Rendezvous in Rajasthan

The Indian State of Rajasthan was the land of Kings.  Being the largest state in India, it is the king of Lands at present.  It was also a part of the Indus Civilization, and most of the state is now desert.  As a kid, I read Tamil monthlies which had many short stories of bravery and romance from Rajasthan.  Emperor Akbar's wife Jodha was from Jaipur of Rajasthan.  Among the kings was my namesake – Maha Rana Pratap, whose name is everywhere in Udaipur.  He kept the Moguls at bay, and finally ended with agreements with them to cohabit.  The state is full of yellowish sandstone forts, distinctively different to the Red Stone forts built by the Moguls across India.  Princess Gayatri Devi, when she got elected to Parliament in the 1970s, she was so elated, she is said to have showered gold coins from a tower in Jaipur.   Rajasthan is also home to Jaipur, widely known as the Pink City with castles all around.  Together, Rajasthan evoked thoughts of bravery, romance in desert kingdoms to me.

The City Palace, Udaipur

The Lake Palace, Udaipur

Between 2012 and 2014, I went to Rajasthan many times, as a part of a project.  It was led by a Rajasthani Australian, and he ensured that the project team experienced Rajasthan’s best.  We stayed in Havelis by lakes, did our touristic duties, and enjoyed Rajasthani hospitality.

 

Night view from a Haveli - Can you spot the full moon?

Witnessing sun rise from a Haveli

Once we went to an unusual hill-top restaurant.  This is in the outskirts of Udaipur; a hill top has been flattened to build a traditional Rajasthani Restaurant.  As we walked there was a mud-veranda, where an old man was doing magic tricks.  Not bad, and I was glad that he did not choke on the metal balls he was spewing out.  Then there was a kid on a balancing rope, with pots stacked on his head, and plates as shoes on a rope about 5 m above ground.  He marched up and down, and came down to collect money.  Then there was a puppet show which was fun to watch.  Finally, two girls danced for Rajasthani songs, not that great but were OK.  Then the food, where in a long hall, we scot and ate a very high cholesterol diet, ghee, butter, sugar, cottage cheese and so on.  Rajasthan is well known for its dairy products.  The best part was that one of the waiters insisted on feeding me!  Don’t get funny ideas – he was a middle aged man.

Rajasthani Dancing

Once I hired an auto-rickshaw in Udaipur.  The driver was so skinny; I could easily see his jaw-bones.  From his appearances, I felt that he must be really poor.  I asked him to take me to a liquor shop and bring me back.  He said it will cost me 40 INR, and I said fine.  After a few minutes, he said he could take me to another one closer to my hotel, and it would cost me 35 INR.  Again I said fine.  When he brought me back I gave him 40 INR, and he was puzzled.  He returned 5 INR, but I insisted that he kept it.  He was a bit reluctant, but took the money with appreciation.  Other big Indian cities would have been different.  Once in Madras an Auto-driver took be a distance of about 5 km, and wanted 1000 INR.  It should not have been more than 50 INR those days.  He started swearing and shouting, and finally settled for 500 INR.  I should have negotiated the fare before I went with him.  I am glad that these petty thieves live only in big cities.

A Rajasthani Farmer

On another occasion, I hired a taxi driver to take me around Udaipur.  He was really dark in color, wore a number of necklaces, some with big pendants, and ear studs with big stones in both ears.  He had an unusual hairstyle including a short pony-tail.  It was so short, you could see only if you pay close attention.  Instead of ribbons or scrunchies as my daughters would wear to hold their hair together, he had a rubber-band holding his hair together at the end of the tail - not at the beginning.  I thought he must have jumped out a cartoon-book.  However, he was very polite, held his arms and hands crossed and head bowed in a subservient manner whenever I spoke, a sight I have seen in old Tamil movies.  There was nothing wrong with his behavior, only my attitude about dress codes and appearances was warped.

I have traveled widely in India, and each state has its own attraction.  But some or other Rajasthan stands out in my mind, may be because it is very different to Tamil Nadu, I am most familiar with.  Udaipur, the city I spent most time in Rajasthan is undoubtedly picturesque and cleaner than most cities in India.

A Dog killed The Cat

I live with my family in Sydney, but my work is based at Queanbeyan, about three-hour drive from my Home.  Hence, I have rented a granny-flat (one bedroom flat – detached from the main house) for my stay in Queanbeyan.  On the average I spend about three nights a week at my flat.  The Land Lords are Tracey and John, a young couple, probably in their forties. 

The day I moved in, and while unloading my stuff from the car, a black cat with three legs got into the flat meowing loudly.  Its handicap did not seem to limit its movements.  It went into the bath room, the living room and the bed room, as if it was the land lord, showing me the flat.  Once I finished unloading, I shooed it out of the flat.  Later in the afternoon, I met John, who said in a firm but friendly tone that I should not entertain the cat in my flat.  That was okay with me – I do not consider myself a pet-lover.  Whenever, I went to my flat during the past 15 months, the cat would get up, limp around and meows to welcome me.  Once when my Land Lords were on a holiday, I fed the cat for a day.  My attachment to the cat was nothing more.

