and New Zealand warned their delegates to be prepared to land in war-like zones of dug-outs,disrepair,rubble general chaos and hardship,once they arrive in New Delhi! I am happy that there are sensible people around like Perry Crosswhite to put things in their proper perspective.

In this context I have a few questions to ask of the media:

1.Does the media really believe that raking up the issues of inefficiency & corruption BEFORE the Games was the best effort put in by them in the larger interest of the nation's image?

2. Does the media believe that the exposes could not have waited for the Games to conclude?

3. Is crruption a new phenomenon in India? Is corruption non-existent in any other sphere in the country - in politics, in government, in business? Is it limited to only the organising of the Commonwealth Games?

4. Does the media sincerely believe that the building of such massive infrastructure as undertaken by Delhi could be completed without any hitch, without any traffic diversions, without any pile-up of excavated earth, without any interruption from the weather and, above all, without any inconvenience whatsoever to the public?

I am second to none in the belief that our municipal authorities, our public works departments and our utility vendors are steeped in corruption and inefficiency. They need to be exposed by every citizen, not just the media. The whistle-blowers need to be protected. I have written about it earlier in this blog. But, surely, there is a need for the media to see the Big Picture and not just run after TRPs and bylines?


Time and time again we have been mute witness to the Indian media falling flat on its face out of over-enthusiastic coverage and over-the-top reporting. Breaking News have been reduced to laughing matters. The responsible news has given way to sensationalism, often without any regard to the nation's security or image.

As though the politicians are not enough, the media has joined hands with them to ensure that the citizens are seldom able to raise their heads in national pride!

When will this end? Or will it ever?

What price honesty?

A large number of people of our generation were brought up with the adage "honesty is the best policy". My father followed it to the hilt. He also inculcated that value very deeply into my psyche. However,with the passage of time and the immense change in the socio-economic scenario,the paradigm of honesty appears to have shifted, at both the micro and macro levels. The grey area seems to have grown and the clear demarcations of black or white,have faded. The question is,as is wont to be asked in the new scheme of things, who really is an honest person?

I ask this because, in a sense, all of us are less than 100% honest,so to say. After all,who amongst us does not make personal calls from office telephones, for instance? Or, who does not,once in a while, leave work early to attend to some personal need? Or, who does not use the office car (or the office-maintained car) for shopping or dropping the kids to school? Do all these make us dishonest? If yes, then all of us are corrupt,like I mentioned earlier. If no, then who is a dishonest person? At the end of the day, it remains a matter of perception.

However, it is not my intention to go into a debate in this blog as to who can or cannot be termed dishonest. All I wish to say at this juncture is that there seems to be a widespread area of dishonest influence in the fabric of our present day society. And, evidence suggests, that it is the honest people who have to pay a price, every time! So it seems, anyway!

You do not have to search high and low for instances of this. In 2010 alone 8 RTI activists have been murdered for asking awkward questions...for asserting, as tax-payers, their right to information about public spendings. The RTI Act was instituted to bring transparency in the operations of public offices. What has been the fall-out in extreme cases? Kill anybody who persistently questions corruption!

Remember Satyandra Dubey? He was killed for reporting the financial misdeeds of people who were engaged in a msjor road project.

The Ministry of Shipping's obvious discomfiture at the exposure of the monstrous financial shenanigans of the Kandla Port Trust,is reflected in ample measures, not in repairing,controlling or halting the damage, but in hounding to professional death the only honest person on the scene. His crime? Blowing the whistle on all those raking in the stuff by the bagfuls through infamous means! How does it matter if an upright Deputy Chairman of the Port Trust is without a job today, as long as the scam is perpetuated to ensure the continuous filling of the deep pockets of the scamsters?

Or take the current national mega activity called The Commonwealth Games. According to the media all the stake-holders, including various government agencies, the Union Government, the Delhi government,hundreds of contractors and vendors, have taken the objective of the Games a little too literally - they are dipping their hands into the common wealth that is there on offer in great profusion! I am patiently waiting for the emergence of the jokers-in-the-pack - the Whistle Blowers or the rare honest officials - who will end up being the inevitable scapegoats. I can only pray for their lives!

