The Moon Walk

Watching the Moon walking with me through the thickets and clearings; Along the clatter of the fast moving train one understands her benevolence much against her nonchalant bemuse.

The patches of clouds seem to eat her alive and only one has to see closely that she brings out the rainbow of grays.

The palms and neems and tamarind try to close her with their hands only to realise she brings out the resplendent beauty of the night trees.

The lightning seem to out shine her and shows the tempest with loud thunder only when the moment passes do you realise the calm beauty of the soothing moonshine.

The very earth rises up as mountains to cover her up.

Only to see the light seething through the rocks against a grand moon rock.

The flickering lights from the kitchen seem to mar the beams and yet she shines through the window to show the beauty of the lady cooking.

The fast moving train seems to outrun the moon and yet there she is in the station next.  And so my friend, what seems and what is are two different things. Be the Moon that shines and adds beauty however ugly the life journey is.

Calcutta or Kolkata

I am an Indian and lived throughout in India – and I can’t believe that I am visiting Calcutta, now Kolkata, for the first time.  I was excited, enthralled and looked forward to getting drowned in Kolkata culture.  I was never disappointed – I did drown and what a feeling it was. 

It was quite late when I landed in Kolkata – the first thing that struck me was the Ambassador taxi.  These extinct behemoths were there everywhere – and I loved it – my first ride in a four wheeler was in an ambassador car.  I fell in love with the city immediately.

Next day I just walked down a while.  The difference from other cities was glaring and stark.  The British Raj buildings still existed there with work still being done out of these ‘offices’ – no flashy glass frontages, no multi storied concrete structures.  The place reeked of old world charm and aesthetic cultural montage.  Work moved at the same pace as the bullock carts – it reflected the mentality of the people.  The taxi driver proudly showed us the building burnt several years with the soot all over it still fresh.  They lived life and in between somewhere, work moved. Take it easy. The people had a weird attitude – they did everything they could to ensure they did nothing.  That’s a great way to view life and death.

The tea in the mud containers told everything that Kolkata stood for – crumbles easy but great on the green.  What is more important to life is what we stand for.  You need to compromise on what you need to do and what you do not need to do – each has its pros and cons.  I feel I am more of a person that would root for a life there.  I don’t want to rush life and take my environment for granted.  I need to merge into it and dissolve.

And lo, for the first time in my life I saw a tram in India – they disappeared from other cities of India ages ago – but, no sir, not in Kolkata. It was a pleasure to see people getting on and off wherever they wanted.  I wondered why they had stops at all.

And then I saw the Birla temple.  The security guards won’t allow me inside with my back pack (actually my lap top). I told very gently but sternly that I have come a long way and there was no way I am going to return without a darshan.  He hesitated, but took care of my bag till I returned (despite the fact that my placing a bag in their custody was a bigger security risk – in my opinion).  I offered to open the bag so that he can inspect – he refused.  I was humbled by his trust.  And when I returned, I was too ashamed to open the bag to check – he made me open the bag and check if everything was there.  I left the place having got the darshan of the Lord right outside the temple.

Next day was my ambassador ride day.  It was a great ride – I will remember this for a very, very long time indeed.  I was sorry it came to an end so soon – I just rolled the names of the streets and loved the twirls of my tongue – Shakespeare Sarani, Park Street and so on.

That night I wanted to walk back.  The street hawkers bring life to the city.  Just name it and it is found there – cheaper than anywhere in India, well, mostly.  And while bargaining they have a language of their own.  “Please, brother, take this.  I’ve been here for 17 years and if you find a defect and come after two years I will be here to exchange it for you – for free. And bloody, I bet you can find that guy in the very same spot with a few more grey hairs.  And perhaps, selling those very same wares.

I thing, I can bet on – you cannot get cheaper and better food than in Kolkata.  Of any type be it sweets or junk food.  Street foods of course, stand out, literally.

And before the culture could seep in, it was time for me to return.  I came to the airport – it is the blandest airport I have ever seen.  The bus stops in some metros looked better.  But the laid back attitude pleased me – I was in no hurry either.