Yesterday, when I walked back to the flat after work around 4:30 pm, and as I neared the flat, I saw my neighbor waving at me.  Well, that’s what I thought, but in fact she was signalling a pick-up to stop.  The pick-up went passed me and stopped in front of the main house.  The pick-up was from the City Council, and its passengers were two Rangers, a man and a woman.  They got off the pick-up, and started a conversation with my neighbor, who pointed a dog to them.  I am not an expert on dog breeds, but I think it is a kind of a Terrier.  There was a leash, but it appeared to have severed from an anchor.  The dog was calm but looked menacing.  One of the Rangers got hold of the leash.  Just in front of the dog was the cat – dead.  I could see the flesh of the cat, and redness around the dog’s mouth and jaws.  I could easily figure out what had happened.  I started to wonder whether the cat became an easy victim, because of its handicap.  Else, it could have probably run away and climbed a tree.

My neighbor was visibly upset, approached me and said that the cat gave a good fight.  Not sure it meant that she saw the cat fighting for its life, or she was deducing from the state its body was in.  I have never spoken to her before, and was not sure what I should say in return.  Our conversation ended there. 

The Rangers spoke softly, showing respect to the deceased, and their faces were glum.   They got busy, photographing the dog and the cat.  They also ran a metal detector over the cat and the dog, and found that the dog had a chip installed in its body, but the cat did not.  Their pick-up had two pens and a stairway, stuck underneath.  One of the Rangers opened a pen, drew the stairway, guided the dog into the pen, and secured it.  The other took a plastic bag, wrapped the cat, and put it in the second pen.  The Rangers left their contact details for my Land Lords in the mail box, and asked me to convey the bad news to my Land Lords.  Later, when I conveyed the bad news to John, he kept on repeating that he was upset.  I patted his back, and left him to break the bad news to Tracey.

I was sad that the cat was mauled to death.  The incident reminded me of the day when I watched a pigeon dying in Delhi (http://prathapar.blogspot.com.au/2013/01/death-of-pigeon.html).  Just like the shoe polisher who looked after the dying pigeon in Delhi, the Rangers and my neighbor acted humanely and took care of the dead cat, and the disturbed dog.  

The way people react to death is the same, irrespective of where the person lives - in a developing country or in a developed country.  People are just the same – there’s Godliness within every one of us.

US Elections: Why do I care?

My first impression of USA was a photo of Nehru (Indian PM) walking with the US President JFK.  It was in the sixties.  The photo appeared in a Tamil weekly published in India.  I was not even a Teen then, but was an avid reader of Tamil weeklies form India.  Most of them were full of praise to Nehru; he was a National Hero, deservedly revered.  He was also known to be kind to kids, and was called an Uncle by them.  I too was a kid at that time, and I was probably happy to have a fictional uncle like Nehru.  In the photo was my fictional uncle, with a charismatic leader of the country, which won the Second World War.  I have heard of anecdotes of life in Jaffna during the war from my grandparents.  That’s how I connected JFK and Nehru, and both became and remain my favorite leaders even now.  The next impression was when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon.  We sat around a LARGE analogue radio in Jaffna and listened to the live commentary.  

Later, I became critical of the Americans.  I could not understand why they were fighting in Vietnam and opposed Bangladesh Liberation war.

Yet, the coverage USA received in Sri Lankan newspapers were sufficient to keep my interest in US politics.  In particular, I was fascinated to read about CREEP (the Committee to Re Elect the President – Nixon), and their role in Watergate Scandal, impeachment of Nixon, and election of Jimmy Carter.  As Carter was facing re-election in 1980, I went to USA for my higher studies.  My first night in a Washington DC hotel, I watched Ted Kennedy’s speech at the Democratic Party Convention.  From then till now, I am sort of obsessed with US Presidential Politics.  Should I be?  After all, USA is one of the six countries I have lived in, and for only about 12% of my life.  

My fascination with US Politics is not just personal.  I believe what happens in USA will affect me and my children for many years to come.

It is the USA, which guarantees global peace, to some extent at its own expense.  It has been 70 years since the Second World War ended, and it is largely through the efforts of the Americans, we have not had a war of such magnitude.  Yes, there are at least twenty ongoing wars today, but none are at global scale, and casualties are not in millions.  Even in these wars, US play a role to mediate peace and minimize casualties.  Military alliances with USA are providing a sense of security on a day to day basis to Billions around the world including Australians like me.

America’s investment in health has contributed to advancement in treatments for diseases such as cancer; containment of deadly epidemics like Ebola and Zika; and reduction in child mortality by more than 50% since 1990s.  It is the scarcity of labour in US farms, which led to mechanization and automation of broad-acre Agriculture, and feed the world today.  When all developed nations are cutting down on research in Agriculture and Health, Americans continue to fund research, finding ways to produce more and better quality of food, and a healthier world.  They continue to build capacity of agriculturalists and medical professionals in Asia and Africa, where food supplies are insecure, water supplies are unreliable and health institutions are inaccessible.

