Uttarayana -Remembering Ahmedabad !!

My Day Out On Uttaryana.

It was a busy day for me yesterday .It was  a day I had earmarked for seeing and absorbing the colours of Uttarayan –the kite festival in Gujerat .Uttarayan coincides with Makar Sakranti and signifies the end of winter and the beginning of the movement of the Sun north towards the celestial space which heralds the summer months .From July it starts heading southwards and thus is called Dakshinayan –a move which will bring in the winter months .

It is a big, big festival in Gujerat and one cant miss the pulse of it .There is a lot of flutter in the city weeks before the festival date –with kites being sold  all over shops in the city .The vegetable markets are packed and one should be brave to try to venture into them because people are buying  vegetables to prepare the traditional dish called “undhyu”.Undhyu is a mixed vegetable –fruit, sweet and sour gravy which is eaten with puris and sweet ladoos or “surati jamuns”.!!I planned my trip out to see how Uttarayanan happens .!

A Stack Of Kites -Rows After Rows of Them  At The Patang Bazaar.

I first made my way into the Bopal area where I stay .It has a number of highrises and the moment I drove out and into the residential part of the colony (I stay in a secluded part of the area ),I could see why the festival was what it was known for .I could see desolate roads ,and crowded rooftops .I could hear drums being beaten(dholaks)and I could see men and women dancing .And I could see hundreds of colourful kites flying in the skies .There were small boys on the road who carried wooden sticks and had their eyes fixed for a falling kite .The moment it(the falling kite) neared them ,they would raise the stick upwards and give the thread of the falling kite a twirl and “capture”,it .It went on and on .I watched the whole thing with a sense of amusement and awe .!!I took several photographs of it .!!

But my main destination was the heart of the city –Manick Nagar , Kalupura ,Daryapur,and Khanpur .One has to be brave to get in there .The streets are narrow ,they are bustling ,they are cluttered with tea stalls and dhabhas BUT one can see kite flying at its best here!! .I watched with amazement how small children were so adept at flying kites .I also saw some amazingly designed and coloured kites .I even managed to buy a pack of 20 kites for 100 rupees .I talked to some of the old residents of the area .Some of them had been flying kites for 60 years .!!Kites are strung by a thread called “manjha”,made out of powdered glass .This helps in giving a kite a edge when it entangles itself with another kite or enters into a “war”with it .!!Localities fight with each other in “downing”,each others kites –as soon as a kite goes into the air ,it is a signal for the adversary to retaliate .!!Its much like a air raid over a city by the enemy –the plane has to be shot down !!There are champion kite fliers and they have kites which are specially made for them .So when Ustad Nizam Sheikh puts out his kite –everyone  recognizes it .He is a celebrity  kite flyer of his locality and normally will be challenged by a celebrity champion kite flyer of the locality adjacent to his .These are contests which are watched very keenly and celebrations break out  among the supporters of the kite flyer who brings down the opponents kite .

I watched one such contest .It was a enthralling experience as the two kites of opposing localities took to the skies .It is not only a matter of art but also of strategy .The kites skirted each other –trying to get at the other from a particular angle .And from a particular height .Finally one kite swooped on the other one from above ,Nizam frantically tugged at it –first gently  and then in a series of convulsions ,and finally a loud cheer as the opponents kite went into a free fall .The little boys darted off with their wooden sticks to retrieve the booty!!.Everyone started dancing –including me .!!A free cup of half chai -“cut”chai-was served and the battle continued .It was great fun and I never knew that kite flying was so competitive and generated so much passion .I had learnt another thing –experienced something which I had never experienced .

In the evening ,the sky was crowded with white kites so that one could pick them up against fading light .And when it got dark I saw for the first time “tukkals”-kites lit up .The sky was peppered with them .It was a beautiful site .