I missed travelling by the metro – the icon that is trying to change the image of Kolkota – am I glad I did not travel.

Not sure when I will travel back – when I do I plan to go to the park street hawker and ask for a replacement lock and key that I got last year for Rs.30/-.

Liked Calcutta better than Kolkata.

Wanderers

I have been observing this person for the past couple of days. He sat silently in the temple not talking to anyone and not entering the temple always. Sometimes when the heat increased he came inside.

We were taking part in an event that involved reading of a religious text (Srimad Bhagavatham) for seven days. The days ended with a discourse by wise men on the philosophy of life. As is customary in temples, food was served during the entire period.

On the fourth day, I met him at another temple. That is when I noticed that he had a kit but appeared to be in no hurry to go anywhere. From his body language, I understood that this temple was his temporary halting place and the small kit held all of his belongings. He spends his nights at this temple and comes to the other one to spend his days – to have his breakfast, lunch and dinner, free of cost.

When I saw him he flashed a smile of recognition. He introduced himself as chandrashekharan from North Kerala. And then he opened up making his mind to speak in halting english. He is a loner. He has his parents and siblings but never depended on them. He said he just goes from place to place and wherever finds a place he can spend some time (get free food) he spends the time till the next function starts somewhere else.

He said that he does not have anyone but has the entire world working for him, ensuring that he survived. He has gone places throughout India as far as Allahabad, Hrishikesh, Badrinath and Kashmir – traveling alone and without spending a rupee. He says that he gets most help from people around the temples, from police and the army (surprised me). Three times he tried going to Kedarnath and failed – he will try this year too.

Gave me an insight into how people manage to survive and to what extent people are willing to push their way of life.

He said he takes life one day at a time (divided by three – food times). He said he likes the way he lived without knowing what he would like to do with life or how he would spend the next day. He seemed to be genuinely happy. I failed to understand that he needs to do something with his life. At last he made his point – he is interested in the journey of life – not the destination. Go wherever life takes you.

I was trying to compare myself, who gets anxious if a single insurance premium is overdue, with this man who does not know and does not care from where his next meal is going to come from. I sit at a home that I could call mine after 20 years, having a steady job working for someone else, maintaining a seemingly happy family and yet looking forward to reach a destination that is alluringly near all the time.

At 2 am, he disappeared – he continuing on his journey and I staring at the destination. I wonder who the wanderer is – him or me.

The Manager

I saw this woman in a flight to Mumbai. One look at her and anyone can make out that she is on a mission. Set jaws, eyes straight ahead and a powerful projection of persona. She is out to prove to the world and the flight’s destination is what she is looking forward to right now.

Sure enough, no sooner did the aircraft’s tires hit the ground, she hit the ground running by switching on her mobile. She called someone – perhaps, her junior one of the hundreds of people working for her. Immediately she started shooting her bullets.

“Ok. Give me the status update’. She said already calculating the number of problems she needs to resolve.

The other person must have told something like, “Let me first get the update so that I can give you.”

“I need to know now. I do not wish to be kept waiting for problems to be resolved on their own. It doesn’t matter if they are bad. Please give me straight”. She said expecting the worst.

This could have been the response from the other end, “Well, the work is going on and nothing to report at this juncture. I shall report once we achieve a milestone" – or something to that effect.

She was actually irritated now. She said, “No. This will not do. I exactly need to know what is happening. It is straight in the line of your duty.” I got even more curious with the tone of the conversation. She must be handling something really grave – perhaps very sensitive and of national significance.

Perhaps, the other guy was a smart Alec. He must have given a vague reply like, “I am under control and you do not have to be bothered with such mundane stuff.”

She must be a very powerful person – she would not give up so easily. I wonder if she is a top governmental official who gets her work done or someone who has been a boss all her life. She said, “Please do not give me such pedantic replies. I know that you know and I need to know what you know”.