Although, all this is merely the media's contention so far, it is very very difficult to perceive the organisers of the games to be as innocent as the driven snow! One must not forget the people's penchant for adhering to Samuel Smile's formula - "self help is the best help....." etc, when it comes to making dirty money!

These instances that I have mentioned are only symptomatic of the malaise that pervades the government and public offices of our country. At least, such indeed is the widespresd perception. Government servants, bureaucrats, police personnel, defence forces personnel, et al are forever clamouring for "plum postings" where, more often than not, the pickings are easy. On the other side of the spectrum, who has not heard of or read about mass transfers of public office holders whenever a new minister assumes office? The effort is to always have a coterie of people who will help to perpetuate the channels of illegal gratification, usually in terms of mega bucks. Scam is no more a dirty word. Corruption and bribery, as claimed by the perpetrators, are merely words of imagination used by vengeful people to "malign" others of unblemished characters!

In case my public sector and government friends are feeling hard done by me, please rest assured that I strongly believe, in fact know, that there are a large number of very upright people amongst the same lot. Very true: but this does not absolve the system of its awful stigma of corrupt practices. The thing is, the recent events which I mentioned at the onset, have refocussed attention on the deep-rooted corruption and graft as they exist in today's India.

Not that the much vaunted private sector is not privy to the lure of ill-gotten riches! Not at all! Not in the least!Far from it! The demise of a large number of blue-chip companies can be attributed to wholesale cleaning out of the corporate coffers!

After a career in trans-national and Indian companies, it pains me to say that the disease of corruption is as much present in the corporate world as in the public sphere. The craving for filthy lucre (filthily acquired) is as acute as in any other sector.

I know this because I have had an insider's view for a long time in a trans-national/market leader environment and consequently, frequently suffered for being a stumbling block in the paths of wealth accumulation of various people - right from junior levels up to the very top echelons of management! The saddest part in this is - to my mind anyway - that the moral health of the company's human resource was, by and large, in better shape under the expats than under the Indians!

Where the RTI activists were unceremoniously bumped off,the upright ones in this company had to undergo the indignities like being ignored for promotion, being denied value-added assignments, being overlooked for foriegn assignments,being targeted with single-minded determination for insults and humiliation and,on a few occasions, being hounded out of the organisation! And all the time the cry, the mantra went round " the corrupt shall inherit the earth!"

But do not for a moment think that this environment was peculiar to only the company where I worked. The scenario is typical of a lot of organisations. as I am given to understand by my friends, associates and relations.

And this brings me to my point. Is making enormous sums of money and rising to the "top" by greed, stealth, graft, machinations, sycophancy, politicking,etc, the real hallmark of success? In the same vein, is the failure to reach the dizzy heights of organisational glory due to one's innate honesty,a mark of under-achievement?

IN OTHER WORDS, DO HONEST PEOPLE REALLY HAVE TO PAY A PRICE FOR BEING HONEST?

By practising, the virtue of integrity in their careers, whether at home or at work, I do not believe that honest people had to pay any price for the other people's crimes of corruption. They may not have acquired worldly possessions beyond compare. They may not be moneyed persons by any stretch of imagination. They may have even caused frustrations out of pecuniary embarrassments, every now and then. But I feel sure that they sleep with a conscience free from the headaches of ill-gotten riches. They can look anybody and everybody squarely in the eye without flinching from any sense of guilt. They can hold their heads high and upright with a spotless reputation of honesty - despite the repeated and sustained efforts of the effected people to prove to the contrary.

As against this,in the trans-national company where I worked for over 3 decades, I have been witness to the eventual fall,loss of respect and utter humiliation of ALL those who had corruption flowing through their veins, as it were, and who were hell-bent on marginalising me as I proved to be "inconvenient" to them!. Amazing,as it may seem, every single one of these individuals had to quit the company sooner or later in total disgrace. And this "sack of the rapists" cut across the hierarchy from top to bottom - from members of the Board of Directors to Executive Directors, to Senior Vice Presidents, Vice Presidents, General Managers, Managers,other officials. etc, etc, etc.