I don’t celebrate any festival –neither holi,diwali , sankrati or uttaryan .I am against them because I think they tend to do harm .Holi is dangerous –I have seen people getting blind because of spurious colour .In Diwali I have seen people being terribly hurt and animals being terribly frightened .During kite flying I have seen so many birds lying on the roads and fields being slit because of the sharp and glass coated thread .I wish one

 could balance our festivals in a way by which everyone can enjoy .This year we decided to campaign not to fly kites between 6am to 10 am and from 3pm to 7 pm .Thats the time time when birds tend to take to the skies .I hope all of you who are reading this will spread this message across .We need more birds  in the sky than the kites I saw on Uttarayan .Not less .As Charles Lindberg the first pilot to fly solo across the Atlantic wrote 

"I realized that if i had to choose ,i would rather have birds than aeroplanes "(his last interview before he passed away )

We need to protect the beautiful form of life called birds .I cant better their value to us than to quote what John Burroughs wrote

"The very idea of a bird is a symbol and suggesstionto the poet .A bird seems to be at the top of the scale ,so vehement and intense his life .....the beautiful vagabonds endowed with every grace ,masters of all climes ,and knowing no bounds. How many human aspirations are realized in their free ,holiday lives ---and how many suggesstions to the poet in their flight and song .!!

My Debt To Reading !!

I have always been fond of reading . I started reading  rather  early in life and there was a reason why I did so .It was because of my passion for cricket .I don’t know why I was so passionate about cricket –it was something very abnormal because I used to scan every paper or magazine (those days only one –Sports and Pastime)and  note down some  contents things  in files .I would even cut and paste some of  clippings from newspapers into similar files  .By the time I passed out of school I had nearly a hundred files .Sadly ,termite ate into them in  my ancestral home in Clement Town, and with a big bonfire one day –they were consigned to flames .I  remember  I felt terrible about it .The burning files being consumed by flames is etched sharply in my memory .

Reading about cricket was contagious .It  quickly spread to reading books .I do not call myself a voracious reader –but a steady and meticulous one .I had to read my quota of 10 books or so in a month and it was  a certainity that I would read a minimum of 100 books a year .(the voracious reader would read about 500 books or so a year –I read somewhere that Shashi Tharoor reads about 2 books a day on a average!!).Whatever I read –I reflected upon .I imagined the rolling countryside described in some novels and I also pondered a lot of themes of betrayals and selfishness and about love and lovemaking.  Books cemented my beliefs in right and wrong and made me thoughtful. I lapped up P G Wodehouse ,Enid Blyton ,W E John(Biggles and Gimlett), Shakespeare ,Max Brand (Westerns ),Oliver Stone ,and even Barbara Cartland (I have 4 sisters and they loved the romance depicted in Mills and Boon novels ).I read the great classics and one of them that stood out in my mind was “Wuthering Heights” by Emile Bronte .

My school Librarian gave me Wutheing Heights and “ordered”  me  to read it and review it .I was about 13 years old . “ Don’t think you have write about it while you read it, otherwise you will treat it like homework” he advised .”And don’t worry if you don’t want to write about it –its ok ,just enjoy the book” he said .I took the book home .As luck would have it –the electricity went off  after I had just started reading it .But  I had a kerosene lamp. Just the right atmosphere in which to read this haunting epic of star-crossed lovers. I stayed up till three in the morning to finish the book.The power of the writing was to remain with me for the rest of my life.I continued reading while in College and University and subsequently when I started teaching .Since i read History at College and University ,i read a lot of books on the subject .And Yes -i read Toynbees 12 Volume Classic "A Study of  History"as well !!

Reading was a habit which came to stay and never went away .I still have to read  before I sleep –otherwise I cant fall asleep .!!

 After a gap of 25  years,of  reading Wuthering Heights  in school ,I picked it up again again while I was a Principal in Bhopal.. Would it have the same hold over me? Or had I grown big and old now to NOT be moved by  a tale of love, hate, longing and enchantment? Obviously I had not, for once again I was up all night, gripped by this haunting  tale of  passionate yearning and burning desire played out on the desolate Yorkshire moors. Catherine and Heathcliff yearn for union with each other but it is always denied. Just as Emily Bronte’s yearning for love and fulfilment finds exp­ression in this tale of her own frustration. And with yours and mine at different phases of our life .And as  my train rushed across the Yorkshire Moors en route to Scotland –I once again remembered “Wuthering Heights”.!! After 40 years !!Thats the impact reading books has had on me !!

I haven’t read much in Dubai –and the reason for that is that my rather large and personal library is left behind in India in boxes packed neatly(I am a great one for rereading what I like ) .But whenever I get a chance to read –I do so .My writer friend Meenu Mehrotra presented me her novel –“Sunlit Hearts” .I loved it as I did reading Rajdeep Sardesais book  “2014 –The Elections That Changed India” .I haven’t read books written by my students Anupam Srivastava ,Mahendra Jakher and Ajit Shehrawat .I look forward to doing so in the very near future .