The guy is caught – I sensed that he had no choice now and must have given some facts. She retorted immediately, “This is not what I was looking for. There are responsibilities clearly drawn up – who will do what and when. I am not looking for daily reporting – I need hourly updates; clear and unambiguous. You are the person who shall ensure that each hour the progress is monitored, measured and updates given to me. I want the activities tracked against the plan. I need them now. I already missed two hours this morning.” She seemed extremely impatient with that seemingly inefficient manager.

I am not sure what the next piece of conversation was but sure she did fly off the handle. Her eyes dilated and she kept shouting in a muffled tone, hardly being able to control herself. The way she seemed excited, I was sure the nation is going to endure the worst of this failure of her manager. The plane still had not come to a stop now - ignoring all announcements to keep the mobiles switched off until the aircraft comes to a complete halt, she retorted, “What do you mean – he hasn’t reported yet. It is ten in the morning. You just cannot say, if he has not come, he has not come. This is grave injustice. I need the work done now. And there are dependencies. What about the risks involved. Who is going to bear the cost?” She seemed to think miles ahead – I felt she is planning for the future generations’ prosperity with such zeal.

When the full import of the message sunk into her – she moved away from the panic mode and switched into her solution mode. You can expect these only from the real mature visionaries. Those who have been in the line day in and day out of their lives solving complex issues of the society and the country at large. I was amazed at her tenacity and judgment.

"Ok. Let me quickly think. Please take notes even as I talk to you. Once this call is over, I will give you his number. His name is Selvam. He is from Tamil Nadu and you need to find someone who can talk to him in Tamil. Tell him that the work is waiting for him. He has exactly two days to complete the job. You need to talk to the architect who can specify what the problem is.” No wonder, I thought she is a person of great repute – who else but an enterprise architect would have such insight into explaining what the problem is. And she must be even greater to have an enterprise architect working for her.

Even as I was admiring her immense aspirations she has for her country – the next sentence she uttered felt like cold water thrown on my face.

She said,”Selvam is the plumber. He can know what the problem is from our architect. On my instruction, you have taken leave just to take care of this plumber and you tell me he has not shown up. I do not care what you do – get the plumber resolve the issue and let me know. Call him. Take your car to wherever he is and bring him. Give me a call half an hour later. Now I need to rush to office work.” That must have been her husband. God save him, at least from the plumbers of India.

I felt relieved. For a moment I thought IT people have really started showing concern for their work. Of course they do - for all their personal work. But this one took the cake. The language sounded so familiar even I was fooled by her.

This was not the first time where I came across people using their project management tactics in real like - it works very rarely. And even rarely still in IT.

I just smiled, switched on the mobile, took the incoming call from my boss and said. “I am still stuck in the plane. I will give you an update when I check out of the airport.”

My kid is 10-15 days old

Had been to N Delhi last week. While returning, started up a conversation with this taxi driver, Nazir. He was nice - very sharp features. I thought if he had the appropriate beard he may look like a mental Aurangzeb, that I have come to picture Aurangzeb with. He said he was from Jahanabad - perhaps, a descendant of Aurangzeb - who knows.

He looked more like 25, but then said he was driving in Delhi for the past 15 years. He had two kids and the second one "10 to 15 days old" as he put it.

He gave me his number and I am sure I will be calling him whenever I visit Delhi.

Thanks, Nazir and yes, name of the new kid is Samir.

Sripuram Narayani Temple

From Ambur, we reached Sripuram, the now famous Golden Temple of Narayani.

I have never seen a temple which evokes such strong reactions. It is positively opulent. It is ostentatious whereas most temples in India reflect austerity. Glazed granite, golden pillars and the dazzling lights leaves you not speechless but dumbfounded. Other temples make you fall silent.

The circumambulation path, is not square or circular but star shaped.

I was just wondering how anyone who enters this temple with fountains and pleasure evoking contraptions could instil a sense of bhakti and humility. Pictures of the man - however great he may have been in constructing this temple - he is still a man - not to be placed alongside Gods/Godesses.

I was just fuming and then had the darshan from 15 feet away even though we had paid a hefty Rs.100/- as entrance ticket.