I cannot help but be convinced that one has to pay for one's sins IN THIS LIFE ITSELF! There is no need to dwell on the possible conditions of these wretched devils as they are today. What suffices is the knowledge that they are living with the awareness that everybody feels that they are nothing more than common thieves and cut-throats. They also remember that everybody in the organisation was privy to their exit in disgrace. These comprise enough loads round their necks for them to carry to their after-lives.

The above state cannot be the lot of only the people who worked in the same company as I. This is a lesson for all who willingly stray from the straight path in search of tainted gains.....NO MATTER WHERE THEY WORK - GOVERNMENT,PUBLIC SECTOR OR PRIVATE SECTOR.

The honest people, therefore, do not have to pay a price. On the contrary,a heavy price is extracted from the corrupt by Higher Designs, tomorrow if not today.

So, at the end of the day, honesty is still the best policy!

Any takers?

Introducing Al's Diary!

It is not easy to tell a good story...or at least to tell a good story well. Yet, here I am committing to do exactly that - i.e. recount real-life tales - without the slightest confidence of making a good job of it! But all that, a bit later.

First, the genesis of this extraordinary decision!

Over the last few years a whole lot of friends have been urging me to put down on paper the various anecdotes that I may have shared with them from time to time. All these anecdotes are really nothing but situations that I have found myself in or incidents that I have experienced during my school, college, work, family and social life.After having successfully procrastinated for a long time I suddenly realised that I may as well give it a go! Why not?!

A few years ago, on being asked by a friend as to how I was, I remember I had said that I was suffering from "Al"! I explained that since I could not remember half the things, "Al" must have got hold of me. It only remained for "zheimer" to catch up to complete the process of Alzheimer's! Somehow, this reasoning amused a lot of people and soon the theory was being bandied around quite freely. In fact, dear reader, you may have already come across it!

Selim Bose, an old family friend, liked this so much, along with a few of my other stories, that he seriously suggested that I write down these experiences, put them together and call the collection "Al's Diary"! Wow! What do you know? Bingo! That is precisely what i am setting forth to do.Behold the birth of Al's Diary! Thank you, Selim - wherever you may be.

How do I go about it? I wish I had the story-telling flair of my father who was a 'reconteur par excellence' of real life tales! He used to regale one and all with his endless stock of travelogues, stories, jokes, conundrums,even rhymes, what have you! His innate sense of humour was so pronounced that his narratives never failed to raise a smile or a laugh. Naturally, they made for very interesting stuff! The problem is, I do not think I have my father's skill even in half measure.

So, back to the beginning. How do I go about it? A wise one advised me by saying that "start at the beginning and do not stop till you reach the end!" Wonderful! With a helpful friend such as he, who needs enemies? Nevertheless the die was cast! I decided to bring Al's Diary to life - with the thought in the back of my mind that may be I should present only the lighter side of life's offerings!

So, on this the 27th 0f July 2010, Al's Diary is born. As to how long it will live, is anybody's guess. But I shall give it all the help and sustenance that I can muster. Hopefully, it will take root and flourish with time.

Dear Reader, welcome to Al's Diary! You shall have to be a bit patient because the first "story" will not appear in this blog. So keep reading. "Reflections" will necessarily have to be a mix of "Al's Diary" and other articles. In fact, some features of Al's Diary have already been published in this blog! Please recall the case of the royal housekeepr at Delhi's Taj Mahal hotel; or the puzzling location of Czechoslovakia in Canada, etc, etc! Remember? To simplify things, I promise to clearly designate the posts from Al's Diary in the title row itself so that you have no problem in distiguishing between contents of Al's Diary and other articles.

I shall leave you today with a request to please continue to read "Reflections" regularly. I also hope that you continue to enjoy it!

Southern comfort - a mini travelogue

A curious fact about our recent holiday in Kerala was that the most remarkable part of it was the total absence of the use of bad words and naked aggression by the people at large! To North Indians like us, who are fed a diet of "gaalis" day and night by men or women, young or old, it certainly was an unbelievable experience, bordering on the unreal! The Keralites demonstrated a refreshing preference for grammar over expletives in choosing their words and punctuations while speaking!!!Their genteel manner of speech and behaviour were like music to the ears and a soothing balm to frayed nerves.