I look forward to going back to reading( about 100 books a year),  as I start my walk back to the pavilion !! I only hope that its not a case of the “Far Pavillions” because I cant wait to get there !( a fabulous book by M M Kaye).And I hope the termites don’t get to my valuable books which are lying packed  in India.That would be the unkindest cut I would have ever got in my life !!

Why Most Of Us Love School Reunions.!! Part 1.

I was  browsing the Facebook page of a prominent school of  Dehradun on which a ex student (now in her 60ties ),had put up two photographs of the school she had studied in ,during the sixties .Inevitably the word nostalgia found its way into the photograph captions .Nothing new .We all put up photographs of the schools we studied in .And we all want to flaunt its rich heritage and its distinguished alumni .The response to her photographs  was also as expected –a flood of teary eyed comments ,about the teachers ,about the friends and about the passing away of so and so .!!Again nothing new .

But the question still remains –why do we respond so powerfully to a collective memory of something which we never liked so much at the time we were in it ?Schools ,then ,(and let me be honest even now ) were always  a symbol of something that was not a joyous experience to go through .The way they were structured , led to a movement which propagated that only IF a child likes to go to a school –then it’s a good school, irrespective of whether he learnt anything there or not.The index was happiness –not achievement or marks (though if someone was happy at competing and getting marks ,then it was good school for that particular child )  .Otherwise –it was  a bad school .!But years down the line all stressful memories  get  washed away and the one memory that keeps haunting you is  –“school was wow .I wish I could go back to it .Oh –what would I NOT give to be taught again by Mr G.C .Gupta or Mr J.L. D’Souza”.!!

Why this yearning ?

I think its partly because as human beings we get “selective” about our memories .We tend to select the good  moments of our life –and we have plenty of them in school,not necessarily  connected to lessons in Maths ,Science or History .School is the first place where we interact with our peer group collectively over a period of time .It is a place where the mysteries of adulthood start to wrap around you –the first shave ,the first crush and the first attempt at dating and drinking !!Anything that happens for the first time is difficult to forget .And a lot of them happen while one is in school .

Psychologists also propound the theory that the recall factor is the strongest when we are young .In other words –the further one goes into the past ,the stronger are the memories .Which is interesting because one would expect that what happened in the near past should be clearer in our memory than something that happened lets say about 40 years back .But in practical terms it does not work like that. .At least as far as I am concerned –I have very vivid memories of what happened when I was a school boy and less of  them  what happened to me lets say about 5 years back .The result –we connect with what we can remember ,and schooldays are the strongest connect ,because they go as far as one can get as one ages .

Apart from what psychologists say ,I think there are certain other factors which make school days  always special .No matter what one goes through –childhood is always associated with  our dreams .Its a special quality that a child has in plenty – dreams!! .To be able  dream and enjoy  it –you  have to be  a child or as innocent as a child .The entire school system was based on selling you dreams .I remember writing a essay “If I could fly”.!!And I remember reading a fairy tales  of “Thumbelina”, “Jack and the Beanstalk” “Rumplestiltskin” or “Rip Wan Vinkle”!!.!! I remember acting in “Cindarella”as Prince Charming .!!

Witnessing A Part Of Gruesome History

Wednesday isn’t a day when you would  like to  attend a party .It sits right in the middle of the week and for people like me ,more often than not passes off uneventfully .It almost never is a party day in Jaipur –a city which has a magnificent social and party circuit and I was a bit surprised when my dear friend Ashok phoned me and invited me and Sangeeta for dinner and drinks at one of Jaipurs most happening restaurants .It was a rooftop restaurant and very popular with the youngsters because it has a dance floor as well .

“Whats the occasion Ashok?” I asked

“Kuch nahin –just a “bahaanaa for having drinks and food” he laughed !

“But why on Wednesday?” I persisted .

“ Yaar ye  Principal wale questions mat poochoh” he said .Ashok was a senior bureaucrat and a very well known one at that .He and his lovely wife Aradhana had become very close friends over  the years .

To be very honest –I was reluctant to attend the party .I was on a comeback trail as far as my health was  concerned and was on a very disciplined and restricted  diet. I  had almost given up drinking .Only the previous year I had barely managed to survive after being  in the ICU for 15 days  .But I just did not have the heart to refuse .