Then I saw a villager, who normally gets more awed than us city dwellers, just praying there - no dazzling lights, no opulence and no amount of gold could deter him from praying.

So it is not what outside or in the temple that counts. What counts is what you have in you - that is bhakti.

I came out totally humbled from this extraordinary temple, just as I come out of any temple. Better learned and even more humbled.

I am a more chastisised person now.

Refer Wikipedia for more info on this place.

Just see a pic gleamed off the net.

Peria Anjaneyar Temple, Ambur

Ambur-Sripuram Mar 2008

Today we visited the Peria Anjaneyar Temple in Ambur. I and Sridharan, along with families set out in the afternoon and reached there by evening.

The temple is situated amidst the bustle of a small industrial town. Once you enter the temple you are transported to a different world altogether. Serene, quiet and calm.

This temple was built way back in the 15th century during Krishna Deva Raya's rule.

The sthala puranam (history of the temple) is very interesting.

While fighting the demon Ravana to take back the abducted Sita, Lakshmana, brother of Rama is injured in the battle hurt by a missile from Ravana's son. Jambhavan, the bear Advisor, says that he can be rescued by a herb called Sanjeevani. Hanuman is sent back to India to bring the herb. Hanuman sets out to the Himalayas, finds the hill where the herb grows but cannot recognise it. He uproots the entire mountains and returns. Meanwhile, Sukracharya, Ravana's Guru and the preceptor for all Rakshasas (demons) says that he needs to be stopped from returning. Ravana, sends Saturn one of the nine enslaved planets who form the nine steps to his throne to stop Hanuman. Sani (Saturn) accosts Hanuman. Hanuman asks Sani the reason for stopping him from returning. Sani says that he is now under the rule of Ravana and has come to stop Hanuman from proceeding to Sri Lanka. Hanuman places the entire mountain on Sani who is unabe to bear the weight. Sani surrenders. Hanuman then lifts the mountain and crushes Sani under his foot. Sani requests for forgiveness. Hanuman does so under the conditions that Sani is not to impede anyone's path who chants Rama's name. Hanuman then returns to Sri Lanka with herb and rest of the story is known. The temple idol of Hanuman here is in the posture of crushing Sani Bhagawan under his foot.

Since this is a ugra stance, nearby is another idol of Hanuman so that people can worship Him.

The temple tower contains some extremely beautiful scupltures of the Raya dynasty.

One can light lamps depending on the constellation to obtain peace and prosperity.

We saw the temple cow and calf - they appeared to be more peaceful than most people we see on the streets.

We also saw some students praying for a successful completion of their exams coming up just round the corner.

Have a look at some material on the net here.

The temple has website http://www.periyaanjaneyartemple.org/, but then I was not able to view it today.

Maharashtra – A Pilgrimage

Visit to Shirdi, Shani Shinganapur and Nashik.

It was first of sorts in several respects. I, Sridharan and Desi traveling for the first time together. We drove down to Shirdi starting at about 9.45 pm and arriving at Shirdi by about 4 am the next day (30^th December 2007).

At Shirdi had a good darshan of Baba. I’ve fulfilled the vow of giving away Rs.2.00 that I made during my previous visit to Shirdi in 2005.

From there we proceeded to Shani Shinganapur by afternoon. Do not miss the sugar cane juice on the way – the best that you can get, the freshest – the sugarcane is cut from the fields in front of you and the ox crushes them to give you the fresh juice.

The last stop was Nashik. We hired an auto to go around. The Kala Ram, The Gora Ram, Sita Gufa, The Triveni sangam (Aruna, Varuna and Godavari meet here). This place is known as Panchavati.

From there, we drove back to Mumbai. I drove part of the way – I felt it was a bit risky in the sense that I hadn’t slept the entire last night. I drove for about three hours from midnight to 3 am. First time in a highway in night. First time in a highway at night in ghat sections. First time in a highway in ghat section in a diesel car. First time in a highway in ghat section in a diesel car with extreme heavy truck traffic. But then all of us arrived safely.