We arrived at Calicut at about 09.45 hours of the 27th of May to be greeted by our old friend G.K.Nayar who was to be our host for the week. The journey itself was a bit of a strain on the nerves as the flight had a stopover at Mangalore Airport, which had very recently proved to be too small for an aircraft to land on! However, as a result of the intense prayers to all the gods that I could remember on the spur of the moment, both the landing and the take-off went off without us being actually deposited on the slopes of the Western Ghats!

However, we had counted our blessings too soon and not reckoned with Air India! At Calicut we discovered that the carriers had decided to separate me from my suitcase. While I appeared to be in Kerala as borne out by all evidences around me, my suitcase seemed to have been guided to some other destination by the Maharaja! If this was a new version of the "Catch Me If You Can" game introduced by the Ministry of Civil Aviation for the entertainment of passengers in this era of cut-throat competition, it failed to amuse me. My holiday was already doomed! More so because the suitcase contained to very importtant items, my camera and a carefully chosen bottle of whisky!

Fortunately, the ghostly voice of Air India rang up some 6 hours later to announce that my suitcase had arrived in Calicut and would be escorted to my friend's house within the hour.as indeed, it was! So, at last, the Nayars and us could smile and say that "All Is Well!"

At the ungodly hour of 04.30 a.m. of the next day we set off by road for Aleppey or Allapuzha, some 270kms distant, to check-in to our houseboat on the backwaters. En route, we had stopped over briefly at a couple of very picturesque wayside eateries for coffee and breakfast as also to answer various other essential calls of nature!!!

The houseboat was named Blue Lake and was being piloted by Captain Tijo and his crew of two.We set off by 11.30 on a 24 hours' gentle cruise during which we weaved in and out of numerous streams, rivulets, inlets and lakes.

The backwaters of Kerala takes one's breath away! There is water evrywhere...not turbulant like in the open sea but quiet, serene and peaceful. As one travels along on a houseboat the beauty of the place gradually unfolds before the eyes and one gets lost in the placid charms of nature.The pre-dominance of green, in all its hues,is enchanting. The streams flow gently.The numerous islands, rich in coconut palms and other forestry and vegetation, surround the boats from all sides as the latter quietly make their way through quaint villages on the banks.Very often the inlets are so narrow that the hanging boughs of trees on the banks form picturesque canopies, as it were, over the watery paths.The effect is spell-binding.There is hardly a sound except the call of different water birds and the steady but soft murmur of the boat's engine.The surroundings cast a tranquil spell on the passengers too! We certainly did forgot our chatter soon enough and revelled in the all-pervasive stillness.

The 24 hours or so of drifting on the Kerala backwaters was an unforgettable experience. The breathtaking sunset of riotous colours, the gentle hush of the velvet evenings, the sheer spirituality of the breaking dawn, the play of monsoon clouds across the sky, the musical patter of rain on the waters and the omni-present rich greenery all around - embraced us in the ever so comforting arms of nature.The experience was no doubt more poignant to Kumkum and I because of the wonderful change it made from the hot,dry,dusty plains of North India.

We also managed to pack in a few other trips to various places including Kochi where we saw the Cochin Shipyard, the naval base,the fascinating Jew Street, the much vaunted hotel - Taj Malabar and the rest of the neat and tidy city, modern yet modest in its appearance.

An unusual experience was a visit to the Elephant Park of the famous Guruvayur temple. I cannot recall having seen so many pachyderms in one group, other than in the wilds of North Bengal or in the Corbett Park in U.P.These elephants belong to the temple and form an integral part of the religious rituals held there every now and then.

We had more interplay with the seemingly ubiquitous presence of water in Kerala by spending quality time on the Kappad beach of Calicut and in the nearby river resort of Kadavu. The Kadavu Resort is built on the slopes of a hill and overlook the bend of a river. The whole place is simply beautiful - the surroundings are quiet,full of green forestry and, of course, the cool,flowing river.I must not forget to mention the delicious lunch and the chilled beer that we enjoyed in the resort's Coffee Shop, with its gorgeous view of the entire panorama of river, hills and forest. As for the Kappad beach, it was a true representation of Kerala - clean,quiet and beautiful.What a change from Juhu,Chowputty, Marina or Puri beaches!