Ashok is a great host and we landed at his party .The dress code very specifically had been spelt out by his wife  Aradhana . “Dress as you used to when you were in the University” she had said .I ignored the dress code and went to the party in a coat and a tie .

“Oh my God Kullu.Dont tell me you dressed so formally when you were in Delhi University” cooed the ever effervescent Jaishree  .Before I could respond my good friend Ajit  made a entry – with a “jholaah”(bag) ,a crumpled kurta ,Kolhapuri chappals ,Jeans and a cigarette dangling from his mouth –a la Marlon Brando in the movie “On the Waterfront”.!!He was a alumnus of the JNU !! It was about 9.30 pm and the drinks and the snacks had started to circulate quickly .Very soon the dance floor came to life with songs of the byegone era. “ Mai Chali mai chali dekho pyaar ki gali, Koi rokeh na mujhe ,mai chali mai chali”  and songs like that .

The cream of Jaipur was present .Very soon the DGP  walked in .And so did page 3 crowd  -everyone who is someone in Jaipur !! We soon realized it was Aradhanas Birthday !! The party was celebrating the day she came into the world .

I still remember the date .It was  26/11 .

In Mumbai ,while we partied ,Ajmal Kasab and his gang of 10 terrorists had slipped into India At about  9.30 pm ,two of them  had gone on a rampage at the Leopold Cafe ,killing 10 people and injuring several ,while Ajmal Kasab and Ismail went beserk at  Chattrapati Railway Station killing 52 and injuring 109 people .They were finally intercepted at Girgaum Chowpatty . 

At Girgaum Chowpatty one of the great sacrifices in contemporary history, was taking place .Policeman Tukaram  Omble was an ASI with the Mumbai Police. His team was under-equipped for the attack, but he  managed to kill one terrorist and arrest the only terrorist taken alive - Ajmal Kasab. Unarmed, Omble  with only a laathi as his weapon  rushed to hold onto the rifle butt of  Ajmal Kasab, enabling other officers to apprehend him.With the barrel of the gun held by his hand and against his stomach ,Omble must have known it was a one sided affair .  Ajmal  pulled the trigger and fired several shots,piercing his intestines , killing him .A brave son of India passed into history 

 The other cowardly  terrorists had entered the Taj Hotel and the Trident Hotel .

We were unaware of anything .I floated around and stopped to exchange pleasantries with the DGP –Mr Bains .He was a very kind and sage looking man and very modest .I moved on to the other guests .Very soon we were on the dance floor –trying to shake a leg or two .

Ashok was next to me .And so was Ajit .Someone came and tapped Ashok on his shoulders .He excused himself .I saw him make his way towards Mr Bains the DGP .They both appeared serious .Ashok was bent with his ear close to Mr Bains lips –the music was loud and apparently he was finding it difficult to hear what the DGP was saying .He then escorted him towards the door and disappeared .

Someone was serving prawns along with the drinks .I was enjoying them and the great whiskey .Ashok reappeared after 15 minutes or so .I asked him whether everything was fine .His words froze me 

“There has been a terrorist attack in Mumbai .And its not a ordinary one .All the states have been alerted .Mr Bains has gone to take stock of the situation in Jaipur and Rajasthan”.

By now everyones cell phones started to ring .My son Pratique rang up and said

“Dad –the terrorists have attacked Mumbai “

“How serious does it appear” I asked him .

“Very bad Dad .It looks it’s a big attack .And its taking place at different places .Its live on TV .My God ……… “ and his voice trailed off .

“What happened” I asked ?

“They say they are at the TAJ Hotel .”

It was then that I realized that it was a highly motivated and planned attack .By now we were all talking about it .The party hung up .We all rushed home .Pratique opened the door and we all rushed to the television set .The Taj was on fire and gunshots were being heard .!! And yelling with excitement and anger were the journalists who have become a part of our daily lives –Arnab ,Rajdeep ,Barkha and many more .It seemed we were at war .And it showed how 10 terrorists could hold a big country like ours to ransom .We were witnessing the making of history .!!

Kulbhushan Kain's Blog: Life -Its Not How Long -But How Good It Is .!!

Kulbhushan Kain's Blog: Life -Its Not How Long -But How Good It Is .!!: When I joined College I knew what I had to do to succeed .I knew what topics to study and what   were  the marking schemes in each subject...