  

It is the USA, which had been the home of innovation.  American technology has always been a part of my life.  I am grateful to Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs and many alike.  I also believe it is the USA, which has shown the world that major societal changes can come within a short period of time.  When Asians struggle to beat the caste system, and the Europeans struggle to beat remnants of imperialism, the Americans have got rid of slavery, and preserved civil rights, all within two centuries.  Despite being the bastion of Capitalism, it is in America where many social programs are successfully infused to improve day to day life of the downtrodden.

Why were all these feats possible?  Because, it has the third largest land mass and the third largest population in the world.  The population came from all parts of the world, only in hope to do better than they were in their respective homelands.  The combination of the wealth (in the form of land), and the aspiring population led to the phenomenal success, which is America today. 

For non-Americans, they have shown the way to build a secure (military, health, and food security) world, and assisted them along the way.  It is the leaders Americans elect, help rest of the world feel secure.  What a difference President Obama has made to the world, which he inherited from GWB?  I like to see the benefits continue, not just for me, but for my children.  That’s why I remain interested in US politics. 

  

Merry Christmas & HNY 2016

Being born and grew up in Jaffna, Christmas was not a big event for most part of my early life. Christians, mostly lived along the coastal part of the Jaffna peninsula, and I had very little interactions with them as a kid.  I do not recall a single Christian class mate during my primary and secondary education.  I did go to a Cathedral occasionally, but not during Christmas.  These were the days without TV in Jaffna, so the opportunity to watch Christmas celebrations weren’t there either.  I did have Catholic roommates while at Peradeniya, but they hardly discussed religion with me.  I should also mention that during Christmas, I had University holidays, so, Christmas was another day I was on holidays.

As Christmas 1980 approached, a friend of mine of Mexican origin asked me to spend the holidays with him in Monterrey, Mexico.  The offer was hard to refuse – he wanted to me to share the cost of gasoline for the 8-hour drive.   I took him on. Having lived in Texas since Aug 1980, I was getting accustomed to ‘First World’ living.  I was quickly reminded of third world conditions when I crossed the border. I crossed from one country to another by land the very first time, enjoyed homemade Mexican food for a week, went to a Bull-Fight, and partied every day at his friends or family.

For Christmas in 1981, I visited my friends at Penn State; I walked through a meter high snow, and enjoyed my first white Christmas.  Visit to an Amish village was the highlight.

Subsequent Christmases in USA came and went.  Like everyone else, I took advantage of the sales, although my requirements as a single person weren’t much.

Christmas 1987 had a completely different feel to Christmases I had before.  I was in Griffith, NSW, Australia, an inland country town of 15,000.  Not much happens here, and the temperature is in forties in December.  Aussies are not that religious, but they do enjoy their holidays.  There were plenty of barbecues (and flies) of course.

I spent Christmas 1988 in a small village in West Germany.  Everything – climate, rains, crisp air, green landscapes, rings from chapels, well decorated shops, and the general cheer gave me a real Christmas feel.  Visit to the Berlin wall was the high light of this holiday.

I was in Pakistan for Christmas 1996, and that was a non-event, I felt.  A few top-end hotels had Christmas trees and decorations to make their western guests feel home.  But, many Pakistani Christians hide their identity by adapting Muslim names for better employment opportunities or to avoid harassment.  However, Christmas is a holiday there, not because Jesus was born on that day, but the Father of the Country, Mohammed Ali Jinnah was born on that day.  My Pakistani Christian friends consider it the biggest favour Jinnah did for them.  Celebrations, if any are muted.

Christmas in Oman is a non-event too, but, Christians celebrate it more overtly than in Pakistan, I think.  There are several Churches in Muscat, and prayers go on all day.  Divisions among services are based on their nationality and denominations (Despite God's wish to unite us, we as human beings have to find reasons to divide us, isn’t it!).  Although it is not a national holiday, most Christians are at liberty to take time off from work to attend masses.  Hotels and super markets look festive, again to make their western guests feel welcome, I believe.

Christmas 2011 in Delhi was very much like celebrations in Colombo or elsewhere. For my surprise, it was not a holiday where I have joined to work.  This was a small non-government office, and there weren’t any Christians in the staff.  I could understand the reasoning, but I still felt that it should have been a holiday.  In subsequent years, Christmas was declared a holiday in our office, and I felt good.

We as a family have just finished celebrating Christmas 2015, the Aussie way.  My immediate family members, about 30 in total, met at a park near our house for a picnic lunch.  Kids had a gala time, adults sat and watched.  I tried to stretch my muscles, riding a bike or playing cricket, but it was not easy.  Then we all went to our house for dinner.  Remaining holidays were busy too, I went to the new-year eve fireworks at Sydney harbor, and for a swim at the Sydney Olympic park, both for the first time, although we are ‘residents’ of Sydney since 1996!  The holidays gave me sufficient time to catch-up with my family and recharge myself.    

I paid attention to Christmas messages on Australian TV, all without exception appealed Australians to embrace refugees from Middle East.  It was very heartening to hear such messages at a time of global turbulence.

I am aware that Christmas is a religious event for Christians, but its universality astounds me.  I can’t think of any other religious festival embraced widely as Christmas across the world.  I consider myself fortunate to witness Christmas in a range of settings, and all are different.

Merry Christmas & HNY 2016.