The other memorable trip was to the coconut plantation of G.K.'s. Situated a fair distance from Calicut city ( an hour's drive),it brought back vivid recollections of Simulbari Tea Estate, my uncle's tea estate in the Darjeeling district of West Bengal.Although the physical appearances were different, the general ambience,the ways of the life on an estate, the abundance of greenery and quiet and the everyday activities were all so familiar and thrilling! We went for a loaf in the plantation savouring thick undergrowth,ducking all the time beneath overhanging boughs of various trees and stumbling upon a reservoir, an old pond, gone dry. This additional touch completed the rural effect to a nicety.

Shantha di, G.K.'s widowed sister was our thoughtful and affectionate hostess. She lives there alone and maintains a shining, spic and span bungalow. Although G.K. actually owns it in the main part, he and Nalini live in Calicut and are periodic visitors to the estate.It is a charming bungalow, perfectly in harmony with the rustic surrounds yet totally modern in its comforts.And the "piece de resistance" of the visit was the splendid lunch that Shantha di served in traditional style on green plantain leaves!That was really enjoyable!

The week passed far too swiftly.However, it did provide me with the chance to reinforce my student days' view that Kerala and Bengal have much in common.In those days my friend Mohan Nair and I were thick as thieves, as it were, and spent many an hour together either in college or in our homes, or in our "adda" dens or even on holidays including one to Simulbari! It was during those interactions that I discovered the uncanny smilarities between the two states and their people.The topography, climate,the culture, the food habits,the stress on academics, the basic nature of rituals and even the fancy for left-wing politics, defined the characteristics of the two people.

Naturally, we felt totally at home with the Nayars who overwhelmed us with their heart-warming hospitality, without ever going overboard with displays of any pomp or ostentation.They treated us like members of the family and we very much felt like members of the family! That was the high point of our holiday.Kerala is wonderful and so are its people. The Nayars, our old friends, are no exception.The whole stay was delightfully free of visits to clubs, malls and social gatherings where artificiality and vacuousness rule at the cost of spontaneity and genuineness.

Our departure from Kerala was no less eventful than our arrival. We arrived at the Calicut airport at 8.45am on the 3rd of June, well in time for our flight. No sooner had the Nayars left for a family do after dropping us, we were informed that our flight had been cancelled!The domestic terminal was deserted. We were told by the security guard that it would come to life only by 12.30pm!

Our friends had gone and we were loathe to bother them in the midst of a get-together. The guard willingly unlocked the entry gate and allowed us to wait inside the terminal, which we did most gratefully.Not a soul was in sight barring a couple of cleaning ladies.Half an hour later a solitary AI official came into view. We promptly butonholed him with our problems. Very politely he suggested that we wait and contact the Duty Manager once he arrived.Soon this good samaritan came back to us to inform that we were to wait where we were sitting because the Duty manager was on his way to meet us!Our first thought was that this would never have happened in Delhi.

Sure enough the Duty manager arrived within a few minutes. He listened to us, looked at our tickets and assured us by saying that it is the Airlines' responsibilty to send us to Delhi and that he would make every arrangement to put us on board the next flight scheduled to arrive at 1.00pm and leave at 2.00pm. He summoned somebody by walkie-talkie, made him open the check-in counter,boot the system,check us in, give us the boarding cards,and duly tagged our baggage with the baggage tickets and kept them ready on the loading conveyor!.

I was concerned about the X-ray of the checked in bags without which we would not be cleared by the security personnel for boarding.The X-Ray machine was to start at 12.30pm and the bags were not with us!The Duty Manager again assured us that the staff would get the X-Ray done and we need not worry at all.Instead, he rang up somebody else and arranged for us to have breakfast in the staff restaurant, with the complimants of the airlines!