Life -Its Not How Long -But How Good It Is .!!

When I joined College I knew what I had to do to succeed .I knew what topics to study and what   were  the marking schemes in each subject  .So all I had to do was to get  down into the “formula “ of cracking the exam .And in my second year ,I even managed to “top” my college !! But  I soon realized that life is not a formula .The unfortunate thing and in the very essence of it ,is like a Agatha Christie movie .!! You don’t know till the end who the murderer is inspite of having clues that point overwhelmingly in a particular direction !! In life there is no core curriculum .The entire curriculum is elective.

 The paths are infinite and the results uncertain.This uncertainity is the cause of great anxiety ,because we have always been taught in school and college about formulas which guarantee achievement and results  .But remember that College ,School,University is something you complete and achieve in tangible terms –marks sheets and those horrible looking Degrees which I think is the most democratic idea of the world (apart from death ),-the idea that all men and women are equal .Its like a fool telling another person “ See both of us have got degrees and hence both of us are equal !! We are on the same page !!

But life is not a college degree which you achieve and complete .Life is something you experience  .You learn from experience to live with a amputated leg or a tumor inside your stomach ,brain or lungs .You learn from experience how to live after a tempestuous one night stand with someone else –only to realize  that you have not let down  your partner  –but yourself because he/she thinks you are loyal to him /her.You learn to live with the fact  that your colleague who sprinkles  sugar and honey on you in private ,goes  and deviously tattles  to dumb bosses who think that “psychophacy” is art and one should have it .And then think you are inferior !!You learn to live with lots of money and then reflect that there is something called wastage and  that something is horribly wrong somewhere that makes you  “diet”, when  millions are dying of hunger .

You also learn to live with failures .You realize that you failed in the IAS exams because you were never good at taking those kind of  exams –but took them because others expected you to take them .You realized that you failed because as a fish your strength was swimming –but you were trying to climb a tree !! You realize that failure was a friend because it kept telling you “don’t go there –you wont like it ,go there –the other way”!!

More importantly life teaches you what the great Roman philosopher said

“As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters.”

Kulbhushan Kain

Good Bye Sadashiv Amarapukar

“Marun ya maarun ,maara jaoon ya jaan se maar du ,

Iska faisla kabhie na ho paayega ,

Soya hua aadmi jab ,

Neend se uth kar chalna shuroo kartaa hai ,

Tab sapnon ka sansaar use doobara dikh hi naa payegaa ,

Use roshni  mein jo nirnay ki roshni hai

Sab kuch smaan hoga kya ?

Ek palde me napunsakta ,ek palde mein  parush

Aur theek tarazu ke kante par –AARD SATYA .”

 I have never forgotten these lines  since I first heard them in the film Ardh Satya .It is one of the finest films  and  was made in 1984 by Govind Nihalini. The screenplay was  by Vijay Tendulkar .It starred the great Sadshiv Amrapukarl ,Smita Patel ,Shafi Inanmadar ,Om Puri among others .I was at that time just getting to grips with  dealing with the world on my own and felt like a infant who had been  separarted  in a mela  from  the hands and fingers that held  him.The movie raised the existentialist debate in my mind .The brave cop –Om Puri ,is hounded because of his honesty by a goon (Sadashiv Amrapukar) and criminals who work for him .The nexus between the politicians ,criminals and police is brilliantly brought out and somewhere in the middle of the movie Smita Patil (playing Om Puri girlfriend )asks him to read the above lines .Its one of the most poignant scenes in cinema and gave me goosebums (it will give you as well if you see it in the setting of the movie ).

Ardh Satya taught me more about Indias politics than any class /classes I ever attended those days  –till now .The brightest of the teachers of that film Sadashiv Amrapukar  is no more .Words are no substitute for anguish  -so I wont write something which I cant express .Many of his co stars are no more –Smita Patil ,Shafi Inamdaar ,Vijay Tendulkar .But this tribute is to the ultimate actor who played a villain with great panache –but in real life was a man with a heart of gold and gave up glory to pursue social service.Contradictions of life !! .A man signifying the the idea of. Ardh Satya –raising a question once again –are there absolutes in life ? Or are there only AARDH SATYAS? . Thank you for raising the question so brilliantly. 

 !!R.I.P.Salute .