Imagine all this being done three hours before the airport opened, let alone the check-in counters!Would this have happened at any other airport? When the check-in finally started at 12.30pm we did not have to do anything except board, when the call came!And believe me, our baggage was duly X-Rayed without any effort on our part to do so!We duly left Calicut on time and were back home at 9.30pm after stop-overs at Coimbatore and Mumbai.

It was such a pleasant surprise to find that pockets of excellence in service do exist in our country, no matter how insufficient. The experience only reinforced our idea of the friendliness and positive-mindset of the Keralite who, as a people, have added to nature's bounties and made the state what it is proclaimed to be viz., God's Own Country.

"We are like this only!"

It has been well over a month since my last pow-wow with "Reflections", and that is not good enough! Of course, there is no dearth of excuses to be proffered, but on this one occasion, I forgive myself because a good deal of the time was spent with those two little devils, Kabir and Raghav. And I would be hard pressed to find a better way of passing time!

So, what do I pen down to rejuvenate my diary? I think I shall go back to the 24th of April when I had made a comment or two on Facebook which, very interestingly, evoked some varied comments. I had mused that to be successful one should not be smart, well informed, confident, etc....or words to that effect. I had not gone into any specifics as the thoughts were general, open to queries and clarifications. While someone was justly baffled one other said "eyik" and a third one called for a delete button!

The point is that, whether we like it or not, whether we suffer from illusions of grandeur about ourselves or not, the "crab mentality" is over active in our collective psyche. As a result of this we are always tempted to catch hold of the perceived achievers in our society and bring them down a peg or two. And what better catch than those who evoke jealousy and inferiority complexes in us; whom we secretly envy; and who we label "elitists" in order to put ourselves on pedestals of "aam aadmi" - where we do not belong!

At the time of my comment on the Faceook, my mind was filled with what the media, the people and the rulers were doing to two persons by the name of Shashi Tharoor and Sunanda Pushkar. I felt that we were being, as usual, too hasty and precipitate in pulling down the two for their indiscretions regarding the IPL Kochi bid. Today, I stand somewhat vindicated as Jairam Ramesh too has fallen prey to this great malady. Shashi Tharoor has been shown the door from the ministry and Jairam Ramesh has been proclaimed a pariah in the government.

It is true that both have indeed been guilty of extremely immature and indiscreet behaviour. But that is all they have done. Tharoor and Ramesh are two of the brighest men in Indian politics. They are not just bright; they are brilliant. Do we or don't we want people of such intellectual stature to lead the nation to the future? The point I am trying to make is that, had the two gentlemen been from say a vernacular academic background, it is doubtful whether they would have made such good "copy" to be hounded beyond compare by the media.

Are we to believe that ministers from more "indigenous" backgrounds have never shot off their mouths or made any unsavoury statements or behaved in unbecoming manner for public figures? Is there nobody in the government who has made blunders galore? Is there noone who has been tainted by scams, crimes, corruption, incompetence and who are deserving of severe punishment? Or are these offences so very minimal that they become eminently acceptable, much in contrast to the indiscretions of M/S Tharoor and Ramesh?

This phenomenon goes back a long way in my memeory. In the second half of 1964 I took admission to M.A. Economics class in the Post graduate College of Arts & Science, Calcutta University. Having been an alumni of St. Xavier's School and College, I was somewhat prepared to face initial hostility from fellow students from vernacular colleges. However, that did not happen. What happened was totally unexpected as it originated from the professors and not the students.

On the very first day, one professor stated that he wished to assess the quality of the class right at the beginning as it would help him to pitch his lectures at the appropriate level. This need seemed a bit odd at that point, but since it was not a major issue for us Xaverians, the matter did not weigh on our minds. However his method of ascertaining this so-called level of academic intelligence was rather tell-tale and bewildering! It certainly drew our attention! It also introduced us to the reality of people's perceptions and how warped they can be, at the best of times.

Prof. Sadhan Bhattacharya, for so was his name, mentioned half a dozen or so colleges one by one and wanted to know who all came from them. He scrupulously omitted the name of St. Xavier's College which has always been the top college in Calcutta in respect of all-round accomplishments of the students. Academically too it was second only to Presidency College, which certainly found a mention in his list! For corporate recruiters the students of St. Xavier's were always the prime catch. St. Xavier's boys (there were no girls in SXC in those days. Alas!) were generally, among other things, smart, proficient in English, intelligent,excellent in sports, followed western pop music, watched English movies, were trendily dressed and usually very articulate and well-mannered. All this proved to be the bane. In the mind of Prof. Bhattacharya and those of countless others of his ilk, this was the stereotype......the elitist, no-good, "phiringi" wasters, interested only in games and girls and far removed from the ideal.....the bookwormish "bhaalo chhele". Hence, in his mind, there was no place for us in the pursuit of academics. I must add that Loreto College for Girls had also not made it to the professor's list. It is, of course a different matter that there was no girl from Loreto in our class!

So, this kind of mental stereotyping is very much prevalent in our society. In later years, I have found this in my working life as well. After repeated experiences of this bias I have come to the conclusion that it springs from sheer jealousy of the smart, articulate and sophisticated people. This is where the "crab mentality" comes in. You cannot emulate the smart trend-setter? Don't worry, just pull him down till he hits dust! Only then will you be able to strut around and flaunt your stuff! Amen!

As for now, I am seriously concerned about the public-life longevity of Kapil Sibal, Salman Khurshid, P Chidambaram and others of their "elitist" breed.

It pays to increase your word power!

There is a fascinating feature in every issue of Reader's Digest which is titled "It Pays To Increase Your Word Power".I do not know whether you follow it, but I do. In fact, I have been doing so ever since I took to reading the magazine in my school days.
Well, it is not my intention to comment on the feature. I merely recall the title as it has been playing on my mind since early morning. It ocurred to me that this particular title, no doubt patented in some form by RD, is so very relevant to our politicians, across the board!

Some time ago, Hon. Sashi Tharoor likened economy class travel on international flights to "cattle class" travel. There was an all mighty uproar in Parliament at this because people (read our learned legislators from some parties) felt slighted, humiliated, minimised, outraged, exploited and God knows what else, because of the reference to cattle, the holy plural of the holy cow. Apparently, Mr. Tharoor's remark was an affront to all Hindus as it allegedly denigrated the holy symbol of Hinduism, the cow. This remark was also perceived to be seen, in some quarters, as a reference to female air passengers as cows. If only the slighted gentry had the benefit of word power in their repertoire of personal attainments, then the derivation of "cattle class" from the old system of herding cattle in tightly packed freight cars with only standing room for the purpose of moving them across the country, would have been eminently obvious to them. There would not have been any cause for heartburns, religious or otherwise. Mr. Tharoor's remarks would have been accepted as a mere humourous allusion to the discomforts of long-distance air travel by economy class. As indeed, millions of people, like us for instance, actually do in everyday life!

Today, a news has emerged that an Hon. Chief Minister of one of our States, has taken umbrage at being told that, in matters of any state's law and order, "the buck stops there", i.e. the Chief Minister's desk. We are given to understand that the expression is a slang and derogatory in nature...that it is not the appropriate language in describing a high public office. If the expression "passing the buck" can be used in profusion in both public and private life, I do not see the logic in objecting to "the buck stops here", unless, of course, it is again the lack of mastery over word power! If the reference is indeed humiliating, then spare a thought for the generations of U.S.Presidents who have inflicted self-humiliation on themselves over the centuries by having a plaque bearing the words "The Buck Stops Here" placed on the Executive desk of The Oval Office! Is the office of the President of the USA, a high enough public office?

There is a limit to sensitivity. The over-the-top reactions are no different from a wide range of people who take immense offence at being called (albeit wrongly) "nonsense" for some reason or the other! The word "nosense", for some mysterious reason, acts as a red rag in front of a raging bull. Plenty of really colourful adjectives do not evoke or provoke such extreme reactions as the innocuous "nonsense" does. You must have come across this many a time. I wonder if the great Sukumar Roy would have felt slighted if he had come across the descriptions of his works as "Nonsense poems". Somehow, I do not think so. After all, Sukumar Roy had word power at his disposal.